SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 185 



Perry, although the peare to eat is stark naught." " Flanders 

 cherries, most generally planted here in England. The Black 

 Hart cherry is a very special fruit." " The best nectarine is 

 the Roman red. But it is very hard to be propagated, as for 

 grafting none take that way, and but few with inoculating, which 

 I conceive is the reason it is dearest of all plants with us ; " 

 "The nutmeg and the Nevvington the best peaches; very large 

 and gallant fruit." " I know of but one kind of Figs that come 

 to ripeness with us : the great Blew-fig, as large as a Catherine 

 Pear. The trees grow in divers gardens in Oxford, set against 

 a south wall, and be spread up with nayles and Leathers." 

 Austen was the greatest authority on fruit-trees in his day.* 



The ruthless hand of man has done more to destroy the old 

 gardens of England than the changes of time and seasons. But 

 some vestiges of the gardens of each period still remain to us. 

 Although no "princely" gardens were being laid out during the 

 middle of the seventeenth century, like those of its latter end, 

 many an old manor-house garden may date from about this time. 

 This is not a history of " Gardens," so it is impossible to give 

 anything like a complete list of the beautiful old gardens that are 

 still to be found throughout the length and breadth of England. 

 I must content myself by mentioning a few typical examples, to 

 serve as illustrations of the fashions and plans of each successive 

 century. The garden of Chilham Castle, in Kent, with its 

 terraces, bowling-green, and clipped trees, was laid out in 1631. 

 That of Bilton, in Warwickshire, with its fine holly and yew 

 hedges, was begun in 1623. Bulwick, in Northamptonshire, with 

 terraced slopes, pond, and fine wrought-iron gates, was being 

 laid out at the same time, and finished in 1674. And at Mitford, 

 in Northumberland, although the Manor House (dated 1637) 

 itself is in ruins, the old wall of the garden still encloses a tangle 

 of roses, sweet herbs, and old apple-trees, and a sun-dial, which 

 for 250 years has faithfully marked the hours as they fly. 

 Instances such as these could be found in every county in 



* A good treatise on fruit in MS., probably written by Joshua Chandler 

 about 1651, is entirely founded on Austen, and parts of it are transcribed 

 from Austen's work, with the omission of his references to Scripture. 



The MS. is in the possession of Miss Willmott. 



