Reh'ospective Criticism. 465 



more especially as the gardener informed us that it was not made with 

 his consent. 



But, what is still worse than this naked serpentine walk, the trees and 

 shrubs around this villa are ever)' where of the very commonest and cheap- 

 est sorts. From ocular inspection from the roads, we think we should be 

 justified in asserting that there is not a garden, small or large, within a 

 mile, which contains so {'e\v good things, in proportion to things common and 

 cheap. Probably the Marquess may not have much knowledge or taste in 

 this way ; but one would think that he would have applied the same prin- 

 ciples to completing a villa which he does so successfully to furnishing a 

 house, and have felt it to be a matter of propriety and good sense to have 

 a garden laid out and jilanted suitably to his mansion and rank. On the 

 whole, we were delighted with the situation, and pleased with the house, 

 some points in the conservatory, the walk in the dell (not speakino- of the 

 plants on each side of it), and the exterior holly hedge, and quite satisfied 

 with the high order and keeping maintained by Mr. Mackay, the very intelli- 

 gent gardener ; but quite disappointed in regard to all the rest. There is, in 

 our eyes, a general appearance of meanness and poverty pervading every 

 thing exterior to the house, which forms a sad contrast to it and to the 

 noble distant scenery, — Cond. 



Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism. 



Mr.Knight's Pine-apples. — Sir, I observe in the last two Numbers of the 

 Gardener's Magazine (p. 1 to 240.), that j'ou widely disagree with T. A. Knight, 

 Esq., in the cultivation of the pine-apple, without the aid of bark-bed heat, 

 as practised by him. For this reason, I can no longer remain silent and see l-is 

 horticultural information undervalued, without making some observations on 

 the subject. In the first place, it is well known that Mr. Knight had no pecu- 

 niary motives for writing the papers published in the Transactions of the Hor- 

 ticultural Society of London, an<l I am confident that it is far from his dis- 

 position to try to deceive or misguide any person ; therefore, if any gardener 

 has miscarried in the trial, I consider it must be for want of proper curvi- 

 linear houses and fuel similar to his. I must allow it is quite an impossi- 

 bility for any man to grow large good-flavoured fruit on stages without 

 bottom heat, in many of the old barns of houses that are standing about the 

 country; but in good houses, with attention, it may be done. In the j'ear 

 1819, I resided within a few miles of Downton Castle, and I remained in 

 that neighbourhood five years, daring that time (each year) I frequently 

 saw Mr. Knight's pines, and in the j'ear 1825, 1 saw them again, which you 

 must allow is six successive yeai's ; and I do declare that I never saw finer 

 nor more healthful pines of the sort^ he was growing in my life ; not even 

 round the neighbourhood of London, nor in any county in England. So 

 that what Mr. Knight has stated in the Transactions of the Horticultural 

 Society is nothing but the truth ; but, by your own account, the Society 

 has rejected the Numbers of the Gardener's Magazine, so that it is easy 

 to conceive where the grievance is. In my conclusion, I must give you to 

 understand that 1 have no interest whatever with Mr. Knight, in fact he 

 may be no more, for all that I can tell, but I like to see justice done to 

 every man. Sir, I remain, yours, &c. — A Practical Gardener. Exeter, 

 May 18. 1829. 



The idea of the " grievance," &c., is good in its way, and we return our 

 anonymous friend our best thanks for the amusement it has afforded us. 

 However, as we have said before, our present opinion as to Mr. Knight's 

 mode of growing the pine was expressed in 1 822, and therefore the 



Vol. V. — No. 21. hh 



