Villa Residences. 555 



Hill, whose name we regret to have omitted to take down, 

 is aware of the importance of not cropping his fruit tree 

 borders ; and the same may be said as to the gardener at 

 Green Bank, James Lawton, who is a good botanist, and has 

 discovered a new species of fern. At Gatacre, the most 

 abundant and early crops of grapes are raised by Mr. 

 Roskell, and sometimes sent to the London market. Here, 

 a pit of stones is heated by steam, in Mr. Hay's manner, 

 with perfect success. On the whole, however, we were dis- 

 appointed in the keeping of the villa gardens in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Liverpool ; and we did not expect to find, in 

 that liberal and enlightened town, the degree of parsimony 

 towards gardeners which we were given to understand gene- 

 rally exists. 



The grounds at Slyne House, R. Greene Bradley, Esq., 

 are beautifully situated and perfectly kept, as much so as those 

 at Whitmore Lodge, but, like them, the edgings of the walks 

 are much too harsh ; an evil which in both cases is already, 

 or will soon be, remedied. An incipient taste for plants has 

 been created at Halton Hall, in this neighbourhood, and 

 Miss Bradshaw is pursuing it with the greatest vigour and 

 skill. The same may be said with respect to Halton Rectory 

 and the garden of Miss Dalton ; the latter of which, however, 

 we did not see. Dallam Tower is spoiled by the entrance to 

 the house being on the wrong side, and masses of trees are 

 wanted on the knolls in the park, and groups of trees and 

 stones by the margin of the river. Elleray, the villa of Pro- 

 fessor Wilson, is placed on perhaps the most commanding 

 situation on the banks of Windermere ; but the effect to the 

 stranger is spoiled by the display of all the beauties of that 

 situation before entering the house, in consequence of its being 

 approached on the wrong side. Though there are scarcely 

 any dug beds or flowers about the house, yet the plantations 

 at the entrance-lodge are dug and planted with roses and 

 flowers. (See p. 398, 399. and S-i^.) Besides this mismanage- 

 ment as to the approach, the poet, as we have already ob- 

 served (p. 537.)? bas the tree disease to an extreme degree. 



Woodhouselee, J. Bell, Esq., contains a considerable col- 

 lection of flowering plants, a recent importatiorf of curious trees 

 and shrubs from Booth of Hamburgh, and remarkably com- 

 plete farm buildings ; but the edgings are bad. The gardener, 

 Alexander Todd, is a scientific man, and has a clean neat 

 house of two rooms without closets, but which requires an 

 addition, as he is now obliged to make use of his bed-room as 

 a dairy. This ought not to be the case, especially where a man 

 has, like Mr. Todd, a family of five or six children. We 



