lU^V: 



TOt, 





To the Editor of " The American Journal of Hortlcukure and Florist's Companion." 



Sz'r, — It has occurred to me that the description of a large English country- 

 house and estate might be, as a subject for a letter, as interesting to you as any 

 that I could select. The difficulty is, that, in consequence of my limited knowl- 

 edge and hasty examinations, I probably may fail to present the subject in a man- 

 ner that will enable you to form any very accurate idea of it. I should prefer, 

 if I could, to select for description one that should be an average of the estates 

 of the gentry, scattered everywhere throughout England ; not one of the most 

 magnificent or of the most ordinary. But perhaps, after all, the selection is a 

 matter not very important : for all these estates have a general resemblance one 

 with another, making, of course, allowance for a difference of situation, and some- 

 what of a difference of individual taste and means ; that is, the arrangement of 

 the grounds and laying-out of the gardens appear to be conducted everywhere 

 on the same general principle. For special reasons, I have been induced to take 

 for the subject of my description the estate of Coombe Abbey, the seat of the 

 Earl of Craven ; not because it is one of the most magnificent or most celebrated 

 places, but because I had an opportunity to examine it somewhat more leisurely 

 than I did others, under the guidance of its manager or gardener, a very intel- 

 ligent man, ready to reply to any questions that I thought proper to ask ; and 

 because, too, it seemed to me, that gardening, properly so called, as we un- 

 derstand that term, appeared to receive here a particular degree of attention. 

 This estate is situated in the central part of the island, in a county celebrated 

 as among the best for its agricultural capabilities. Although the land is high, it 

 is level, and by no means picturesque ; yet it has groves and groups of oaks so 

 dotted about over it, that, when viewed from an eminence where an extended 



VOL. III. 2J '^9 



