82 Notes and Recollections of a Tour. 



gardens had very recently been laid out, and the whole 

 grounds had not yet been planted. 



The principal feature of attraction, is the splendid range of 

 houses, upwards of nine hundred feet long, built in the most 

 thorough and substantial manner, without regard to expense. 

 In the centre of the range is a beautiful dwelling for the gar- 

 dener, erected in the Elizabethan style, with one room fitted 

 up for the queen, when visiting the garden. The frame work 

 is of iron, and the sashes are glazed with panes of Dutch 

 glass, each pane being about eight by forty or fifty inch- 

 es ; with only one lap in each row of glass in each sash. 



There are, we believe, five compartments in each wing of 

 the range, the outer one of each being occupied as greenhouses, 

 and the others as graperies, peacheries, &/C. &c. The grape 

 vines had only been planted fourteen months, and they were 

 now producing from two to four bunches each, of as fine 

 grapes as we ever saw. The Hamburghs were unusually well 

 colored. We saw here the new grape, called Prince Albert, 

 which was said to excel the Hamburgh. It certainly was a 

 fine looking grape, whatever its qualities might be; the 

 bunches very large and handsome. Mr. Ingram had exhib- 

 ited a vine in a pot, a week or two previous, at a meeting of 

 the London Horticultural Society, one of the bunches of 

 which weighed upwards of three pounds. It was yet so new, 

 that only two vines were growing in the grapery. The va- 

 riety originated in Jersey. We have never had the pleasure 

 of seeing finer specimens of vines, for their age; they were 

 planted in July, 1843, and in October, 1844, were producing 

 six or eight pounds weight of fruit each, with as strong a 

 growth of new wood as the best cultivator could desire. It 

 is true, no expense was spared in the preparation of the bor- 

 der, which is the principal thing in growing grapes. 



In the enclosure in the rear of the range of houses, are 

 several ranges of pits, small green-houses, hot-houses, &c., 

 which contained a variety of plants for replenishing the 

 green-houses in the long range, but we saw nothing particu- 

 larly new, or worthy of record. Indeed, the place was quite 

 too recently built up, to expect much in this way. The 

 splendid range of houses, their superior construction and ar- 

 rangement, are the only objects of special notice. 



