AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS 



indefinitely off into a region filled with beautiful spots, and with suggestions of other beauties, 

 unseen, yet suggested. 



This is the supreme attraction of Biltmore the wonderful scenery for the house has 

 a site that at once commands the loveliest views, and gives it, as a dwelling, the best possible 

 situation and the greatest advantage. 



The circumstances that led to the foundation of this great estate are well known. Mr. 

 Vanderbilt was attracted to it by its wonderful scenery and fine climate. The accumulation 

 of land proceeded at a rapid rate, until now the estate comprises an area of one hundred and 

 forty-seven thousand acres. Statistics are uninteresting and perhaps of little value, and yet 

 unless the size of this great property is realized its very unusual character will not be compre- 

 hended. To say, therefore, that the park contains thirty-eight miles of macadamized drives, 

 seventy of wagon road, and two hundred and sixty-five miles of trails in the forests, is to express 

 more than commonplace facts, but offers a guide to determining the scale of the property. 



Biltmore comprises two parts the home grounds and the estate. The home grounds 

 are in the immediate vicinity of the house, as the name implies, and they have been treated 

 with much elaboration of detail, with terraces and gardens, and gardens again descending 

 down the slopes, and 

 including among other 

 interesting features an 

 old English garden, with 

 fruit trees trained against 

 the walls, a fascinating 

 spot and a truly delight- 

 ful one. 



As for the estate, 

 Nature there is still Na- 

 ture, and perhaps will 

 always be so. The area 

 is much too large to be 

 reduced to formal treat- 

 ment, and much of it 

 would lose its present 

 grandeur if subjected to 

 cultivation. As a matter 

 of fact, the future of 

 Biltmore will be a mat- 

 ter of development. Mr. 

 Vanderbilt, as is well 

 known, is deeply inter- 



O)|>> -rlKhl. 1903. b) C V Ka> . Aslioill. . V ( 



BILTMORE" THE MAIN ENTRANCE. 



[127] 



