Crafning ttye (0artien 



tioned, was, when I entered into its possession 

 and enjoyment with the rest of the domain, a 

 small strip of land, bounded by a high and ill-kept 

 hedge, and separated from the garden by a 

 banked-up brook which I elegantly christened 

 "The Drain." It was densely overgrown with 

 wild ivy and garlic, the soil thickly interwoven all 

 over with the creeping roots of stinging nettles, 

 this " jungly " undergrowth shaded by the fine 

 but maimed elm aforesaid, a handsome chestnut, a 

 few tall and well- grown ash, some alders along 

 the water's edge, and a number of firs. 



I had the undergrowth cleared away, the nettles 

 and garlic as far as possible rooted out, and put 

 in quantities of bluebells, primroses, common 

 daffodils, crocuses, lilies-of-the-valley, and other 

 roots; whilst I scattered freely about a plentiful 

 supply of seed of foxglove, purple loosestrife, and 

 meadowsweet. With the last two along the 

 bank I planted rushes, marsh-marigold, and water 

 forget-me-nots. 



My plan of endeavoring to produce a wilder- 

 ness of wild flowers I hope will eventually suc- 

 ceed, and if it does the irregular masses of color 



93 



