Domestic Notices : — Scotlatid. 68 1 ^ 



for some time back ; there are two old vineries which are greatly out of 

 repair. Mr. Henderson, who is now nurseryman at Brechin, was some 

 time gardener there with Colonel Duncan ; at which time it was kept in 

 the best order. There is a small stream of water which, runs through the 

 garden in front of the forcing-houses, with sloping grass banks, and looks 

 very well in summer. 



Abbey Park is still in the suburbs of St. Andrew's, and is the seat of 

 Colonel Glass. There are between two and three acres of garden ground, 

 in which there are three forcing-houses, a green-house, and a range of 

 melon-pits ; the sashes of the pits are of cast iron, and in other respects 

 they are the same as those at the Priory. I have seen regularly as good 

 crops of grapes there as at any place in this quarter, under the management 

 of Mr. W. Fletcher, who has been gardener there for a long period. 



Denbrae, the seat of David Wemyss, Esq., lies about two or three miles 

 south-west from St. Andrew's. The house and garden are both new, at 

 least they are not more than sixteen or eighteen years old ; and the garden is 

 placed in a very romantic situation, being on the south slope of a very 

 steep bank. A terrace-wall runs through the middle of the garden, from 

 east to west, on which are some very good peach trees that generally 

 are made to bear good crops by being covered with Osnaburgh [canvass], 

 screens when in flower ; the screens letting up and down with great ease by 

 pulleys placed in a frame. This wall is 18 ft. high from the lower side, 

 though it only forms a parapet wall of about 3 ft. high for the upper gar- 

 den. This place was planned by Mr. E. Sang of Kirkaldy; and Mr. John 

 M'Leod has been gardener there since it was first made. There are some 

 fine thriving young plantations along the Den on both sides of the garden. 



Mount Melville lies to the south of Denbrae, and is the seat of John 

 White Melville, Esq. The place was formerly called Craigton. When 

 Mr. Melville came of age, he built a handsome addition to the mansion- 

 house, and greatly embellished the pleasure-grounds. These alterations 

 were mostly done under the superintendence of the late Mr. John Nicol, 

 gardener, who died there in 1824. There is a very good new garden going 

 on at present, in which it is intended to have five or six divisions of forcing- 

 houses ; and there are two good pine-pits, put up some years ago in the 

 frame-ground to the north of the garden, though they are on the old plan. 

 The soil at Mount Melville, as well as at Denbrae, is a strong clay. A field 

 lies between the garden and the house, with an easy inclination to the 

 south, which it has been proposed to make into a flower-garden, and to 

 have a conservatory in the middle of. This place has, beyond all dispute, 

 the finest pleasure-ground in all the neighbourhood; and on laying out the 

 ground after the house was finished, there being a large tree or two wanted 

 in the lawn to produce a good eflfect, Mr. Nicol determined on trying to 

 transplant a very large one. For this purpose he had a sledge made, and 

 prepared a large sycamore with a very bushy head, which he fixed safely 

 into the place intended for it, and thus produced the desired effect at once, 

 the experiment being attended with complete success. 



Strathlyrum, the seat of Mrs. Cheape, is situated about a mile from 

 St. Andrew's, on the left side of the road to Cupar in Fifeshire. At the 

 death of Mrs. Cheape, it falls to George Cheape, Esq., of Welfield, her 

 brother-in-law. It is a well kept place, and a pleasant residence in summer. 

 There are about 120 acres of ground, enclosed by a wall from 8 to 9 ft. 

 high, and about 2 acres in the kitchen-garden; with two good old vineries, 

 repaired in 1822; one peach-house, put up in 1824; and a range of 

 Alderstone melon-pits {Kncyc. of Gard., § 1549.), put up in 1828. The 

 soil is very light and sandy, and it is even said that the sea flowed over 

 the very spot not more than ninety years ago : however, with plenty of 

 maijure, very good crops are raised from it. In 1826 there was a small 



