10 Gardens and Country liesidences in Surrey. 



Having heard of a remarkable crop of mangold wurzel grow- 

 ing at Lord King's, 1 went to see it, and certainly a finer field 

 was never seen. The rows are 3 ft. 6 m. or near 4 it, distant, 

 and the plants of a surprising size. The crop is supposed to 

 weigh between 50 and 60 tons per acre, without the leaves : it 

 will be taken up in the course of November, when, I was 

 told, the leaves will be ploughed in, and the wheat sowed, with- 

 out further manure or trouble, the land being in excellent 

 order, and as clean as a garden. On enquiry, I was told that 

 three of the largest plants grown here last year weighed 

 93 lbs., or 31 lbs. each root. The produce of these ten acres 

 is really enormous, and very much exceeds any thing I have 

 elsewhere observed. I did not exactly ascertain whether it 

 was to be attributed to a superior mode of cultivation, or to 

 a soil peculiarly favourable to that root. On examination, the 

 soil is a fine friable sandy loam, very loose and deep. Never 

 having heard any thing of the gardens at this place, I was 

 most agreeably surprised to find a highly decorated and orna- 

 mented terrace, with a profusion of marble vases, stone balus- 

 trades, and a delightful mixture of columns and vegetation, 

 each lending its aid to assist the charm, and I thought the 

 description would be acceptable, as the garden appears to be 

 exactly what is described in your Magazine (Vol. IV. p. 95.), 

 as the best suited to our country mansions. The pleasure- 

 gardens contain a fine collection of evergreens of the choicest 

 sorts, the finest arbutus, bays, cypresses, and evergreen oaks, 

 all in great perfection ; indeed, the soil and exposure are as 

 good as can be. One plant I had almost forgotten, a large 

 Bignonm grandiflora, usually seen only in a conservatory, was 

 here growing 20 ft. high, and covered with hundreds of its 

 brilliant flowers. At the end of the house (but in a continued 

 line with the terrace, which is a stone pavement 12 ft. wide) 

 is a long arcade of, I suppose, 100 ft. or more in length, open- 

 ing to a balustraded garden. This must furnish a very pleasant 

 walk in rough w^et weather, and is well worthy of imitation. 



I went from this place to Albury, the seat of Mr. Drummond, 

 situated in a lovely vale. The kitchen-garden is really beau- 

 tiful ; a quarter of a mile long, one straight wall {Jig. 3. a a)^ 



