Bulstrode ParJc, Oakhrooh Cottage^ Spring Grove, 649 



street to the Thames. It is so closely shaven, and altogether 

 so highly kept, that we observed, on one occasion, a maid- 

 servant on her knees, cleaning the turf with a hand-brush. 



Spring Grove, formerly the seat of the late Sir Joseph 

 Banks, is now the property of Henry Pownall, Esq. This 

 gentleman has considerably improved the grounds by remov- 

 ing a wall which separated the kitchen-garden and part of the 

 pleasure-grounds from a moat ; and by turfing a part of the 

 kitchen-garden, and laying it out as pleasure-ground. We 

 observed some of the new plants introduced by the Horti- 

 cultural Society thriving beautifully in the flower-beds ; and 

 some of the new pears, particularly Chapman's, grafted by 

 Mr. Oldacre on the branches of old trees, producing abund- 

 ant crops. Mr. Hutchinson, the present very intelligent 

 gardener, is of opinion that standard fruit trees, with lono-- 

 extended, depending, or dangling branches, which can be 

 moved in all directions by the wind, are always more likely 

 to produce fruit than trees with branches fixed against walls 

 or espaliers ; though they may not always be able to ripen 

 their fruit equally well. Every one who has seen this place, 

 even from the road, in Sir Joseph Banks's time, must recollect 

 the fruit trees, with their branches trained downwards, from 

 the top of the wall. This wall being now removed, some of 

 the trees which remain have a very singular appearance : we 

 can only compare them to leaves of the Borassus flabellifor- 

 mis, with their footstalks stuck in the ground, and the greater 

 part of the palm of the leaf turned downwards. There are 

 here beds of the American cranberry, in dry soil, not peat, 

 bearing abundant crops. Mr. Oldacre built a small pit in 

 the melon-ground for growing his favourite St. Peter's grape. 

 On enquiring for this pit, we were informed that, the glass 

 roof having been removed, the walls were raised ; and it has 

 been turned into the head gardener's house. This is one of 

 the most economical and ingenious modes of procuring a 

 gardener's house that we ever heard of; but we cannot say 

 much in favour either of its commodiousness or its comfort. 

 Both the head gardener here Mr. Hutchinson, and his fore- 

 man Mr. Adamson, are naturalists ; both have collections of 

 indigenous shells, and the latter has a small cabinet of British 

 insects, collected, arranged, and named by himself. 



On the bridge at the sixteenth milestone, and on various 

 other bridges near London, there are copings of cast iron ; 

 which we cannot but consider as in bad taste, and by no 

 means likely to last so long as stone, brick, or Roman cement. 



Love Hill, Langley, Beaumont, Esq., is a small place, 



with some good trees of the last century on the lawn before 



