White Knights. 667 



now in a state of decay, would, from its commanding height, be 

 sublime, if it were of greater length. " The wood " at White 

 Knights is entered through a gate flanked by large rough 

 blocks of stone, brought from Marlborough Downs ; but set 

 up, as a child might be supposed to have done, before the 

 wicket of its baby garden, instead of being arranged so as to 

 produce some kind of artificial or architectural character. 

 Two walks proceed one to the right, and the other to the 

 left; the stranger being introduced by the one, and returning 

 by the other. We shall not now enumerate the objects as they 

 are seen in succession, as we intend to do that in a review 

 (which we have had prepared for some years) of Hofland's 

 White Knights. Tulip trees and magnolias of large size first 

 meet the eye, mixed with the oaks, hazels, and beeches 

 of the aboriginal wood. The acacias in this wood have been 

 attacked two years in succession by a black aphis which 

 destroyed almost the whole of the leaves ; and the consequence 

 is, that several are totally dead ; the remainder being nearly 

 bare, and so sickly that there can be little doubt of their 

 dying next year. Periodical visitations of this kind by insects, 

 like periodical visitations of diseases among animals, are not 

 yet satisfactorily accounted for; and hence it is out of the 

 question to attempt to prevent them. The catalpa evidently 

 does not thrive on a wet subsoil ; for here most of those along 

 the catalpa walk are dead, and the rest are dying. We have 

 observed the same thing with the catalpa in several other 

 places. The specimens of Pinus PallaszaV^a are very fine, and 

 vary from 40 ft. to 50 ft. in height. It is said that only about 

 sixty or seventy plants were imported, and that the marquess 

 purchased the whole of them, and planted them in these 

 woods. There are a great many fine specimens of Cratae^gus 

 tanacetifcMia both in this wood and in the open park; they 

 come into flower when the blossom of the common hawthorn 

 begins to fade ; and in autumn the trees are covered with large 

 and beautiful yellow haws. The C. odoratissima greatly 

 resembles the C. tanacetifolia in leaf and mode of growth, 

 and it flowers at exactly the same time ; but its berries, which 

 are as large as those of C. tanacetifolia, are of a fine coral 

 colour. C. Aronia bears large yellow haws, and is one of the 

 handsomest trees of the genus. All these species of Cratae^gus, 

 as well as many others, ought to be introduced in every park and 

 shrubbery. There are some good specimens of Magnolm py- 

 ramidata, a tree seldom found in the nurseries, and rare, as we 

 are informed by Mr. Gordon, even in America. Cornus florida 

 was large and very handsome, as were both species of the stuar- 

 tias, which were finely covered with flowers. A handsome tree 



