Cashiobury Park. 285 



serrulata, 20 ft. high, against a wall ; Catalpa syringce^o[\a, 21 ft. 

 high; a purple beech, 15ft. high; an Irish yew, lift, high 

 {,fig. 35.); Juniperus virginiana, 34 ft. high {Jig. 38.); and a fine 

 old white mulberry, 25 ft. high, with a trunk 32 in. in dia- 

 meter.] 



We could say a great deal more about these grounds ; but the 

 truth is, we were so much charmed with them, that we have not 

 a sufficiently definite recollection of what we saw ; and doubt 

 not that inaccuracies, and, of course, omissions, will be found in 

 what we have said. A fine effect on the mind is produced where, 

 in passing from one garden to another, two large granite balls 

 attract the eye. A copperplate inscription informs us that they 

 were shot from the castle of Abydos, in the Dardanelles, and fell 

 on a ship under the command of a brother of Lord Essex, in the 

 squadron of Admiral Duckworth, and killed or wounded 15 men. 

 They weigh 7 cwt. each. The unexpected occurrence of objects 

 of this sort recall the mind from what it is engaged in, and re- 

 lieve it by raising up a new train of ideas, and transporting the 

 imagination to distant and very different scenes. Such episodical 

 effects are very desirable, when they can be introduced in garden 

 scenery without appearing ridiculous or affected. 



The kitchen-garden at Cashiobury is large ; but not more so 

 than is required for the family, which resides here all the year, and 

 averages at least a hundred persons. As an item of consumption, 

 the gardener, Mr. Anderson, informed us, that he had sent in 

 last year ten thousand heads of celery. On one of the walls we 

 observed two plum trees, which had been killed down to the 

 graft by a coup de soleil^ one afternoon about 2 o'clock, in July, 

 1825. The trees were in their usual state when Anderson passed 

 them, about half-past 1 o'clock ; and when he returned, in half an 

 hour, he found all their foliage black. In the October following, 

 when we saw them, they were shooting from the graft. Accidents 

 of this kind are not uncommon in the south of France, and are 

 said to be guarded against by wrapping straw round the trunk 

 and main branches. It is not likely, however, that this or any 

 other precaution can be effectual, unless it is accompanied with 

 an abundant supply of moisture to the roots. Trees spread out 

 on walls are, undoubtedly, more liable to be so killed than such as 

 are standards. A standard tree, with a bushy head, abundantly 

 clothed with young shoots and leaves, would be least liable to it, 

 because the trunk, branches, and all the interior parts of the tree, 

 and the entire half of the exterior surface, would be safe from the 

 direct influence of the sun's rays. 



There are some very good pines grown here ; and, on the back 

 of one of the stoves, we observed a plant of Anbna Cherimblia 

 trained with a view to its producing fruit. It has not yet bios- 



