578 



Notes on Country Seats and Gardens. 



reality or in appearance, with the terrace walls of the house. The magnificent 

 cascade of steps is admirable, so far as it goes, but its lower termination is poor. 

 The cascade ought, perhaps, to be brought down nearer to the house, and 

 the basin, in which it terminates, ought to be surrounded by a highly archi- 

 tectural margin. At all events, something ought to be done to take away 

 from the scattered, disjointed, and in some cases meagre, appearance of 

 these water-works, which, taken separately, are by far the grandest in Britain. 



In the kitchen-garden Mr. Paxton is introducing a new mode of covering 

 glass cases, whether frames, pits, or low houses, during the night. This is 

 simply by having a thatched roof of somewhat larger dimensions than the 

 frame, pit, or house to be covered, resting on side walls, and independent of 

 those which support the glass ; the lower edge or base of this roof slides 

 on a railway, which extends at either or at both ends of the house, so as 

 to afford space] for the roof to stand on in the day time, or when it is not 

 wanted. The advantages of this mode of covering are, that more heat can 

 be retained than by mats or boards ; and that the covering and uncovering 

 can be effected with less labour, and almost instantaneously. 



The house on which the experiment is about to be tried is for growing 

 orchidaceous plants, and is being heated by Mr. Penn. It is span-roofed, 

 and stands in the direction of north and south : fig. 67. is a section, in 

 which a is the glass roof, and b the thatched roof. The situation is low, and 

 being on a level with the river, is incapable of drainage beyond a certain 

 depth ; in consequence of which, a water-tight cast-iron box, or caissoon, 

 is sunk, and in it the furnace and boiler are built. This practice is common 

 in Holland even for dwelling-houses ; the lower rooms of which, being often 



below the level of the adjoining canals, have a thick flooring and thick side 

 walls of masonry, built with cement, which completely exclude water. 

 The sash-bar used in this orchidaceous house has side gutters for collecting 

 the drip, as shown in the section, fig. 68., which is of the full size. The 

 glass is intermediate between the two thicknesses, shown in _;?g. 63. p. 572., 

 and is 6 in. wide, in panes not exceeding 40 in. in length ; the cost of which, 

 glazing included, is about Is. 4(/. a square foot. 



In Germany and Holland, plant structures with upright glass in front, as 

 in the Botanic Gardens at Munich and Leyden, are covered with great 

 rapidity by letting down rolls of straw mats, as noticed in om* vol. for 1830; 

 and where the glass roof slopes, hinged shutters, suspended from the back 

 wall by cords and pulleys, ai'e instantly let down, and as quickly pulled up, 

 as in the Botanic Gardens at Carlsruhe. These modes, however, are not so 

 well adapted for this country, where few houses have opaque roofs and only 

 front glasses ; and equally few those elevated projections called bonnet roofs, 

 shown \nfig. 69., in which a is the point where the shutters are hinged. 



Perhaps the operations that we were most gratified with, on our present 

 visit to Chatsworth, were those carrying on in the village of Edensor. The 



