Bayfordhury. 589 



The lawn is separated from the park by a sunk fence, which in one part of 

 the grounds affords an excellent hint. The natural surface is hollowed out, 

 the fence is made in the bottom, and a bank formed on the park side and on 

 the lawn side; the walk is formed near the top of the bank on the lawn side, 

 in consequence of which the opposite bank rises above the eye and absorbs the 

 attention of the spectator, who appears walking on the side of a natural 

 hollow. The fence is thus altogether lost sight of, or at all events does not 

 attract attention in the offensive manner which it does when made on a level 



surface. In fig. 71., a 6 is the line of the natural surface, previously to 

 sinking the hollow ; c the walk ; d the sunk fence, with a light fence of strained 

 iron wire at top ; e a bank raised in the pleasure-ground ; and/ a bank raised 

 in the park. Of course, this description of sunk fence can only be adopted in 

 particular situations in small places, but in large ones it might be of frequent 

 adoption. 



The beds on the lawn are not to be considered as forming a flower-garden, 

 but as low growths connected with the trees, and harmonising with them and 

 with the distant scenery. They are all of roundish shapes, and mostly circles 

 varying from 1 ft. to 6 or 8 ft. in diameter. They are almost all planted with 

 low flowering shrubs, and with occasional low trees, such as rhododendrons, 

 azaleas, and heaths ; and the shrubs have almost everywhere spread suffi- 

 ciently to cover the dug surface, and project over the lawn so as to break 

 the boundary line, which is exactly what is desirable in such a situation. 

 The smaller circles are filled with heaths, vacciniums, andromedas, the lesser 

 rhododendrons, Jrctostaphylos, Gaulthen'a Shdllon, &c. 



In a large conservatory there are some fine fruit-bearing specimens of the 

 mandarin orange, the pulp or sarcocarp of which separates from the skin or 

 epicarp as a filbert does from its husk ; and of a most agreeably tasted yellow- 

 fleshed orange, brought from Malta by Mr. Baker, which we have not seen 

 elsewhere. At the south end of the mansion there is a wall covered with 

 orange trees, and in the border in front are many half-hardy herbaceous and 

 suffrutescent plants. The wall and border are protected by a roof and front, 

 consisting of sashes of thatch instead of glass, which take out or slide between 

 rafters like the sashes of a green-house ; and by which air and light can be 

 given and taken away eVery mild day, with rapidity and ease, while the thick- 

 ness of the thatch is such as completely to exclude frost. The wall against 

 which the trees are trained, being the side of one of the office buildings, it 

 cannot be assailed by frost in that quarter. There are many interesting scenes, 

 such as rockwork, summer-houses, flower-gardens, aquariums, trelliswork, in 

 the pleasure-ground near the house, which we cannot stop to describe, and 

 also many fine specimens of old trees, the family having been devoted to plant- 

 ing for three generations. 



The kitchen-garden is a mile from the mansion, having been formed for a 

 dwelling-house, which was taken down some years ago. It is well managed, 

 as are the numerous forcing-houses, pits, and frames, and the adjoining tree 

 nurseries. We saw here a great many plants raised from seeds of Mahonea 

 Jquifolium, varying in foliage in an incredible manner, and some of them de- 

 cidedly Mahoma repens ; a proof, as it appears to us, of the correctness of 

 Messrs. Torrey and Gray, in the Floi-a of North America, of making this al- 

 leged species only a variety; and the same circumstance accounts for Mr. 

 Rivers having found the distinct seedling which he describes in our vol. for 

 1839, p. 233. It may be alleged that some seeds of M. repens had found 

 their way among those of M. ^quifolium, or that the flowers of the latter had 



Q Q 3 



