244 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 



walks always give the idea of occupation ; and young trees, with 

 their protecting fences round them, seem to show that improve- 

 ments are going on. A lodge has been recently built here, 

 which ought to be noticed for the bad taste which it exhibits : 

 not to speak of its architecture, which wants some characteristic 

 features of the style, we shall merely mention that painted 

 stags' heads are built into a rubble wall withovit any preparation, 

 and that the Rolle arms are placed on the piers of the gates, not 

 so as to front the public road, but edgewise towards it. It is 

 much to be regretted that proprietors in the country, when they 

 do not employ a regular architect, do not submit their own, or 

 their carpenter's designs to one. For two guineas, any London 

 architect would have pointed out the exterior faults in the pitch 

 of the roof, form of the windows and doors, and defects in the 

 placing of the ornaments in the structure to which we allude ; 

 and the stags' heads and the arms, instead of being deformities 

 as they now are, would have been appropriate ornaments : and 

 all this, Avith the exception of the architect's fee, at no greater 

 exjDcnse than has been incurred. 



At Torrington we called at Mr. Fowler's, the author of the 

 Thermosiphon, a pamphlet on heating by hot water on the 

 siphon principle, reviewed in our Volume for 1829, p. 453. 

 Mr. Fowler, who was a banker and bookseller, was too ill to be 

 able to see us, and is since dead. 



In going from Torrington to see the inclined plane on the 

 RoUe Canal, we looked down upon Ware Gifford, Lord For- 

 tescue, and on Cross House, Mrs. Stephens, both situated in a 

 rich valley. The EoUe Canal, and the various works connected 

 with it, must have greatly benefited Torrington and the neigh- 

 bourhood, and they do honour to the memory of Lord Rolle. 



We have now noticed most of the gentlemen's seats which 

 we saw in Devonshire, very briefly and imperfectly, from having 

 taken no notes, and from having delayed to put down our re- 

 collections before most of them had escaped from our memory. 

 Their brevity, however, is perhaps an advantage, because, if they 

 had been much longer, we could not have found room for them. 

 Before closing this article we shall notice the general impres- 

 sions made on us by the face of the country and its agriculture, 

 and by the labourers' cottages. 



Roads. — The greater part of Devonshire, more particularly 

 of the south part, seemed very badly arranged in respect to 

 parish roads. Owing to the small size of the fields the roads 

 are far too numerous, and it is to the same cause that we must 

 attribute their circuitous direction and their narrowness. We 

 have already noticed the high hedge banks which accompany 

 these roads, and j)revent the traveller from seeing into the 

 fields except when he comes to a gateway. We feel confident 



