582 Notes made dialing a Horticultural Tour 



Devonshire farmers, looking like a piece of patchwork, and 

 those of the Wiltshire and Hampshire farmers. The hedges in 

 Devonshire are the worst I have ever seen ; and in their im- 

 plements of labour, waggons, carts, wheelbarrows, spades, horse- 

 harness, ploughs, &c., they are many years behind us. How a 

 ploughman from the North would be surprised to see them 

 struggling to get along with three, or sometimes four, horses ; 

 so badly managed, that it appeared to me as though the horses 

 pulled in turn : as much as to say, I pulled last time, you must 

 pull this ! I saw, when walking with Mr. Barnes in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Bicton, four heavy oxen yoked to one plough in 

 the most primitive way I know, with wooden hames over their 

 necks ; the two leaders pulling by a chain. As might be 

 expected, when turning at the ends, they got their feet over the 

 chain ; and then, of course, they came to a stand-still, until the 

 assistant boy or man got it put to rights again. I found it was 

 of no use to try to persuade the person in charge of the plough 

 that two of his oxen were quite equal to do the work better 

 and quicker, in that beautiful sandy loam, than four. 



Tidicorth. — The house is situated in a bottom. It is a plain 

 substantial-looking building ; and would, I think, have looked 

 much better had it been built on the rising ground behind it. 

 There is a good architectural conservatory joined to the house. 



The plants are very well grown, very clean, and there was a 

 very good show of flowers, of the commoner sorts of green-house 

 plants. 



There is an extensive flower-garden, in the very highest order 

 and keeping ; well filled with flowers, and much enlarged since 

 Mr. Saunders has been there : if I recollect properly, it has 

 been relaid out by him. 



The kitchen-garden is large, and is kept in excellent order. 

 There are five vineries with excellent grapes. One house is 

 entirely planted with muscats of different sorts. The vines 

 are planted in a pit in the middle of the house ; arid, for the 

 time they have been planted, I never saw vines doing better, 

 both as regards a beautiful crop of grapes and the wood for 

 another season, which is both short-jointed and vigorous, and 

 bids well for a splendid crop next year. The vineries are each 

 40 ft. long by 15 ft. wide. There are two good pine stoves 

 40 ft. long by 15 ft. wide. The pines are well grown. There 

 were some very good fruit at the time I visited the place. 

 Mr. Smith told me himself that he had three pines on his table 

 at one time, last June, that Aveighed two stone. He walked 

 round the gardens with me himself, and through all his houses, 

 stables, &c. He seems to take a great delight in his forcing- 

 houses, stables, and dog-kennels. 



There are also two peach houses 40 ft. long by 15 ft. wide. 

 The peaches were nearly over when I was there ; but, from the 



