January 27, 1863. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE, AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



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the union, Iunistioge 8ent two members to parliament. It was 

 deemed of so much importance a9 to be besieged by the soldiers 

 of Cromwell, and it possesses now the Ivy-clothed massive ruins 

 of an old castle, or, rather, oathedral, which is said to have been 

 built nearly nine hundred years ago. Close to these ruins, re- 

 minding one so forcibly of ancient times, the Catholic and 

 Protestant places of worship stand lovingly side by side. It is 

 no part of our duty to refer to the religious differences which 

 have exerted such a baneful inQuence upon Ireland ; it was a 

 much more pleasant thing to be delighted with proofs that the 

 largehearted kindliness of Christianity was undermining and 

 rooting-up the narrow-minded acerbities of sectarianism. Only 

 bring men, honestly holding different opinions, into friendly 

 -contact, and it is amazing how soon they will respectively find 

 muoh to admire in each other. We know little of the good 

 people of Innistioge ; but in noticing their clean and tidy 

 homesteads, and their apparent friendliness with each other, we 

 could not help thinking that these appearances might be some- 

 what owing to Catholics and Protestants worshipping the same 

 Creator within such a short distance of each other. We can 

 hardly imagine that, in such circumstances, pastors and people 

 could do otherwise than exchange the courtesies of Christian 

 charity. 



Such impressions, if existing, would be deepened by the mag- 

 nificent and beautiful surroundings. Nestled at the base of a 

 hill, the village is almost washed by what Spencer styled the 

 "grey waters of the stubborn Newre" (Nore), passing along 

 so languidly, unless when in flood, as somewhat to resemble 

 3 rippled lake. The river here is crossed by a fine level stone 

 bridge of ten arches ; and the whole of these arches and but- 

 tresses, &c, are so draped as at once to arrest attention, 

 fringed, as they are, with Polypodium vulgare and other Ferns, 

 wreathed with Ivy and Woodbine, and dressed-out with masses 

 of red Valerian. Above the bridge, on the opposite side of 

 the river, the land extends in rich pasture and arable fields ; 

 below the bridge, the hanks become more lofty and are clothed 

 with timber. On the village side the banks rise precipitously 

 from 100 to 200 feet in height, and are densely clothed with 

 trees, with long streamers and garlands of Ivy flaunting in 

 the richest luxuriance. Two islands are here situated in the river, 

 also clothed with trees, the branches kissing the water, and, in 

 their dark richness of foliage, contrasting charmingly with a 

 row of white Poplars on the farther bank, whilst the flowing 

 of the stream imparts a life-like reality to the whole. A turn 

 of the river takes it now out of our eight. A gate at the village, 

 however, admits to a fine carriage drive, between the margin 

 of the Nore and that picturesque bank going on to the Red 

 House, nearly two miles distant, the House and the drive being 

 alike open to visitors. 



A very steep ascent leads from the village to the entrance-gates 

 — so steep, indeed, that Col. Tighe generally sends horses to meet 

 the carriages of his friends. A walk almost equally steep winds 

 to the top of the bank referred to, continuing as beautiful 

 3haded pathways along its crest ; and, on looking back whilst 

 mounting the hid, the bridge, the river, its islands, and its 

 banks, present numberless points of interest fascinating to the 

 lover of beautiful combinations, and on which the eye of the 

 painter would delight to linger. 



Inside the park gates, the approach, nicely kept, winds amid 

 lawn and park scenery, backed by lofty masses of diversified 

 sylvan beauty. As groups in the park here, what we remember 

 moat vividly were numbers of fine-headed Hornbeam, &c, with 

 large, natural-swelling mounds of roots, forming massive pedi- 

 ments to the straight-columned boles, furnishing a fine lesson alike 

 of elegance and fitness to those who place a beautiful vase with 

 a handsome pedestal iu their garden, and then consider it neces- 

 sary to enhance the uniqueness of the colour by concealing its 

 base with a mound of flowers ! Groups of Scotch Firs, becoming 

 bonnet-headed from age, lent their charms to the picture. The 

 approach declines considerably to the entrance front, and thus 

 lessens the architectural dignity of that side of the mansion ; 

 but this disadvantage is greatly neutralised by a broad level plat- 

 form there, standing on which you think nothing of the descent 

 by the approach. 



With the above drawback, if drawback there be, no sooner do 

 we arrive at the garden front, which faces the south-east, than we 

 see at once in what a favourable and commanding position the 

 mansion is placed. The lawn and park already referred to 

 .gradually merge into the beautifully wooded hill of Mount Alto, 

 which rises 1400 feet above the level of the sea, and thus secures 



not only warmth and protection, but forms a splendid background 

 to one of the most beautiful and diversified of landscape pictures. 

 On the east side of the new balustraded gardens a large space 

 was being cleared for a new bowling-green, bounded by a minia- 

 ture winding lake, with Hydrangeas, pink and blue, and giant 

 Ferns drooping over its waters, and these backed again by trees 

 which join those on the crest of the bank, which here conceals all 

 traces of the river. Bringing the eye southwards, owing partly 

 to the falling nature of the ground it passes over a wide piece of 

 open lawn and a spacious glade, and taking in a long reach of 

 the river, rests on the old Castle of Cluen and the steep wooded 

 banks on the opposite side of the stream, until extending your 

 range it takes in a great extent of beautiful elevated country, 

 dotted with cottages and farms, terminating in the distant 

 mountains of Wexford. On going more westward, another glade, 

 but for its dying-out, would carry the eye to the point where 

 the water of the glen joins the river near the Red House, which 

 is a mile distant from the mansion. Between that glade and 

 a third is a lake of water in the foreground, which is so managed 

 that though of small size you might imagine it extended to great 

 dimensions in the massas of wood ; whilst the diversified foliage 

 of the Pine, the Oak, and the Maple, &c, as reflected from its 

 silver waters was very striking and pleasing. A great advantage 

 of such glades besides opening-up the scenery is, that they present 

 much of the charms of an avenue without any counterbalancing 

 stiffness. Further westward, and in a straight diagonal line from 

 the drawing-room windows, is the Araucaria-avenue backed on 

 each side by masses of timber. Westward of this new front 

 garden and north-ea9tward of the Araucaria-avenue, are clustered 

 what are most interesting in a gardening point of view at 

 Woodstock. 



A very imperfect examination of what had been done and was 

 doing sufficed to convince us of two facts : — First, that the 

 worthy proprietors of the demesne have a refined taste for the 

 rare and the beautiful, and liberally supported the means of 

 gratifying that taste ; and, secondly, that in the designing and 

 carrying-out the improvements that will make Woodstock every 

 year more interesting, they had been more than fortunate in 

 securing the services of a gardener who possesses the enthusiasm 

 of a poet, the eye of a painter, and the genius of the artist, 

 united to a practical acquaintance with the principles of archi- 

 tecture, as well as those having relation to the different depart- 

 ments of horticulture and landscape-gardening. Seldom, indeed, 

 do we find such a variety of work accomplished by one man and 

 all done in first-rate style ; and that, too, almost wholly, if not 

 entirely, with the help of the working men in the neighbourhood. 

 Though we cannot reach, we may well honour such talents, and 

 more especially as Mr. McDonald is another striking instance of 

 what can be accomplished by earnest self-denial and unremitting 

 self-culture. 



The mansion is a large, spacious, comfortable building ; but 

 until its exterior was improved it was plain rather than elegant. 

 A portion was still covered with lime harling, which is more 

 attractive at 'a distance than close at hand, and would never have 

 done in juxtaposition with the fine balustraded garden in front. 

 The massiveness of the walla of that garden, and the light elegant 

 granite appearance of the mansion now, are greatly owing to the 

 various treasures found in Mount Alto. We have already alluded 

 to the beauty of that lofty wooded hill, planted about forty 

 years ago by Colonel Tighe. Beautiful as it is externally, it is 

 just as singular in its geological formations, which have been 

 turned to good account in the new works. From this come the 

 fine granite, and the remarkable gravels of which we shall have 

 more to say. From the bed of the river to the top of the moun- 

 tain is chiefly the clay slate formation, along with schist and 

 quartz rock ; and at the sky line is seen the argillaceous schist 

 iu contact with the granite. At this line there are a hitch and 

 evidences of volcanic eruption, as may be readily observed by 

 the masses of granite at this elevation so isolated and thrown 

 out on the outside of the spur. The granite is of the finest 

 quality. We saw large steps of it in one slab, 15 feet long and 

 18 inches broad ; a much larger piece still was polished as a 

 garden-seat. It is different from Wicklow granite, and some of 

 it contains hornblende. In one part is a pecidiar kind, the 

 felspar of the deepest red colour, and in another part it is of a 

 pearly white. Both of these are used as gravels. The white 

 has also been largely used by Mr. McDonald for mixing with 

 Portland cement, to imitate building with granite. It is thus 

 that he had nearly finished giving to the mansion the appear- 

 ance of a noble structure of stone. The hit, or the discovery ot 



