March 3, 18G3. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



167 



think their poor nerves get a shook from which it is Tery diffi- 

 cult to recover them. They ought, ono would think, to be pro- 

 vided with some better place of sojourn than a cold draughty 

 corridor at the sunless side of the gardens. — D., Deal. 



DO OUR SOILS DECEEASE IN FERTILITY? 



Your correspondent " J." says, in his essay entitled as above, 

 that Fleta records in the year 1290, or thereabouts, that six 

 bushels of Wheat were the produce per acre (vide Fleta, ii., 

 cap. 8) ; but he ought also to state on sure authority what 

 was the oapacity of a bushel in Fleta's time, or is the word 

 properly translated bushel? — N. 



[Fleta says, that the English penny shall weigh 32 grains of 

 Wneat taken from the middle of the ear ; that 20 pennies shall 

 make an ounce ; that 12 ounces shall make a pound ; that 

 8 pounds of Wheat shall make a gallon, and 8 gallons shall 

 make a London bushel (Bussellum), which is the eighth part of 

 a quarter. — {Fleta, lib. ii., c. 12, §. 1). In fact, the above quan- 

 tities were enacted in 1267 by statute 51 Henry III.] 



A FEW DAYS IN IEELAND. 



STBAFJAX HOUSE. 

 On leaving the princely magnificence of Carton, a beautiful 

 drive brought us to Maynooth, and right opposite the gates of 

 the celebrated College. Years ago we had seen the plans of the 

 building, and had so read of the internal arrangements, and the 

 systems and rules carried out in the instruction and manage- 

 ment of such a number of students, that we seemed to look on 

 a place with which we were somewhat familiar, and, therefore, 

 regretted the less our inability to stroll through its more public 

 premises. On the left of the entrance is situated the picturesque 

 church, and on the right the romantic ruins of the castle of the 

 Fitzgeralds, which was built by John, Bixth Earl of Kildare, in 

 1426. The ca9tle was besieged in the time of Henry VIII. by 

 Sir William Brereton, and so great was its strength and the 

 bravery of its defenders, that the besiegers might have besieged 

 in vain, but for the treachery of an adherent within, more in- 

 fluenced by Saxon gold than Celtic honour. Abhorring, as we 

 do, the wildness and extravagance of Lynch law, yet we could 

 not but feel that the betrayer met with a fitting retribution. 

 He had cautiously stipulated for a money recompense, but not 

 for personal safety; and the General, though profiting by the 

 treachery, showed his sense of the wrong by first paying the 

 man the sum agreed upon, and then ordering him to be hung. 



The massive keep and ruins are now densely clothed with 

 Ivy, as if for the purpose, as Irishmen will tell you, of conceal- 

 ing the ugly holes made by Cromwell. Almost every nation has 

 its hero and its demon — the man for whom no praise or adula- 

 tion can be too great, and the man whose memory is looked 

 upon as the incarnation of all that is bad and mischievous. 

 Cromwell, no doubt, is the great demon of the past in Ireland, 

 so far as devastations and ruins are concerned. There seemed 

 to be no clear idea of the definite Cromwell. He might be the 

 Cromwell of the Commonwealth, or the Thomas Cromwell, Earl 

 of Essex, Secretary of State to Henry VIII., and under whose 

 instructions General Brereton, no doubt, acted in the case of 

 the above siege, and who, whatever his faults, stood nobly by 

 Cardinal Wolsey when every other friend forsook him, when 

 he lost favour and influence with the fickle and ungrateful king. 

 Both Cromwells had so much to do with carnage, pillage, and 

 devastation, that we may well excuse the country people making 

 one Cromwell of the two, and hissing out the name as they 

 passed an old battered ruin in terms far from complimentary. 



Convinced that we have given more than enough of our 

 attention in the times that are past to something akin to worship 

 of warrior heroes, and paid too much veneration to concentrated 

 energy and mere physical power, it is delightful to find, prompted 

 by whatever cause, great numbers of our brethren turning away 

 from such idolatry, and giving more of the homage of their 

 hearts to the beneficent powers of goodness, intelligence, and 

 useful industry. It was, therefore, with a sense of relief that we 

 passed these ruins aDd the remains of another castle on the hill 

 of Rathcoffey in such a fine imposing position ; crosBed the 

 grand canal and the railway for Galway, looked from the hill of 

 Windergates to the rich pastures of Meath in the distance, and 

 now come to the well-cultivated lands of Mr. Barton, which 



here join thoso of the Duke of Leinster, and anon reach the 

 village of Straffan, with its neat cottages, handsome places of 

 worship for Catholics and Protestants, and its flourishing national 

 schools for boys and girls, all speaking of intellectual advance- 

 ment, social progress, agricultural improvement, and national 

 prosperity— themes far more interesting for discussion and con- 

 verse, and a thousand times more instructive, than any arousing 

 of the feelings of prejudice and clanship by the keeping alive the 

 memory of the dark and wild deeds of the olden times. 



Straffan House, the noble residence of Nathaniel Barton, Esq., 

 and the Hon. Mrs. Barton, is about seventeen miles from Dublin 

 and two miles from the Straffan Station of the Great South- 

 western Railway. The estate is a very largo and compact one, 

 and, with the addition of what is let to over a hundred tenants, 

 Mr. Barton holds 1600 acres in his own hand, under the very 

 able management of his land steward, Mr. Littleboy. This is 

 again divided into four farms, one of which, the home farm, 

 with grass land, wood, kitchen garden, and pleasure grounds, eon- 

 tains about 300 acres, is bounded on one side by the river Liffey, 

 and on the other sides by a high substantial stone wall. We 

 heard Mr. Barton spoken of as fond of flowers, and the Hon. 

 Mrs. Barton as an enthusiastic gardener, who had the pleasure 

 and the privilege of having her ideas comprehended, discussed, 

 and reduced to practical development by Mr. Kelly, one of the 

 best, most indefatigable, industrious, and happiest of gardeners 

 we ever had the pleasure to meet with. Add to this, love of the 

 beautiful, the desire of the proprietors not merely to foster every 

 agricultural improvement, but to elevate the condition of the- 

 working people socially and morally by bettering their home- 

 steads and giving abundance of employment ; and two things 

 will at once be seen : First, that these proprietors are anxious to 

 act up to the responsibilities of property; and second, that the 

 results obtained demand a fuller and larger inspection, and more- 

 ample details than we could possibly give from our short visit. 



On passing the village we came to the neat lodge, with a noble 

 arch of Ivy over the gateway, and entered the well-kept approach, 

 18 feet in width. Passing at first through an old wood, then 

 through an open lawn, with specimen trees and Thorns studded 

 upon "it, and fine views of a hill planted in the distance, we 

 reach what seemed massive plantations of evergreens on the 

 left side, but which, on examination, proved to be temporary 

 shelter for groups of the finer and most-prized Conifers ; and 

 this, with other planting, conceals the kitchen garden and the 

 stables, until you reach the front lwn of the mansion on the- 

 right, backed by masses of timber. Note that from the entrance 

 gate to the entrance hall no obstruction of gate or hurdle was 

 met with, that even the mansion could scarcely be seen until 

 you came right up to it ; and thus none of the views from the 

 garden front could be observed unless from that Bide of the 

 building. Our first entrance was to the stable and coach-yard,- 

 close to the mansion, a large square, substantially built with 

 stone, and justly considered one of the best and most convenient 

 in Ireland. 



The mansion itself is finely situated on a shelving plattorm, 

 the ground rising behind the entrance front, and sloping from 

 the garden front to the river Liffey, which is about 400 yards 

 distant. The rich balustrading round the mansion gives it a 

 very elegant finished appearance, and the same may be said ol 

 its continuation round the new terraced and panel gardens. 

 From the windows in the garden front and from the upper 

 terraces fine views are obtained of the Wieklow mountains, and 

 near at hand of the hill of Lyons, and the woods and plantations 

 that adorn the residence of Lord Cloncurry. Bringing the eye 

 back for a near view there is spread out before it the series ot 

 terraces, sunk panels, and Box gardens, until, passing on to the 

 Liffey and its bright waters, it goes beyond, and rests on a large 

 extent of rich meadow land, on which numbers of sheep were 

 f-cding, and cattle up to their knees almOBt in herbage. f£> tb - 

 above and below there are fine picturesque views on the Lifley. 

 Here, to permit of the view, all is comparatively open ; but near 

 at hand is a nice island, which has been made the most of by 

 winding walks, a neat cottage in the centre, and a nice suspension 

 bridge for keeping up the communication with it and the mam 

 land. 



The plan of the main features of these new gardens was given, 

 we understood, by Mr. Howe, and reflect great credit on his 

 judgment and artistic taste. The carrying-out of those plans, 

 and finishing all in the best style, devolved upon our friend 

 Mr Kelly. Mr. Kelly's own account of it would be sure to be 

 that the Hon. Mrs. Barton did all the work, and he helped her. 



