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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ September 29, 1870. 



he does not know what he has to exhibit ? I should like also 

 to see more classes open to amateurB. 



I have made these remarks as one who takes an interest in 

 the welfare of the Society, and I hope the Counc]l will receive 

 them as such. — Amateur. 



CAPEL MANOR, HORSEMONDEN, KENT. 



Capel Manor is a commodious edifice in what is called the 

 Lombardic style of architecture, situated midway on the slope 

 of a gentle eminence facing the east, in the picturesque parish 

 of Horsemonden, five or six miles from the Paddock Wood 

 Station, on the South-Eastern Ruilway. The surrounding 

 country presents a series of undulations, all available for 

 tillage, but sufficiently elevated to afford commanding sites for 

 dwellings without bleakness, being well wooded, and for miles 

 having a clothed appearance. r Perhaps nowhere are Hops and 

 fruit trees more industriously attended to, and with more suc- 

 cessful results. The gentle hills and smiling valleys teem with 

 vegetable life, exposed to no smoke from factory chimneys ; for 

 although report says the iron of the railing round St. Paul's 

 Cathedral was smelted in an adjoining parish, the furnaces 

 that supplied it have long since passed away, and bo has the ma- 

 nufactory of woollen cloth, for which the village of Horaemon- 

 den was at one time famous. The cultivation of the ground 

 has been all the more actively engaged in, the nature of the soil 

 and the undulating character of the country being favourable. 

 The district contrasts strongly with the level tract of land to 

 the north of it, forming what is called the Weald of Kent ; the 

 high ground of the parishes of Horsenden, Goudhurst, Cran- 

 brook, and Frittenden overlooking this flat on the one side, as 

 the high ridge of hills forming the Coxheath range does on the 

 other ; and it is partly owiog to this cause that from the tower 

 of Goudhurst church, although the village is situated at no 

 great elevation, it is said fifty-two other churches may be seen, 

 and possibly no village within this range of view contains five 

 hundred inhabitants. 



Only eleven years ago the site of the mansion and grounds 

 was a wood and meadow, but so well adapted is the soil to the 

 growth of shrubs and trees, and so carefully have they been 

 planted and tended, that the place presents a clothed appearance 

 already. One circumstance, no doubt, contributed to this 

 result — there were plenty of large Oak and other trees about 

 the mansion and its surroundings, as well as in the park, so 

 that these essential features were already provided, for al- 

 though the place is quite new, it is very near the site of a very 

 old residence that used to be the home of the ancestors of the 

 present proprietor, — Austen, Esq. With laudable consider- 

 ation the park and adjacent fields had never been denuded of 

 their timber, as so many estates were about the beginning of 

 the present century, when oak commanded so high a price, 

 consequently the park is amply, nay, profusely, furnished with 

 trees of all sizes. 



The mansion is built of a light-coloured sandstone found in 

 the neighbourhood, with stone of another sort for dressings, 

 and its cleanliness contrasts well with the healthy herbage by 

 which it is surrounded. The carriage front facea the north- 

 east, while the south-eastern and south-western sides are garden 

 fronts, the offices being on the other side. Situated on a de- 

 clivity facing the south-east a terrace runs along that side with 

 an enriched architectural retaining wall and parapet, while 

 below is a large basin of water, with some beds edged with 

 stone on a spacious gravelled area, contrasting strongly with 

 the cramped arrangements of some gardens of a like kind, 

 where the design would seem to be to get as much as pos- 

 sible into the smallest space. Suitable flights of steps lead 

 down from the upper terrace, while below, the dressed grounds 

 extend some distance as shrubbery, intersected by walks con- 

 forming to the inclination of the ground. A summer-house 

 forms a termination to one of the walks in this quarter. On 

 the south-west side the ground is more on a level with the base 

 of the mansion, and a flower garden on turf is suitably placed 

 there, as well as a very neat conservatory upwards of 70 feet 

 long by about 28 feet wide. This adjoins the mansion, and is 

 well clothed with climbers in robust health ; amongst them I 

 noticed a fine plant of Lapageria rosea blooming profusely. 

 Passiflora Buonapartea was in excellent health, and was said to 

 have bloomed well, while a Thibaudia growing against one of 

 the ends of the building presented several clusters of its tubular 

 flowers in great profusion. The shelves and central bed were 

 well filled with healthy flowering and fine-foliaged plants, and 

 presented a gay and interesting appearance, meeting the 



climbers from the roof, and showing a high state of cultivation. 

 Encaustic tiles formed the pathway, which had a stone kerb, 

 and the workmanship of the whole building was of the best 

 description. I believe Mr. Ormson erected it, as well as the 

 other forcing houses which will be described hereafter. 



The dressed grounds are very extensive, and differ from 

 those at many places of a like kind, the walks being in most 

 instances straight and pointing to some object either placed 

 there to form a suitable terminus, or directed to some feature 

 in the distance. The picturesque village of Goudhurst, about 

 two miles off, was brought into view, while a summer-house 

 formed a suitable termination at another place. Most of the 

 walks diverging from the principal ones were also at right 

 angles, thereby dividing the ground into a series of squares and 

 parallelograms, one of which had been devoted to that which 

 has now become an important appendage to most country 

 houses, a croquet ground. Beds of Tea and other Roses in 

 excellent health, with abundance of flowerB even at the time 

 of my visit (the end of August), were also met with at vari- 

 ous turnings, while the choicest Pinuses had suitable posi- 

 tions, and some steep banks and other inequalities were well 

 clothed with shrubs of various kinds, amongst which I noticed 

 Escallonia macrantha luxuriating almost as well as a Laurus- 

 tinus, while trained against the mansion Magnolia grandiflora 

 was flowering. On a prepared border near the conservatory 

 a large bed, or rather bank, of the best varieties of Rhodo- 

 dendrons must present a gorgeous sight when in bloom. 

 These sbrubs, it must be observed, were here and there backed 

 by good old Oak or other trees, and the rear of the mansion 

 was well sheltered by trees on still higher ground, giving the 

 whole an appearance of snugness. 



The kitchen garden and forcing houses also lay in this di- 

 rection. The garden proper is surrounded by good walls well 

 covered with fruit trees bearing luxuriant crops. The Peaches, 

 Nectarines, and Plums could not well be excelled, and the 

 same may be said of some Morello Cherries on a north wall. 

 Accompanying the latter was a late table Cherry, which Mr. 

 Seale, the gardener, said he believed was a Late Duke Cherry 

 of some kind. Outside the garden was more than the ordinary 

 amount of slip, for the space far exceeded that enclosed by the 

 walls, and was devoted to the growth of hardy fruits and oom- 

 mon vegetables. Very heavy crops of Plums, Pears, and Apples 

 on standard trees eight or nine years old, proved how well the 

 situation and treatment suited them. 



In the hothouses heavy crops of most excellent Grapes were 

 grown ; the varieties were Black Hambnrghs, Muscat Ham- 

 burghs, and White Muscats, remarkably fine for size of berry. 

 The stems of the Vines showed a sturdiness of growth rarely 

 met with in plants so young, while the foliage was not at all 

 large, confirming what I have before advanced, that size of 

 leaf alone is not the criterion of the Vine's doing well. The 

 fruit from the early house had been mostly gathered, but an 

 abundant crop was coming on in a later house. A Fig-house 

 had also yielded well, and the trees were showing a second 

 crop. The walls were everywhere closely covered with healthy 

 fruitful trees, and the interior of the garden showed, by the 

 abundant crops of vegetables, that the soil and its management 

 had been such as to successfully combat the very dry season. 

 Even Peas were in bearing, although much attacked by birds, 

 which threatened to destroy that crop. 



As the natural character of the soil has always much to do 

 with the well-being of every crop, the worthy proprietor of 

 Capel Manor and his energetic gardener have been fortunate 

 in this respect ; but the soil is one not easily described, unless 

 the equivocal term of a stiff sand be applicable, for it was of 

 that character — a light-coloured material free from stones, but 

 not so porous that water would not stand upon it when it was 

 kneaded together. Underneath was the sandstone of which 

 the mansion and other buildings were constructed. This soil, I 

 feel convinced from what I saw, is more conducive to the well- 

 doing of the Vine than so much lime rubbish as is advocated 

 by many, and although pale-coloured I believe it contains 

 iron, for at a short distance from the garden the bod of a little 

 streamlet exhibited a bright red incrustation. The soil of the 

 kitchen garden, as well as of most parts of the pleasure grounds, 

 was also of good depth. The latter, however, had mostly 

 been disturbed, so that the original surface was only to be 

 guessed at; however, I may state that Rhododendrons seemed 

 to thrive tolerably well in it, although not bo well as in some 

 borders made for them by an admixture of bog peat from * 

 swamp in the park. This class of soil pervades much of the 

 district to the eastward of Tonbridge Wells, as well as around 



