October 17, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



311 



we soon find we are in a park of no ordinary attractions. The 

 carriage road proceeds about midway along the face of a slope 

 of which the right or upper side rises gently for a considerable 

 distance, and is well clothed with trees in groups and planted 

 singly, while the ground on the left descends as gently to a 

 valley where there is a fine piece of ornamental water of such 

 length that as we proceed we lose sight of both ends. The 

 opposite side is wooded to the water's edge, concealing in a 

 great measure the corn fields and farm ground beyond. The 

 park is of great size ; I believe the drive from the lodge to the 

 mansion is fully a mile long in this direction, and is about as 

 long on the other side. Although the greatest inclination of the 

 ground is towards this piece of water, it is not without un- 

 dulation in other directions as well, for the carriage road in 

 its course has more than one descent and rise. 



A gentle curve of the drive to the right, ascending at the 

 same time, brings us to the mansion, which is situated on 

 somewhat high ground, or rather on a piece of table land, 

 which slopes gently away on the north side, the carriage 

 entrance being open to the park on the other side. The 

 mansion is a fine stone-built edifice (see accompanying illus- 

 tration), sufficiently embellished outwardly without being tco 

 much so, a fault we now and then see. The offices are 

 attached to it on the north side, and on the east a large 

 breadth of dressed ground is connected with it ; but what 

 may appear strange to your gardening readers is, that there- 

 is no flower garden. As the position of the mansion with 

 respect to its other surroundings does not afford room for 

 a flower garden close to the house, the proprietor, rightly 

 or wrongly I will not pretend to say, determined not to have- 



one ; but if scarlet Geraniums and the like be neglected, 

 trees and shrubs of value and importance are not, and some 

 fine Cedars of Lebanon of great size adorn the grounds, to 

 which are added other choice Conifers. I noticed several 

 fenced round in the park, and they will, doubtless, form a 

 feature there in course of time. The irregular incline of the 

 dressed ground, intersected as it is by walks, is also pretty. But 

 there cannot be a doubt that there is a certain baldness on the 

 south side of this north front. The immense expanse of lawn, 

 without a tree or shrub to break the monotony, is objection- 

 able, and I am glad to find from Mr. Budd, who, I am pleased 

 to see, has succeeded to the management of this important 

 place, that Mr. Leigh, whose devotion to horticulture and ap- 

 preciation of landscape scenery are worthy of imitation, has 

 decided upon introducing masses of shrubs and single trees, 

 which will effectually remedy all defects of this nature. The 

 further improvements which, by Mrs. Leigh's suggestions, and 

 the co-operation of Mr. Budd's practised experience in these 

 matters, are to be carried out, will when completed make the 

 pleasure grounds of Luton Hoo among the most attractive 

 and beautiful of any in the country. 



The kitchen garden and forcing houses are at some little 

 distance from the mansion, being close to the farm buildings 

 —not a bad place for a kitchen garden, as the dung in the yards 

 is accessible ; but here the whole assumed the character of a 

 village, a walled-in garden forming the back to a set of offices, 

 with an excellent gardener's house. The garden is large, and 



capable of supplying a numerous family. Outside the house 

 one could see that flowers were not altogether ignored, for 

 there were some good examples of ribbon borders, and there 

 was no lack of floral novelties. In walking round the kitchen 

 garden I noticed by the side of one of the walks a row of young 

 Apple or Pear trees, intended to be inarched into each other 

 in cordon fashion ; while on the walls and against espaliers- 

 were good crops of fruit for the year, and good vegetables in 

 the central quarters. Am ongst, the latter was a large breadth 

 of Onions, producing as good a crop as I have usually seen in 

 the best of seasons. I remarked this to a friend, when he 

 replied that we were in Bedfordshire, the noted home of the 

 Onion. Being anxious to see a little of the farm buildings, I 

 was reluctantly obliged to leave the garden, and being intro- 

 duced to Mr. Ross, the steward, the few minutes left of daylight 

 were devoted to a very hasty survey of this wonderful place. 



The farm buildings at Luton Hoo present one of the most 

 substantial features of the kind to be met 'with, occupying 

 several acres I believe ; and Mr. Ross, to whose extreme kind- 

 ness I owe what information I am able to give about them, 

 says there are as many as five steam engines, fixed and move- 

 able, besides from forty to fifty working horses. In the stack- 

 yard I counted ten stacks of hay, all full-sized ones. The 

 corn was stacked in the field. The buildings, such as the 

 cattle-sheds, stables, &c, were arranged like the streets of 

 a town, and the roads better than most towns are, not with 

 Hertfordshire flints, but with granite, as in London and other 



