October 31, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



317 



form their functions. The cones are borne singly upon the 

 branches of the two-forked flower-stalks, which are set round 

 the edge of the expanded portion of the main axis. They are 



of a bright red colour in their natural state, and about the 

 size of a Date. Several specimens of this interesting plant 

 can be seen in the museum of preserved woods at Kew. 



STONELEIGH ABBEY, The Besidence of Lord Leigh. 



The poetic feelings with which the people of most countries 

 regard a favourite river are likely to go down to all time. 

 The German emigrant melts into tears on hearing in a foreign 

 country the songs of his fatherland in which the all-important 



Rhine bears a part, while the Hindoo regards his Ganges with 

 the greatest veneration, and the poor oppressed Egyptian his 

 Nile, the latter, perhaps, more on account of the benefits it 

 confers than from the higher feelings inspired by song. Such , 



Stoneleigb. Abbey. 



however, is not the case with some of the streams in our 

 country. Our northern neighbours have their Tweed and Clyde, 

 the first-named, especially, has been the theme of song and 

 romance through many centuries; while in England who is 

 there that is not proud of the Avon, rendered immortal by the 

 bard whose works are read in every land where English is 

 spoken ? Though in point of importance as a river containing 

 a large volume of water, or traversing a district full of romantic 

 beauty, the Avon has no particular claim to notice, yet the soft 

 and sylvan beauty of the country it passes through, presenting 

 rich meadows and shady woods, few rivers can excel it. Rising 

 in what may be called the watershed or backbone of England, it 

 meanders through large tracts of that high table land which 

 constitutes the centre of the kingdom, passing in its course 

 southward to where it joins the Severn many place of note, 

 amongst others that which forms the subject of the present 

 notice. 



Stoneleigh Abbey, the palatial residence of Lord Leigh, is 

 one of the largest and finest mansions our country can boast 

 of, and, as its name implies, occupies the site of an ancient 

 religious edifice, the only relics of which that now remain 

 being a gateway and adjoining buildings, converted into a 

 dwelling for Mr. Elworthy, the gardener. This is within a 

 stone's throw of the main building, and forms the entrance 

 through which carriages pass to the mansion. A noble and 

 capacious arch it is, of the period when so much that we 

 ought to be proud of was erected in the various parts of our 

 land, more especially by the religious orders, which exercised 

 such great influence. Internally, I believe, the building occu- 

 pied by Mr. Elworthy has been modernised. The windows 



retain their original form, and the whole is covered with Ivy, 

 giving an appropriate character to a building that perhaps 

 some meddling hand of the last century might have deprived 

 of its antiquity by alteration. I could not, however, be sure 

 of this, as the dense coating of Ivy, than which nothing could 

 have been in better taste, covered all. I noticed with what 

 care the fragments of columns, carved capitals, corbels, and 

 other relics of the old edifice are preserved ; they were care- 

 fully arranged where they could be seen by the passer-by with- 

 out being obtrusively brought forward. 



The mansion, of which the accompanying is a representa- 

 tion, is large and commanding, and occupies a position in the 

 midst of a park of unusual size, rich in the quality of the 

 land and in the abundance of large and ancient trees. It is 

 watered by two streams, the Avon and the Sow, which, I 

 believe, unite in the park. Entering from the Kenilworth side, 

 the traveller on alighting at the station is directed by a foot- 

 path through fields, which eventually leads him into a wood 

 bordering the park, and it is here that we find evidences of 

 our being in the neighbourhood of the seat of a wealthy land- 

 owner ; for the footpath is not of that tortuous character 

 better fitted for poetry than comfort, and it is neatly gravelled, 

 besides being skirted on each side with evergreens. These are 

 Lam-els, and they looked well, and did not appear to have 

 suffered so much by the frosts we had four or five years ago 

 as others did in Kent at that time, while their presence in- 

 dicated that rabbits were not so much encouraged as at some 

 places. They must give a lively appearance to the woods in 

 winter, and as such shrubs are to be had at a very reasonable 

 rate, they might with advantage be planted in many places 



