Xovember 21, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



407 



house, and another in a secluded comer, were both gay with 

 floral beauty. One feature in the grounds ought not to be 

 omitted — namely, a mound of considerable size and elevation, 

 with a pathway ascending spirally to the top, where there is 

 an ornamental summer-house, whence beautiful views all round 

 can be obtained. Eastward the waving corn and rich grassy 

 plains that lie between Lytham and Preston could be dis- 

 tinctly seen ; to the south the broad estuary of the Ribble, 

 with the town of Southport on its southern shore, was clearly 

 shown, as was also the channel to the westward ; while north- ' 

 ward the trees nearly shut out the view. The formation of 

 this mound and its surmounting must have been a rather 

 formidable undertaking, where material for such work was not 

 to be had from a neighbouring elevation, but they add greatly | 



to the interest attached to such a place, and give relief to the 

 eye that may be weary of gazing on a flat surface. 



Walks through the wood connect the mansion and the ad- 

 joining pleasure ground with the kitchen garden, which, though 

 small, is surrounded by good walls, with broad outside slips on 

 all sides but that nest the dressed ground. The space being 

 too confined to allow of the introduction of flowers, a very 

 pretty effect was produced by grouping conical masses of 

 Scarlet Runner Beans between the newly-planted pyramid- 

 trained fruit trees that lined the sides of the main central 

 walk. The plan was this : A number of ordinary Scarlet 

 Runner stakes of 8 feet long or thereabouts were set in a 

 circle a yard or so in diameter, and their tops all tied to a 

 wire hoop of, perhaps, less than a foot in diameter, about a 



Lytliam Hall. 



dozen such stakes forming a cone. Against these cones the 

 Scarlet Runners were planted, and at the time of my visit 

 they looked well, alternating as they did with a fruit tree that 

 was intended to assume the same shape. These trees, too, I 

 observed were perfectly free from every appearance of lichen, 

 and Mr. Shepherd said he had not perceived any upon old 

 timber trees about, thus confirming a view I took some time 

 ago in an essay on the management of Kentish orchards , that 

 salt, or the strong sea air, was unfavourable to the production 

 of moss and lichen. Vegetables of most kinds were thriving, 

 but Mr. Shepherd said that last year, which was dry, was not 

 favourable to vegetable crops, but that with plenty of rain 

 everything throve, especially root crops. The Cabbage tribe 

 does not succeed so well as some others, but stands the winter 

 better than at many places, and some fruit trees are evidently 

 not at home, while others are all that could be desired. 



In a range of houses good black Grapes were produced in 

 abundance, but Muscats, though good also, were evidently in 

 want of a firmer soil. I was afterwards told by a gardener in 



j the same county, that although the fine, dark-coloured, sandy 

 soil of west Lancashirejproduces excellent Grapes for a short 

 time, it soon wears out. Lytham is an extreme case ; the soil 



| is in a great measure sand, and has evidently at some time 

 been overflowed by the sea ; now it is very dry. However, 

 good Peaches are produced, and most kinds of vegetables are 

 also good, but Lettuce and the like become scarce during dry 

 weather. Withal, the ease with which such a soil may be 

 worked in all weathers is not without its advantages, and I 

 have no doubt many wish they had a portion of it in exchange 

 for as much stiff land. 



By the proprietor of Lytham Hall, an out-of-the-way fishing 

 village has been transformed into a fashionable watering place, 



; and the sandy plains of an uninteresting coast into park and 

 pleasure grounds, thus offering an example of how much well- 

 directed skill and perseverance can accomplish. — J. Robson. 



[Our view is copied from a photograph taken by Mr. J- 

 Wardley, photographer, Lytham.] 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



The Royal Horticultural Society's Country Exhibition 

 for 1873 is not to be held at the Park Farm, Bath, but in the 

 Royal Victoria Park, Bath, a most beautiful spot. 

 " A meeting of the General Committee for the recent Ex- 

 hibition oe the Royal Horticultural Society at Birmingham 



has been convened at the Great Western Hotel, this day, at 

 one o'clock, to receive the statement of accounts and wind up 

 the affairs of the Committee. The profit on the Exhibition 

 exceeds the sum of £2080. 

 Is the spring of 1871, Mr. Pearce, the master of the 



