58 



JOtTKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ August 2, 1864. 



care and attention to be bestowed that much more might be 

 effected. — D., Deal. 



P.S. — The following will give an idea of what can be done 

 in a wild country by a patriotic landlord, such as Lord 

 George Hill: — 



State of Gwekdobe in the 

 Ybae 1856. 

 Roads and bridges numerous, and in 

 excellent condition. 



State of Gweeuoke in the 

 Tear 1838. 

 The roads and bridges in existence 

 at this period lew and scarcely 

 passable. 

 No carts used. 

 The land held in common, or rundale. 



Constant quarrels and litigation as to 



trespass. 

 No progress in agriculture. 



No post-office nearer than ten miles. 



A very primitive corn mill, neither 

 capable of .cleaning the corn, nor 

 of sifting the meal ; and none su- 

 perior to it within thirty miles. 



No baker, nor bread sold within ten 

 miles. 



No market for produce. 



Nothing like a shop in the district. 



No medical man or dispensary within 



ten miles. 

 No Protestant church, btirying- 



ground, or clergyman within ten 



miles. 



Only three houses in which lime had 

 in some measure been used in the 

 building; others all dry masonry, 

 or stones laid in mud. 



No hay could be purchased nearer 

 than twelve miles. 



No inn, or decent house, in this part 

 of the country, in which a person 

 could put up for the night. 



But little butter fit to eat, and in 



small crocks. 

 Not a boat-pier on the coast. 



Anchorage under Gola Island and in 

 Gweedore Bay unknown. 



No trade or home manufacture. 



Kent irregularly paid, and difficult 

 to collect: amounting to about 

 £500 o 



Arrears upon the property, £1000. 



The good-will or tenant right re- 

 ceived by those who sell their farms 

 varies from fifteen to thirty years' 

 purchase. 



Thirty-two carte. 



Almost every tenant has his farm to 

 himself. In 1841-43 the estate was 

 surveyed, valued, mapped, and the 

 farms divided. 



Petty sessions every fortnight, and 

 very little business. 



600 acres reclaimed c-ince the land 

 was divided into farms. Flai, 

 Turnip, Clover, and Grass seeds 

 sown in small quantities. 



Three post-offices, and a daily mail 

 car, in the Gweedore District. 



A first-rate corn mill, with kiln at- 

 tached. This mill, which was com- 

 pleted the year of the famine, 

 worked then night and day, and 

 ground 6SS tons of Indian corn. 



An excellent baker, whose sales 

 amount to upwards of £200 annu- 

 ally. 



A large corn store, at which more 

 than 130 tons of oats were pur- 

 chased last year for exportation, 

 and to which eggs, hides, fish, 

 butter, and kelp, are brought in 

 large quantities. 



An extensive shop, at which all 

 necessaries can ue purchased at a 

 reasonable price. 



Dispensary, and weekly attendance 

 of a medical man. 



A school-house, licensed for Divine 

 service (congregation averaging 

 fifty persons) a Protestant burying- 

 ground, and a resident clergyman. 



More than 250 houses, in which more 

 or less lime and whitewash have 

 been employed. 



Model farm at the Gweedore Hotel, 

 producing from 50 to 60 tons of bay. 



Gweedore Hotel, much frequented by 

 tourists, and from which the mail 

 car starts every morning at 10 a,m., 

 and returns at 3 p.m. 



Good market butter, put into wooden 

 vessels. 



Quay and landing-place at Bunbeg 

 for vessels of 150 tons. 



Vessels can now be chartered for 

 Bunbeg and Gweedore from any 

 other port; and the anchorage is 

 properly buoyed. 



Kelp i3 shipped from Bunbeg. In 

 1854, Gweedore hand-knit socks 

 and stockings were sold to the 

 amount of £600; and in 1855 to 

 the amount of £500, during the 

 Crimean war. 



Rent regularly paid. 



Arrears under £10. 



The amount given for the good-will 



of a farm is upon the increase, the 



competition lor land being very 



great. 

 No of cattle belonging to) 17fin , - 



tenants, about / UM uead ' 



No. of sheep belonging^ , 0QO 



to tenants, above ...J M 



No. of horses belonging^ „,,,. 



to tenants, about ...) 6 " 



It is a remarkable fact that there is scarcely any decrease 

 in the population of the district since the famine in 1846. 



to be changed every day, or once in two days at the farthest, 

 and a thin slice should be cleanly cut off from the end of 

 each stalk every time the water is changed, which will revive 

 the flowers. A glass shade preserves them remarkably.— 

 (Farmer and Mechanic.) 



Nosegays.' — Flowers should not be cut during sunshine 

 or kept exposed to it afterwards ; neither should they be 

 kept in large bundles and tied tightly together, as this 

 invariably hastens their decay. When in the room in which 

 they are to remain, the ends of the stalks should be cut 

 clean across with a very sharp knife (never with scissors), 

 by which means the tubes through which they draw the 

 water are left open, so that the water ascends freely, which 

 it will not do if the stems are bruised or lacerated. The 

 stalks should be inserted in pure water. This water ought 



"WATER AS AN ORNAMENTAL FEATURE. 



Water ! — clear and sparkling water ! — what pleasing ideas 

 are conjured up by its name, more especially in the hot dry 

 weather of the dog days ! And the sun-scorched mariner, 

 ever and anon becalmed under the broiling sun of the tropics, 

 with but a very limited allowance of this fluid in a state fit 

 for his use, recalls to memory the sparkling streams of his 

 native country. The poetical allusions so often met with in 

 Holy Writ, place " streams of water " as the most important 

 features of those lands having more than an ordinary share- 

 of Nature's blessings ; and in all countries water is esteemed 

 one of the greatest boons. Many an arid waste owes its 

 barrenness to the absence of this all-important fertiliser; 

 while in districts where its amount is inadequate to the- 

 wants of the inhabitants very lamentable results are the 

 consequence. The infant soon learns to dabble in water; 

 in childhood the edge of a pond, river, or canal seems 

 to be possessed of irresistible charms ; and at a more ad- 

 vanced age the ocean receives its share of patronage from 

 the more adventurous, while those less disposed to travel 

 may often be met with in groups looking earnestly and 

 steadfastly at every sheet of water they meet with. A soli- 

 tary passenger rarely crosses over a bridge without looking 

 over its side to have a peep at the stream below. Journies 

 of scores, nay, hundreds of miles, are often taken to get a 

 sight of some of those noble sheets of inland water with 

 which our own and some other countries are blessed; and 

 the purse of the affluent has often been widely opened to- 

 form some artificial feature in water. Indeed, it seems to 

 be an element closely blended with all our ideas of what is 

 beautiful. 



In many places of the highest note water forms an object 

 of the greatest possible importance, and next if not quite 

 equal to shrubs and trees. The value of water may also be 

 easily understood by the careful way in which it is econo- 

 mised. In most places of note water is made visible in. 

 some form. If a stream cannot be commanded a piece of 

 still water is made to do duty ; and now and then highly 

 ornamented or elaborate works of art are devoted to its 

 reception, but even without the aid of these it is at all 

 times attractive, even in its simplest form. Let a visitor to- 

 Hampton Court but take the trouble to ascertain whether 

 any portion of the beautiful grounds receives more attention 

 than the circular basin of water with its gold fish. AH 

 classes seem to delight in gazing on the glassy or rippled 

 surface of water wherever it may exist, be it as a noble river,, 

 a running brook, or a placid pond. 



Water, therefore, may be regarded as a universal favourite j 

 and considering that it is of such importance to the well- 

 being of the community, we need not be surprised at now 

 and then hearing of disputes where it is misapplied or its 

 purity destroyed. Pure water is now admitted to be of as 

 much consequence to the public as pure air. Its uses, how- 

 ever, for ornamental purposes in gardens are those to which 

 I chiefly intend to confine myself, and I must pass over 

 topics such as the above as being out of plac,e. 



Water being so essential a feature in all dressed grounds, 

 there are few places where its introduction, at whatever 

 cost, is not desirable, not only for its own sake but also for 

 the display of the works of the architect and sculptor, and 

 which otherwise it might not be possible to bring in with 

 propriety. How much the noble gardens at the Crystal 

 Palace would lose in public estimation if deprived of their 

 fountain ! Not less important are the cascades and foun- 

 tains at Chatsworth ; while the silvery Thames lends its aid 

 to the noble grounds at Cliveden. Kew is perhaps less 

 blessed with water than most public gardens, but the Thames 

 runs by it, and a sheet of water forms a foreground to the 

 view in one direction from the large Palm-house; lakes and 

 borrowed streams are doing duty of a like kind in hundreds 

 of other places. 



Water as a feature in the landscape is so much valued that 



