498 Maxwellheugh and Springwood Park, by James Tait. 



The garden is also well laid out, and is kept in excellent 

 order. Much improvement has been made on Springwood 

 Park by Sir George, whose taste for forestry and landscape 

 gardening, is of a most refined nature. Any one visiting 

 the grounds at the present time, after an absence of a number 

 of years, could not fail to be struck with the magnitude 

 as well as the beauty of the various alterations. The policy 

 grounds have undergone considerable changes. Approaches 

 have been altered, new walks made, views opened up, trees 

 thinned, and others planted with the view of giving a pleas- 

 ing contrast to foliage and outline, while old hedges have 

 been rooted out and replaced by handsome iron railings. 

 The green walk to the mausoleum is a most imposing sight, 

 — the magnificent hedge of yews on either side presenting 

 a fine effect. The shrubberies are very extensive. The 

 laurels are annually cut down to about four or five feet, and 

 the flowering shrubs, yews, hollies, arbor- vita?, &c, rise up 

 among the trees, and at all seasons, from their symmetry 

 and varied hues, have a pleasing appearance — the result of 

 judicious thinning and planting which Sir George has for 

 years carried out. There are many fine trees in the shrub- 

 bery, such as beeches, variegated oaks, variegated planes, 

 golden, silver, and entire leaved ashes, weeping elms, maples, 

 Turkey oaks, . and cedars of Lebanon, one of which latter, 

 though still a young tree, measures 6^ feet in girth, at four 

 feet from the ground. There is also a larch 8^ feet in girth 

 at four feet from the ground, and at five feet, a plane 

 measures 13 feet round. There are also birches, service 

 trees, cut leaved alders, walnuts, chestnuts and a beautiful 

 fern-leaved beech. 



In the park are several trees worthy of notice, though the 

 high gale in the early part of last year did great damage 

 to many. In Maxwell Park two fine old wych elms were 

 greatly mutilated ; their girths are at four feet from the 

 ground, respectively 13 feet and 16 feet. There is another 

 splendid tree of the same sort on the south side of the east 

 approach, the bole measuring 13 feet in circumference. 



There is an interesting young wych elm on the north side 

 of the east approach, being a shoot of the famous trysting tree 

 which stood at Friars, on the opposite side of the Teviot. 

 The famous poplar at Maxwellheugh, (Populus monilifera,) 

 is also deserving of notice. Ten years ago it measured 90 



