Report of Meetings for 1880, by James Hardy. 251 



Eain threatening, it was found impossible to prolong tbe 

 journey, as bad been intended, across the country ; a retreat 

 was tben made to inn, and four of the party were obliged to 

 leave. 



At length the rain cleared off, and the remaining few took ad- 

 vantage of Mr Leather's obliging offer of opening Middleton 

 Hall on the Club's behalf, but the time that remained barelj/ 

 sufficed for a hurried visit by conveyance. The private grounds 

 are beautifully laid out and embellished. The handsome house 

 is new, but is constructed on the site of an older residence. The 

 ribbon and bedding-out style of gardening is adopted, but there 

 is still a portion of perennial plants spared. No harm had been 

 done by the winter except to a climbing Oeanothus, on the front 

 of the house ; and the tea-roses had been blasted, but were 

 springing anew. There was a pretty little fernery. The showy 

 form of Lythrum appeared here again, and there were quantities 

 of the common throat- wort {Campanula latifolia). A rivulet is 

 conducted through the garden, and the walls that confine it are 

 prettily decked with ferns and saxifrages, springing out of the 

 interstices. Ctstoptens fragilis and Asplenmm Ruta-muraria were 

 flourishing. There was an excellent display of grapes and 

 peaches. The potatoes and peas were pronounced good. The 

 black currants had suffered much from Aphis, a general com- 

 plaint. 



A hasty survey was made of the principal apartments in the 

 house ; there were some rich carved mantlepieces and side-boards, 

 and valuable cabinets. The ceilings were superbly decorated 

 with geometrical designs. Some of the wood work was by 

 Signer Bulleti. Among the paintings was a very good view of 

 Bamburgh Castle, by our corresponding member, Mr T. H. Gibb, 

 Alnwick. 



The Library was rich in the county historians, including Hodg- 

 son's Northumberland, Surtees' History of Durham; Eaine's 

 North Durham ; and all Mackenzie's Histories of Northumber- 

 land, Durham, and Newcastle, fully illustrated and increased to 

 double their size ; a good copy of Bewick's Birds ; and a third 

 edition of Shakespeare, 1664. 



In the lathe room were three iron-bullets ; one large and one 

 small, had been extracted from the wreck of the old house when 

 taken down ; the other a small one was from Holburn. There 



If 



