578 GARDENS OF VARIOUS NATIONS. 



some with large grounds attached to them, whilst the dwelling- 

 houses of others were such magnificent buildings, that they some- 

 times covered more space than the grounds themselves, and whose 

 owners — as LucuUus — fell thereby under the chastisement of the 

 censors for having, as Pliny says, " more ground to sweep than to 

 plough." 



Besides the villa at Tusculum, Pliny had another situated at Lau- 

 rentinum, which was but a short distance from Rome, and was on 

 the sea-shore. To this a small garden was attached, consisting of 

 the xystus, " perfumed with violets," the kitchen garden, a gestatio, 

 a vineyard, and fish-ponds. Pliny had, beside these, several other 

 villas, two of which were situated on the Lake Como, one being 

 called his tragic and the other his comic villa. 



From the Elder Pliny we learn that pleasure-grounds, as well as 

 extensive fields and villas, existed in the city of Rome : and Csesar, 

 Pompey, LucuUus, and Sallust had gardens there. The one of Sallust 

 was on the Quirinal Hill, and was very extensive. Those belonging 

 to the Emperors Caracalla and Geta were of still greater extent, com- 

 prising amongst others those of Sallust, LucuUus, Agrippa, and 

 Domitian. Besides Rome, many other towns under the Roman 

 occupancy had large grounds attached to the houses of the wealthy 

 citizens ; among the more noted was Baise, which is on the Bay of 

 Naples, and which was the favourite place of resort for the Romans. 

 At Pompeii the houses had a kind of court called the peristylium^ 

 which was surrounded by pillars. On the walls were paintings repre- 

 senting trees and birds, and other objects appertaining to a real 



garden, In the middle of this court — which was open in the centre 



plants and shrubs were usually planted. Not unfrequently as in the 



case of the house of Meleager— it possessed also a beautiful fountain. 

 Besides these miniature gardens, some of the larger houses of Pompeii 

 had attached to them small cultivated plots of ground. The house 

 of Pansa had a garden of about loo feet long, and the one attached 

 to the villa of Diomedes was iii^ feet square, in the centre of which 

 was a fountain, and a colonnade surrounded the whole. 



