86 JOUENAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Charles, was sold by Parliament to John Spencer, on behalf of Colonel 

 H,arrison's regiment of Dragoons, on whom it was settled for their 

 pay. The price paid for the park was £13,215 6s. 8d., including £130 

 for 124 head of deer, and £1774 8s. for the timber. There are many 

 quaint and old illustrations, including one of an execution at Tybourne 

 about 1630. Very few people are aware that the Eoyal Toxophilite 

 Society has its headquarters in Eegent's Park, with over six acres of 

 grounds. It is interesting to know that it possesses probably the most 

 unique collection of bows and arrows in existence, including a. case of 

 Chinese bows and arrows from the tombs, dated B.C. 2600. The Zoo- 

 logical Society acquired their grounds in Eegent's Park in 1828, 

 and nearly in the centre of the park are the gardens of the Eoyal 

 Botanic Society, once famous for their beauty and their magnificent 

 Horticultural Shows. Barrow Tlill is now known as Primrose Hill, 

 and Mr. Webster has collected 'a tremendous quantity of information 

 on the ancient doings at this place ; among other things it appears to 

 have been a favourite neighbourhood for settling affairs of honour. 

 Not content with the antiquities and history, the author deals with the 

 fungi, bird and animal life, the entomology and the flora of the Park 

 and Primrose Hill, all full of interest to the naturalist. The book is 

 boldly printed, and contains many old illustrations and a good index. 

 It is written in such a fascinating style that one wishes not to lay it 

 aside till it is finished. 



" Garden Design in Theory and Practice." By Madeline Agar. 

 8vo. 272 pp. (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1911.) 7s. 6^^. net. 



We commend the authoress for omitting everything in the way 

 of cultivation, lists of things to plant on various soils, &c. The book 

 is all the more useful through treating on garden design only, but when 

 she says the art of design in the garden has deteriorated, we feel 

 inclined to differ. Very few new gardens are made of such colossal 

 and noble design as some of a century or more ago — such, for instance, 

 as Chatsworth, Alton Towers, Belvoir, and many other notable gar- 

 dens — but if the occasion arose for the design of such imposing 

 places, we feel sure the design would be as artistic as any of the 

 famous gardens in existence. As regards the instruction on how to 

 make a garden we have nothing but praise, and although we 

 have no national style of garden, we think this is one of the greatest 

 charms of British gardens ; all are so different, scarcely one being a 

 repetition of the other, individual taste and environment both playing 

 a very important part in the design. On page 35 an illustration is 

 given of a French garden, with its strict formality of straight paths, 

 and everything to match ; a style that will appeal to very few now, 

 although in some places it would be quite in keeping with the archi- 

 tecture of the mansion. There is a capital illustration on page 123 

 of a formal garden at West Hall, Byfleet, Surrey, enclosed by yew 

 hedges, ^nd adjoining the Hall itself. In such instances good taste 

 is at once apparent, but to put such a garden in grass would be 



