106 
PARK AND VILLA SCENERY. 
surface, sufficient to carry a covering of ling ; but the subsoil, to a great extent at 
least, abounded with stiff and binding earth, congenial to the growth of the oak. 
Advantage was taken of these conditions ; and thus a noble woodland was created, 
which now extends over four or five hundred acres. The property, which, about 
thirty years ago, was in the midst of this heathy waste, is now in high perfection, 
and, in description, admits of three divisions. It is approached, on two sides, by 
well-formed, rather circuitous, carriage- drives, branching out from the high roads. 
The main approach is above a mile long, and is adorned by fine native trees, all 
planted in groups or masses. This mode of planting is peculiar, and evinces the 
taste of the contriver and executer, because it enabled him to suit each tree to its 
appropriate soil ; so far, at least, as the natural capabilities of the several portions of 
land permitted. And as it must be evident to every philosophical admirer of "the 
woodland," that a mass of verdant and flourishing trees, consisting of one and the 
same species, is superior to an heterogeneous admixture, where one sort flourishes as 
in contrast "with another, debilitated by a soil antagonist to its constitution, we 
earnestly advise proprietors to study their land, and its capabilities ; and then to 
adopt the practice of select planting, upon the principle of adaptation : by which, if 
they attain not to much variety, they will, at any rate, secure elegance of form and 
vigorous growth ; for the former is mainly dependent upon the latter. 
The planting upon the estate in question was executed in masses of one kind in 
one place, and it included shrubs as well as trees : the herbaceous tribes, and the 
annual flowers in the dressed grounds about the villa, were arranged much in the 
same manner. In 1844, when we saw the grounds, the peculiaritj r of the surface- 
soil showed itself in all the lawns, where the covering was literally close-shorn heath, 
or ling, with only a very small proportion of poor wiry grass. True it is, that the 
great heat and long-continued drought had then produced baleful effects on the 
herbage of every kind, and verdure was generally failing, yet enough remained to 
demonstrate the character of the native soil. 
As we enter the gate by the first lodge, and pass through the devious winding 
road, we find oaks blended with a few larches, then chestnuts and a few Scotch 
pines, then sycamores, limes, elms ; again oaks, larches, spruce firs, Scotch pines, 
beeches ; and lastly, after approaching the home-plantations, or park-enclosure, 
pines and firs mixed. In these exterior plantations, a considerable portion of the 
ground is preserved in its original wild state, being covered with the heath and 
dwarf- furze : this circumstance was pointed out to us by the proprietor, in 1844, and 
its effect was most striking. The romantic wildness of the scene was such as to 
cause a perfect blending of natural with artificial beauty, and this was so admirably 
managed, that as we approached the second fence, the former became gradually 
softened into the latter ; so that beyond the inner entrance gate to the park, the 
trees — chiefly of the pine and fir kind — are so thinly scattered, that each has ample 
room to extend all its branches, from the base upwards, without being crowded by 
the adjoining trees. 
