October i, 1891.] 
THF TnOPICAL AGRICULTURIST.' 
231 
iiccoinpanied by a day-ghost of wasted effort, of riches 
worse than lost. If basins, and fountains, and 
statuary are not “in keeping" with the grand and 
spacious grounds of our Crystal I'al ace, or ttie beauti- 
ful and lovely gardens of Versailles, of which the 
Parisians are justly proud, then where are we to find 
a place for tliein t’ Are these tlrecian piles of archi- 
tecture, with their noble array, of Doric or Ionic, 
or Corinthian columns, to ho surrounded with natural 
scenery without oven one attempt to produce aground- 
work more in accordance with the character of the 
pile? terraces and a mixture of statuary and 
lountains, in conecction witli geometric designs for 
flowers, not the very things that give a charm, a 
character, and a framework to such heautifui habita- 
tions of men ?— Is Paxton ” on the one hand, or 
“Ijo Notre " on the other, to he condemned because 
their works hear witness to an appreciation of much 
of the elaborate style of ornamentation, of desire for 
scope of grass, and gravel, and riches of statuary', 
ancf Bijuirting fountains.' Certainly not! Their 
genius and their work was aiipreciated, and will bo 
in the time _ to come. Places are not to bo laid 
out with a view to their appearance in a pioture, hut 
to the uses and the enjoyment of them m real life ; 
and their oonfonuity to those purposes is that which 
constitutes their beauty. With this view walks of 
crushed stones and white pebbles, gravel, and ash- 
pholt, are all well in their places. And neat lawns, 
straight cut alleys, fountains, terraces, and for aught 
1 know, parterres and cut hedges, are in perfect good 
taste, and infinitely more conformable to tho principles 
which form the basis of our pleasure in these instances, 
than tho docks, and thistles, rampant weed, and 
litter and disorder that may make a much better 
figure in a picture. Have your own taste of course, 
but let it merge a little townrds woodland scenery, 
and form the connecting between one and the other. 
Your house must be the centre of observation, whether 
it bo constructed in the Grecian or the Gothic, or the 
ycotch barsiual, or any other style of architecture. 
Your earthwork designs must be planned, and laid 
out acoordiiigly, lot there bo nothing done which will 
be a laughiiig-Htock to the true landBcapc gardener. 
VVe have grand pictorial trees, such as those you see 
in “Peradeniya Gordons," beautiful in their individu- 
ality, and beautiful for tho purposes of grouping and 
contrast; but they must all be placed in the right 
situation. The selection must he choice and suitable, 
according to tlie configurations and accessories of 
tlie^ place to bo clothed. Where the grounds are 
limited, and shelter and privacy are an object of 
first consideration, our ideas as to fitiioss, proportion, 
and unity are considerably modified. We design and 
plant more in accordance witli comfort than with 
the view of holding fast to a pet system. If you still 
desire being “ hedged in," in this case, a living, 
thick, belt of trees of whatever sort is absolutely 
necessary; but at the same time the forefront of the 
house being tho principal outlook, 1 think should 
always bo one of far-seeing grandeur and beauty. 
In accordance with the fashion of the times, the 
grounds in the immediate contact witli the mansion 
or villa must have somewhat of a stylish aspect. You 
must have the best style of groundwork for showing 
off your fashionable and decorative flowers. You 
must have a good scope of grass, a portion of which 
must be invariably set apart for tho game of croquet, 
and also a portion sol apart for tho bouncing tenuis 
ball. Ill addition to all this (with a view to perfec- 
tion) you must have a great variety of dwarf deco- 
rations — suffruticose and herbaceous plants, and a 
rockery or a rootery in some quiet nook for Ferns 
and alpines ; in short, to be up to the times, yon 
have to aim at a sort of “ uiicrocosiii ” of wliat is to 
be had in all the largest demesnes of our country and 
her colonies. 
Should this letter fall into tlio hands of any lady 
or gontloman, desirous of laying out their pleasure 
grounds in a small or large scale, any valuable sugges- 
tion which is found therein and is made use of, and vmicli 
are put into practice, the writer of the letter will bo 
much benefited. 
Haputale. WILLIAM MEICALfE. 
SAMPUNG LMI'OUTFD MANL’HES. 
It 13 no unoommon thing to hear of complaints 
being mads that tlis results obtained on our tea 
and coffee estates from manures imported from 
Europe differ very oonsidorabiy from those pro- 
phesied of them by ohemioal experts. We believe 
that as the rule it is a very easy matter for a 
man trained in special knowledge ns to suoh a 
subject to foretell with accuraoy what the elleot of 
certaib chemical combinatious will prove to bo on 
soils the natural constituents of which, with their 
physical oondition, are known to him. When, 
therefore, wo hear that the prognosU—io quote, 
perhaps not inaptly, a term usually ooufiued to 
medical soience — of such an expert has not been 
realized, we may assume it to be only fair that the 
oause of failure must be sought in another direotion. 
Thera is soma probability that in these days of 
competition, and of a laxusss of principle attend- 
ing it, the ohemioal manure manufacturer may not 
in all cases carry out what he professes to do. 
Ho may advertise a speoial fertilizer to contain suoh 
and suoh ingredients, but it may not be always the 
case that bis shipments to a far-oll country may 
be always up to the standard he proclaims. Or 
even supposing that as regards this he aota in full 
good faith, it may yet bo that the manure 
ho ships has been mannfaotared for some con- 
siderable time, and that, should its preparation 
include some partioularly volatile ingredient, the 
fertilizing qualities of tho manure may have under- 
gone ooneiderabln deterioration. The only way in 
which, as it seems to us, this can be in 
any degree guarded against is by the putohaser 
insisting that a oompetent obemist employed by 
him should select samples from tho bulk after the 
manure has been put on board ship, and that on 
the report made alter analysis by him of suoh 
samples should depend the aooeptanco or rejection 
of tho shipment, or the price to be paid for 
it. A caee has rcoontly been under our notice 
in which this precaution aeema to have been 
neglected ; and although there is no proof that 
neglect of this precaution is to be held alone 
answerable for the disappointment which followed, 
there may be a fair presumption that it had 
something to do with it. For, as we have above 
written, an experienced obemist versed in such 
matters could hardly misoaloulate the resulting 
eileot to oertaiu chemical oombinations ; and if 
these had been fully provided for, and the fact 
ascertained by sampling on shipment, there could 
be no reason why disappointment should have 
arisen. 
We do not suppose that among tho ranks 
of ohemioal manure manufacturers the pro- 
portion of honourable or dishonourable men is 
greater or less than among other manufacturing 
agencies ; but as we know that the second class 
ate unfortunately to be found in no inconsider- 
able measure in every rank or walk in life it 
would be quite as well if our planlers were to 
oonsider tho necessity when ordering u shipment 
of manure to provide against dishonesty or care- 
lessness by insisting upon provision of the nature 
we have indicated being made. For if this be 
not done we cannot be surprised if the not un. 
frequent failures that we have beard of 
should recur, and fertilizers which might be of 
most useful effect earn a bad name thereby. And 
it is tho more important that suoh a precaution 
should be taken beoauso disparaging Cjmparison is 
often made between the effect of imported manures 
and that of cattle, poonao, and other native 
fertilizers. The latter wo know are always to be 
relied upon, but it does not lollow that they 
