February 21, 1889. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
149 
roundings are quite park-like in extent and character, and contain many- 
venerable trees within what remains of the ancient walls. 
AN ANCIENT VINEYARD. 
Mr. Barron tells us in his excellent work on the Vine that a notable 
vineyard, still partly inexistence, once flourished at Bury St. Edmunds.” 
Is is quite true the vineyard is visible in the form of a series of slopes or 
terraces on which the monks of old grew their Grapes for wine making, 
for that was the purpose for which Grapes were grown outdoors in 
England some centuries ago, and that they ripened sufficiently in the 
eastern counties is testified by the further reminder of Mr. Barron that 
“ the Isle of Ely was called the Isle of Vines by the Normans, the 
Bishop of Ely, shortly after the conquest, receiving as tithes wine made 
from the Vines grown in his diocese.” “ The climate must have been 
better then and the summers warmer than now ” is a remark often heard 
by persons discussing the ancient English vineyards. I doubt the 
proposition, and think there is no record of the Wheat harvest being 
completed before the end of July in the olden time, as it has been more 
than once within my memory. It is much more likely that varieties of 
early ripening^Grapes for wine are lost, and I am sure there are some 
now in the Vineyard at Castle Coch that would ripen their crops 
sufficiently for the purpose on sunny slopes of the nature of those at 
Bury St. Edmunds in ordinary bright summers. Misconception exists 
in respect to the vineyard Grapes of which we read. It is not necessary 
that they be ripe, in the same sense as we understand the term, for wine 
making, and the recognition of that fact will go far to account for the 
existence of ancient vineyards. There is many a warm slope in England 
on which Grapes could be grown now if we had the right sorts and 
tended them properly, as well as the old masters grew them in monastic 
times. It is interesting to see those relics of the past, the vineyard 
slopes at Bury, and a noteworthy feature of the town would be lost if 
they were levelled for “ improvements,” and fell a piey to the encroach¬ 
ments of buildings. I have heard that Mr. D. T. Fish is a councillor, or 
something of that kind, of the town of which Mr. Peter Grieve is a 
respected burgess, and so we may rely on it that the vineyard will not 
be sacrificed without a little talk. I leave the matter with them and 
pass on, for my visit was a flying one, though, hurry as I may, it seems 
I am two years behind in keeping appointments. 
NOWTON COURT. 
After a pleasant drive of two or three miles we arrive at Mr. Luclc- 
hurst’s residence, which is known as the “ Cottage,” an ancient and 
commodious building, with lawn, garden, and stabling attached, as the 
lawyers say, and thereto belonging. The pride of the garden is a Pear 
tree, and if not the largest in England it ranks as one of them, and in 
massiveness of trunk and general appearance resembles a tall and 
stately Elm. The variety is Beurrd de Capiaumont, which some persons 
regard as one of the best for orchards. I remember once planting a row 
on the north side of a fruit plantation for sheltering better sorts, and 
it answered very well, its close upright habit and hardy nature fitting it 
for the purpose and position, while the fruit was sometimes fairly good, 
and found purchasers in boys and others who like as much or as many 
as possible for a penny. That is my estimate of the Beurrc de Capiau¬ 
mont Pear. Mr. Luckhurst’s garden was not in prizewinning condition, 
whereat the head of the domestic department complained, and said he 
was over head and ears in business and neglected his garden, and 
they “ had to go without things,” as all his attention was devoted to 
Mr. Oakes’ farms. 
Mr. Porteous Oakes is the owner of Nowton Court and a large tract 
of country surrounding it. It is a fine old mansion, with beautiful 
pleasure grounds adjoining, comprising extensive lawns, ornamental 
lakes and bridges, with nooks and mounds of hardy flowers, and there 
is a rich collection of trees, shrubs, and Conifers, tended by the owner 
with the same solicitude that an orchidist bestows on his rare and 
costly plants. Mr. Oakes has spent the greater part of his life in the 
improvement of his grounds, and has unquestionably displayed great 
taste in their arrangement and planting. His garden and trees form his 
chief source of pleasure. Trees he has planted in thousands, not to 
be spoiled, but grown as trees should be grown to devolope their 
character, and eventually to produce timber of the most valuable kind. 
He is a great advocate for thinning, also trimming—that is, removing 
he lower branches from trees before the said branches decay, for pro¬ 
ducing tall straight trunks and clean stems. When the branches are 
removed early, he points out that the bark soon grows over the wounds, 
and in a short time no signs of their removal can be seen. Conifers of 
various kinds in the pleasure grounds and park beyond, are trimmed to 
form timber trees. But for this practice the view from the mansion 
would be seriously obstructed, whereas it is extensive and decidedly 
picturesque. The park is really an arboretum, and the individual trees 
have space for displaying their characters whether planted singly or in 
groups. 
Mr. Oakes commenced planting when very young, and not many men 
can point to such trees as he possesses as the results of their own handi¬ 
work. Here is a grand Cedar of Lebanon, which he once carried in his 
hand, with a trunk 9 or 10 feet round, straight and smooth, and a noble 
head, and not one tree alone, but several ; thereaThuia gigantea, 40 feet 
high, raised from a cutting by the owner, from the stately parent stand- 
ng near, and there are numbers of such trees, the majority with straight 
clean stems to the height of 10 or 12 feet. A Wellingtonia he has 
watched from infancy till it has attained an altitude of 60 feet. Groups 
of Cedrus atlantica, some of them glaucous, are handsome objects in the 
landscape, while in the borders near are the choicer forms of Cupressus, 
Thuias, Biotas, and others, with Tews in the background trimmed up 
like cburch spires, and some nearly as tall. The whole collection is 
remarkable. In one part of the park is a grove of Walnut trees— 
hundreds of them, raised by the owner, and now in a fruiting state, and 
when the scarlet Chestnuts are in bloom they must present a picture of 
arboreal beauty. Beyond the park the planting has extended, in the 
form of belts by the side of roads, these being composed of diagonal 
lines; one kind of tree only in each line, so that when the thinning is 
done a fair proportion of all will be permanently represented. In the 
belts along the main road Cedars have been planted at intervals to 
remain as the chief objects, and if they remain long enough the Cedar 
avenues of Nowton will be a striking feature of the district. There 
appear to be miles of these broad belts of trees, and the soil being good 
they are in a healthy thriving state. 
PLANTING NEGLECTED, AND NEGLECTED TREES. 
Planting has been neglected on many estates, and in some parks 
once famed lor their timber the trees have decayed or fallen-steadily, 
dwindled away, and in another generation or two few will remain to 
give beauty to the landscape and dignity to the homes around which 
they were planted. It is a pity. A change has come in the habits of 
life, and foreign travel absorbs time and money that the ancestors of 
leading families devoted to their estates. Railway and steamship com¬ 
panies and cities are enriched, while many a country parish is left the 
poorer, as it must be, by the withdrawal of wealth. Mansions are 
closed, or practically so, for the greater part of the year, the owners 
doing what they think is right, but the districts over which they have 
large control suffer correspondingly. Tree planting is an occupation 
which might be more beneficially engaged in, for it employs labour, and 
the timber supply of the future would be better maintained. But 
plantations to be profitable must be tended, and through want of timely 
thinning millions of trees have been ruined, never developed into beauty 
and usefulness, and jungles are formed while timber becomes scarcer 
and dearer. Forestry has been greatly neglected during recent years, 
yet carried out on sound systematic lines many a tract might be made 
usefully productive that is now practically barren and of no real benefit 
to its possessor or tbe community. But I am going too fast, and must 
pause, though a forester’s son born among trees may perhaps be 
excused for prating about them, if only in a wooden sort of way. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
There is an excellent kitchen garden at Nowton, and thriving fruit 
trees planted by Mr. C irmichael—the Sandringham Carmichael—when 
he was Mr. Oakes’ gardener ; but, as if there were not enough varieties 
in England, several were obtained from the continent, and many of 
these proved of little or no value. They furnish the garden, and, 
though evidently well tended, that is all that can be said about them. 
I saw a good range of glass, and was told good Grapes were grown under 
it, but too much time was spent among the trees to spare any for ex¬ 
ploring glass structures, but taking the outside as an index of the 
inside department, a meed of piaise is due to Mr. F. Ungles, the gar¬ 
dener, on the condition of his charge. 
MR. LUCKHURST’S DUTIES AND WORK. 
I described Mr. Luckhurst last week as one of the ablest men I know 
as an estate manager and improver of land. This observation was 
founded on experience. Years ago I saw a wild wood transformed by 
his skill into a picturesque retreat, in which his capacity as a landscape 
gardener was clearly pourtrayed. In four years a garden was made out 
of a scrubby tract, and filled with useful crops ; walls clothed in the 
time from base to summit with fruitful trees, and Apples, Pears, and 
Plums in a profitable bearing state, the quickest and best work of its 
kind it had been my fortune to see. But that was not all. I saw a 
waterlogged tract filled with rushes converted into valuable pasture, and 
acres of land found in a practically barren state cinverted into produc¬ 
tive fie'ds of grain and roots. With a scientific knowledge of the prin¬ 
ciples of improving land, and a grasp of the position and resources, he 
went ahead, and every stroke told. He is a farmer by instinct, and is 
equally at home in the stockyard and sheepfold as on the land. It was 
the excellence of his work that impressed a gentleman of position, than 
whom few are better able to judge on such matters, to mention him for 
a wider charge. He was expected to reduce order out of chaos, and he has 
accomplished the task. He set about it in 1885, and encountered the 
following difficulties. 
Vacated Farms. —Five farms were in hand foul with weeds, poor 
in fertility, deficient in drainage ; and upon heavy clay lands there was 
a pressing want of mechanical division Four other farms were left 
by the tenants, one in 1886, two in 1887, and another last year. All 
these were “farmed out,” the land being very poor and foul. 
Work Done upon the Land. —Thorough cultivation in tillage, 
draining, cleaning, clay burning where necessary, a judicious but liberal 
application of manure by sheep folding, and pure home-mixed chemical 
manure. Especial care was also given to the selection of the best sorts 
of seed corn, which have been grown under careful supervision at the 
home farm for distribution among the other farms. In all this rigid 
economy has been combined with judicious expenditure, in view of 
rendering the farms both fertile and profitable as speedily as possible. 
General Estate Work. —Extensive repairs to farm buildings. 
Surveying, valuation, and purchase of desirab'e additions to the estates 
as such land came upon the market. Valuation and re-insurance of the 
