Queries, Answers, Remarks, ^c. 
133 
Our notions of water, are these:-—all lakes, rivers, or standing waters, 
should be on the lowest part of the ground; and all water-works should be 
above, or on a level with, the eye, but certainly, never below it. The idea 
too, of bringing the bridge directly in front of the house, shows very bad 
judgment; why, taste had so far advanced a century ago, as to cause the 
bridge to be taken away from the very situation where Mr. Loudon has recom¬ 
mended it to be put up. A public bridge directly in front, and within 150 yards 
of the principal part of the house, would be found a complete nuisance. 
A person might almost conjecture, that Mr. Loudon came with a pre-deter¬ 
mination to find fault, if not, it must be because he did not give himself the 
time to consider before he wrote his ideas of what he terms improvements; this 
latter, we arc willing to hope is the case. Indeed what correct ideas could any 
person give for improving the grounds of so extensive a place as Chatsworth, 
unless he spent a day or two; the bearings of each part could not made apparent 
by merely going a few yards round about the house, which was the case with 
Mr. Loudon, but who, by the way, never entered it, to see the place from the 
living-rooms, the most proper of all others, when any improvements are con¬ 
templated. 
His time, too, was so limited in his visit to the kitchen-garden, (at most 
only half-an-hour) that his observations must there also, be very superficial, 
for during this time, he had to look through nearly 30 Hot-houses and Pits, 
besides 12 acres of kitchen-garden. We were unfortubately from home at the 
time, and are very sorry that it so occurred; as it is, we can only do ourselves 
the pleasure of imagining we are accompanying Mr. Loudon through the prin¬ 
cipal part ; in which ramble, he is at full liberty to question us as closely as 
he thinks fit. 
Question. —Your kitchen garden appears extensive ; how many acres does it 
contain ? 
Answer .—T wel vc. 
Q.—How many men have you for keeping it in order ? 
A.—No stated number; having a variety of other work, besides the gardens, I 
move tjiem about as circumstances require, and according to the work neces¬ 
sary to be done in each department, at the proper season : sometimes there are 
as many as 20, and at other times not more than 3 or 4. 
Q.—I perceive that you have a range of pits here ; how are they heated? 
A.—Two of them with hot water, and two with fire-flues. 
Q.—How do you like liot water, in comparison to fire-flues ? 
A.—So far as my experience has led me to draw any conclusions, 1 will answer 
your question,—When hot water was first noticed in the Horticultural Transac¬ 
tions, I was almost in raptures with the idea, and as soon as possible I set about 
healing those two pits you now see with it, and although it was thought the 
pipes then put in, (a double return,) would be more than sufficient for the pur- » 
pose of heating the pits, independent of two large cisterns full of hot water, to my 
astonishment, on the approach of severe weather, we had considerable difficulty 
to kec'j) out the frost, and in the severe storm, 2 years since,our pine plants were 
so much injured, that they nearly all started prematurely into fruit, in the 
spring. You are aware that water evaporates into steam at 212 degrees Fah¬ 
renheit and, consequently, the pipes cannot he heated to a greater degree. 
Tlic difficulty in hot water is, that while, in a severe frosty night, the external 
atmosphere is continually lowering, you cannot keep increasing’ the hot water 
to counteract ilsefi'ects, without [oitting’ up nearly double the quantify ofjdpes 
that would he necessary under ordinary cirrumstauces, when, with a well con- 
