THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— July 29, 1856. 
ARRANGEMENT OF OUR GARDENS IN THE OLDEN TIME. 
.‘314 
By the name of “Orchard" our forefathers evidently 
intended not merely an inclosure of fruit-trees, but one that 
included the pleasure-ground of more modern days. Leland, 
in 1540, when describing YVreshill Castle, near Howden, in 
Yorkshire, says—“ The gardens within the mote, and the 
Orchards without, were exceeding fair. And yn the Or- 
cliardes were mountes, opere lopiario, writlien about with 
degrees like the turnings in cockil shelles, to come to the 
top without pnyii " ( Ilium-ary , p. 60). Such an arrange¬ 
ment, and such a combination of the useful with the orna¬ 
mental, is as old as the time of Homer, and in his time it 
bore the same name, for he describes the garden of Alcinous 
under the title of his orchalos. It contained Pears, Apples, 
Pomegranates, Pigs, Olives, and Grapes ; but around these 
were beds of flowers and herbs, and the whole were inclosed 
by a hedge. 
No light is thrown upon our subject by inquiring whether 
our word Orchard is adopted from the Greek or from the 
Anglo-Saxon. The former, orchuios, seems to be derived 
from orchos, signifying a regular arrangement in rows; 
whilst the Anglo-Saxon, ort-geurd or uyrt-geard, means an 
inclosure of cultivated plants or worts. The old English 
word Orchard, or Orchat (for it is spelt both ways), coincides 
with both derivations. 
The opus topiarius, or ornamental work, mentioned by 
Leland, means trees, shrubs, and hedges, clipped or cut 
into unnatural and regular forms, the relics of which bar¬ 
barism still linger about some old country residences, and 
mare frequently in our clipped Quickset and Yew hedges. 
Contemporary with Leland lived William Lawson, and 
the first edition of his *• A New Orchard and Garden" was 
published in 1597. In this we have still more full informa¬ 
tion relative to the form and arrangement of the Orchard, 
and from it we derive the following extracts and illustration: 
“ Now for as much as one principal! end of Orchards is 
recreation by walkes, and universally walkes are straight, it 
followes that the best forme must be square, as best 
agreeing with streight walkes: yet if any man be rather 
delighted with some other form, or if the ground will not 
beare a square, I discommend not any forme so it bee 
A All these stjuares must 
bee set with trees, the 
Gardens and other or¬ 
naments must stand 
in spaces betwixt the 
trees, and in the bor¬ 
ders and fences, 
n Trees 20 yards asunder, 
c Garden knot. 
D Kitchen garden. 
e Bridge. 
f Conduit. 
g Stakes. 
H Walkes set with great 
wood thicke. 
i Walkes set with great 
wood round about your 
Orchard. 
k The out fence. 
l The out fence set with 
stone fruit. 
iu Mount. To force earth 
for a mount, or such¬ 
like, set it round with 
quick ; and lay boughs 
of trees strangely in¬ 
termingled, tops in¬ 
ward with tire earth in 
tiie middle. 
N Still-house, 
o Good standing for Bees, 
if you have an house, 
r If the Hiver run by your 
doorc, and under your 
rnouut it will be plea¬ 
sant. 
