October 16. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
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studded with the residences of tlie princely merchants of 
Iiivorpool, with a good view of the woods of Knowsley 
Park, the scat of the Piarl of Derby, distant about two 
miles. It may be considered only as a modest villa re¬ 
sidence, with a good lawn, neat flower-garden (converted 
last season into a Rose-garden), and a kitchen-garden of 
moderate extent. There is a good collection of the best 
Hollyhocks, grown remarkably well. They are staked 
with stout iron rods, thrust very deep into the ground. 
These are a very effectual stay against the winds; and, 
as they are painted every year, 1 may say they will last 
for ever. Dahlias, too, are cultivated to a considerable 
extent; they arc placed in front of the Hollyhocks; and 
when both arc in flower an excellent effect is ])roduced. 
Mr. Schwabe is a great amateur in Roses. Tlie flower- 
garden in front of the greenhouse was formerly filled 
with the usual bedding plants. These are all discarded, 
and the beds filled with Roses (perpetuals, chiefly) on 
their own roots. They are kept dwarf by sovei’C prun¬ 
ing. The mode, or rather arrangement of the kinds, is 
novel. Each bed has a different variety jdauted in it; 
that is, one bed is planted with Rose Oeant cles Batailles; 
the next, probably, with Soxtvenir de Mahnaison; a third, 
with WiUkim Jesse; a fourth, with Moss Roses; and so 
on throughout the whole. This Rose-garden, as it may 
now be termed, is very appropriately surrounded with a 
hedge of climbing Roses of various kinds. The garden 
is laid out in a geometrical style ; the beds formed 
with easy flowing outlines; they are edged with orna- 
raeutal tiles, and the walks between tliera are gravelled. 
When the Roses are in bloom the whole forms a very 
delightful scene. 
This Rose garden is divided from the kitchen-garden 
by a bank of evergreen shrubs. Rhododendrons, &c. 
The greenhouse faces this Rose-garden, and is a hand¬ 
some building, well furnished with the usual plants, such 
as Camellias, Azaleas, Heaths, &c. These are grown now, 
chiefly, with a view to remove them, when in bloom, 
into the conservatory. 
At the far end of the kitchen-garden there is a long 
range of glass houses reaching oiitirely across the gar¬ 
den. Before they were put up the wall was covered 
with trained fruit-trees. These were all removed, and 
Peaches and Nectarines planted against the wall only. 
The houses are about twelve feet wide. A flat stage, 
three or four feet high, is placed in the centre, with a 
narrow path on each side. 
The front windows are lofty, and shelves are fitted up 
to hold plants. This long range of glass is filled with 
such plants as Geraniums, Cinerarias, Calceolarias, 
Fuchsias, and other soft-wooded plants, besides Lilies, 
and other bulbs, forced Roses, &c. These houses are 
also the nursery for basket plants; here they are grown 
and trained till they are flowered. The intelligent 
reader, whether amateur, or gardener, will at once un¬ 
derstand what an excellent reserve-garden, under glass, 
thci'e is hero to grow plants to bloom in succession the 
greater part of the year. And it is a fact, that these 
plants do not interfere with the health and productive¬ 
ness of the Peach and Nectarine. I have seen good 
crops of as fine fruit as need to be wished for grown 
on the trees. The insects that trouble the fruit-trees 
are the species that infest the plants also, and the 
same means, of course, keeps them both clear of them. 
I mean, smoking^ith tobacco for the Green Fly, and se¬ 
vere syringing for the Red Spider. I have always found 
the trees remarkably healthy, though so many plants are 
grown under the same roof. Hence, two objects are at¬ 
tained, namely, a good crop of fine fruit, and a great 
number of fine, well-grown, and remarkably free-bloomed 
{)lants. The Vine would not answer both purposes so 
well. In the first place, tlie leaves would shade and 
draw the plants; and, in the second place, the plants 
would not bear the close,high temperature necessary for 
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the Vine to ripen its fruit; whereas, the Peach answers 
exactly to the treatment, as to air, heat, and moisture, 
necessary to the well-being of the plants. Every culti¬ 
vator of greenhouse plants in a lean-to house may fol¬ 
low this example, and cover the back wall with Peach- 
trees, and thus secure an early, certain crop of excellent 
fruit. 
In another part of the kitchen-garden there is a sunk 
jtlot of ground thickly covered with rough coal-ashes. 
On this ])lot are placed a number of frames, in which 
China and Tea-scented Roses, and various other plants, 
arc sheltered during winter. 
I have now cleared my way to the principal object I bad 
in view in writing this paper, namely, a description of the 
beautiful unique conservatory. Mr. Schvvabc has given 
me leave to describe it, and put in, with the description, 
the accompanying elevation and plan, entirely for the 
purpose of doing justice to the ability and great taste dis¬ 
played in its erection by the architect, Walter Scott, Esq., 
of Liverpool. I consider, in every point of view, it does 
him great credit, both for its architectural beauty and a 
fit habitation for plants. Plenty of light is admitted, 
and there arc excellent contrivances for giving abund¬ 
ance of air. It is extremely rare that an architect puts 
up an habitation for plants suitable for their well-being; 
but in this instance, Mr. Scott has not only studied the 
beauty of the building merely as a building, but also 
studied the requirements of its proposed inhabitants. 
Hence, the gardener has not to struggle hopelessly to 
keep his plants healthy; ho has only to give the due 
supplies of water and air, and the plants luxuriate and 
thrive, to his great credit and the enjoyment and satis¬ 
faction of the owners. From this beautiful and excellent 
example of Mr. Scott’s skill and taste in this particular 
branch of his business, I do think and hope he will be 
called \qion to erect many such elegant structures. 
Situation. —The conservatory is placed at the east 
end of the mansion. A shrubbei'y and some large trees 
formerly occupied the site. These are all removed, and 
the lawn extended on all sides. Hence it forms a con¬ 
spicuous object from every part of the garden, and is 
not shaded by anything, on any side, excepting the 
west, by the house. It stands on an elevated ])latform 
above the grounds, and there is a flagged walk, four feet 
wide around it, with steps at the east end, leading into 
the garden from the garden entrance. At the other end 
is the door that opens into the drawing-room, hence it is 
always accessible in all kinds of weather. 
Size. —As the engraving is drawn to a scale, any one 
with a pair of compasses may easily ascertain its extent. 
I may, however, just mention that it is square, and 
measures twenty-five feet on every side. There is a 
well-proportioned dome in the centre, around which are 
openings to let out the heated air. The front windows 
all open to let in cold air; hence there can be given, in 
all suitable weather, a thorough draught of fresh plant 
invigorating' air. 
The beautiful tracery seen above the front windows is 
double. This arrangement allowed the glazier to put 
in the glass between. 'The frame-work of tha*entire 
structure is iron, and was cast at the Coalbrook Dale 
Company’s works, and it does them great credit; it is 
so well and cleanly cast, and the parts are so well fitted 
together, that a cursory spectator might almost imagine 
it had been cast entire. It is painted with a kind of 
subdued drab, or stone colour, which adds greatly to 
its beauty. 
Internal arrangement. — As the grand object was to 
keep up a constant succession of plants in bloom, it was 
desirable to have stages to place tliem on. Various plans 
were considered, but at length Mr. Schwabe fixed upon 
one of bis own invention. 'The dome is supported by 
four pillars, which, of course, are equidistant from each 
corner of the house. These pillars it was desirable 
