October 24 . 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Cl 
Rhododendrons, which are thriving well, and on which 
Mr. Judd intends grafting, or inarching, the finer kinds, 
j when the present plants have gained more strength. 
! From these means, and a thorough system of drainage 
: for the house, &c., with the means of flushing at com- 
' mand, the several drains being all properly trapped, and 
j conveyed away by a culvert, which terminates in a largo 
| trapped reservoir before emptying itself into the rivulet 
; beyond the grounds, much has been done to increase 
the salubrity of the place, and fine, green lawns, and 
| green sweeps of Laurels, and large masses of Rhododen- 
i drons, will, no doubt, look better than stagnant water, 
! with its usual attendants of offensive mud and vegetable 
1 matter, and strong weeds, almost bidding defiance to 
I the person who attempted to exterminate them. Water, 
however, lends such a charm to rural scenery, and might 
be so naturally expected in such a position as Althorpe, 
that the drying of the whole of the lakes could only be 
j justified in a picturesque court of justice, on the stern 
■ plea of necessity and salubrity. Even now, if ever 
j deemed desirable, a small piece of water could easily be 
formed, and the rivulet having much less to do would 
I keep it in brisker motion, while the mode of draining 
would preserve it comparatively from gross impurities, 
j These changes have placed the pleasure-grounds in a 
state of transition, open to the expression of opinion 
and inviting criticism. One or two celebrated landscape 
gardeners have been consulted, but what little had been 
done by their advice is again undone, so that a fair 
field is presented for our competition ; and I shall en¬ 
deavour to be so plain that every reader, young ones 
especially, shall have the means of judging of the pro¬ 
priety, or impropriety, of my conclusions. 
From about the centre of the east side of the mansion, 
a wall runs eastward, its south side being occupied with 
low-roofed sheds and offices, and its north side with 
creepers, and an arched walk, supplied with flowering 
Creepers, Roses, &c. A gate in this low wall admits the 
stranger and the workman into the pleasure-ground. 
Turning towards the house, you see a beautiful flower- 
garden, grouped, the clumps edged with box, and narrow 
gravel-walks between, the ceutre of the flower-garden 
being opposite the door-way that leads to some of the 
principal living apartments on that side of the mansion. 
The beds were beautifully filled with our best grouping 
plants, and if an improvement could be effected, it 
! would be by the removing of a central clump of the 
best Roses, and filling it with a bodding-plant; as, how¬ 
ever beautiful these Roses may be, it is seldom that 
they can be made to harmonize with other gay bedding- 
plants in the autumn. Beautiful as this garden is, there 
i is something unsatisfactory whenever you look beyond 
it. To the north there is a large extent of lawn, without 
a shrub or tree to relieve the flaming colours as a back¬ 
ground. To the north-west, your eye passing the iron 
fence, traverses the champaign slopes of the park. You 
turn and look to the north-east, where, some three 
or four hundred yards off, we see signs of pleasure- 
ground scenery, and there another large group of 
bedding-plants bursts upon vision, without any apparent 
means for getting at them, except walking across the 
lawn. Now, in the case of two such fine groups at 
such a distance from each other, many would contend, 
that by no means should these be seen at once; and an 
i eminent landscape gardener seemed to be so much of 
this opinion, that he advised shutting in the garden near 
the house with a Yew hedge; the place where the 
hedge actually stood, or was to stand, being still 
apparent, from the rich verdure of the grass. We 
should have little faith in the beauty of such a fence in 
such circumstances. We would not contend, that in no 
circumstances should two such large groups of flowers 
at such a distance be seen together, but if we did, wo 
would intercept the view by single specimens and 
groups of shrubs; but we would contend, that if seen, a 
mode of access should also be seen, and a connecting 
link apparent. We get more convinced of this, as, 
standing close to the mansion, we look upon this 
favourite flower-garden, and then turning to the north, 
glance over the fine avenued lines of splendid trees. 
Round the mansion thero is a stone pavement of 
about six or seven feet in width, and to this the lawn 
and this flower-garden come up. Passing the new wing 
on this garden-front, the pavement terminates in a walk 
of gravel of similar width, winding northwards close to 
the iron fence that forms the houndary between the park 
and pleasure-ground, until bending eastwards, it passes 
a beautiful avenue in the park, with a narrow walk, 
leading north, to the Keeper’s and kennels; and ere long, 
a splendid Lime-avenue in the pleasure-grounds, with a 
wide walk between the rows of trees; this walk also lying 
north and south ; and then, keeping on the walk on 
which you started from the mansion, you are brought 
to the large group of bedding-plants, with the purple 
Zelinda Dahlia for a centre, that altogether showed so 
conspicuously at such a distance from the house. Now, 
the straight lines of the building, and the straight lines 
in these avenues, should be held of first import in the 
arrangements of the walks and grounds. On this prin¬ 
ciple, the forming of the walk in a circular direction was 
a mistake. If the large walk at the Lime-avenues was to 
be maintained at its present width, then, the narrowness 
of the main walk leading to it from the house, and 
leading onwards, would hardly be in unison. Then, the 
walk itself being so near the boundary, always conveys 
the idea of want of space, and deprives the pleasure- 
grounds of that privacy so desirable in such large estab¬ 
lishments. 
The stone pavement is altogether too narrow for 
walking-room at the garden-front of such a mansion; 
it would require to be three times as wide, or remain as it 
is, with at least a twelve-foot walk in front of it. This 
should extend as far, and no farther, northward, than 
the gate in the boundary-fence, close to the new wing. 
This would break in upon the flower-garden, for which 
the proprietors have a particular regard; but if all taken 
up, Mr, Judd would soon lay it down again farther east¬ 
ward,—alike to the benefit of freedom of movement, and 
the massive dignity of the building. If the whole of 
this garden was sunk below the general level from 
eighteen inches to two feet, with steps at the two ends, 
a sloping bank of turf, and then a level space all round, 
a far better effect would be produced than by hedging 
it in by Yews. Sunk, or on a level, a walk should 
traverse, at a convenient distance, its north side, until it 
meets a continuation of the Elm-walk previously re¬ 
ferred to. These I should make the leading features. 
I need not say, how in filliug-in details, a narrow walk 
should branch off to the avenue that leads to the 
Keeper's;—bow, between this walk and the fence, there 
should be groups of shrubs and flowers, promoting alike 
the ideas of extension and seclusion;—how the new 
walk might be ornamented with specimens of Cypresses ; 
—and how the Lime-avenue might be continued; or 
Deodars, or Araucarias, introduced as a continuation; 
but if something of this kind were done, a connecting 
link would at once be formed between the various parts, 
and a reason could bo assigned for every turn and bend, 
and group and clump, so far as a hurried survey enabled 
me to form an opinion. 
Though my space is getting too nearly filled, I 
cannot avoid chronicling, that in the pleasure-grounds 
north of this second flower-garden, I observed a huge 
raised oval, completely covered with Mignonette, which 
is intended for a Rosary, the best continuous bloomers to 
be planted in zones; some splendid specimens of Holly, 
and Hemlock Spruce, good specimens of P'tnus Douglasii, 
Sabiniana, and Insignis ; among other American plants, 
