5 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY 
covered with a deep coating of dung or other substance 
in winter, as the soil is rendered sour and unfit for 
vegetation when excluded so long from the winter frost 
and air; in fact, it is reduced into a sort of subsoil, 
and is poorly repaid by the supposed benefit it derives 
from the soakings of the dung into it, as the benefit of 
the latter might be accomplished in a month of wet 
weather, and ought then to be removed; but covering 
up is but little adopted now. 
In the general treatment of Asparagus it is prudent 
not to cut it too early, nor yet too much, more especially 
at first. Allowing young plants to attain a good size 
and strength before cutting materially influences their 
after welfare; and by carefully attending to them in the 
j way of a liberal allowance of liquid manure, salt, &c., 
in summer, they will perfect buds capable of producing 
heads that will well repay the labour they have cost, 
and as the plants are supposed to be thin they will not 
so easily die off as when planted closer. The other 
routine work has been noticed in other places, and need 
not be repeated here. J. Robson. 
A SKETCH OF THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE’S 
GARDENS AT CHATSWORTH. 
( Continued from page 427, Vol. XVII.) 
Retracing our steps, or partly so, back through a great 
variety of delightful scenery that powerfully reminds us of 
the words of the poet who sang of Chatsworth in the days 
of the Stuarts,— 
“ Here wood and water, sun and shade contend, 
Which shall the most delight, the most befriend,” 
we now reach the lawn in front of the mansion, and, pass¬ 
ing the fine walk of trees known as Lady Granville’s, come 
full upon the Emperor fountain. This fine fountain, which 
richly deserves its name of the Emperor, throws a magni¬ 
ficent jet of water to the height of 267 feet, and the pressure 
is so great that the water is calculated to escape at the rate 
of a hundred miles per minute. It is situated in a long sheet 
of water stretching away from the southern front of the man- 
| sion, and the intermediate space, or terrace, of several hun- 
j dred yards up to the windows, is occupied on either wing by 
j a variety of plants interspersed with sculptured figures, the 
I most conspicuous of which are, perhaps, those of Neptune 
and Hercules on the margin of the lawn adjoining the water, 
and the once celebrated “old” or “sea-horse fountain” 
occupies the centre. This has a jet of nearly four feet, 
which was in its day considered extraordinary. Now, how. 
ever, it is but a mere accessory to its magnificent cousin, 
the Emperor. The effect on a bright day of all the foun¬ 
tains and falls in action is delightful. The brilliant Emperor, 
throwing his immense jets between two and three hundred 
feet high, together with the series of sparkling cascades from 
the summit of the beautifully-wooded hill above, and those 
of the temple, steps, Palais Royal, and sea-horse3 below, 
may be described as constituting a work of nature and art 
combined really enchanting. These waterworks, indeed, we 
may state, are wholly a work of art, most materially aided, 
however, by the beautiful and romantic scenery surrounding 
them, which, in point of fact, tends to throw a charm over 
everything connected with the grounds at Chatsworth; and 
before leaving them, which we do through a beautiful Italian 
garden fronting the western side of the magnificent pile 
long and almost universally known as the “ Palace of the 
Peak,” we cannot forbear, and hope to he forgiven, mention- 
i ing an historical circumstance connected with the spot. It 
is a compliment, and certainly a very fine one, that was paid 
upon leaving Chatsworth by the Count de Tallard, who had 
been entertained here for a few days by the then Duke of 
Devonshire. “ When I return,” said he, “ to my own coun¬ 
try, and reckon up the days of my captivity, I shall leave out 
those I spent at Chatsworth.” A Paxton had not then, how¬ 
ever, arisen to shed around it the light of his genius; and 
could the Count who paid this splendid compliment to the 
then owner of the house at Chatsworth now revisit it, he 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, April 7, 1857. 
would doubtless gaze with redoubled admiration upon the 
new beauties added and unfolded by the light and march of 
modern and well-directed improvement. 
In quitting the grounds for the kitchen gardens, which 
we do by handsome gilt gates and a massive gateway, we 
are almost tempted to express ourselves something like 
Loudon, who, although so prone to vituperate, could not 
help exclaiming, upon leaving Chatsworth, “ It is altogether 
the finest place I have ever seen.” Be this as it may, how¬ 
ever, for our own part in leaving it we do so not without a 
consciousness of our inability to give anything like an ade¬ 
quate idea, in this short and imperfect description, of the 
manifold attractions of a spot well deserving a pen far more 
picturesque and glowing than our own. 
Looking to the left upon leaving the gateway, we catch a 
glimpse of a curious castellated structure near the Derwent, 
embowered with trees and surrounded by a moat, known as 
“ Mary’s Bower,” from its having been an occasional resort 
of the beautiful but ill-starred Mary Queen of Scots. The 
Derwent here forms a fine broad river, and a fall or two a 
distance below. The soil of the park, although somewhat 
varied, is chiefly (including the gardens) a rather light, 
clayey loam, based upon an alternating subsoil of sandstone 
and slate. To the right of our road, rising high above the 
hanging wood of the hill, is the “ Hunting Tower,” from 
which the ladies in the olden time enjoyed a view of the 
stag-hunting over an extensive area of the park below. The 
kitchen gardens, to which we are advancing, lie near the 
boundary of the park, and cover an extent of twelve acres; 
those we have just left 367, embracing lawns, fountains, 
shrubberies, &c. The approach to those we are just 
entering is by an iron gateway adjoining a very elegant 
lodge lately erected. On the right of the carriage-drive 
leading up to the houses is a deep border of standard Roses. 
The bare appearance of the border and lower parts of the 
stems, generally seen in a collection, is here completely taken 
off by planting dwarf Laurels among them, the plants of 
which, without seemingly deteriorating from the quality of 
the flowers, add greatly to the effect by completely covering 
the borders, and effectually filling up with foliage what 
would otherwise present only a barren array of stems. 
Winding round the drive, we enter, as it were, the gardens 
again through an archway communicating with the houses 
of the plant department. From this archway a carriage- 
drive, and a succession of others through the division walls, 
give a view of the entire extent of the gardens. On the 
left hand is the greenhouse, a long and extensive building, 
gay and bright with a great variety of hardy greenhouse 
plants and shrubs, and filled up at the back with plants of 
Rhododendrons, Acacias, Azaleas, &c. The roof is on the 
ridge-and-furrow system, and trained up the pillars and 
along it are plants of Tacsonia, Fuchsias, &c., the pen¬ 
dulous shoots and flowers of which, during the whole of 
summer, give it a particularly light and airy appearance. 
To the right of this house is the stove or “ Amherstia 
house,” so called from its having been constructed for the 
growth of a specimen of that splendid plant. It now con¬ 
tains a fine plant of the Artocarpus incisa, or Bread-fruit 
tree, and the centre pit is almost filled with a collection of 
IxoraSy JRondeletias, and other stove plants. On the front 
shelf are some good specimens of various others, among 
which is a large one of the new and beautiful Meyenia 
erecta , imported here direct from Africa. The Ixoras, 
however, are the chief attraction, and their clean and healthy 
appearance does credit to the skill and ability of their 
manager. The back of the house is trellised and covered 
with creepers, among which the Cissus discolor is con¬ 
spicuous, and the beautiful Hexacentris Mysorensis forms a 
fine plant upon one of the pillars. 
Before entering the house now immediately in front of- 
us (the Victoria house) we will just glance along the un¬ 
dulating banks fronting the greenhouse and Sir Joseph 
Paxton’s residence. The visitors to these gardens in summer 
cannot avoid being struck with the beauty of these curved 
and undulating banks or borders, filled as they then are with 
scarlet Geraniums, Calceolarias, Verbenas, and other bed¬ 
ding plants, arranged in accordance with their height and 
colouring, backed at the top with shrubs, and presenting 
altogether a very brilliant and animating appearance. But 
the Victoria house is now before us, the germ of that 
