THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY 
thing, for I have been watching the two at Mr. Jackson’s 
nursery ever since he had them from Edinburgh true 
from the hands of the raiser. D. Beaton. 
GLIMPSES AND GLEANINGS. 
At the time I saw Mr. Cutbush’s Nursery at Barnet 
I paid a running visit to several places in the vicinity. 
Having mislaid the few notes I took I will jot down 
some of the things that have left their traces on my 
memory. 
WROTHAM PARK. 
This is the well-known residence of the late George 
Byng, Esq., the father of the House of Commons, and 
now the property of Lord Enfield. It is delightfully 
situated about two miles from Barnet. The mansion 
used to be one of the most striking features on the 
great northern road from Barnet to St. Alban’s in the 
days of coaching, and appears even to greater ad¬ 
vantage from a distance than when in its immediate 
vicinity, the distance here, as in many other cases, 
lending enchantment to the view. Whether out of 
something akin to veneration for the worthy old 
politician, or from a desire for seclusion so natural 
to some minds, certain it is that the neighbouring 
gentry have so planted their mansions out of sight, 
that, standing at Wrotham, the beautiful landscape to 
the west and north, including several fine estates, might, 
without any stretch of imagination, be taken as part of 
the demesne, while from many parts of these estates 
the mansion of Wrotham becomes again the most 
conspicuous point in the landscape. The last time I 
visited this place, some ten or twelve years ago, an 
unpleasant but unavoidable work was then going on— 
underpinning and securing the foundations of the 
house, which had so much given way as to render the 
whole fabric insecure. The soil being of a very un¬ 
satisfactory character, the foundations had been laid on 
wood, but too near the surface, so that the air had 
access to it, and hastened its decomposition, and when 
that was gone the result was soon seen in the cracking 
of the walls and staircases. In these davs of wide 
concrete foundations it may be less necessary to resort 
to wood on yielding, unsatisfactory ground; but, when 
resorted to at all, a first necessity is that it be placed 
deep enough to be beyond atmospheric influence. 
In front of the mansion, and commanding a fine 
view of the lake and the adjoining scenery, a new terrace 
was nearly completed. This, however, is merely a 
tithe of the changes and improvements made by the 
present noble proprietor, as seen in beautiful, well- 
arranged, compact stables, new model farm buildings, 
elegant residences for farmers, gardeners, &c., and a fine 
new range of substantial and useful rooms and sheds 
behind the houses. 
Accustomed to see first-rate gardening carried on here 
under the management of Mr. Thompson, when he had 
chiefly to depend upon the old-fashioned means of 
heating, and the range of houses was on the up-stair 
and down-stair principle, it was pleasant to see that a 
lady could now easily walk through on a good level path 
from one end of the range to the other. In many places, 
where in a range you have a greenhouse on one level, a 
vinery on another, and then a pinery, where you have to 
mount several steps, to walk along the back, and descend 
as many again to come to the level of the next house, a 
great improvement would be easily effected merely by 
taking a wide pathway all the way along the back, as 
has been done at Wrotham. A pleasant avenue is thus 
formed, and the gardening operations may be examined 
by any one; while, in the other case, none but strong, 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, July 14, 1857. 231 
healthy enthusiasts could be expected to undertake the 
task. The depth of Pine pits might form some excuse 
for such an arrangement formerly; but, as a shallow tank 
or hot-water pipes can now supply the place of a deep 
bed of fermenting material, such old-fashioned arrange¬ 
ments ought to be considered obsolete in all new 
erections. 
The whole of this great range of houses is heated by a 
large powerful boiler, put up by the Messrs. Cubitt, the 
same firm, I believe, having also effected the changes and 
new works. A sight of the boiler shows it to be capable 
of doing far more work than is demanded of it. With 
commendable prudence, however, another of the same 
size is placed close beside it, ready to be worked if any 
accident should happen to the other—a mode which I 
recommended in the case of the large boiler of the 
Messrs. Weeks, and should always wish to be adopted 
where so much depends upon one boiler. The expense 
in such cases of a second boiler would be a small per¬ 
centage for security, and would soon be more than paid 
in the saving of the heat, which would then escape from 
only one chimney instead of many, when in such large 
establishments a separate furnace is used for every 
house or two or three houses. 
Though, owing to circumstances, Mr. Williamson, the 
gardener, could not go over the whole place with us, 
we were able to observe that a new Cucumber house 
heated by a tank had been erected in a new pit or frame- 
ground; that the whole of the Box edging in the 
kitchen garden was nearly fresh laid; that the forcing 
houses were showing well for fruit; that the huge vinery 
in the centre of the range, where the Vines are planted 
in the centre of the house, the stems supported by iron 
pillars until they reach near the glass, and then branch¬ 
ing to the back and front, was in great luxuriance, 
though the size of the stems spoke of the Vines having 
seen many summers, and one of these stems seemed 
to be contending for the mastery with the iron column, 
clasping it so firmly as ultimately, I fear, to suffer from 
the embrace; that the conservatory was gay with Cal¬ 
ceolarias, Cinerarias, &c., and grenadier-like lines of 
well-bloomed Hydrangeas by the sides of the paths; 
that the bedding stuff was in good order; the walks 
in the pleasure grounds and shady woods as pleasant 
as ever, with buddings here and there of incipient 
ferneries in shady places. Over these shady walks are, 
at places, wild rustic arches, over which the creepers 
dangled and flaunted as wildly; and the only feeling of 
a want of suitability impressed on my mind was on 
finding that some of these rustic arches had given way, 
and had been replaced by arches formed of green-painted 
iron and wire, which I could not help wishing might be 
concealed as soon as possible. Even then, however, 
years will elapse before the creepers and twiners conceal 
the formal outline of the iron arch, and thus compare 
favourably in such positions with the graceful wildness 
of their more rustic, unadorned neighbours. 
Two other ideas may be worth mentioning. The first 
is, that when so much is done in the way of additions 
and improvements it would not unfrequently be desirable 
to fix upon a fresh site for a kitchen garden. Change 
and rotate in cropping as we may, a period will come 
when vegetables and fruits would rejoice in fresh soil. 
Just as in the remodelling and repairing of an old 
building, the expense is frequently as much as would 
have removed the old and constructed a new one, and 
then you have got the old building after all. Some 
people think a kitchen garden, with its wall trees, &c., 
can never be too old; but we constantly see in such 
cases how much plants relish fresh soil and other 
materials. 
The other idea is taken from the position of the 
lodge at the chief entrance on the Barnet and Hatfield 
road. The kitchen garden is close to, but concealed 
