THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, September 15, 1857. 377 
surface. The space between that bank and the walk is 
thrown up into clumps of diversified appearance and 
aspect, the material chiefly used being the earth thrown 
out of the intersecting pathways, sunk to a considerable 
and varied depth, and yet dryness secured by drainage. 
The sides of these mound clumps and borders slope in¬ 
wards from the intersecting walks, and are supported by 
layers of brickbats, diversified by huge lumps of brick 
that had run together and been next to vitrified in the 
kiln, large pudding and other singular stones, sur¬ 
mounted by fine specimens of old hollow pollards, many 
of which are already carpeted with the common Poly¬ 
pody. Our readers will at once imagine how nice a 
position the varied aspects and nooks and corners of such 
clumps and banks afford for lovely Alpines and graceful 
Ferns, at the same time giving a home to many a beau¬ 
tiful plant that would not group in the present fashion¬ 
able flower garden, and perhaps more especially as 
furnishing a suitable residence to all plants that, like 
Ferns, are chiefly interesting from their foliage. Many 
beautiful Alpines are already at home, fair specimens of 
almost every British Fern are already to be seen, and 
hardy ones from other countries will also find a place. 
The commoner sides of brickwork will soon be con¬ 
cealed by Iberis, Helianthemum, Grassula, Lysimachia 
nummularia, &c. The position of such a rough piece of 
work between the wildish wood and the kitchen garden 
is exceedingly well chosen. Three things that Mr. 
Fraser has thought of will insure its greater complete¬ 
ness. First, shutting out either end from the orchard 
by means of a Yew or Laurel hedge, with a rustic arch¬ 
way or gateway for entrances; secondly, removing the 
herbaceous plants from the border in front of the wall, 
and throwing it up into clumps, only less elevated, by 
means of sinking winding pathways through them, the 
herbaceous plants being arranged in the centres of such 
clumps, or in groups entirely by themselves; and, 
thirdly, though not absolutely essential, yet as tending 
to the complete unity of the whole, removing the fruit 
trees from the wall, and covering it with Roses, Cle¬ 
matises, Brambles, Honeysuckles, &c., allowed to grow 
in a wild, almost natural, unpruned condition. Few of 
our readers would wish to imitate the size of this com¬ 
bination of fernery, alpinery, &c.; but there are few 
small places where corners and out-of-the-way spots 
might not thus be rendered very interesting merely as 
a change from the fruit garden, or the nicely-kept lawn 
of the flower garden. A few stones and old roots will 
be mostly all that are wanted to form a commencement. 
Let the place, however small, be well chosen nevertheless, 
or disappointment will follow to all concerned. 
In the front of a Grecian mansion, surrounded by a 
beautiful lawn well stored with well-filled flower-beds 
on the massing system, I lately saw an unmeaning 
mound of this description forming a sort of centre to the 
whole. A short distance off there was a position 
where such a taste might have had full bent with pro¬ 
priety ; but, strange to say, the owners were particularly 
delighted with this gimcrack, heterogeneous centre-piece. 
A byre or a pigsty may be made very ornamental. Very 
moderately so they are always interesting, because con¬ 
nected with ideas of utility; but, however ornamental, 
they would hardly be fit accessories as the centres of a 
well-furnished parlour. Suitability is a word which 
many of our professed leaders in gardening seem rarely 
to have studied, or we never should have had such 
clashing of ideas and distortions of fancy under the 
disguises of variety and contrast. 
Of house plants, kitchen crops, and the health and 
fertility of old and young fruit trees I say nothing, but 
will conclude with two or three recollections of the 
pleasure ground and flower garden. 
The first is, that all the American plants ore thriving 
well in the marlish, clayey material I formerly stated 
they were planted in. • A few of the Chinese white 
Azaleas and the purple plicenicea had been a little in¬ 
jured last winter. The bulk of the white ones, however, 
escaped wholly unscathed, and bloomed freely this spring, 
and are now forming flower-buds. 
2 . In these pleasure grounds the walks were, if 
anything, too numerous. Some of these have been 
turfed down, and near others banks of evergreens have 
been planted, so as to a great extent to prevent one main 
walk being seen from another. 
3. In doing this advantage has been taken to give a 
bolder background to the flower garden on the face of 
the hill, as seen from the delightful walk in the valley 
below. Shrubs which, when planted, were no obstruc¬ 
tion to the view of the flower garden, when looked at 
from this lower walk were getting too large, and, being 
thinned and removed to the top and the sides, the key¬ 
note has been given for rendering this flower garden 
everything it is possible to make it in such a position. 
When, as at this season, a blaze of colour, such a garden 
will always be striking, especially when looked up to 
from the lower walk, or glanced across at from its neigh¬ 
bouring slope opposite in the park; and yet, after all, 
I cannot help dreaming about a fine Italian garden in 
front of the terrace of this noble mansion, with a fit 
accompaniment of statues, vases, and fountains. 
R. Fish. 
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CRYPTOMERIA 
JAPONICA, OR JAPAN CEDAR. 
By Mr. George Gordon, A.L.S., Superintendent of the 
Hardy Department in the Society’s Garden. 
Few hardy plants are of more importance in England 
during winter than evergreens, more especially those of 
large dimensions, not only for objects of decoration, but for 
what is of greater importance in many situations, the pro¬ 
viding shelter from bleak winds during the colder portions 
of the year; and, as the Japan Cedar is likely not only to 
prove hardy, but to form quite a new feature in our land¬ 
scapes, much resembling the Australian form of Araucaria, a 
short account of its history and treatment may not be with¬ 
out interest. 
The first account we find of the existence of this Japan 
Cedar is by Professor Thunberg, who, in the year 1781, 
published its history in his Flora Japonica, p. 265, under 
the name of Cupressus Japonica. He states that it is found, 
both spontaneous and planted, on the mountains of 
Nagasaki and elsewhere; that the Japanese call it San or 
Sugi, which, in their language, signifies an evergreen tree, 
with stiff bristle-shaped leaves ; that it is a very tall upright 
tree, with a pyramidal head, bearing flowers in March ; that 
the timber is very soft, so as to be easily worked, but much 
used for various purposes, particularly for cabinet work 
among the Japanese. 
Nothing further seems to have been added to our know¬ 
ledge of this beautiful tree until 1834, when Professor Don 
published a more technical description, with an uncoloured 
plate, in the 18th volume of the “ Transactions of the 
Linnsean Society,” under the name of Cryptomeria Japonica. 
His account was drawn up from the original specimen found 
in that portion of the Society’s Herbarium which formerly 
belonged to their late President, Sir J, E. Smith, and which 
he obtained from the younger Linnaeus, who had it from his 
friend and successor, Thunberg, after his return from Japan. 
Mr. Loudon, in his large edition of the Arboretum and 
Fruticetum Britannicum , merely mentions the tree under the 
old name, at the end of Gupressinece , upon the authority of 
Thunberg, and in the last or abridged edition of the 
Arboretum Britannicum omits the name altogether as being 
very doubtful. No certain account regarding it appears to 
have been again given from the time of Thunberg until the 
year 1844, when Dr. Siebold, in liis beautiful Flora Japonica, 
gave a coloured pHte and a detailed account of it, from 
which I have made* the following extracts :—He says “ that 
this majestic tree perfectly well deserves the name of Cedar, 
