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THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, October 26, 1858. 
round is nearly level, and a certain object at no great 
istance ; but try to reach it, and you find you have many 
a narrow valley to cross, and many a Primrose Hill to 
climb. Were it not for this peculiarity, we might say, that 
the mansion at Bicton was placed on a hill; but, considered 
with its surroundings, our Highland friends wouldsay.it 
occupied a Tcnowl. From that Jcnowl, or knoll, a fine 
peep is obtained of the sea, at a distance of three miles, 
and of a diversified undulating scenery all round,—some 
partaking of a wild, and others of a richly cultivated 
character, whilst some of the heights are covered with 
thriving young plantations. The house originally had 
been a plain, massive, parallelogram of brick, more dis¬ 
tinguished for its interior elegance and commodiousness, 
than its external architecture. Of late years, an addition 
has been made in the centre, of a semicircular form, but 
also in the same plain style of architecture; and on each 
side of this new park a large glass-house has been erected, 
—that on the one side, to act as a banquet and ball¬ 
room; and that on the other side, as an elegant con¬ 
servatory. In the latter, communicating with the draw¬ 
ing, or sitting-room, climbers were growing nicely, and 
Camellias and Oranges, of large size, had been planted in 
rough, fresh soil,—so much recommended some years ago 
by the indefatigable manager, in these and other pages; 
whilst a liberal amount of baskets, vases, &e., furnished 
the ready means for keeping the house gay at all times 
and seasons,—this extra supply of flowering-plants being 
brought from the houses in the flower garden. 
Close to the house, and between it and the commence¬ 
ment to the arboretum, is a menagerie, chiefly devoted to 
birds, the smaller animals, and a great quantity of the 
different varieties of tortoises, — all seemingly happily 
enjoying themselves. The tortoises, whether on lancl or 
water, were thoroughly at home, and seemed to be regular 
salad Lettuce lovers. A stream of pure water passes 
through the yards, and I rather think the different com¬ 
partments of the houses can be heated at pleasure. Here 
a naturalist would love to linger. 
The arboretum is distinguished by having the specimens 
arranged on each side of a beautiful green drive. From 
that drive the trees and shrubs on each side can be seen, 
and their names, which are in large letters, read. The 
drive is kept as smooth as a carpet lawn. The spaces 
between the trees are also mown, but generally not kept 
so short; and, to ensure economy in management, the 
mowings, instead of being rotted when cut, arc consumed 
by sheep, &c. In the whole of the garden establishment, 
there seemed to be a thorough absence alike of parsimony 
or waste. The arboretum is arranged on the natural 
system, the orders and genera following each other, much 
as they do in Loudon’s “Arboretum” and Fruticetum,” 
beginning withClematis and Magnolia, and ending next the 
flower garden with the Pine, Juniper, and Cypress tribes. 
Such climbing plants as the Clematis, Vitis, Pubus, &c., 
were furnished, as supports, with young cut and snagged 
trees of the Spruce and the Larch; and, though in the 
case of some of the smaller specimens their dwarfness 
gave a rather undue prominence to the lichcn-covered 
snags, their fitness for such a purpose stamped them with 
appropriateness, the stronger-growing seeming thoroughly 
at home and safe with the smallest amount of the gar¬ 
dener’s care. In a group of the Bramble, Mr. Barnes 
drew attention to the interest that group presented, from 
their various-tinted woods in winter. Fine masses of 
Rhododendrons and Azaleas were growing, with but little 
extra assistance from the naturally sandy loam. But, 
though the whole of that more than a mile-and-a-half of 
promenade was deeply interesting, our attention was 
chiefly fixed on the splendid Magnolias, near the com¬ 
mencement, almost every species and variety finding 
there a suitable home,—the varieties of grandijiora and 
tripetala, maerophylla, obovatn, &c., equalling almost in 
size and luxuriance their next neighbours,—such beau¬ 
tiful Limes as Till a maerophylla, laciniata, heterophylla, 
argentea.,pendula ,—and such fine Maples as Acer campes- 
tre variegata, alba variegata, obtusata, and striatum (with 
its beautiful bark). And our attention was fixed on these, 
just because it is rare, except in the south of our island, 
to see Magnolias, Myrtles, and Hydrangeas, growing as 
freely as Apple trees in the midland counties. 
The next point of equal attraction was the Pinetum, 
placed next to the flower garden, and rich in fine 
specimens of Araucaria, Deodar, Cryptomeria, Taxus, 
Pirns Halepensis, Benthamiana, insignis, maeroearpa, 
Montezuma, Devoniana, excelsa, Lambertiana, &c.; Abies 
Douglasii (several varieties), and A. Menziesii; Pieea 
pinsapo, nobilis, TVebbiana, Normandiana (the finest 
specimens I have yet seen), Cephalonica, &c.; along with 
almost every known kind of Arbor Vita*, Juniper, and 
Cypress. In passing some fine plants raised from Cu - 
pressus 'maeroearpa seeds, the foliage thickly dotted with 
their yellowish-brown buds, Mr. Barnes said he found 
sprigs of this Cjqpress, so gracefully loaded with buds, of 
great use for mixing with flowers in vases and glasses in 
winter. It would be most interesting to obtain, not 
merely a list, but the height and width of some of the 
most prominent and rare plants in this arboretum, along 
with the time of planting, as furnishing a good idea of 
what such plants will grow to in a certain time. This is, 
however, what no one could attempt to do in a passing 
visit. In a few cases that I guessed at height I was 
beside the mark, but generally made the height more 
than it really was. The whole of this arboretum, back¬ 
grounded on one side for most of the way with Laurels, 
evergreen Oaks, &c., was in excellent keeping. 
Such a collection furnishes rich elements of study for 
gardeners in general, and young gardeners in particular. 
The whole drive is a succession of changes and variety. 
That the interest throughout is not sustained at enthu¬ 
siasm point, is not at all owing to the noble-hearted pro¬ 
prietor, nor the accomplished designer (Mr. Glenclinning), 
but to the hard fact, that, though all plants are beautiful, 
we do feel a descent, when we pass at once from a noble 
Magnolia to a prickly Barberry. This might be partly 
remedied, by throwing the least interesting into groups, 
and thus breaking in a little on the classified arrange¬ 
ment. From such a noble collection, gentlemen with 
limited space may learn the propriety of selecting rather 
than collecting. Ample as the space is, yet in a few 
years many of the best specimens will be crying out for 
; elbow room. 
Near this end of the arboretum is a beautiful Swiss 
cottage, placed on a height, with a piece of water in front, 
and a fine Oak Pollard on a patch of ground in its centre, 
the water being the remains of an old moat, supplied by 
a powerful spring, which liberally furnishes the garden 
with water. I presume that tho ancient residence of Sir 
Walter Raleigh was at no great distance from this spot. 
The cottage is chiefly composed of elegant wickerwork, 
and the floor is formed of the knuckle bones of sheep. 
There is a fine old chair, called Sir Walter Raleigh’s 
chair, and, among many other curiosities, a beautiful fan, 
made from the leaf of a Palm. The grass walk, which 
rises on each side to the cottage, is graced at regular in¬ 
tervals with elegant low standards of the Laurestinus,— 
among the first I had seen thus treated,—and beautiful 
and compact they looked. They receive a slight pruning 
to keep them regular once or twice every year. 
The principal architectural objects at Bicton are :—An 
obelisk in the park, seen from a considerable distance at 
sea, forming a striking feature from many positions, and 
breaking the sky outline in a vista in the flower garden. 
A templed bower, or conservatory, in a line with the 
obelisk, and forming the centre of the front range of 
houses in that garden. And a prospect tower, built by 
x the present Lady Rolle, in the Gothic style, at a high 
, point, in an interesting Pine wood. The lower floors of 
; this tower are used by people living in it; but the higher 
stories are each devoted tq objects of general and anti- 
