THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 7, 1858. 117 
from the general appearance of the room. Some kinds 
of Apples are very apt to engender a fungus on their 
skins whilst growing on the tree: I may quote Hicks' 
Fancy and Pitmaston Nonpareil. I find it the best plan 
to gather these a little unripe, as the fungus seems to 
revel on the ripening skin. R. Ekbington. 
Mount edgecombe. 
This is, perhaps, the best-known place in the kingdom. 
Not that more persons have actually seen it, than other 
priueely residences of our gentry and nobility, but that- 
owing to its beautiful marine peninsular position, its sub¬ 
lime and very diversified scenery, enhanced not merely 
by its proximity, but its contrast to, a great naval port, 
and, perhaps, the greatest national workshop—it has justly 
become such a favourite subject with the painter and the 
engraver, as to be found gracing the windows of the 
priutsellers in almost every town. Hence, when, from 
Plymouth Hoe, I first caught a sight of the beautiful 
place, I required no one to tell me that it was Mount 
Edgecombe. Erom the Hoe, as stated above ; from Mill- 
brook bay, or lake, near the Hoe; and also near the ter¬ 
mination of the railway;—from the neighbouring con¬ 
nected towns of Stonehouse and Devonport, the victual¬ 
ling yards, the splendid docks and workshops, and the 
fine park lately obtained by the people of Devonport, 
all clustered on the east side of the bay, or Sound, of 
Plymouth,—fine views are obtained of Mount Edgecombe, 
nestled in a peninsula on the western side of the Sound. 
The ground, which rises rather precipitously on the 
eastern and southern sides, shelves down very gradually 
to Cremill, near to which, and close to the water, are the 
principal ornamental gardens, a gradual ascent leading to 
the house at something like half a mile distant. There is 
a regular ferry from Admiral’s Hard, at Stonehouse, 
and Mutton Cove, at Devonport, and Plymouth Hoe, to 
Cremill. But a boat can easily be obtained from any 
other place connected with any of these towns, for a 
mere trifle more, in proportion to the distance. Parties 
not exceeding six in number can have cards of admission, 
and a guide to accompany them, any day, by applying 
to Mrs. Huss, stationer, Chapel Street, Stonehouse. On 
every Monday during summer, the place, with the ex¬ 
ception, perhaps, of some private groitnds, is open to the 
public, without let or hindrance, and thousands generally 
are not slow to enjoy the boon thus freely offered by the 
noble-hearted proprietor. 
I regret much that time did not admit of going 
over the whole of the beautiful grounds, and observing 
all the magnificent views of land and water, from the 
elevated park terraces ; but were I to describe all we 
did see, I should want numbers, instead of columns. 
A friend put the question, —What might be its lead¬ 
ing feature, in contrast with such places as Mamhead 
and Chatsworth? And, perhaps, even from such a 
question some idea may be formed. Mamhead, like 
Mount Edgecombe, seemed embowered in wood ; but it is 
fully six times farther from the water, aud has it chiefly 
only in front. The country between it and the water is cul¬ 
tivated, whoever it may belong to, and the rising ground 
behind it is also cultivated, and may belong to different 
proprietors. The wooded appearance, when seen from a 
distance, depended chiefly, so far as I recollect, on strips 
of wood and hedgerow timber. There can be no mistake 
as to Mount Edgecombe being one demesne, even when 
seen from a distance ; and a striking peculiarity is, that 
the highest grounds, even to the top of the hill, are open, 
even for park scenery ; and it is from these heights that 
the most splendid views are obtained. Here, then, 
would be the great contrast to Chatsworth; though it is 
out of the way to contrast or compare, where all is 
ihoroughly dissimilar. Notwithstanding the fine position 
of the Palace of the Peak, the artistic character of its 
flower gardens, water cascades, and fountains, the beau¬ 
tiful winding Derwent in the hollow beneath it, the fino 
diversified park, with its noble timber, and, so far as 1 
have seen, its thoroughly unrivalled nark village of 1 
Essendon,—there can be little question tliat what adds a 
magic charm to the whole, is the background,—the Ro¬ 
mantic steep hill, clothed withSeotch Fir and other sombre 
tints, enlivened with sparkling gleams of water, as it 
dances from crag to crag. Here, at one view, are pre¬ 
sented the romantic picturesque, the highly - finished 
architecture, the artistic, and the gardenesque in gar¬ 
dening, with the more common elegant accessories of 
park scenery. 
At Mount Edgecombe, on the other hand,—vtith the 
striking exception of the precipitous cliffs at places such 
as those on the south coast, beyond Barnpool, and which 
are clothed and surmounted with evergreen Oaks, Laurels, 
Arbutus, Myrtles, and other evergreens,—there is but 
little of the romantic in its general composition ; but the 
prevailing features are an exceedingly rich, varied, pic¬ 
turesqueness, combined with the freedom of open cam¬ 
paign park scenery. That clothed picturesqueness is 
effected by combining all modes of planting in one whole, 
-—such as a wide avenue of grass, with double rows of 
trees on each side, from the lodge at Cremill up to the 
house; other avenues, between the shrubberies of the 
house and the south coast, relieved of their sameness, 
however, by large open spaces and large groups of trees ; 
by a large open space between the coast and the shrub¬ 
beries, called the amphitheatre, where tier above tier of 
fine and rare trees rise above each other on the slope of 
the hill; while behind these, and passing behind the 
house, in a very irregularly curved line, a dense mass of 
plantation extends pretty well across the peninsula, that 
wood, like all other parts, being traversed by walks re¬ 
vealing many points of interest. Beyond this, higher up 
the hill, or mount, wdiich, though pretty high, has none 
of the abrupt steepness of Chatsworth, is placed the open 
park scenery, relieved only by few and small groups of 
trees. 
What, therefore, may be more properly denominated 
open park, is chiefly found behind the house, on the 
highest rising ground. No doubt, it is of importance that 
the ground there should be much more thinly planted, 
in order to permit the eye to wander freely over the 
striking scenery on each side. Yet, when looked at from 
the other side of the bay, this more—nay, very open part, 
seemed too great a contrast to the more densely wooded 
part below it. A large terrace - walk goes across this 
open part, about the centre, whilst a circuitous walk 
traverses its lower and upper extremities; from all of 
which, but especially from the upper and middle one, 
the most varied and extensive views are obtained;—on 
the one side, the sea, with the noble breakwater at the 
entrance of the bay, or sound; before you, the towns of 
Plymouth, Stonehouse, and Devonport, with the hills of 
Dartmouth, &c., beyond ; aud thronged in the noble bay,_ 
the huge leviathans, that constitute the wooden walls of 
old England ; whilst the many more that are building in 
the docks, with every new improvement, might permit 
our alarmists to sleep without the nightmare dream, that 
England would become the easy prey of the first conti¬ 
nental power that had the wisdom to attack her. On 
the other side, the bay would be seen gliding into the 
estuary of the romantic Tamar, whose banks, we were 
told, would rival, for picturesque and striking beauty, 
even those of the Rhine; and across which, at Saltash, 
is now nearly completed, the beautiful tubular suspension 
bridge, for the Cornwall railway, pronounced, by many 
competent to form an opinion, to be the most striking 
result of scientific and engineering skill the world has 
hitherto witnessed. 
However, leaving everything else out of view, I would 
now content myself with noticing a few striking plants in 
the gardens near the entrance-lodge, at Cremill, and also 
