19 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, April 13, 1858. 
The Board, in a report drawn up last November, 
now lying before me, observes—■ 
“ It is a subject of much congratulation, that out of so 
large and valuable a collection of plants, spread over a wide 
surface, easily removed, and comparatively without an over¬ 
looker, that, with one exception only, not a single loss has 
been discovered; that exception was a single yellow Rose- 
tree, which was taken away unobserved. When it is con¬ 
sidered, that, at least, from computation, 19,000 persons visit 
the Park weekly, in the summer months, this honourable 
feature, to which some attention has been paid, is a well- 
merited tribute to the trustworthiness of the classes who visit 
the grounds; and equally deserving of notice it is, that on 
each occasion when vast crowds have been congregated, not a 
single instance of wilful or accidental injury has occurred. 
The same care has been apparently evinced, which an indivi¬ 
dual proprietor would manifest in his own garden. The op¬ 
portunity of observing conduct so praiseworthy, in the midst 
of so much demoralisation in a manufacturing town, will 
rejoice the philanthropist, v r ho will believe that the culture 
of such a germ is worth all the cost of the Park. 
“ The bowling green has been a source of daily recreation 
and pleasure, and its spaciousness has accommodated a large 
number of bowlers. It has been kept in high condition for 
play, and, but for the wetness of the season, the receipt would 
have considerably exceeded last year’s. The game of cricket 
has greatly increased. The park-keeper has counted forty sets 
of wickets pitched in the park on a Saturday afternoon, after 
i the mills are closed. Various clubs regularly meet and play 
during the year, and if additional spaces could be afforded, 
even more playing would be promoted. The question may 
fairly be asked—What would become of the large masses of 
I people who congregate in the Park on a summer’s evening 
! after work, if they had had no such place of resort ? The 
answer is, in some measure, suggested by a reference to the 
police records of the past. 
“ Since the opening of the Park, cases of c drunkenness 
and disorderly conduct ’ have decreased in the borough 
j twenty-three per cent., as compared with the three preceding 
j years. 
“‘ Making use of obscene and profane language ’ has de¬ 
creased sixty per cent. ‘ Gambling ’ has decreased fifty - 
eight per cent., and c summary charges,’ of every class, have 
decreased twenty-six per cent. 
“ It is not presumed that these gratifying symptoms of 
improvement are attributable to the efforts singly of either 
one institution or another; but it is certainly encouraging to 
the benevolent, when, contemporaneously with the influence 
of Sunday Schools, Mechanic Institutions, Reformatories, 
and Public Parks, and societies of a kindred mission, these 
1 fruitful evidences can be tangibly produced. At the same 
time it must be remembered, that all the former institutions 
have shed their beneficent influences for years, whilst the 
Park has existed just for the period that has witnessed such a 
remarkable decrease of those offences which are committed 
by persons exposed entirely to debasing pleasures, having no 
means of innocent recreation. And some gain may also be 
placed to the credit of improved health, of both children and 
adults, if the pure air and exercise taken in the Park be better 
than in confined courts and streets. And such relaxation 
give a spring to industry, whilst the other elevating in¬ 
fluences of the Park must, by degrees, train and educate the 
people to neatness in dress, habits of order, and respectability 
of conduct and behaviour.” 
This is a somewhat long quotation, but it is so much 
to the purpose, and so excellent, that I did not think 
it wise to abridge it. I now proceed to give a brief 
description of the park. It is situated on a rather high 
plot of table land, about half a mile to the west, from 
the centre of the town; and is sheltered from the 
! north and west winds by some large trees, that were 
j happily there years before the park was thought of. 
The extent, at present, is rather more than sixteen 
acres, and it is laid out very judiciously. There are 
shrubberies, flower-beds, a large breadth of lawn or 
bowling green, a gymnasium, a large space for the 
noble game of cricket, a handsome Gothic residence 
for the park-keeper, with a large refreshment room in 
front, and a considerable extent of spacious gravel 
walks, all kept in excellent order by Mr. Middlebrook, 
whom I found to be an intelligent and clever gardener. 
He has had put up a good propagating house, nicely out 
of sight, close to his dwelling, in which he raises an im¬ 
mense number of bedding-out plants, starts and pro¬ 
pagates Dahlias, and raises tender annuals. lie assured 
me that many of the operatives admire and take a 
great interest in flowers, and are continually taking 
lessons from him in the propagation and culture of 
these charming and attractive objects. It is greatly 
to his credit, that he makes no secret of such matters, 
but admits such inquirers freely into his sanctum, and 
gives them every information they require. The 
flowers under his care and management, as may be 
expected, are in summer very effective. A son and 
daughter of mine visited the Park last summer, and, 
on their return home, gave a glowing description of 
what they saw there in the flower-beds. 
I was so much pleased with all I saw there, though 
it was in March, that I took a few notes on the spot, 
and will now enter more particularly into such matters 
as I consider worthy of notice and emulation. The 
Cottage Gardener finds its way so largely into every 
part of the United Kingdom, that I cannot help 
hoping that this example of public spirit in the town 
of Macclesfield, recorded in its pages, will have the 
effect of stimulating many other towns, with even a 
less population, to go and do likewise. 
Refreshment Room .—This, as I remarked before, is 
large and commodious. It is fitted up with counters, 
a cooking range, and every convenience, so the visitor 
may have tea or coffee with nice hot-buttered cakes in 
quick time. In winter, as I saw when I was there, 
this room is made use of as a receptacle for scarlet 
Geraniums, Calceolarias, Lobelias, and other plants 
for the flower-beds. To keep the frost out, a range or 
two of hot-water pipes are laid on the floor. It 
serves, also, as a place to put in rustic vases. These 
are all of Mr. Middlebrook’s own making, and really 
beautiful objects they are. Outside I noticed some 
very decent carved heads on each angle. Indeed, 
Mr. M. is quite a genius with his knife and chisel. To 
preserve the bark on his vases, he uses a mixture ot 
rosin and raw linseed oil; and to keep the inside from 
rotting he uses what he calls Stockholm tar, which he 
says costs 4 d. per pound, and is laid on with a brush 
like paint. 
Terrace Walls and Views .—In front of the refresh¬ 
ment room there is a wide terrace walk. This is a 
good position to observe the views of the surrounding 
country, though a still better place is from a raised 
mound lower down in the park. From it the view is 
magnificent, extending from Mors Cop, a lofty moun¬ 
tain in Staffordshire, and nearer the Blakelon Hill, 
and the picturesque Kerridge range, terminating with 
the Northern or White Nancy, on the top of which is 
a circular, white, pointed building, supposed to have 
been the site of a beacon during the civil wars. On 
the sides of this range the villages of Bollington and 
Pat Shrigley are seen embosomed in beautiful scenery. 
On the north-east side of this range of hills, the 
counties of Cheshire and Derby converge. Looking 
lower you are startled, sometimes, by the screams and 
smoke of the trains on the railway to Manchester. 
Looking nearer home, the new Grammar School, 
founded, originally, by King Edward, and well en¬ 
dowed, is a very conspicuous object, but very bare 
and desolate (why do they not plant round it P). Op¬ 
posite to it, embosomed in trees, is a large house used 
as- a boarding school. This is within the boundary of 
the park, and ought to be purchased and fitted up as 
a museum, library, and reading-room. “ A consum- 
