August 13, 188?. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
79 3 
OOOLHURST, HORSHAM. 
Now we are in the Weald of Sussex, and find the 
names exceedingly appropriate. A weald is a wood or 
forest, which was, doubtless, more applicable to this 
part of Sussex as a whole in ancient times than it is at 
present, the continuity of the forest being broken up 
into detached portions more appropriately called woods. 
We have ample evidence of this in the frequency of the 
word hurst, used either as the prefix or affix to the 
names of places. Coolhurst is an instance, and it 
would be an easy matter to find twenty or thirty places 
in the county in the naming of which the same word is 
used. We recently had the pleasure of inspecting the 
gardens and some of the venerable old trees in the 
immediate vicinity of the mansion of Scrase Dickens, 
Esq., Coolhurst, Horsham, and were very much struck 
with the evident antiquity of the place, around which 
we were conducted by Mr. Dickens’ able and genial 
gardener, Mr. Kemp. 
Of the giant and aged Oaks, Beeches, Chesfnuts, 
Pines, and Spruces we have no intention to speak at 
length ; hut there is no denying the impression this 
kind of vegetation has upon the mind of visitors who 
see them for the first time. A history is theirs, of 
which their general appearance is the expression, and 
all “who run may read.” The effects of the disastrous 
storm of last Christmas are still visible where huge 
limbs were wrenched off by the weight of snow, and in 
some of the smaller coniferae that have not yet regained 
their customary straightness. A smoothly cut lawn 
lies in front of the mansion, seemingly continuous with 
but separated by a hawhaw from a field beyond that 
slopes gently down to the edge of a pond or lake, in 
which Water Lilies revel and bloom in profusion, and 
beyond 'which the ascending ground is again heavily 
and beautifully wooded. On this lawn and westward 
from the mansion are some of the finer and more 
select trees which we noted. 
Hoary old giants of the Cedar of Lebanon are 
scattered about the place in various directions ; but a 
specimen of the Deodar, Cedrus deodara, about 70 ft. 
in height, and straight as a mast from base to apex, 
elicited our warmest admiration on account of its 
symmetry, and the beauty of its drooping tipped 
branches. Picea Smithiana, its companion on the 
Himalayas at elevations of 8,000 ft. to 12,000 ft, stood 
not far off, conspicuous by its longdeaved drooping 
branches, but less stately appearance. The Californian 
Red-wood, or Bastard Cedar, Sequoia sempervirens, is 
always a curious tree from its coarse spongy red bark, 
and from the fact that the leaves assume a purplish 
brown colour in winter, as if the tree were dying. A 
magnificent specimen of Cryptomeria j aponica, popularly 
termed the Japan Cedar, is a perfect picture of beauty, 
far excelling anything of the kind we have yet seen. 
It was planted in 1850, which would be about six years 
after its introduction to this country by the late Robert 
Fortune. As it measured at the time of planting 5 ft. 
8 ins. in height, there can be little question that it is 
one of, if not the oldest specimen of its kind in the 
country. The tree is now about 50 ft. in height, 
perfectly feathered to the ground, and tapering pyra¬ 
midally from base to apex. We have frequently seen 
tolerably fair specimens, but they have been very much 
smaller, and generally more or less ragged, straggling, 
or thinly furnished with branches front a little above 
the base. In its native country, the Islands of Japan, 
about forty or fifty years ago it constituted about a 
tenth part of the forest vegetation, and ranged from 
60 ft. to 100 ft. in height. The foliage in this country 
retains its natural colour in winter much better than 
C. elegans, and is altogether hardier than the latter. 
An avenue of Cupressus macrocarpa planted alter¬ 
nately with other kinds would have been a fine sight 
by this time if the avenue had been wider, and the 
other trees removed so as to show off the individual 
peculiarities of this noble and graceful erect-growing 
species. Their effect as a whole is impaired, however, 
by the interference of the other and generally less 
valuable trees that conceal them, unless the visitor 
inspects them separately. The defect, however, is due 
to the original designer or planter, and cannot now be 
remedied. Several specimens planted singly on the 
lawn are in themselves pictures of beauty, about 30 ft. 
to 35 ft. in height, and many of them are carrying 
fruit, which shows from its great size that this species 
is one of the true Cupressus. We generally see it doing 
best in the neighbourhood of the sea in this country, 
and it is very characteristic by its pyramidal habit when 
raised from seed and its bright green aspect. Thuya 
(Chamaecy paris) Lawsoniana, generally known as 
Cupressus Lawsonianus, also thrives well here, and a 
specimen we noted about 50 ft. to 60 ft. in height, was 
so heavily laden with fruit that the branches in the 
upper part of the tree were weighted down as if they 
were pendulous, and the cones imparted their colour to 
that part of the tree. An equally ornamental tree is 
Thuya (Chamsecyparis) nutkiensis, the Nootka Sound 
Cypress, about the same height and beautifully pyra¬ 
midal. Amongst Junipers there were tall specimens of 
Juniperus virginiana, J. chinensis, and J. excelsa. In 
its native country the Spanish Silver Fir, Abies 
pinsapo, grows to the height of 60 ft. to 70 ft., and a 
fine specimen here cannot be far short of that elevation; 
it bears a considerable number of its characteristic 
erect cones, resembling birds or other animals perched 
in the top of the tree. A fine specimen of Araucaria 
imbricata also hears cones abundantly, and ripens 
seeds. 
Larue-flowering shrubs or small trees are also a 
special feature at Coolhurst ; but to see such things as 
Rhododendrons and Azaleas in the height of their 
glory, one must visit the place in June or earty in July. 
The remains of the blossom bore evidence in itself of a 
magnificent and imposing display. And such huge 
masses they were, too ! not tiny dwarf scrubs, hugging 
the ground, as we see too frequently now-a-days, but 
giants, 10 ft. to 12 ft. or more in height. Seedlings in 
unlimited numbers spring up where left undisturbed. 
Snowy Medlars, Rhus cotinus, R. typhinus, Gaultheria 
Shallon, Spiraea japonica, with fine red flowers; Prunus 
Lauro-cerasus variegata, 20 ft. to 25 ft. in height; and 
Kalmia latifolia, all swell the list of useful free-flower¬ 
ing shrubs or small trees. The Calico Bush, Kalmia 
latifolia, is 8 ft. in height, and had flowered finely. 
Rhus cotinus, the Smoke Plant, or Wig Plant, was an 
interesting feature in itself. The old trunk, now about 
6 ins. in diameter, is prostrate ; but the branches erect¬ 
ing themselves to the height of 9 ft., are rendered un- 
Exteriok View of the Vinery at Chiswick. 
