Supple/ne/U  to 
March  15,  1900. 
JOb Rh AL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
A  Tree  with  a  History. 
On  an  estate  of  such  acreage  as  Mentmore  it  is  usually  safe  to 
assume  that  there  will  be  several  kinds  of  soil,  and  it  frequently 
happens  that  trees  which  will  thrive  in  one  position  barely  exist  in 
another.  To  a  degree  this  is  the  case  here,  but,  generally  speaking,  all 
kinds  of  trees  grow  remarkably  well,  and  if  they  do  not  make  rapid 
advance  at  first  they  easily  make  up  for  it  later  when  the  roots  have 
become  thoroughly  established.  Then  they  grow  speedily  and  strongly 
and  attain  to  considerable  stature  in  the  course  of  a  few  years. 
Evidence  of  this  can  be  seen  on  every  hand,  and  hundreds  of  specimens 
that  Mr.  Smith  planted  are  now  handsome,  tall  and  strong.  It  is 
223 
sown,  and  two  years  later  (March  25th,  1880)  the  plantlat  was  placed 
in  its  present  home.  To-day  it  has  a  height  of  considerably  over 
30  feet.  The  Countess  of  Rosebery  has  long  since  passed  to  her  eternal 
rest,  but  her  memory  remains  to-day  as  green  ig.  the  minds  of  men  and 
women  as  the  stately  tree  that  was  planted  on  her  bridal  day. 
The  Village  of  Mentmore. 
Proceeding  from  the  essentially  ornamental  and  beautiful  portion  of 
the  estate  to  the  still  beautiful  but  more  utilitarian  section,  we  pass 
through  the  village  of  Mentmore.  It  is  ideally  situated  with  splendid 
views  on  every  hand,  and  one  has  not  traversed  a  dozen  yards  ore 
incontrovertible  evidence  is  seen  of  the  presence  of  a  thoughtful  owner. 
I’hoto  by  I'heo  FiggoU, 
Leighton  liuzzard. 
Fig.  61.— mentmore  :  THE  ITALIAN  GARDEN. 
Tiot  desirable  in  such  notes  as  these  to  givejlists  of  plants  or  flowers  or 
trees,  and  I  shall  therefore  take  one  species  as  being  typical  of  many 
others.  For  this  purpose  we  may  choose  yellingtonia  gigantea,  which 
is]  seen  in  many  positions  and  everywhere  in  splendid  condition. 
Two  specimens  measured  by  Mr.  SmithJ  have  a  height  of  37  and 
35  feet  respectively,  with  a  spread  of /branches  of  50  feet.  We 
may,  however,  make  for  the  moment  me  selection  still  narrower, 
bringing  it  down  to  one  example  of  the  sjecies,  as  this  tree  has  indeed 
a  history.  It  stands  with  a  few  otha-s  in  a  plantation  close  to 
Mr.  Smith’s  house,  and  has  been  grown  rora  seeds  sown  by  him  many 
years  ago.  The  cone  containing  the  seeps  from  which  this  plant  was 
raised  was  shot  with  a  rifle  from  a  tr®  in  California  by  a  medical 
friend  of  the  late  Baron  de  Rothschild/ and  reached  Mr.  Smith  two 
weeks  prior  to  the  Earl  of  Rosebery’s  mmriage  to  the  daughter  of  the 
house.  On  the  day  of  the  wedding,  Mach  20th,  1878,  the  seeds  were 
The  clean  and  tidy  houses  have  an  air  of  comfort  that  is  unfortunately 
lacking  in  many  an  English  village,  and  the  gardens  attached,  though 
not  now  containing  much  produce,  will  doubtless  in  due  season  be  made 
to  bring  forth  their  share  of  food  for  the  homes.  The  schoolhouses 
have,  too,  an  aspect  of  prosperity  that  is  quite  in  keeping  with  the 
snrroundings.  The  allotments  provided  for  cottagers  I  did  not  see,  but 
the  system  of  working  and  their  extent  are,  I  know,  much  above  the 
average,  and  many  surprisingly  excellent  crops  are  gathered  therefrom. 
From  either  end  of  the  comparatively  short  village  street  there 
are  magnificent  views  of  fertile  valley  to  rising  ground  beyond, 
while  to  the  right  passes  the  road  to  the  town  of  Leighton.  From 
several  points  hereabouts  glimpses  can  be  had  of  Mr.  Leopold  de 
Rothschild’s  garden  of  Asoott,  but  the  residence  cannot  be  seen  because 
of  the  trees  by  which  it  is  surrounded.  These,  too,  naturally  obscure 
any  details  of  a  garden  that  has  a  wide  repute  for  its  beauty. 
