5G0 
JUne  H,  189?. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
house,  and  the  roots  extend  to  no  one  knows  exactly  where ;  but 
endeavour  is  being  made  to  induce  a  new  surface  layer  from  the  stem, 
and  not  without  success  ;  and  just  as  these  increase  and  multiply  there, 
and  young  rod  extension  is  encouraged,  so  will  the  grand  old  Vine  be 
benefited,  its  vigour  increased,  and  its  life  prolonged. 
Great  us  is  the  extension  of  this  remarkable  Vine,  covering  as  it  does 
3450  square  feet  of  roof  space,  it  is  all  the  same  restricted,  and  has  been 
for  some  years.  How  far  it  would  extend  if  additional  space  could  be 
afforded  it  is  difficult  to  say,  but  as  past  extensions  have  led  to  greater 
invigoration,  similar  results  must  almost  of  necessity  follow  if  it  should 
happen  in  the  course  of  time  that  means  could  be  devised  for  giving  it 
further  liberty.  The  Grapes,  about  2000  bunches,  produced  by  this 
splendid  Vine  are  of  the  first  quality,  and  we  suspect  they  will  be  finer 
than  usual  this  year,  which  is  something  to  say  for  a  centenarian. 
personal  present  to  her  Majesty  by  the  contributors  to  the  fund.  It 
is  reached  by  a  curving  drive,  flanked  by  recently  planted  belts  of 
Rhododendrons. 
Virginia  Watek. 
No  portion  of  the  Great  Park  (to  which  it  may  be  said  the  public  has 
access)  is  more  beautiful  than  that  known  as  Virginia  Water. 
“  Menzies,”  late  surveyor  of  the  Park,  mentions  in  his  history  of  it  that 
the  name  is  derived  from  a  brook  that  originally  drained  this  portion  of 
the  Park,  and  this  brook  was  named  "Virginia,”  after  Queen  Elizabeth, 
the  Virgin  Queen.  The  extent  of  the  water  is  now  300  acres,  which 
takes  bold  sweeps  between  richly  wooded  banks,  rising  in  places  to 
something  like  mountains  of  foliage,  of  Beech,  Birch,  Firs,  and  Willows, 
not  in  indiscriminate  mixture,  but  evidently  in  accordance  with  well- 
considered  design. 
FIG.  112.— BUCKINGHAM  PALACE  {page  562). 
It  should  be  added,  that  almost  adjoining  the  vinery  is  one  of  the 
schools  supported  b.y  the  Queen  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  the 
many  workmen  who  are  engaged  in  the  Great  Park ;  and  further,  that 
ample  ground  is  attached  for  the  teaching  of  useful  gardening  to  the 
scholars,  a  practice  that  has  been  in  operation  here  for  many  years. 
The  Equestrian  Statue  of  the  Prince  Consort. 
Proceeding  from  Cumberland  Lodge  southwards  we  emerge  from  the 
trees  into  a  large  opening,  known  as  “  Smith’s  Plain.”  Some  distance 
to  the  right  stands  an  equestrian  statue  of  the  late  Prince  Consort, 
looking  towards  Windsor.  Ten  years  ago  many  thousands  of  pounds 
were  collected  by  the  women  of  the  United  Kingdom  as  a  Jubilee  gift 
to  the  Queen.  This  her  Majesty  devoted  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Royal  Nurses’  Institution,  with  the  gratifying  result  that  already 
hundreds  of  trained  nurses  are  available  for  ministering  to  the  wants 
of  the  sick  and  destitute  poor  ;  and  as  the  funds  increase  so  will  these 
real  sisters  of  mercy,  to  remind  of  the  tender  heartedness  of  the  Queen, 
of  whose  application  of  the  gift  this  statue  is  a  substantial  memorial — a 
Hughes,  in  his  recent  “History  of  Windsor  Forest”*  says:  The 
laying  out  of  Virginia  Water  was  commenced  in  1746  by  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  who  was  appointed  chief  ranger  in  that  year.  He  in¬ 
stalled  Thomas  Sandby,  Esq.,  as  deputy  ranger,  this  gentleman  aiding 
him  in  the  works  of  improvement.  The  first  Virginia  Water  was 
apparently  completed  between  1750-52,  for  a  plate  bearing  the  date  1753 
shows  a  lake  of  considerable  size,  with  the  Belvidere  in  the  distance. 
This  was  taken  from  a  picture  by  Paul  Sandby,  Esq.,  an  artist,  brother 
to  Thomas  Sandby,  who  aided  the  Duke  in  designing  the  Waters.  About 
this  time  the  Duke  left  England  and  was  engaged  in  wars  in  Hanover, 
returning  in  1757,  when,  being  in  disfavour  with  the  King  (George  II.), 
he  threw  up  his  military  appointments  and  retired  to  Windsor,  where  he 
found  congenial  occupation  in  further  laying  out  and  planting  the  hill- 
slopes  of  the  Virginia  river.  The  Annual  Register  of  1768,  speaking  of 
a  deluge  of  rain  that  fell  in  that  year  Bays  :  “  The  late  Duke  of  Cumber¬ 
land’s  fine  waterworks  in  Windsor  Forest  were  entirely  destroyed.” 
*  Ballantyne,  Hanson  &  Co.,  1890. 
