April  3,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
299 
Some  Typical  Gardens. 
Ill —The  MaDor  Farm.  , 
I  have  given  it  a  name  because  every  farmstead  in  the 
kingdom  possesses  one,  even  though  it  may  not  boast  of 
anything  worthy  of  being  called  a  garden.  Curious  indeed 
are  the  titles  by  which  rural  farms  are  known,  and  it  would 
be  interesting  to  learn  the  origin  of  them.  In  some  cases 
this  may  be  traced,  but  in  the  majority  of  instances  even 
the  folklore  of  the  district  gives  no  clue,-  and  the  names 
are  passed  on  from  one  generation  to  another  without 
anyone  concerning  themselves  about  the  origin  of  the  title. 
Indeed,  the  homestead  itself  may  disappear  ;  but  the 
name  is  never  effaced,  and  clings  for  all  time  to  some  field, 
cottage,  or  track  of  land  that  marks  the  site.  My  office  | 
here,  however,  is  not  to  write  about  the  name  of  the  farm,  l 
but  its  garden,  and  neidiaps  I  may  be  allowed  to  generalise  I 
:a  little  to  begin  with.  I 
the  least,  the  situation,  that  marks  the  rustic  farmhouses 
amongst  the  beautiful  objects  of  this  fair  land. 
At  the  same  time  it  is  sad  to  see  so  many  of  these 
homesteads  under  a  cloud,  so  to  speak.  In  many  of  them, 
where  in  the  old  days  a  well-to-do  farmer  dwelt  ard 
brought  up  a  family  in  prosperity  and  comfort,  you  find 
only  a  bailiff  or  a  labourer,  and  the  garden,  like  the  rest 
of  the  place,  ))resents  evidence  of  the  agricultural  depres¬ 
sion  that  has  brought  about  these  regretted  changes.  The 
garden  is  still  there,  but  it  is  untidy  and  uncared  for  ;  the 
little  lawn,  once  well  kept,  is  tenanted  by  chicken  coops, 
and  the  rank  unmown  grass,  uncut  verges,  and  w'eedy 
walks  tell  their  story  only  too  plainly.  And  the  farmer  who 
lived  a’^d  made  money  there  in  better  days — I¥hat  of  him? 
Perhaps  he  went  on  hoping  against  hope  for  good  seasons 
and  higher  prices  until  the  end  came  and  he  w-ent  under, 
as  many  a  striving  famier  has  done,  or  else  he  saw  the  end 
coming  and  saved  himself  in  time.  But  let  us  pass  over 
this  aspect  quickly.  It  is  a  gloomy  picture,  yet  real 
enough,  and  the  depression  that  brought  it  about  has  also 
Marble  Platform  in  the  Taj  Gardens,  Agra. 
In  the  first  place,  some  of  the  most  delightful  examples  . 
of  natural  English  gardening  may  be  found  amid  the  j 
surroundings  of  rural  farmsteads,  though,  perhaps,  there  , 
are  places  where  they  are  rarely  looked  for.  There  is  i 
nothing  showy,  nothing  original,  and  little  that  is  novel  ; 
but  there  is  an  association  that  connects  one  with  years 
and  generations  of  the  past.  Every  old-fashioned  flower, 
unrepresented,  perhaps,  in  the  smart  up-to-date  garden  of 
a  few  years’  standing,  has  a  story  to  tell,  not  only  of  its 
own  faithfulness  in  going  on,  year  after  year,  but  of  the  ' 
way  in  which  countryfolks  lived — yea,  and  loved  their  , 
simple  gardens,  when  every  village  w^as  a  little  world  of  * 
its  own,  dependent  on  its  lord  of  the  manor  and  yeoman  | 
farmers,  before  the  genius  of  inventive  skill  changed  the  i 
old  order  of  things,  and  rural  dwellers  became  less  content 
to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  their  fathers.  They  seem  to 
have  all  grown  old  together — the  ancient  homesteads,  the 
quaintly  built  bams,  and  the  rambling  gardens.  Not  only 
in  company,  but  in  unity,  for  it  is  the  combination  of 
architecture,  landscape,  trees,  flowers,  buildings,  and,  not 
made  itself  felt  amongst  the  gardens  and  gardeners  in 
many  a  country  establishment.  Some  people  say  that 
there  is  a  brighter  outlook  ahead.  Let  us  hope  that  such 
is  the  case,  and  that  the  many  tenantless  farmhouses  may 
again  be  occupied  with  men  of  means  and  abilities 
qualified  to  keep  iip  the  traditions  of  British  agriculture. 
Whatever  may  l)e  said  of  the  old  school,  the  average 
farmer  of  to-day  is  not  an  enthusiastic  gardener.  Closely 
as  agriculture  and  horticulture  are  connected  in  many 
respects,  still  there  is  a  culf  between  them,  and  the  farmer 
does  not  concern  himself  to  cross  it.  Too  often  he  looks 
on  the  garden  as  a  necessary  adjunct  to  his  establishmeut 
to  provide  certain  needs,  and  he  gives  it  just  enouah 
attention  for  that  purpose.  But  his  real  business  is  his. 
stock  and  field  crops  ;  and  as  for  the  flower  garden — well, 
for  the  sake  of  appearances  it  must  have  some  attention, 
but  in  many  cases  it  is  left  to  the  feminine  '-'ortion  of  the 
household  to  look  after.  There  may  be  an  excuse  for  this, 
because  in,  latter  years  it  has  been  no  easy  task  to  keep 
the  balance  in  the  ledger  on  the  right  side,  and  the 
