JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
>rarch  12,  1903. 
Sii!ii>h‘))l.-'Kt  ti- 
228 
appreciation  of  Parks,  Gardens,  and  Pleasure  Grounds 
/  1  generally,  is  more  or  less  inherent  in  the  liealtliy  British 
nature,  and  it  has  long  been  understood  that  breathing 
spaces  are  a  necessity  to  the  health  of  the  population 
in  large  towns  and  cities,  besides  being  a  means  of 
simple  recreation  and  enjoyment  for  all  classes,  both  young  and 
old.  This  fact  has  led  in  recent  years  to  a  great  addition  all 
over  the  country  in  the  provision  of  open  spaces  and  the  acquire¬ 
ment  of  ornamental  grounds.  The  growth  of  the  xropulation  has 
been  so  rapid  that  large  numbers  of  people  in  crowded  centres 
would  have  had  but  little  chance  of  seeing  and  enjoying  natural 
beauty  if  the  governing  bodies  had  not  met  this  want. 
The  time  has  not  long  past  when  parks  and  gardens  were  ex¬ 
clusively  private  property.  Now  the  total  number  of  public- 
parks,  gardens,  open  spaces,  and  recreation  grounds  in  these 
islands  is  over  1.000.  Every  year  additional  places  are  acquired. 
London,  and  many  other  large  cities  and  towns,  x^osse.ss  some 
.'•plendid  enclosures  of  many  acres  extent.  Tlie  number  of  London 
and  suburban  i>ublic  parks,  gardens,  and  recreation  grounds,  and 
other  enclosures  reaches  more  than  200,  embracing  an  area 
between  Epping  and  Wimbledon,  Highgate  and  Dulwich.  All  the 
largest  and  most  important  Metropolitan  establishments  which 
are  devoted  to  xjublic  use  are  within  this  ar,  a.  The  total  acreage 
of  London  and  suburban  public  parks,  gardens,  and  open  spac:^s 
is  approximately  19,000  acres,  of  which  3,832  acres  are  under  the 
control  of  the  London  County  Council.  Epping  Forest,  which 
is  the  property  of  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  London,  covers 
i),348  acres,  and  is  the  largest  public  enclosure.  It  includes 
Whanstead  Flats. 
Richmond  Park  is  an  extensive  enclosure  of  2,469  acres,  eight 
miles  in  circumference.  It  is  well  stocked  with  Oaks  and  Elms, 
and  affords  some  splendid  viervs.  The  park  was  enclo.sed  by 
Charles  I.  Bu.shey  Park  is  1,100  acres  in  extent.  It  is  famous 
for  its  avenue  of  Chestnut  trees,  a  mile  in  length.  It  is  one  of 
the  grande.st  sights  imaginable  when  the.se  trees  are  in  full  bloom. 
Another  extensive  open  space  is  tvimbledon  Common  and  Putney 
Heath,  adjoining  cacli  other,  and  covering  1,000  acres. 
The  Royal  Gardens  at  Kew,  Surrey,  are  undoubtedly  the  fine.st 
and  most  instructive  botanical  and  x^l'^^^ure  gardens  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  cr  in  the  world.  Th^y  were  once  a  royal  pri- 
\ate  possession,  but  of  course  much  smaller  than  now.  Kew 
Gardens  were  first  formed  by  George  III.  and  his  mother  in  1760, 
assi.'-.ted  by  W.  Aiton.  who,  in  addition  to  being  the  roj’al  gar¬ 
dener,  was  an  eminent  botanist.  The  extent  of  the  garden.s  com¬ 
prised  about  ten  acres  at  that  time.  Two  world-wide  travellers, 
Captain  Cook  and  Sir  J.  Banks,  subsequently  gave  their  col¬ 
lections  of  ijlants  from  the  southein  hemisphere  to  Kew,  and  in 
1840.  soon  after  Queen  Victoria’s  accession,  Kew  was  iDresented 
to  the  nation,  and  became  a  national  garden  and  institution, 
just  as  the  British  Museum  is  the  national  museum.  Thus,  the 
Royal  Botanic  Gardens  of  Kew  are  now  the  leading  centre  in  the 
world  for  scientific  work,  botanical  and  horticultural. 
Following  closely  upon  the  transfer  of  the  gardens  from  the  ■ 
crown  to  the  nation,  the  grounds  were  extended.  The  Botanic 
Garden  occupies  , sixty-nine  acres,  in  which  is  included  all  the 
glass  houses,  except  the  Temperate  House.  The  Arboretum  has 
an  area  of  178  acres,  and  extends  to  the  banks  of  the  Thaine.s.  The 
different  species  of  trees  and  shrubs  are  arranged  in  grouxrs,  and 
may  readily  be  found.  Very  conspicuous  features  of  Kew  are  ■ 
the  lar,ge  glass  houses.  The  great  Palm  House,  which  was  erected  ; 
in  1847-9,  costing  £33,000,  is  £62ft  loiig,  and  contains  45,000 
square  feet  of  glass.  The  Temperate  House,  which  is  in.the- 
Arboretum,  is  also  a  large  structure,  erected  at  a  cost  of  £25,000.  , 
It  contains  valuable  i^lants  from  the  temperate  colonies  _and 
Briti.sh  possessions.  Space  will  not  permit  of  more  than  mention¬ 
ing  the  highest  flaestaff  in  the  world,  made  from  a  single  spar,  a 
trunk  of  the  Douglas  Spruce,  159ft  high  ;  the  Pagoda,  163ft  high, 
of  ten  storeys,  museums,  and  temples.  The  collection  of  plants 
reaches  20,000  or  more  :  Kew  is  a  veritable  school  of  xjerennial 
horticultural  and  botanical  instruction.  It  is  none  the  lets 
attractive  as  a  xilea.sure  resort,  and  is  crowded  on  bank  holidays. 
The  ga'dens  are  under  Government  management.  The  Director 
is  Sir  William  Thiselton  Dyer,  K.G.M.G.  ;  Curator,  W.  Watson  ; 
Assistant  Curator,  W.  J.  Bean.  There  are  sixty  gardeners  em- 
l)loyed  under  five  foremen. 
Hampton  Court  Palace  Gardens  have  an  element  of  historic 
flavour  about  them.  Originally  formed  when  the  palace  was  built 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  they  are  probably  among  the  oldest 
of  x3ublio  pleasure  resorts!  For  a  long  time  the  nalace  and 
grounds  were  neglected,  but  subsequently  improved  and  re¬ 
novated.  In  1838  the  grounds  were  thrown  open  to  liublic  use. 
The  gardens  possess  many  interesting  features.  The  large  Vine 
producing  on  an  average  1,200  bunches  of  Grapes  yearly  is  a  great 
object  of  interest  to  visitors.  The  maze  is  another.  The  splen¬ 
did  avenues  of  large  trees  testify  to  the  long  period  since  the 
grounds  were  first  laid  out.  There  are  numbers  of  attractive 
features,  among  them  the  Hornbeam  avenue,  and  the  always 
picturesquely  furnished  flower  beds.  The  gardens  cover  about 
fifty-four  acres,  and  the  adjoining  jjark  615  acres;  the  whole 
being  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  J.  Gardiner. 
Battersea  Park  comprise.s  199  acres,  and  is  famous  for  sub¬ 
tropical,  carpet,  and  general  ornamental  bedding  arrangements. 
In  the  autumn  there  is  an  attractive  display  of  Chrysanthemums 
under  glass.  The  jrark  has  an  exceedingly  pleasant  river 
frontage,  and  there  are  lakes  and  ponds  within  the  park. 
Superintendent,  Mr.  J.  Rogers.  Hyde  Park  is  the  largest  and 
most  famous  of  London  xrublic  parks,  comprising  an  area  of  360 
acres.  As  a  xniblic  j^ark  it  is  older  than  Kew,  having  been  opened 
in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  in  1630.  Previously  it  was  a  royal 
hunting  ground.  It  has  now  a  drive  devoted  exclusively,  tq 
equestrian  riding.  The  general  features  of  the  park  are  upon 
the  whole  picturesque.  The  bedding  arrangements  are  always 
high  class  and  command  much  admiration,  being  generally 
acknowledged  as  instructive  object  lessons  in  the  species  of 
IDlants  and  ariangcments  of  them  in  the  beds.  The  late  Sup.erin- 
tendent  was  Mr.  W.  Browne,  just  retired,  who  also  had  St. 
James’s  Park  (ninety-three  acres)  under  his  care. 
Regent’s  Park,  of  472  acres  extent,  possesses  many  interesting 
and  ornamental  features.  It  is  a  great  boon  to  the  north-west 
district  of  London,  in  which  it  is  situated,  and  i,s  largely 
patronised.  The  sui>erintendent  is  Mr.  R.  Jordan.  Southwark 
Park,  in  the  midst  of  a  densely  populated  district,  contains  sixty- 
three  acres.  The  bedding  arrangements  are  well  carried  out. 
The  Chrysanthemums  are  a  feature  in  the  autumn,  when  they  are 
visited  by  large  numbers  of  peojjle.  Mr.  J.  White  is  the.-. 
Superintendent.  Victoria  Park  is  next  to  Hyde  Park  in  size, 
being  217  acres  in  extent.  Among  manj^  prominent  features, 
one  of  the  chief,  the  bedding  arrangements  are  exceptionally  good, . 
many  novel  and  .striking  di.sx3lays  being  presented  by  the  Sux^erin- 
tendent,  Mr.  J.  W.  MooDuan. 
From  London  vee  pass  to  a  Scottish  city,  namely,  Glasgoyq 
and  note  how  well  this  principal  northern  centre  is  equipped  with' 
public  parks,  having  no  less  than  fifteen,  each  having  a  liberal 
staff  of  men  and  a  head  gardener.  In  the  aggregate  the. parks  of 
Glasgow  cover  an  area  of-  over  1,000  acres.  The  large.st  are 
Glasgow  Gre.  n,  136  acres  ;  Queen’s  Park,  148  acres  ;  Bellahouston 
Park,  178  acres;  Alexandra  Park,  119  acres;  .Kelvingrove  Park, 
85  acres  ;  Tollcross  Park,  83  acres,  and  Botanic  Gardens,  40  acres. 
The  chief  Superintendent  is  Mr.  J.  Whitton.  The  world- 
renowned  Edinburgh  Public  Gardens — lovely  gi-ounds  in  the 
fairest  city  of  the  three  realms — are  ably  directed  by  Mr.  J.  W. 
McHattie.  Everybody  has  heard  of  the  unexampled  Prince’s 
Street  Gardens,  adorned  with  .statuary,  terraces,  lawns,  fountains 
and  flowers.  The  Botanic  Gardens  are  also  famous.  Aberdeen, 
too,  is  well  treated  in  the  matter  of  parks  and  public  spaces. 
Although  Liverpool  has  a  considerable  number  of  parks,  gar¬ 
dens,  and  oiJen  spaces,  only  four  or  five  are  of  considerable  ex¬ 
tent.  Sefton  Park  is  the  largest,  covering  270  acres.  Newsham 
Park  is  next  with  132  acres.  Stanley  Park  is  93  acres;  Prince’s 
Park,  60  acres;  Shiel  Park,  15  acres.  The  total  number  of 
place-j  is  twenty-nine,  thirteen  ‘of  which  are  parks  and  gardens, 
the  re.st  oxoen  spaces  and  recreation  grounds.  Eome  of  the  latter 
are  only  a  quarter  of  an  acre  in  extent.  The  total  number  of 
acres  in  Liverpool  devoted  to  the  pleasure  and  recreation  of  tlie 
peoxjle  i.s'  nearly  800.  The  chief  Supei’intendent  of  x>iii’k.s  and 
gardens  is  Mr.  H.  Herbert,  Sefton  Park,  Liverpool. 
Manchester  has  a  large  poxiulatiqn  and  is  pi’ovided  with  som,e 
interesting  areas.  In  the  Manchester  district  Rhododendroirs 
flourish  exceedingly,  and  there  are  unusually  good  displays  in  the 
'various  park.s.'  TTie  principal  parks  are  Heaton  Park,  070  acres  : 
Alexandra  .Park,  60  acres;  Philip’s  Park  and  Birchfield  Park. 
32  acres  each;  Queen’s  Park,  30  acres;  also  the  comparatively 
small  park,  C'heetham  Park,  54  acres.  In  all,  including  the 
minor  open  spaces,  some  of  which  are  of  considerable  extent, 
there  are  over  thirty  public  grounds  in  Manchester,  with  an 
acreage  of  1,100  acres,  including  Carrington  Moss  Nursery, 
seventy  acres,  and  Whittington,  a  smaller  nursery.  The  whole 
are  under  the  general  superintendence  of  Mr.  R.  Lamb. 
Birmingham,  the  great  midland  centre,  has  several  large  parks 
which  were  oiDened  in  the  years  1856-7-8.  Aston  Park,  fifty 
acres  in  extent,  had  the  honour  of  being  opened  by  Her  late 
Majesty  Queen  Victoria  in  1858.  Calthorpe  Park,  thirty-one 
acres,  opened  the  year  x^reviously,  and  the  smaller  park  of 
Adderley,  ten  acres,  in  1856.  Since  that  period  a  number  have 
been  added,  including  Victoria  Park,  43  acres;  Cannon  Hill  Park, 
.57  acres;  Summerfield  Park,  34  acres:  Rednal  and  Bilberry  Hills, 
