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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  6,  19  0. 
Cardiff  Castle. 
For  many  years  CardifE  Castle  has  been  celebrated  in  the 
horticultural  world  for  two  things — 1,  the  peculiarity  of  its  situation 
for  a  large  estate  and,  2,  for  the  exceptional  excellence  of  the  crops 
produced  therein.  It  has  had  and  will  ever  have  from  the  lay  point 
of  view,  in  contradistinction  to  the  expert  (horticultural),  a  wider 
repute  for  its  historical  associations— associations  which  it  may  be 
said  the  present  Marquis  of  Bute  has  done  much  to  create  and  more 
to  foster.  For  many  years  a  small  army  of  workmen  has  laboured  at 
the  castle  walls,  and  ever  and  anon  most  interesting  discoveries  have 
been  brought  to  light.  The  work  of  research  is  still  proceeding,  and 
much  has  as  already  rewarded  this  persistency,  more  may  still  remain 
for  the  future  to  reveal.  The  interest  at  any  rate  is  always  there. 
can  well  imagine  this  to  have  been  the  case  with  the  weapons  in  vogue 
nearly  2000  years  ago.  It  is  said  that  the  castle  was  besieged  by  the 
Roundheads  in  the  time  of  Cromwell,  and  that  it  fell  by  the  treachery 
of  a  sentry,  who  admitted  the  enemy.  On  claiming  his  reward  for  the 
betrayal  the  officer  in  command  repaid  him  by  instant  death.  Assuredly 
this  may  be  taken  as  illustrative  of  the  biblical  saying  that  “  the  wages 
of  sin  is  death.”  The  traitor's  grave  is  pointed  out  to  visitors  at  the 
present  day. 
The  Castle  and  Pleasure  Grounds. 
The  castle  itself  is  of  much  more  recent  date,  being  probably  of 
the  Norman  times.  Of  this  the  most  ancient  is  the  old  keep, 
and  what  is  known  as  Robert’s  Towers,  though  who  this  Robert 
was  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  say.  Two  views  of  the  castle 
are  given  in  the  illustrations  (figs.  59  and  60),  the  latter  of  which 
affords  also  a  glimpse  of  the  pleasure  grounds.  These  are  of  great 
Fig.  59.— a  CORNER  OF  THE  OLD  CASTLE  WALL,  CARDIFF. 
and  it  is  happily  an  interest  in  which  many  hundreds,  even  thousands 
of  people  in  all  phases  of  the  community  are  engrossed. 
The  Castle  Walls. 
Descending  from  the  summit  to  the  foundations  of  the  castle  wall 
one  may  read  the  history  of  a  thousand  years  or  more,  for  it  com¬ 
mences  with  the  marvellous  handiwork  of  the  Romans,  and  subsequently 
on  the  inner  or  c  istle  side  the  immense  mounds  of  the  Saxon  period. 
Withib  the  past  few  months  the  Roman  gateway  has  been  discovered, 
and  the  date  of  a.d.  90  is  given  as  the  time  of  its  formation.  A 
higher  level  of  the  wall  is  dated  by  authorities  as  A.D.  190  or  there¬ 
abouts.  The  foundations  are  of  immense  thickness,  and  there  existed 
stone  steps  at  certain  intervals  up  which  the  defenders  in  case  of 
siege  could  mount  to  the  embrasures  at  the  summit.  These  facts  are 
demonstrated  by  the  present  explorations,  and  the  Saxon  mound  is 
retained  as  showing  the  difference  in  the  modes  of  defence  of  the  two 
Diighty  peoples.  Cardiff  Castle  was  regarded  as  impregnable,  and  one 
extent,  and  though  somewhat  flat  of  great  beauty.  On  one  side  may 
be  seen  the  Taff  which,  if  shallow  and  still  in  summer,  has  its  moments 
of  turbulence  when  swollen  with  the  winter  rains.  There  is,  too,  the 
canal  which  acts  as  a  feeder  to  the  great  Bute  Docks,  to  which  the 
township  of  Cardiff  owes  so  much  of  its  prosperity.  Immense  clumps 
of  flowering  shrubs  and  trees  with  belts  and  shrubberies  abound,  and 
add  interest,  beauty  and  diversity  to  this  garden  within  a  town. 
Summer  flowering  plants,  too,  are  skilfully  employed  in  suitable 
positions,  and  these  combined  with  the  broad  acres  of  smoothly  mown 
grass  make  the  pleasure  grounds  of  Cardiff  Castle  ideally  attractive  to 
the  lover  of  such  simple  scenic  effects. 
The  Indoor  and  Outdoor  Fruit. 
To  reach  the  more  utilitarian  department  of  the  garden  one  must 
cross  a  main  road  and  enter  by  the  gates  at  Mr.  Pettigrew’s  house,  and 
ic  is  in  this  section  that  one  realises  most  forcibly  how  completely  the 
garden  is  surrounded.  Save  for  the  narrow  opening  adjacent  to  the 
