Page 5.—I am enabled from Mr. Johnson's lately published History of English Gardening, to add a very early tract on that subject, and I take the liberty of transcribing his exact words: "A Boke of Husbandry, London, 4to. This little work is very rare, being one of the productions from the press of Wynkin de Worde. It consists of but twelve leaves, and is without date, but certainly was not of a later year than 1500. The following extracts explain its nature. 'Here begyneth a treatyse of Husbandry which Mayster Groshede somtyme Bysshop of Lyncoln made, and translated it out of Frensshe into Englyshe, whiche techeth all maner of men to governe theyr londes, tenementes, and demesnes ordinately.'

'Here endeth the Boke of Husbandry, and of Plantynge, and Graffynge of Trees and Vynes.'"

About the year 1797 the late Mr. Nichols printed the Life of Robert Grosseteste, the celebrated Bishop of Lincoln. By Samuel Pegge, LL.D. With an Account of the Bishop's Works, &c. Illustrated with plates of his Tomb, Ring, and Crosier. 4to. Price 13s. in boards.

Page 17.—I have in this page alluded to the hard fate of Correggio. That my reader may know who he was, let him inspect those pages in vol. i. of Sir U. Price's Essays, where he thus concludes a critique on his genius: "I believe that if a variety of persons, conversant in painting, were asked what pictures (taking every circumstance together) appeared to them most beautiful, and had left the softest and most pleasing impression,—the majority would fix upon Correggio."

Page 17.—W. Lawson, in the dedication to his New Orchard and Garden, gives the name of an author on gardening, whose book I have not met with. He dedicates it "to the right worshipfull Sir Henry Belosses," and he acknowledges, "1st. the many courtesies you have vouchsaved me. 2dly. your delightfull skill in matters of this nature. 3dly. the profit which I received from your learned discourse of Fruit-trees. 4thly. your animating and assisting of others to such endeavours. Last of all, the rare worke of your owne in this kind, all which to publish under your protection, I have adventured as you see." From this it would appear, that this "learned discourse" is transfused into the New Orchard and Garden. After all, perhaps, this "learned discourse" was merely in conversation. At all events, it has recorded the name of Sir Henry as warmly devoted to orcharding, or to horticulture. W. Lawson, in his preface, dwells upon the praises of this art, "how some, and not a few of the best, have accounted it a chiefe part of earthly happinesse to have faire and pleasant orchards—how ancient, how profitable, how pleasant it is." His fourteenth chapter is On the Age of Fruit-trees. After stating that some "shall dure 1000 years," and the age of many of the apple-trees in his little orchard, he says: "If my trees be 100 yeares old, and yet want 200 of their growth before they leave increasing, which make 300, then we must needs resolve, that this 300 yeere are but the third part of a tree's life, because (as all things living besides) so trees must have allowed them for their increase one third, another third for their stand, and a third part of time also for their decay."—"So that I resolve upon good reason, that Fruit-trees well ordered, may live and live 1000 yeeres, and beare fruit, and the longer, the more, the greater, and the better, because his vigour is proud and stronger, when his yeeres are many. You shall see old trees put their buds and blossoms both sooner and more plentifully than young trees by much. And I sensibly perceive my young trees to inlarge their fruit, as they grow greater, both for number, and greatnesse."—"And if Fruit-trees last to this age, how many ages is it to be supposed, strong and huge Timber-trees will last? whose huge bodies require the yeeres of divers Methushalaes, before they end their days; whose sap is strong and better, whose barke is hard and thicke, and their substance solid and stiffe: all which are defences of health and long life. Their strength withstands all forcible winds." His seventeenth chapter is on the Ornaments of an Orchard. I here give the whole of that chapter:

"Me thinks hitherto we haue but a bare Orchard for fruit, and but halfe good, so long as it wants those comely ornaments, that should giue beauty to all our labours, and make much for the honest delight of the owner and his friends.

"For it is not to be doubted: but as God hath giuen man things profitable, so hath he allowed him honest comfort, delight, and recreation in all the workes of his hands. Nay, all his labours vnder the sunne without this are troubles, and vexation of mind: For what is greedy gaine, without delight, but moyling, and turmoyling slauery? But comfortable delight, with content, is the good of euery thing, and the patterne of heauen. A morsell of bread with comfort, is better by much than a fat oxe with vnquietnesse. And who can deny, but the principall end of an Orchard, is the honest delight of one wearied with the works of his lawfull calling? The very workes of and in an Orchard and Garden, are better than the ease and rest of and from other labours. When God had made man after his owne image, in a perfect state, and would haue him to represent himselfe in authority, tranquillity and pleasure vpon the earth, he placed him in Paradise. What was Paradise? but a Garden and Orchard of trees and hearbs, full of pleasure? and nothing there but delights. The gods of the earth, resembling the great God of heauen in authority, maiestie, and abundance of all things, wherein is their most delight? and whither doe they withdraw themselues from the troublesome affaires of their estate, being tyred with the hearing and iudging of litigious Controuersies? choked (as it were) with the close ayres of their sumptuous buildings, their stomacks cloyed with variety of Banquets, their eares filled and ouerburthened with tedious discoursings? whither? but into their Orchards, made and prepared, dressed and destinated for that purpose, to renue and refresh their sences, and to call home their ouer-wearied spirits. Nay, it is (no doubt) a comfort to them, to set open their cazements into a most delicate Garden and Orchard, whereby they may not onely see that, wherein they are so much delighted, but also to giue fresh, sweet, and pleasant ayre to their galleries and chambers.

"And looke, what these men do by reason of their greatnes and ability, prouoked with delight, the same doubtlesse would euery of vs doe, if power were answerable to our desires, whereby we shew manifestly, that of all other delights on earth, they that are taken by Orchards, are most excellent, and most agreeing with nature.

"For whereas euery other pleasure commonly filles some one of our sences, and that onely, with delight, this makes all our sences swimme in pleasure, and that with infinite variety, ioyned with no less commodity.

"That famous philosopher, and matchlesse orator, M. T. C. prescribeth nothing more fit, to take away the tediousnesse and heauy load of three or foure score yeeres, than the pleasure of an Orchard.

"What can your eyes desire to see, your ears to hear, your mouth to tast, or your nose to smell, that is not to be had in an Orchard, with abundance and variety? What more delightsome than an infinite variety of sweet smelling flowers? decking with sundry colours, the greene mantle of the earth, vniuersall mother of vs all, so by them bespotted, so dyed, that all the world cannot sample them, and wherein it is more fit to admire the Dyer, than imitate his workemanship. Colouring not onely the earth, but decking the ayre, and sweetning euery breath and spirit.

"The rose red, damaske, veluet, and double double prouince rose, the sweet muske rose, double and single, the double and single white rose. The faire and sweet senting Woodbinde, double and single, and double double. Purple cowslips, and double cowslips, and double double cowslips. Primerose double and single. The violet nothing behinde the best, for smelling sweetly. A thousand more will prouoke your content.

"And all these, by the skill of your gardner, so comely, and orderly placed in your borders and squares, and so intermingled, that none looking thereon, cannot but wonder, to see, what Nature corrected by Art can doe.

"When you behold in diuers corners of your Orchard Mounts of stone, or wood curiously wrought within and without, or of earth couered with fruit-trees: Kentish cherry, damsons, plummes, &c. with staires of precious workmanship. And in some corner (or moe) a true dyall or Clocke, and some anticke workes, and especially siluer-sounding musique, mixt instruments and voices, gracing all the rest: How will you be rapt with delight?

"Large walkes, broad and long, close and open, like the Tempe groves in Thessalie, raised with grauell and sand, hauing seats and bankes of cammomile, all this delights the minde, and brings health to the body.

"View now with delight the workes of your owne hands, your fruit-trees of all sorts, loaden with sweet blossomes, and fruit of all tasts, operations, and colours: your trees standing in comely order which way soeuer you looke.

"Your borders on euery side hanging and drooping with feberries, raspberries, barberries, currens, and the rootes of your trees powdred with strawberries, red, white, and greene, what a pleasure is this? Your gardner can frame your lesser wood to the shape of men armed in the field, ready to giue battell: or swift running greyhounds: or of well sented and true running hounds, to chase the deere, or hunt the hare. This kind of hunting shall not waste your corne, nor much your coyne.

"Mazes well framed a mans height, may perhaps make your friends wander in gathering of berries, till he cannot recouer himselfe without your helpe.

"To haue occasion to exercise within your Orchard: it shall be a pleasure to haue a bowling alley, or rather (which is more manly, and more healthfull) a paire of buts, to stretch your armes.

"Rosemary and sweete eglantine are seemely ornaments about a doore or window, and so is woodbinde.

"And in mine opinion, I could highly commend your Orchard, if either through it, or hard by it there should runne a pleasant riuer with siluer streames: you might sit in your mount, and angle a pickled trout, or sleightie eele, or some other dainty fish. Or moats, whereon you might row with a boate, and fish with nettes.

"Store of bees in a dry and warme bee-house, comely made of fir-boords, to sing, and sit, and feede vpon your flowers and sprouts, make a pleasant noyse and sight. For cleanely and innocent bees, of all other things, loue and become, and thriue in an Orchard. If they thriue (as they must needes, if your gardner bee skilfull, and loue them: for they loue their friends, and hate none but their enemies) they will, besides the pleasure, yeeld great profit, to pay him his wages. Yea, the increase of twenty stockes or stooles, with other fees, will keepe your Orchard.

"You need not doubt their stings, for they hurt not whom they know, and they know their keeper and acquaintance. If you like not to come amongst them, you need not doubt them: for but neere their store, and in their owne defence, they will not fight, and in that case onely (and who can blame them?) they are manly, and fight desperately. Some (as that Honorable Lady at Hacknes, whose name doth much grace mine Orchard) vse to make seats for them in the stone wall of their Orchard, or Garden, which is good, but wood is better.

"A vine ouer-shadowing a seate, is very comely, though her grapes with vs ripe slowly.

"One chiefe grace that adornes an Orchard, I cannot let slip: A brood of nightingales, who with their seuerall notes and tunes, with a strong delightsome voyce, out of a weake body, will beare you company night and day. She loues (and liues in) hots of woods in her hart. She will helpe you to cleanse your trees of caterpillars, and all noysome wormes and flyes. The gentle robin red-breast will helpe her, and in winter in the coldest stormes will keepe a part. Neither will the silly wren be behind in summer, with her distinct whistle (like a sweete recorder) to cheere your spirits.

"The black-bird and threstle (for I take it the thrush sings not, but deuoures) sing loudly in a May morning, delights the eare much (and you neede not want their company, if you haue ripe cherries or berries, and would as gladly as the rest do you pleasure:) But I had rather want their company than my fruit.

"What shall I say? A thousand of pleasant delightes are attendant in an Orchard: and sooner shall I be weary, than I can recken the least part of that pleasure, which one that hath and loues an Orchard, may find therein.

"What is there of all these few that I haue reckoned, which doth not please the eye, the eare, the smell, and taste? And by these sences as organes, pipes, and windowes, these delights are carried to refresh the gentle, generous, and noble mind.

"To conclude, what ioy may you haue, that you liuing to such an age, shall see the blessings of God on your labours while you liue, and leaue behind you to heires or successors (for God will make heires) such a worke, that many ages after your death, shall record your loue to their countrey? And the rather, when you consider (chap. 14.) to what length of time your worke is like to last."

Page 30.—Having briefly glanced in this page at the delight with which Sir H. Davy, Mr. Worlidge, and Mr. Whateley, viewed the flowers of spring, I can only add this reflection of Sturm:—"If there were no stronger proofs on earth of the power, goodness, and wisdom of God, the flowers of spring alone, would be sufficient to convince us of it."

Page 45.—The character of this modest and candid man, (Switzer), has found an able advocate in the honest pen of Mr. Johnson, who, in p. 159 of his History of Gardening, after noticing the acrimony of his opponents, observes, "Neglect has pursued him beyond the grave, for his works are seldom mentioned or quoted as authorities of the age he lived in. To me he appears to be the best author of his time; and if I was called upon to point out the classic authors of gardening, Switzer should be one of the first on whom I would lay my finger. His works evidence him at once to have been a sound, practical horticulturist, a man well versed in the botanical science of the day, in its most enlarged sense." Mr. Johnson enumerates the distinct contents of each chapter in the Iconologia—the Kitchen Gardener—and the Fruit Gardener.

Page 59.—The Tortworth Chesnut was growing previous to the Norman Conquest. It fixes the boundary of a manor. Even in the reign of Stephen, it was known as the great chesnut of Tortworth.

Page 62.—The author of this treatise, who is a zealous orchardist, is lavish in his praise of a then discovered apple-tree and its produce, "for the little cot-house to which it belongs, together with the little quillet in which it stands, being several years since mortgaged for ten pounds, the fruit of this tree alone, in a course of some years, freed the house and garden, and its more valuable self, from that burden." A neighbouring clergyman, too, was equally lavish, for he "talked of it in all conversations," and such was his praise of it, that every one "fell to admiration." Mr. Stafford is so pleased with this reverend gentleman's zeal, in extending the cultivation of this apple, (the Royal Wilding) that he says, "I could really wish, whenever the original tree decayeth, his statue carved out of the stump, by the most expert hand, and overlaid with gold, may be erected near the public road, in the place of it, at the common charge of the country." He celebrates also another apple, which "in a pleasant conversation was named by a gentleman super-celestial. Another gentleman, in allusion to Pynes, the name of my house, and to the common story of the West India pineapple, (which is said to be the finest fruit in the world, and to represent every exquisite flavour that is known), determined that it should be called the pyne-apple; and by either of these names it is talked of when pleasantry and conversation bring the remembrance of it to the table."

Page 64.—It is but justice to Mr. Gibson to say, that in his Fruit Gardener, he has entered fully into the merits of Le Genre's Le maniere de cultiver les arbres fruitiers; and that his pages are extremely interesting. The great merits of Quintinye are also not overlooked.

Page 84.—To the list of those deceased authors, whose portraits I have not been able to discover, I must add the following:

John Braddick, Esq. A zealous horticulturist and fruit grower. He contributed four papers to the Horticultural Society of London. In the Gardener's Mag. for Jan. 1827, is a communication by him, on some new French pears. The editor of this magazine acknowledges "the very liberal and truly patriotic manner in which our highly-valued correspondent shares every novelty he receives with those whose interest it is to increase and disseminate such novelties." In the above magazine for March, 1827, is another spirited communication by him, on these new pears, introduced from France, in which he says:—"And here I think it necessary to premise, that the following list is the cream skimmed off some thousands of new pears, which I have for many years past been getting together from various parts of the world, about two-thirds of which yet remain for trial, not having fruited, together with some thousands of seedling pears, apples, plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and grapes, of my own raising; the fruits of some of which I hope will continue to gladden the hearts of horticulturists for many years to come. As they are produced I will make them known to the public, with as much facility as lies in my power.

"Boughton Mount, July 29, 1826."

One is sorry to relate, that Mr. Braddick died soon after this benevolent wish; for he died at the above seat of his, near Maidstone, in April, 1828, at the age of sixty-three.

Page 120.—Dr. Dibdin thus speaks of Archibald Alison: "The beautiful and melodious style of this writer, renders his works deserving of a conspicuous place in every well-chosen library."

Page 89.—In this page I have stated that Dr. Dibdin says, "on many accounts does G. Markham seem entitled to more notice and commendation." I have given extracts from his "English Husbandman," to shew his love for flowers. The same attachment is visible where he enumerates them in his "Country House-wive's Garden."—By the bye, though I have stated this last work to be his, it surely appears to have been written by W. Lawson. I merely now give the following extract from Markham's "English House-Wife:"

"Next vnto this sanctity and holinesse of life, it is meet that our English hous-wife be a woman of great modesty and temperance as well inwardly as outwardly; inwardly, as in her behauiour and cariage towards her husband, wherein she shall shunne all violence of rage, passion, and humour, coueting lesse to direct then to be directed, appearing euer vnto him pleasant, amiable, and delightfull, and though occasion, mishaps, or the misgouernement of his will may induce her to contrary thoughts, yet vertuously to suppresse them, and with a mild sufferance rather to call him home from his error, then with the strength of anger to abate the least sparke of his euill, calling in her mind that euill and vncomely language is deformed though vttered euen to seruants, but most monstrous and vgly when it appeares before the presence of a husband: outwardly, as in her apparrell and diet, both which she shall proportion according to the competency of her husband's estate and calling, making her circle rather strait then large, for it is a rule if we extend to the vttermost, we take away increase, if we goe a hayre breadth beyond, we enter into consumption: but if we preserue any part, we build strong forts against the aduersaries of fortune, prouided that such preseruation be honest and conscionable: for a lauish prodigality is brutish, so miserable couetuousnesse is hellish. Let therefore the hus-wives garments be comly and strong, made aswel to preserue the health, as adorne the person, altogether without toyish garnishes, or the glosse of light colours, and as far from the vanity of new and fantastick fashions, as neere to the comly imitations of modest matrons."

I must give an extract from his "Country Contentements," as he reminds us of Shakspeare's lines on the tuneable cry of hounds; for Markham dwells on their sweetness of cry—"their deepe solemne mouthes—their roaring and loud ringing mouthes, which must beare the counter-tenor, then some hollow plaine sweete mouthes—a deep-mouthed dog—a couple or two of small singing beagles, which as small trebles, may warble amongst them: the cry will be a great deale the more sweeter—the hollow deepe mouth—the loud clanging mouthe—deepe flewed, such as for the most part your Shropshire and pure Worcestershire dogs are—the louder and pleasanter your cry will be, especially if it be in sounding tall woods, or under the echo of rocks—and not above one couple of roarers, which being heard but now and then, as at the opening or hitting of a scent, will give much sweetnesse to the solemns, and gravenesse of the cry, and the musick thereof will bee much more delightfull to the eares of every beholder."

Page 123.—The memory of Pope has perhaps never been more affectionately honoured (nor that of Lord Mendip, who so zealously preserved every part of the house and garden at Twickenham) than in the glowing and tender lines of De Lille, in his poem of Les Jardins.

The vignette in my title-page, and that at page 84, are two of those neat decorations which so profusely embellish the EncyclopÆdia of Gardening.