This

Kinfauns Castle, near Perth, the Seat of the Right Hon. Lord Grey. residence, about three miles to the east of Perth, is situated on the south side of the Sidlaw Hills, a range of hills and mountains which stretches along the north side of the river Tay, from Perth towards Forfar. The scenery belonging to Kinfauns, whether really or by appropriation, may, therefore, easily be conceived to consist of two grand divisions; the hilly background of pasture and woodlands, and the alluvial cultivated plain bounded by the Tay. These alluvial soils are known in Scotland by the name of carse lands: they are considered the richest in the country, and particularly adapted to the growth of beans and wheat. The Kinfauns estate consists of a portion both of the hilly grounds and carse lands; and no inconsiderable part of the rental arises from the right of fishing on the Tay.

The castle (fig. 21.) is in the Gothic style, by Sir Robert Smirke, and was completed about 1824; and Mr. Gilpin, and various other landscape-gardeners, have been consulted respecting the laying out of the grounds. The kitchengarden was formed about twenty years ago, by Mr. Campbell, an excellent gardener: it is situated at the bottom of the rising grounds, and consists of about two acres of alluvial soil, enclosed by brick walls, in the form of a square. These walls are covered with beautifully trained fruit trees, which are highly productive. The soil and situation are peculiarly favourable for the apple: some of the sort known as the Tower of Glamis have been grown here, measuring 14 in. and 15 in. in circumference, and weighing 1 lb. each. The Kinfauns pippin was raised here from seed by Mr. Campbell, for which he obtained the gold medal of the Caledonian Horticultural Society. He also raised the white apple of Kinfauns, a fruit of great merit. There is a range of hot-houses, 219 ft. in length, devoted to peaches and grapes; with a small stove for plants, and some pits. There are a few herbaceous plants, but not many American or other exotic trees and shrubs. The present gardener is Mr. Robertson, from Kew.

The plantations on the elevated grounds are considerable: the castle appears backed by an amphitheatre of wood, the lower part chiefly of deciduous timber trees, and the upper terminating in Scotch pine. The trunks of these trees, rising boldly from the surface of the steepest declivities, and clothing them with verdure, excite ideas of the creative power of vegetable nature, and leave a grand impression upon the imagination. To the eastward is a conical hill, entirely covered with wood, the most elevated portion being Scotch pine. Upon the summit a tower has been erected.

The two grand features in the views from Kinfauns are, the Tay and the Hill of Kinoul. In the former are several islands; one, nearly opposite to the

Design for combining Forcing-houses, &c., in One Group. 61

Castle, contains 30 or 40 acres of arable land; another, a little farther down, and of less dimensions, is entirely covered with wood. In following the course of the river to the eastward, the junction of the Erne is perceived, and a considerable variety produced by the different islands, and the sinuosities of the shore. The Hill of Kinoul is seen about a mile to the westward of the Castle, presenting a broken range of rocks of various heights, and, in some places, with perpendicular precipices of 300 ft. Half the height of this hill, indeed, appears to be of perpendicular rocks, rising out of a slope of debris, which, about ten or twelve years ago, was planted. This hill has been long celebrated for the agates found on it: bloodstone has also been found there; and, also, the Linnæ a boreàlis. Potentilla argéntea, Lactùca viròsa, Pýrola rotundifolia, Grammìtis Céterach, with other plants generally considered rare in Scotland, are also to be met with on or about this hill. On the whole, Kinfauns, whether considered with regard to the beauty and grandeur of its scenery, or the fertility of its soil, may rank among the finest places of

Scotland.-W. A. B.

ART. VI. Design for combining all the Forcing-houses, Botanical Houses, and Pits and Frames, required for a moderate Establishment, in One Group. By A. FORSYTH.

FIGS. 22. and 23. are intended to represent a range of hothouses, to be erected in a square of 100 ft., and to include all the houses necessary for the supply of a suburban establishment; embracing the newest and most rational arrangements, by which the various productions will be displayed to the greatest advantage; rendering the forcing-houses an elegant adjunct to the pleasure-ground; and, instead of the dismembered and dungclad aspect for which, at the present time, they are justly excluded, forming a picturesque assemblage of buildings, connected by an agreeable promenade, and this, too, at considerably less prime cost and annual expenditure.

Without saying a word about the manner in which fruits and flowers are exhibited generally in our gardens, I come to the point of how I consider they ought to be; and, as gardening, in all its branches, has now happily become the delight of all classes, it is no inconsiderable part of the duty of a gardener to display things advantageously. A house of grapes looks best from the front, when the upper side of the leaves above the trellis, and the broad side of the clusters below, can be viewed at once; peaches, abreast; flowering plants, near the eye; cucumbers and strawberries, overhead; pines, like an amphitheatre; and melons, elevated above their foliage, under the eye.

Every one is aware that, when the eye is shaded, it expands, and is gratified; and, on the contrary, when exposed to intense light, it becomes contracted and fatigued. We are likewise aware that, if the lines of houses in a street, or the lines of apartments in a house, were separated in such a manner that a cubic room should have its base on the damp earth, and its other

a a are the entrances; bb, boilers; dd, vineries; e e, pine stoves, with cucumbers in boxes on a trellis over the path; f, orchideous house; gg, peach houses; h, green-house; i, plant stove; 7, early strawberry and late melon house; m, early melon house; n and o, nursing pine stoves; p, miscellaneous pits; q, passage for containing the lining for heating both pits; ss, paved passages for inspecting the different houses; u, potting-shed; x, tool-shed; y, fruit-room; zz, bedroom and kitchen for the foreman and his assistant.

sides exposed to the external air, and acted upon by rain, wind, and frost, it would require greater fires, and closer doors, to resist

cold and moisture, than it does under the present system, where the warm dry walls of one apartment materially assist to warm and dry the walls of another. We are likewise aware that light and heat pass through glass in greater portions, and to more profitable purpose, when the rays make right angles with the

24

Transverse Section through the Tool-shed, Pine Stoves, Green-house, Nursing Pine Stove, Pit, &c.

surface of the glass; therefore, a roof elevated to an angle equal to the latitude of the locality will be found the best receiver of solar light and heat.

Peaches require a comparatively low temperature, much light, and a free circulation of air; therefore, a span-roofed house, running north and south, the length of which is to its breadth as 3 to 2, and the diagonal ends of which are elevated to the same angle as the sides, will be found the most satisfactory for the growth of the peach; the equilibrium of temperature being more easily preserved, since the surface exposed to vertical action will recede and increase in the inverse ratio of the supply, in the same manner as the director of a windmill exposes less canvass to the gale than to the gentle breeze.

Flowering plants are beautiful, and admired by every one; but flower-pots are a necessary encumbrance by no means ornamental; therefore, they ought to be hidden from the guests, and exposed only to the gardeners.

The kitchen and bed-room for young gardeners, in this design, will have no loft over, and but one window, 3 ft. broad by 2 ft. high, in each the kitchen will be paved with stone, and furnished with an efficient fire-grate and appendages, a lock-up cupboard, a table, and two stout chairs. The bed-room will have a wooden floor, 1 ft. higher than the kitchen, and will contain an iron bedstead, a curtained bookcase, and a small table.

The fruit-room is to have a ventilator in the top, and a window in front with a wire-cloth screen, a wooden floor, and a small charcoal stove; and to be fitted up with two tiers of shelves, 18 in. apart, leaving a walk in the middle 4 ft. wide.

The tool-shed is to be fitted up with a rack, in which all longhandled tools will be placed, with the handles inwards, so that they can be selected from and inspected at a glance; and a few large drawers, in which small tools, such as hammers, &c., will be kept, and, for the comfort and convenience of all parties, every thing should be regularly cleaned and laid up: this, also, will have a window in the front, and a loft over.

The potting-shed will be paved with stone; and will contain a table 9 ft. long, 2 ft. 9 in. broad, and 2 ft. 6 in. high: it is to have a window in front, and a loft over.