The flower-garden with its covered seat, the cottage in it with its public tea-room, and the ivied tool-house formerly attached to Mr. Strutt's kitchengarden, are preserved; and also a large weeping ash with seats beneath, the branches of which have been trained into a regular form by iron rings. In order to design the entrance lodges and gates, and the central statue, I called in the aid of Mr. E. B. Lamb, M.I.B.A., whose designs for the lodges Exterior View of the principal Entrance Lodge and Gates to the Derby Arboretum. Interior View of the main Entrance to the Derby Arboretum. and gates are shown in figs. 57. to 60., and the ground plans of which are in accordance with Mr. Strutt's instructions in regard to public rooms, yards, and other accommodations. Mr. Lamb also designed fig. 56.; and it may be proper to state that the suggestion of the pedestal and statue is entirely my own, and formed no part of my instructions; and that the idea may be either carried into execution or not, as the corporation, after they are in possession of the garden, may think fit. If a statue be not placed here, the design of the garden will not be complete without an obelisk, or some such object, in the centre of the circle. As my instructions were to preserve as much as possible the belt and the trees in the interior of the ground already existing, I considered it most convenient to adopt the surrounding walk as a line of demarcation between the collection or arboretum in the interior of the grounds, and the miscellaneous assemblage in their circumference. Had the belt not existed, I should have extended the arboretum over the ground occupied by it, and thus have obtained room for a greater number of species, and a larger space for each individual tree and shrub. As things are, I have extended the belt in those places where it was wanting, and added to its interest by evergreen undergrowths, such as rhododendron, kalmia, laurustinus, box, holly, and mahonia; by low trees, such as arbor vitæ, red cedar, and cypress; and by large trees, such as cedar of Lebanon, silver fir, hemlock spruce, and evergreen oak. I have also introduced a collection of 100 different kinds of roses, all named; and placed the genera Ulmus, Quércus, Pópulus, and Salix in the new part of the belt, in order to give more room in the interior. All the ground not covered by trees or shrubs I have directed to be laid down in grass to be kept closely mown; but round each tree and shrub forming the collection I have preserved a circular space, varying from 3 ft. to 5 ft. in diameter, which (with the hill in the centre, comprising one third of the width of the circle, and on which the plant is placed) is not sown with grass, but is always to be kept clear of weeds. The use of this circle and little hill is to prevent the grass from injuring the roots of the trees while young, and to admit of the larger roots showing themselves above the surface, where they ramify from the stem, as before mentioned. Some few of the shrubs which require peat soil, such as the heaths, have had that soil prepared for them; and the genera Cístus and East Lodge of the Derby Arboretum, showing the public Room. Helianthemum, which are apt to damp off on a wet surface, are planted on a raised mass of dry rubbish, covered with stones, as shown at 40. in the plan fig. 52. p. 522. All the climbing plants throughout the collection have iron rods, with expanded umbrella-like tops, placed beside them; the lower end of the iron rod being leaded into a block of stone, and the stone set in mortar on brickwork, so that the upper surface of the stone appears 1 in. higher than the surrounding surface. This appearance of the stone above the surface is not only more architectural and artistical, but better adapted for the preservation of the iron at the point of its junction with the stone, than if the stone were buried in the soil. With respect to the annual expense of keeping up the garden, it will be evident to those who have seen it, or who understand this description, that it will chiefly consist in mowing the grass in the summer season. As the extent of grassy surface to be mown will be reduced by the space occupied by the walks, and by the circles of earth on which there is no grass (on which the trees and shrubs stand, or which those in the belt cover entirely), to about six acres, one man will be sufficient to mow and sweep up this extent of lawn during the whole summer; the daily space to mow being about half an acre, and the grass mown to be distributed over the naked circles on which the trees and shrubs stand. All the other work which will require to be done in the garden during summer, such as weeding the walks, rolling them, weeding the circles on which the trees and shrubs stand, picking off insects from the plants, watering the ground with lime water where worm-casts appear, wiping the seats every morning so as to remove the excrement of birds, or whatever leaves or other matters may drop from the branches of the trees over them, &c. &c., may be accomplished by a second labourer. The head gardener or curator may manage the flowergarden and the vases of flowers at the junctions of the walks, and see that the company who walk in the garden do not injure the plants, &c. During the winter season, or from December 1. to May 1., more than one labourer in addition to the head gardener will be unnecessary. The second labourer may at that season, therefore, be allowed to retain his house, and seek for labour elsewhere; and the saving thus made, it is presumed, would be a contribution towards the purchase, from some of the Derby nurserymen or florists, of all the flowers or other plants that may become necessary to fill the vases from May till October. Unless some arrangement of this sort be made, East Lodge of the Derby Arboretum, showing the Entrance Gates. it will be impossible to do justice to the plan of exhibiting plants in the vases; The plan of the Arboretum was made in May, 1839; and, being approved of by Mr. Strutt, as soon as the crop of hay was removed from the ground, in the July following, the work was commenced by Mr. Tomlinson, a contractor for ground work, who laid out the walks, made the drains, and raised the general masses of the mounds. The mounds were afterwards moulded into suitable shapes, and connected by concave sides and lateral ridges with the surrounding surface, under the direction of my assistant, Mr. Rauch, who also superintended the planting of all the trees and shrubs, and all the other details connected with the ground, till the completion of the whole in September, 1840. The trees and shrubs were supplied chiefly by Messrs. Whitley and Osborn, but partly also by Mr. Masters of Canterbury; and the miscellaneous collection of roses was furnished by Mr. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth; the mistletoe was supplied by Mr. Godsall of Hereford; and some species, which could not be procured in the nurseries, were obtained from the Horticultural Society's Garden. The lodges and pavilions were designed by Mr. Lamb, as already mentioned: the north, or main, lodge in the Elizabethan style; the east lodge in the Tudor style, and in that variety of this style which was prevalent in the time of Henry VII.; and the pavilions in the style of James I. They were all built by Mr. Thompson of Derby; and the gates to the north, or principal, lodge were cast from Mr. Lamb's designs by Messrs. Marshall, Barber, and Co., of Derby. MANAGEMENT OF THE DERBY ARBORETUM. Supposing that the curator will occupy the north lodge, and that two labourers will occupy the other two cottages, I feel confident that these three persons will find no difficulty in keeping the entire garden in the very highest order at every period of the year. What I consider to be the highest order consists in the following particulars :- The walks should be at all times perfectly dry, smooth, firm, free from weeds, worm-casts, or other extraneous matters, and with the gravel of a good colour: the turf equal in thickness, free from all broad-leaved plants except clover, closely mown, smooth, firm, dry, and everywhere without worm-casts, mole-hills, ant-hills, dead leaves of trees, bits of paper, or any other extraneous matter which may be blown about, or left on it by visiters: the flower-garden perfectly free from weeds, and every bed filled with plants in a healthy state, and the beds well covered with flowers: the vases filled with flowers, in the manner above described, from the middle of May till October; the flowers being in pots, and either of green-house or hardy kinds, named on a card tied to the narrow part of the vase, and changed not seldomer than once a week; the same species not being more than twice introduced during the same season. All the trees and shrubs to be kept without dead wood, perfectly free from caterpillars, aphides, curled leaves, honeydew, leaves which have been killed, or branches which have been broken accidentally, and from flowers or fruits which have decayed and not dropped. The climbers or twiners to be kept tied up; the spaces round the trees free from weeds; the seats quite clean; the name tallies in complete repair; the boundary fence, lodges, and gates, in complete repair; and the labourers, and their wives and families who attend on persons who enter the garden or the lodges, clean and neatly dressed. This may be considered as the criterion of good regular management; but there are certain points to which I wish to direct the special attention of the curator and of the public, and especially of the public press. The first point respects pruning. On no account whatever is the knife to be applied to any of the trees or shrubs, except in the following cases :for the purpose of cutting out dead wood, branches broken by the wind or by any accident, dead or decayed flowers or fruit, or for removing the suckers or side shoots which come out below the grafts of such species or varieties as have been budded or grafted. No decaying leaves whatever, and no ripe fruit, are on any account to be cut off; but leaves which wither or are killed in the course of the summer may be removed as soon as they are perceived. Pruning is prohibited, in order that every plant may show its natural shape and habit of growth; whether by growing erect, spreading horizontally, or throwing suckers up, or rambling shoots out, on every side. The suckers are not even to be thinned out, but every plant is to be allowed as perfect a freedom of growth as if it were in its native habitat. The only exception is, such climbing, twining, or trailing plants as are to be trained up to the rods or props prepared for them, instead of allowing them to trail on the ground; but this is to be done without cutting off or shortening any of their shoots. The reason for not removing decaying leaves is, that a great part of the beauty of all trees and shrubs consists in the change of colour which takes place in the leaves in the course of the autumn, and more especially a short time before they drop off. Hence I repeat, that the leaves on all the plants (unless accidentally killed) are to be allowed to decay naturally on the shoots, and not to be touched till they have fallen on the ground, when they are to be swept up and laid on the circular space of earth which is to be preserved round each plant. The use of laying the leaves on the space around each plant is to serve as a mulching or non-conducting cover to retain moisture, and also because the best manure for every description of plant is decayed foliage. When at any time the leaves laid at the roots of the plants are blown off by the wind, they must be swept on again; and this practice must be continued till the leaves have so far rotted as to adhere to the surface of the soil. In |