Sunday Washington globe., 1902-06-15
COSlY GARDENS A HOBBY.
MANY BRITISH COUNTRY SEATS
NOTED FOR FLOWERS.

FN@ANANAtAAHs
The sum of money annually spent
on the maintenance of gardens in
England is staggering.
OF course it will be understood that
DRrt of this expenditure is remunera-
tive-that is to say, there is some re-
turn in the crops provided for home
use; but this is, after all, only a small
proportion Of the whole and in the
case of many gardens (where hOthOuse
fruits, for example, are grown it is
well recognized that the owner could
more cheaply purchase his supplies at
market, so that ii may be fairly stated
that the bulk of the vast sum men
toned below is spent in ministering
70 the pleasure of we'll to do people
There are in England, Scotland and
Wales no fewer than 10000 places dig
nitied with the title Of country seats. 3"
These are not small houses. but the
residences Of noblemen and gentlemen.
many Of whom keep large staffs of
gardeners and laborers. 1t would be
a low estimate to place the average
cost of labor and cottage accommoda-
tion at each Of these seats at S25
week-or, say, $1,25O a year. This
alone will amount to a sum of S12.
600.
The up-keep of the garden, the re-
pair Of glass houses, the purchase Of
manures, seeds and plants would, at 4
very moderate estimate. run to $500 a
year. The figure might De placed
much higher, but at $500 a year an
other s5,OO0,OOO is put together. This
does not include capital expenditure,
which in some gardens is very large.
In some gardens forty. fifty or more
glass houses may be found. and. omit
ting the cost of labor and of the gar
dens occupied the actual money ex-
penditurs is very large In the ten
thousand country seats are not includ-
ed the numerous suburban houses of
some pretensiOns which encirce all
the large towns, at each of which a
gardener is employed with more or
less regularity, and nOthing'i is allowed
for the expenditure of that vast army
of followers of the art which is ma
ture' who do the work for themselves
II all these sums are put together the
total spent by those who keep gar
dens, large and small, would not be
found less than S5O.00O,000 annually.
Which is the most expensive garden
IN England? 1t is not an easy ques-
tion to answer. One instinctively turns
TO ChatswOrth, whose fame is world
wide; to the magnificent grounds Of
FTrnrrthnvv, Hall orvuoT I,r~ tI,., T7~,r-., .,e
Sutherland; to the Marquis Of Bute's
gardens at Cardiff Castle, where open
air grape growing has achieved some
success after costly experiments; or to
the neighboring seat of Lord Llangat-
took. at Monmouth But If instead Of
expensive garden" we were to deal
with the most expensive group OF
gardens" one would turn away from
all of these and look toward the Buck
inghamshire home of the ROthschilds.
In circle Of few miles around Ment.
mOre-the lovely home of the versatile
former Premier, Lord Rosebery, will
be found some Of the most magnificent
gardens in the Kingdom, managed by
large STATS of men, and carried on
with a disregard for money which is
not surprising when me owners are
Rothschilds. 1t is a fortunate thing
for the horticultural trade and for
gardening in general that nearly ev-
cry member Of this famous family has
an intense love of flowers, and 1t is an
open secret that no city rivalry could
be keener than that which has swayed
the Rothschilds in their country
homes, each endeavorirg to produce
better results than the ether, or, in
deed, than any one else has attained
, Was there a striking group Of hardy
plants seen at a London show? I'm
mediately steps would be taken to get
a better one by the late Baron Ferdi-
nand. who during his lifetime was as
keen a gardener as any Of his rela-
tives. Are there any magnificent roses
exhibited? Mr. Leopold de Rothschild
does not hesitate to send his capable
rosegrower any distance to see the
garden where they were produced, In
order to learn how to go one better
Are there new and spendid orchids
imported? No one so ready to buy
them as Lord Rothschild, at whose
beautiful home at Tring Park there is
a magnificent collection. Lately Mr.
Leopold de Rothschild has been in
terested in carnations, and a large
house has been built specially for these
flowers alone. If the large sums given
for rare and new orchids-S5OO for a
plant being by no means an out-of-
the-way price-is borne in mind and
the cost Of keeping Is made the main
test, it Is probable that Lord Roths-
childs garden and grounds at Tring
would come first as the most expensive
in England. The expense Of the main
tenance of such a place is enormous.
There are about forty Of fifty gar
deners and laborers constantly en-
ployed, and their wages alone would
make a tolerable income for a city
mau--let us say s12,50O a year Then
there are the repairs Of houses and
their modification, furnaces to be sup.
piled with coal, water, which must be
brought in ample quantities whenever
sto Je culture Is attempted and is need.
ed in all parts Of the garden. and