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fruit, a more substantial guard against man must be provided,
and brick walls are the best security.
I will here make some remarks on the occupation of land
belonging to a Villa. It is surprising how tenacious every
gentleman is of grass land, and with what reluctance he in-
creases his garden, or contracts his farm; as if land were only
given to produce hay, or to fatten cattle. He forgets the dif:
ference in value betwixt an acre of pasture and an acre of fruit
garden; or the quantity of surface required to grow a load of
hay or a load of currants, cauliflowers, or asparagus, with the
prodigious difference in the value of each. For this reason, the
Gardens of a Villa should be the principal object of attention;
and at Blenden Hall, the ground betwixt the fruit trees in the
orchard, which produces hay, small in quantity and bad in qua"
lity, might be turned to more advantage by planting currant
bushes, or sowing garden crops; which even if sent to market,
will yield five times the value of the feed for cattle. There is a
clipt quickset-hedge, which forms the south boundary of the
garden; this is as secure as a wall, and therefore worth preserv-
ing. I must also advise retaining the lofty wall to the west, as
the greatest protection against the west winds: but a skreen
of trees, or rather filberts and fruit trees, should be planted, to
hide the wall from the approach, and to secure a slip on the
outside, and make both sides of this lofty wall productive. If
more walls be required, they may be added as described on
the map, so as to shelter each other from blights; for it is not
necessary that the garden should be a square area within four