File:The Civil engineer and architect's journal, scientific and railway gazette (1839) (20465800488).jpg

Title: The Civil engineer and architect's journal, scientific and railway gazette
Identifier: civilengineerarc04lond (find matches)
Year: 1839 (1830s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture; Civil engineering; Science
Publisher: London : (William Laxton)
Contributing Library: Northeastern University, Snell Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Northeastern University, Snell Library

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72 Tin; CIVIL EXr:T\EER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. l^Iarch,
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Fig. 5.—East Lo.lge of ilie Derln Ar'>orctum. showing the Entrance Gates. Tuilur Style, lime of Henry VII. ceremony of the opening, not a single pl;int was injured. Some few of the shrubs wliifh require peat .soil, such as the heaths, have hail thatsoil prepared for them; and the genera C'istiis and lielianthemum, whicli are apt to damp otf on a wet surface, are planted on a raised mass of dry rubbish, covered with stones. All the climbing plants have upright 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 tliat the upper surface of the stone appears 1 inch higher than the surrounding surface. This ap- pearance 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 res))ect 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 sum- mer season. As the extent of grassy surface to be mown will be re- duced by the space occupied by the walks, and by the circles of earth on which tliere 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 sufflcient to mow and sweep up this extent of lawn during (he whole summer ; the daily space to mow being about half an acre, and the grass mown to be distriljuted 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 otf insects fiom 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 flower-garden 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 tliat 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 Octo- ber. Unless some arrangement of this sort be made, it will be impossi- ble to do justice to the plan of exhibiting plants in the vases; because the flower-garden, if made a source of supply, would be injured in ap- pearance; and to have a reserve garden, with a green-house or pit, would involve much more expense than hiring the plants from a nur- seryman, and would be far from attaining the object in view so effec- tually. On the supposition that there were fifty vases, there would then be fifty dilTerent kinds of named flowers or green-house plants in them every day during the summer; and supposing that these kinds were changed once a week, and the same kind not repeated more than once in the same season, there would then have been upwards of 500 dirterent kinds of handsome plants, with their names attached, ex- hibited to the public in the course of a single year. To give an idea of what these plants might be, 1 shall suppose them to consist of 200 showy hardy and tender annuals, 100 dwarf dahlias, 100 choice her- baceous plants, 100 geraniums, 100 Australian plants, 50 heaths, and 50 miscellaneous green-house plants, including fuchsias, cacti, aloes, &c. One great use of these plants is, by their bright red, vellow, orange, or white colours, to relieve the eye, and form a contrast to the green of the foliage and grass with which they are surrounded on every side. A similar contrast will be obtiiined by the colours of the dresses and countenances of persons walking in the A boretum. The plan of the Arboretum was made in May, 1^539; 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, lb40. The trees and shrubs were supplied chiefly by Messrs. Whitley and Osborn, but partly also by Mr. Masters of Canterbury; and the mis- cellaneous collection of roses was furnished by Mr. Rivers of Sawbridge- worth ; the mistletoe was supplied by Mr. Godsall of Hereford ; and some species, which could not be procured in the nurseries, were ob- t.iined from the Horticultural Society's Garden. The lodges and pa- vilions 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 V^ll.; 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. Mar- shall, ijarber, and Co., of Derby. ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION. Sir—The spirited manner in which you acted respecting the pro- ceedings of the Gresham Committee in their attempt to extort the sum of one pound from architects desirous of compeliug for the Royal Exchange, and for whieh you received a vote of thanks from the Man- chester Architectural Society, in which I (being a member) heartily concurred, has induced me to forward you the enclosed advertisement, which appeared in the Times newspaper, in compliance with which I wrote to the Vicar for the necessary particulars, and received in answer the accompanying note, by which it appears that the Vicar and Churchwardens are following the notable examf,le of the Gresham Committee. Surely if the demand of twenty shillings for the neces- sary instructions was an extortionate act of the Gresham Committee, how much more so is the same demand in this case, where even the successful competitor is only to receive his commission upon £1,000, instead of the much larger sum at stake in the case of the Royal Ex- change. I leave you to comment upon this subject (should you think it worth notice in your valuable Journal), in any way you deem proper, but I think you will agree with me that the practice of charging architects anything, be the sum either large or small, for the instructions neces- sary in the preparation of competition designs, is very impolitic and reprehensible, and one that ought to be most strongly protested against by the profession. The loss of time and expense architects must necessarily incur one would imagine quite sufficient for the most exacting Committee, with- out having new burdens continually heaped upon them. I am, Sir, A.S OCCASIONAL COMPETITOK. Ftbruary 8, 1841. The following is the advertisement and letter referred to by our correspondent:—" Architects desirous of submitting plans for the new pewing of the church of Fordingbridge, Hants, may apply to the Vicar and Churchwardens of Fordingbridge, until the 16tli day of January next." "The Vicar and Churchwardens in reply to A. B.'s letter, beg to inform him that the plans for repewing the Church of Fordingbridge, must be sent in by the 2(jth of February, and be in strict accordance with the instructions of the Church Building Society, but the estimate must not exceed £1,000. "A lithographic ground plan is now ready to be forwarded on the remittance of a Post-oflSce order for £ 1. " A motto must be inscribed on the plan, and also a sealed letter enclosing the name of the candidate." Fordingbridge, Jan. 20, lb41.

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