At Oakhill, the kitchen-garden is the most attractive feature to a gardener. We found it in the highest order in every part; and we may safely state that we never saw before such extraordinary pines and grapes. We also saw a peach pit 40 ft. long by 13 ft. wide, which was nearly filled by an elruge nectarine and a noblesse peach. These, when planted, were one year trained, but with the shoots cut back to the stem, so that they might almost be termed maiden plants; nevertheless, they completely filled the house in three seasons, and bore a good crop of fruit this spring, which had been some time all gathered when we saw the trees. The trees are planted within the pit, and their roots pass through the wall into a border, which is never cropped. All the vines in the different vineries are treated in the spurring-in manner, and no greater quantity of wood or leaves is allowed to be produced, than is necessary to support the fruit. Nothing is ever planted on the borders, either within the house or without. The leaves, in consequence of their small number, and the richness of the soil, attain an enormous size and succulency: but, at the same time, they do not shade the house so much as where the vines are trained all over a trellis under the glass; nor do they require any thing like so much care and trouble as in that mode of training. In consequence of the abundance of light which is admitted within the house, we found some vines trained against a back-wall trellis, and some rising from the earth in the manner of standards, bearing large bunches to the very ground, even of muscats. Grapes are gathered here throughout the year, with the exception of three weeks about the end of March and beginning of April; and they could be gathered during these three weeks also, if the proprietor desired it. At the present time, we found one crop removed and the leaves dropping from the wood, another nearly gathered, one beginning to ripen, and one beginning to swell. Pines are cut every week in the year. We consider it unnecessary to speak here of the treatment either of the vines or pines at Oakhill, or to say any thing in favour either of the late or present gardener; the modes of treating both pines and vines having been already given by Mr. Forsyth, in different papers in our three preceding volumes. The houses are heated chiefly by hot water; though flues are still used in some of them, but with the covers kept moist by drops of water, which issue from a leaden pipe conducted over them at a foot in height, pierced at intervals with a needle so as to allow one hole to each tile, and supplied from a cistern. The sashes and rafters in the houses are chiefly framed in wood, but in the pits the rafters are of cast iron, and the styles and rails of the sashes of wood, with the bars of copper. The general width of the larger pits is 13 ft. There is a very ingenious contrivance for fastening the sashes, invented by the architect (the late Mr. Shaw), which we shall figure and describe in a future Number. The pines are grown in pits or frames; the latter generally glazed with green glass. In one of the frames we found the stumps of Providence pines, with the leaves cut off, planted deep in pots of loam, and with a very strong bottom heat, in order to force them to throw up suckers, which they were doing abundantly.
