Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1874 — Victoria’s Gardens. [ARTICLE]

Victoria’s Gardens.

Col. Forney writes to the Philadelphia Press : “The royal gardens near Frogmore are thirty acres in extent, and inclosed with a wall- twolvC foot ia height. It is a magnificent spot with its grand collection of plants and flowers. There are two splendid apartments for the use of the Queen, out of which she proceeds to the conservatories, which cover a total range of glass of 920 feet. There is a vinery 102 feet long, two peach houses 56 feet long, and pits for forcing melons, cucumbers and asparagus, heated with hot water. These gardens are considered to be the completest of any on earth, and are surrounded with 1,800 acres of magnificent scenery, and stocked with several thousand fallow deer. ‘Yonder,’ said our guide, ‘is the Long Walk, nearly three piles in extent, shaded all the way by a double row of ancient elms, a delightful promenade. It was planted in the year 1860, and among its other advantages is a saline spring of great effect in chronic diseases. In the southeastern direction you will perceive a lodge, which was for a long time the residence of George IV. It was taken down by command of that King, with the exception of the gothic dining-hall, where at present occasional royal fetes are held. At the back of the lodge you will see a large building called Cumberland Lodge, formerly the seat of William, Duke of Cumberland, uncle to George IV. The Queen’s hunters are kept in the adjoining premises. - Near Cumberland Lodge are the schools, finished in 1845 by the Queen, for the education of the children of the employes on the royal domain. There, on the other side of Cumberland Lodge, is the broad approach to the celebrated lake called Virginia Water, of which you have heard so much, surrounded by a succession of delightful views, increased by artificial aid. It is about seven miles in circumference, one mile and a half in length, and in width one-third of a mile, and is one of the largest artificial sheets of water in England.’ ”