The
religious, being men of leisure, and keeping up a constant
correspondence with Italy, were the first people among us that had
gardens and fruit-trees in any perfection, within the walls of their
abbies* and priories. The barons neglected every pursuit that did
not lead to war or tend to the pleasure of the chase.
(* 'In monasteries the lamp of knowledge continued to burn,
however dimly. In them men of business were formed for the state:
the art of writing was cultivated by the monks; they were the only
proficients in mechanics, gardening, and architecture.' -- See
Dalrymple's Annals of Scotland.)
It was not till gentlemen took up the study of horticulture
themselves that the knowledge of gardening made such hasty
advances. Lord Cobham, Lord Ila, and Mr. Waller of Beaconsfield,
were some of the first people of rank that promoted the elegant
science of ornamenting without despising the superintendence of
the kitchen quarters and fruit walls.
A remark made by the excellent Mr. Ray in his Tour of Europe at
once surprises us, and corroborates what has been advanced above;
for we find him observing, so late as his days, that 'the Italians use
several herbs for sallets, which are not yet or have not been but
lately used in England, viz.
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