SOUTHERN TOUR (Continued).

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 476, 31 May 1890, Page 3

SOUTHERN TOUR (Continued).

Christchurch Domain.

My next visit was to the Christchurch Domain and Public Gardens. I entered the gardens at the gate near the Museum, and from this point I strolled down through the gardens till I struck the river-bank, along which I strolled for about a mile. All along each side of the walk, or drive, which follows the windings of the river, there are two large, broad borders, of a mixed character, including a large variety of small flowering shrubs, herbaceous plants, etc., and at intervals, large weeping willows, oaks, ash, gums, etc. At one point I crossed a wooden bridge and entered a voung plantation of deciduous trees, principally composed of oak, ash, elm, birch, etc. I was informed that the trees in the plantation were about from fifteen to twenty years of age. Some of the trees were making fine, handsome trunks, and in the future will make valuable timber trees. I also thought that a little judicious pruning of the lower branches would be beneficial. After strolling through this plantation for a short distance I entered the park proper, which is a splendid open level piece of ground, with clumps of pine and deciduous trees planted here and there, which looked well, and made a pretty landscape. In this portion of the grounds there is a short avenue of Wellingtonia gigantea planted. These trees are about twenty years of age, and havealready attained a height of about fifty feet, already making grand noble specimens, clearly showing the capabilities of this handsome conifera as a timber tree in this part of New Zealand. The open part of this park is grazing, but the public is allowed the full use of it for all sorts of games, such as cricket, football, etc. .For all leading matches, they take place in a private ground held by a company in another part of the city. Around the outer edges of this park there is a ride of several miles in length, along which there is a mixed plantation, which makes it cool and shady. The best feature of the whole place is the River Avon, which for some distance runs through it. The river is about fifty feet broad, and the ordinary depth of water is about four feet. The plantations on each side of the river almost entirely shade it from the sun’s rays, and the promenade along its banks is one of the coolest and pleasantest places tor a stroll. Every now and then pleasure parties in small pulling boats will be either passing up or down, making the scene very lively. At about the periods of full moon, this part of the river has especial charms for boating parties in the evenings. What is called the gardens proper is formed inside a bend of the river, which forms nearly three-fourths of a circle around them. At one side is situated the Museum buildings. The principal entrance gate is also near to the buildings, From this point of view there are three large grass lawns with a few flowers cut in them, and also a few fine specimen trees planted here and there upon them. From this part, the walk or rather the drives, diverge in an irregular manner throughout the balance of the gardens. On each eide of the drives there are spacious borders about forty feet in width. The back of these borders is filled with a choice selection of herbaceous and other flowering shrubs, with, here and there a fine specimen of conifera. The outer part of the borders is filled with a good stock of ordinary budding plants, etc. The rest of the grounds consist in large tracts of grass, with considerable clumps of pine and other trees, and here and there a fine , single specimen tree. Conspicuous amongst these specimens there were a few fine auricaria imbricato, Wellingtonias, cupressus, hollies, etc. The whole of the cultivated portion of the gardens embraces an area of about 140 acres. There is a section of the gardens devoted to the cultivation of native trees, shrubs, etc., which succeed and grow in the Middle Island of New Zealand. One thing which I was sorry to find was that the soil composing those gardens was composed principally of poor, sandy, hungry soil, and that it would be difficult to keep up a show of flowers during the dry months of summer, as a few weeks of dry weather tell considerably on the bedding plants, grass, etc. Attached to the above there is a small nursery of rather more than half an acre. Here all the propagating is done. The propagating house is about 40 feet long, with a nice range of cool frames. To maintain and keop these grounds in fairly good order there is a staff of six men employed besides the curator.