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LIBRARY OF THE

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PRACTICAL HINTS

LANDSCAPE GARDENING:

WITH SOME REMARKS

ON DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE,

AS CONNECTED WITH SCENERY.

BY

WILLIAM S. GILPIN, Esq.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON

PRINTED FOR T. CADELL, STRAND;

AND W. BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH.

1835.

LONDOK :

Printed by A. Spottiswoodf,
New-Street- Square.

CONTENTS.

\ Introduction _ - . - Page v

;::^ chapter i.

General Improvement. — Formation. — Removal. — Situ-
ation for a House. — Character of the House. — Divi-
sion of Scenery _ _ _ - 1

CHAR II.

The Approach - - - - 20

CHAP. III.

Dress Ground. — Scenery beyond it. — Composition in
Landscape. — Foreground, natural and artificial. —
Old and New Systems compared. — Removal of Trees
near the House. — Character of Trees, and their Appli-
cation. — The Formation of Dress Ground. — Flower
Beds. — Fence of Dress Ground - - - 28

CHAP IV.

Planting. — Errors committed. — Irregular Form in op-
position to Ovals and Circles. — Controversy between
■^ Sir Uvedale Price and Mr. Repton - - 89

CHAP. V.

On Water. — The Accompaniment of it - - 153

■y * A 2

IV

CONTENTS.

CHAP. VJ.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Entrance to the House not to be on the Side of the
Living Rooms. — Altering the Entrance. — Turning
the Approach. — Removing Hedge Rows. — Caution
necessary. — Kitchen Garden. — On Opening Scenery.

— Cheerfulness as connected with Scenery. — Blue
Distance one great Source of it. — A Village or Hamlet
conducive to it. — Mistake in hiding such Circumstances.

— Planting. — Characters of Trees. — Scotch Fir. —
Various Opinions of it. — Trees in Groups. — Levelling
and Smoothing. — Hyde Park. — Fences. — Lodges. —
Bridges.— Villages - - - Page 177

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INTRODUCTlOISr.

This little work may probably, at first sight,
appear superfluous to those who have read
the Essays of Sir Uvedale Price upon this
department of taste ; where the subject is
so ably and so fully discussed as to leave
no room for improvement, no ground for
dissent. Still, however, notwithstandincr the
extended spirit of improvement in Land-
scape Gardening, it may be presumed that
numbers have not read those Essays ; whilst
others, from the want of previous knowledge
on the subject, may not be able to reap the
full information they contain, so as them-
selves to direct, upon the principles of taste,
the improvements they desire, or to appre-
ciate the ability of others to whom they
intrust a work of no light interest, either to
the owner of the place, or as connected with
the general diffusion of taste through the
country at large.

Indeed, Sir Uvedale Price's preface to the

VI INTRODUCTION.

first volume of his second edition justifies
the utility of such a work. I beg to make
the following short extract : —

" As the general plan and intention of my
" first publication," says Sir Uvedale, " have
" been a wod deal misunderstood, I wish to
" ilive a short account of them both. The
" title itself might have shown, that I aimed
*' at somethino' more than a mere book of
" Gardening. Some, however, have conceived
" that I ought to have begun by setting forth
" all my ideas of lawns, shrubberies, gravel
'' walks, &c. ; and, as my arrangements did
" not coincide with their notions of what it
*' ought to have been, they seem to have con-
" eluded that I had no plan at all."

What Sir Uvedale here leaves his readers
to gather from the whole of his interesting
and instructive work, it is the aim and in-
tention of the following pages (as far as
relates to the immediate subject of Landscape
Gardening) to concentrate, and to render
practically useful.

All the writers on this subject that I have
met with (the author of the Essays except-
ed), whatever be their comparative merit,
appear to me to be more or less defective

INTRODUCTION. V!l

in practical information. The author of
" Design in Gardening;"* accuses the " Ob-
** servations on Modern Gardening" of this
omission ; and though I have carefully read
both the works, I must confess myself to have
found as little of practical information in the
former as in the latter author, and far less of
interest and taste.

It will be remembered, that the authors
I mention were none of them professional
improvers. Their observations, therefore,
however interesting they may be to those
who are conversant with the subject, will be
deficient in that general utility and practical
information which are the object of the follow-
ing pages ; the merit of which, if they have
any, will consist in opening the general prin-
ciples of taste to those who have not studied
the subject ; and in thus enabling them to ap-
preciate each the character of his own place,
and the different schemes that may be sug-
gested for its improvement, will afford a
source of increasing variety and delight.

Agreeing fully with Sir Uvedale Price in
his estimates of the requisites necessary to
form a just taste in Landscape Gardening, I

* Essay on Design in Gardening, p. l49.

VIU INTRODUCTION.

am emboldened to submit to the public my
ideas upon the subject, having been bred to
the study of Landscape Painting in the first
instance, and having for many years applied
the principles of painting to the improve-
ment of real scenery.

It has ever appeared to me, that a very
essential part of an improver's duty is to
explain to the proprietor the principles upon
which he suggests any plan of improvement.
This, during the progress of the work, not
only enhances the pleasure of the proprietor,
and assists his general taste, but it also en-
sures his future care, through the periodical
prunings and thinnings which must of neces-
sity take place, that the original scheme of
the improvement be kept in view. It will
also frequently happen that local circum-
stances, or individual prejudices, may be op-
posed to the plan of improvement recom-
mended. In sucli cases, I have generally
found, that a full explanation of the principles
on which the plan is founded will not fail to
overcome those prejudices, and modify such
local circumstances, so that they shall not
materially interfere with the general design.
If the improver understands his profession.

INTRODUCTION. IX

such a discussion must be highly desirable to
him, whatever be the result.

Taste, as connected with general feeling,
is more or less subject to the influence of
fashion. We perceive this influence in dress,
ornament, plate, &c. as well as in architecture
and gardening ; and as alteration usually
ends in extremes, so within the last century
taste has experienced the sweeping hand of
reform. Simplicity became the standard of
the day ; and as the richly embossed plate of
former times was superseded by the bald
and meagre productions of more modern
simplicity ; so the ample terrace, with its
massive balustrade, its steps, fountains, and
alcoves, with all its rich, though formal, ac-
companiments of parterres backed by the
sheltering skreen of venerable evergreens,
fell beneath the indiscriminating hand of re-
form, and left the mansion stripped of those
embellishments which time had, as it were,
identified with its very existence, to lament
over the insipid simplicity and baldness spread
around it.

Time and reflection seem at length to have
enabled us to judge with impartiality be-
tween the old and new systems ; and the

a

X INTRODUCTION.

principles of taste are, from various causes,
better understood, and more generally dif-
fused, than at any former period.

In the article of plate, for instance, the
richness of the old is imitated in the modern
manufacture, whilst the former is itself
sought after with avidity. So on the subject
of this discussion, the same improvement
seems to be taking place ; and richness, in-
tricacy, and variety have entered the lists
against insipidity, distinctness, and dull uni-
formity. The bold, though formal, stretch
of terrace ventures occasionally to re-occupy
the situation from which the easy curve had
almost universally ejected it ; and we may
hope the time is approaching, when Sir
Uvedale Price's prophecy will be accom-
plished in the union of the excellencies of
the two systems.

As the embellishments that surround the
country residences of England are extended
over a much wider range than formerly, their
influence on the fj^eneral character of the
country must be proportionably increased.
It is highly desirable, then, that these em-
bellishments should be founded on the prin-
ciples of true taste ; which, as the Essays

INTRODUCTION. XI

before alluded to have abundantly proved, is
only to be perfected by the united study of
nature and the works of the best landscape
painters. A taste, thus formed, can alone
produce that variety which the natural cha-
racter of each place will suggest to an eye
conversant with the principles of composi-
tion ; whilst he, who is unacquainted with
those principles, must be in danger of repeat-
ing the same scheme of operation, with little
or no relation to the character of the different
places to which it is applied.

The object of the following pages being
(as I have already stated) to suggest a few
leading hints, whereby, at least, the great
outline of taste may be preserved, it will be
necessary to accommodate these hints to
places of various sizes ; for the hand of taste
may be discovered in the embellishment of
half an acre, though the want of it will not
be so offensive as on the more extended scale
of a pleasure ground or a park. This diversity
of application will unavoidably create occa-
sional repetition of such remarks as are equally
suited to places of different extent.

In order to render the principles here sug-
gested more practically useful, a few ill us-

xii INTRODUCTION.

trative plans and sketches are added, in which
iitiHty alone has been attended to, as any
thing beyond that would be an useless addi-
tion of expense.

Painsfield, East Sheen,
April 1. 1832.

PRACTICAL HINTS

ON

LANDSCAPE GARDENING,

CHAPTER I.

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. FORMATION. REMOVAL. —

SITUATION FOR A HOUSE. CHARACTER OF THE HOUSE.

DIVISION OF SCENERY.

The judicious improvement of any place must
rest upon the natural or acquired character of
the place itself. I say acquired character, be-
cause many places may be found where the
natural character has been superseded by
planting, and other decorations of such long
standing as forbids their removal, and directs
future improvement to harmonise with the
existing state of things.

B

2 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

Improvement may be classed under two
leading heads, formation and removal: the
former will be more especially requisite in the
decoration of a new place ; the latter, in the
correction of an old one. I will consider,
jfirst, the formation of a new place.

When a house is to be built, its situation,
size, and character are well worthy of con-
sideration, as connected with the general har-
mony of the scene.

Though it would be difficult to fix the pre-
cise situation of a house without seeing the
ground over which it is to preside, yet a few
hints may be given that will, at least, prevent
the o'larinp' errors we too often witness on this
head, as also on the character of the house
itself, and more particularly on the approach
to and entrance into it.

I will consider the situation of a house in
relation to the extent of the domain ; the
immediate ground on which it is placed ; the
scenery it commands ; the shelter requisite to
comfort within it ; and the access to it.

A house ought rarely to be placed on the
highest point of the domain, if that point is
of any considerable height; as I conceive it
would be objectionable to most of the requi-

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. O

sites just mentioned; for, though circum-
stances will sometimes demand an elevated
situation, yet it is by no means favourable
to comfort or access ; nor is the general com-
position usually so good as from a lower
station.

I consider a house to be best situated when
it stands upon a platform, with a rising ground
behind it, and with a depth below it : no po-
sition can be more favourable for that variety
of embellishment so desirable around the
house. When the undulation of ground is of
a more gentle character, I w^ould still fix my
house as nearly upon this plan as circum-
stances mio;ht admit. With reoard to the
scenery from the house, I should be careful
to get, if possible, from my windows, some
laro-e trees for a foreground, as essential to the
general composition ; a point of much more
consequence than a mere extensive view.

I think it a great mistake in the placing of
a house, to set it parallel to a river or a valley.
I remember a house so placed with regard to
the Thames, in a very beautiful part of its
course ; but, from the situation of the house,
you look straight across the river, which nar-
rows it to little better than a canal, whilst the

B 2

4 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

reaches up and down the stream, though
both are beautiful, are altogether lost to the
windows.

There is an universal and well founded pre-
ference of a south aspect for the living rooms
of a house : but if, by yielding a few points of
the compass on either side, I could improve
the composition, I confess I should not hesi-
tate so to do. When the house is of an irre-
gular form, windows may be so placed as to
command a greater variety of scenery than can
be obtained by the usual rectangular build-
ing. I remember seeing a house built by the
late Colonel JMitford, near the New Forest, in
a triangular form, to meet three distinct and
very different views. The situation of a house

will, in a great degree, be determined by its
character; which character will, again, be

mainly influenced by that of the surrounding
scenery, particularly of its immediate domain.
Country residences, such as we are treating
of, may be classed under the following deno-
minations : a Castle ; a Grecian or Italian
Edifice ; a JNIanorial Building ; a Hunting
Lodge; and a Cottage ornee.* The distinction

* A freneral name for that sort of building that claims
no place among the former.

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 5

between the two last will, perhaps, depend as
much upon the scenery, in which they are
placed, as upon any essential variety in the
buildings themselves.

Though situations may sometimes occur
where the choice of* an appropriate building
may not be so obvious, yet I conceive that,
in many others, good taste could be at no loss
in making a judicious selection; and, even in
cases not so clear, the same good taste would
avoid any glaring disunion between the house
and its accompanying scenery.

In speaking of character in scenery as con-
nected with our present purpose, I will ven-
ture to range it under live heads: for though,
in many instances, the Romantic and the Pic-
turesque may appear to blend into one cha-
racter, yet, in very many others, a marked
distinction will, I conceive, be found between
them. The Romantic will, perhaps, often
include the Picturesque ; but, in numerous
instances, I think, the latter will be found
unaccompanied by the former quality. I will
also add, as connected with residences, the
Rural, as a distinct class from any of the rest.
Scenery, therefore, may be divided into the
Grand, the Romantic, the Beautiful, the Pic-

B 3

6 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

turesque, and the Rural. The first is charac-
terised bj largeness and unity of parts : its
contrasts are few and bold. Such is the
scenery, generally, of a mountainous country,
and more especially of the sea, when viewed
from a commanding station. Lake scenery
usually comes under this character. The
view from the ridge of the Cotswold Hills
over the vale of Severn well deserves this
title ; as does also, though of a different com-
position, the view from the house at Brock-
enhurst, in the New Forest, where the eye
sweeps over a mass of majestic wood, ap-
parently interminable, until it melts into the
horizon.

Romantic scenery is wrought upon a smaller
scale than the former, with more parts, and
a greater variety and quickness of transition
from part to part. It is marked by precipitous
steeps; angular rocky projections forcing their
way between the rugged stems that are rooted
in their crevices, or rising out of the wild
undergrowth at their base. Intricacy seems
the leading feature of the Romantic. The
Grand bursts at once upon the eye, and holds
it in astonishment : the Romantic leads vou
onward in alternate expectation and discovery,

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 7

whilst Tranquillity appears the presiding ge-
nius of the scene.

Such, I should say, is the character of
Dovedale, in Derbyshire, and, upon a smaller
scale, of Corby and of Nunnery, in Cumber-
land, as also of Rokeby. The scenery of
Bolton Abbey on the Wharf is a fine speci-
men of the romantic.

The Beautiful in scenery is characterised
by more gentle contrasts, with broader folds
of ground, and smoother surface ; whilst its
embellishment consists in groups of trees of
ample growth and erect stature. Where water
is added, you have all the requisites of the
Beautiful. Longleat, Bowood, and Marston,
amongst many others, are good examples of
this character.

The Picturesque scene is marked by smaller
and more abrupt folds of ground, with but
little of flat surface, and clothed in a rougher
mantle. Its wood is usually of less ample
growth, and mixed with thorns, hollies, gorse,
broom, brambles, &c. This description of
country is frequent in some parts of Kent ;
and, perhaps, Seven Oaks Common may be
selected as an example very generally known.
Holwood, in that neighbourhood, comes under

B 4

8 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

this cliaracter: Addington Park, near Croydon,
is also a striking specimen of the Picturesque.

The Rural comprehends a large portion of
the scenery of many counties in England.
Several very pleasing examples are to be
found in Surrey, which, as far as I have had
opportunities of judging, contains the highest
class of this description of country. Undis-
tinguished by any great features, its power of
pleasing depends principally upon its hedge-
row timber, producing the appearance of a
well wooded country, softening gradually into
a rich distance. Open commons here and
there give an interesting variety to the general
mass of cultivation ; though, in this point of
view, it is to be lamented that the increased
spirit of agriculture has much curtailed this
prominent feature of rural landscape.

It will be evident to every observer of na-
ture, that these different characters are sub-
ject to various occasional combinations ; which,
nevertheless, though they may lessen, do not
destroy the distinction. The road between
Epsom and Dorking furnishes a striking ex-
ample of the union of the Rural with the
Beautiful in scenery : and it would be difficult
to name a drive of such pleasing interest,

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 9

where the bold-swelling hills, crowned with
their decorated mansions, gradually descend-
ing into the wooded vale, enlivened by vil-
lage and hamlet of peculiar neatness, form
altogether a combination of beauty, richness,
and comfort, which at the same time delights
the eye, and awakens the mind to a train of
interesting reflections.

This occasional mixture of character in the
scenery will naturally influence the character
of the building to be erected upon it ; other
circumstances, also, will have their due weight
on the question : moreover, it will be remem-
bered that hints, and not rules, are here sug-
gested, with a view of preventing the more
flagrant violations of harmony between the
house and the scenery round it.

In adapting, then, a mansion to a grand
situation, the choice of building would, I
conceive, be principally influenced by the
character of the immediate ground on which
the house was to be placed. If that consisted
of gentle undulations, with sufficient extent
of lawns, shrubberies, &c., I should prefer a
Grecian elevation: if, on the contrary, the
site for the buildino; were of limited extent
and abrupt character, I should esteem it bet-

10 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

ter suited to the Castle. Ardgowan, in Ayr-
shire, and Kinfciuns, near Perth, will illustrate
this observation.

The former, though of considerable height,
yet, being approached by a gradual ascent
through easy swelling folds of ground, might
have been properly crowned with a Grecian
Edifice, had the immediate ground on which
it stands been of sufficient extent and easy
surface. As it is, I think the character of
the mansion the only fault, in a place where
grandeur and variety are more happily
blended than I have any where met with.

Through an opening in the wood, which
clothes the south side of the eminence, you
catch a little bay of the Clyde, enlivened by
all the circumstances of fishing boats, figures,
nets, &c., combined with the straggling
skirts of the village, and backed by a bold
swell of hill. Looking more to the west, you
have the Isle of Bute, with the romantic
peaks of Arran rising behind it, and the sea
extending beyond them to the Irish coast ;
whilst following the prospect round to the
north, the Clyde, from the more contracted
line of the opposite shore, assumes the cha-
racter of a magnificent lake, stretching its
varying reaches up to Loch Long, and

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 1 I

bounded by the grand mountain line of
Loch Lomond.

The situation of Kinfauns, being of greater
height and very abrupt, is properly occupied
by a Castle, with its bold terrace overhanging
the steep, up which the approach ascends to
the entrance, having wound round the edge of
the height under the shade of a venerable row
of trees. Having gained the Castle, the eye
breaks at once upon a splendid view of the Tay
winding its broad course below, occasionally
interrupted by the tops of majestic wood
hanging on the steep, and enriched with a
variety of vessels passing and repassing to
and from Perth.

Had the abrupt knoll on which the castle
stands been planted with thorn, holly, juniper,
&c., so as to form a mass of undergrowth
below the terrace wall, the effect of the whole
would have been perfect : the want of this
gives a newness and poverty of character ill
suited to the general richness of the scene.*

To Romantic scenery also the Castle seems
well adapted. Its angular projecting but-
tresses, its towers of irregular height, its walls

* Having strongly urged this opinion to the noble
owner, I trust there is no impropriety in stating it here.

12 LANDSCAPE GARDENING, .

incorporated with the rocky steep on which
it stands, are all in harmony with the scene.
But should the situation afford the choice of
a less abrupt site with equal advantages, I
should prefer the Manorial House : for,
though a Castle is no longer connected with
alarm, yet the Manorial Residence is more
strictly in unison with that soothing tranquil-
lity which pervades the Romantic scene.

Bardon Tower, which is still standing on
a heio-ht commandino; the windino:s of the ro-
mantic valley of Bolton Abbey, appears as if
it had been the former residence of the place;
though, in fact, it was not so. Were a house
now to be erected, I should wish to place it
where the river, having: forced its agitated
way through a rocky channel of three miles,
spreads itself into a little tranquil lake, gently
winding round its varying shore, till its
stream, gradually entering a more confined
channel, glides silently through the woody
scenery below.

On the border of this little lake would I
place my house, — where, indeed, the good
taste of former times has placed the Abbey,
and where a corresponding taste has fixed
the Vicarage, which evinces the eye that

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 13

placed it to be worthy of the enchanting
scenery with which it is surrounded.

The Grecian edifice is best suited to pre-
side over the scenery designated by the term
Beautiful. Its regular proportions and high-
finished decorations are in unison with the
soft and polished character of all around it,
where elegance and gaiety hold unlimited
sway.

Here also may, with propriety, be placed
the Manorial Building ; only I would (if cir-
cumstances permitted) set it deeper in its
woody back ground than I would the gayer
Grecian Mansion, and in its embellishments
aim at substituting cheerfulness for gaiety.*

The Picturesque situation seems formed for
what has been termed a Forest Lodge ; which
I should describe as a building calculated
rather for convenience than display : low in
comparison of those before mentioned, irre-
gular in its form, and, if the ground be favour-
able, in its height also; no columns, no por-
ticos,— a porch only allowable. The pleasure

* Somerhill, near Tonbridge, is an exception to the
general situation of tlie manorial house ; but the splendid
scenery it commands justifies the elevated station it
occupies.

14 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

ground less extensive tlian at the last-men-
tioned residence, and less ornamented it its
decorations.

The last description of scenery, the Rural,
is calculated for the Cottage oimeCf which,
being without pretension, may be assimilated
by the variety of its accompaniments to the
ground it occupies, and to the scenery it
commands.

Whatever be the size or character of the
house under any of the above divisions, the
putting the offices under ground seems to me
to be a great mistake, either as it regards the
appearance of the building itself, or of the
ground around it. The offices may be so
managed as to relieve the square box-like
appearance of the house, and create a variety
of height and projection in the general mass
of building, which, when broken and enriched
by well disposed planting, \vill form a much
more agreeable whole than can be produced
by any single compact mass of whatever style.
Tiiis is one cause of the picturesque effect of
the Manorial, in which the offices are usually
soplaced as to give extent and variety to the
pile.

On the other hand, houses, particularly of

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 15

a moderate size, frequently suffer much from
the mode of attaching the offices to them ; as
when they are brought on a line with the
front of the house, — or, as I have seen, even
projected before it, — in such case the windows
of the offices on the one front command the
pleasure ground, and those on the other over-
look the approach : on both they materially
injure the effect of the main building by
excluding the return angles, and bringing the
whole mass into one extended flat line. The
expedient of shrubbing out the offices, as it
is termed, is no improvement ; as that will
not restore the return angles of the main
bull din":, at the same time that it forces the
walk into the sight of the windows, from
which it should be concealed.

The propriety of Sir Uvedale Price's re-
marks upon this subject will amply apologise
for my transcribing them in this place : —

" Much of the naked solitary appearance
" of houses is owing to the practice of totally
" concealing, nay, of sometimes burying all
" the offices under ground, and that by way
" of giving consequence to the mansion ; but,
" though exceptions may arise from parti-
" cular situations and circumstances, yet, in

16 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" general, nothing contributes so much to
" give both variety and consequence to the
" principal building as the accompaniment,
" and, as it were, the attendance, of the in-
" ferior parts in their different gradations. It
" is thus that Virgil raises the idea of the
" chief bard, —

" ' Musaeum ante omnes ; medium nam plurima turba
Hunc habet, atque humeris extantem suspicit altis.'

" Of this kind is the grandeur that charac-
" terises many of the ancient castles, which
" proudly overlook the different outworks,
" the lower towers, the gateways, and all the
" appendages of the main buildings; and this
" principle, so productive of grand and pictu-
" resque effects, has been applied with great
" success by Vanbrugh to highly ornamented
" buildings, and to Grecian architecture. The
" same principle (with those variations and
" exceptions that will naturally suggest them-
" selves to artists) may be applied to all
" houses. By studying the general masses,
" the groups, the accompaniments, and the
" points they will be seen from, those ex-
" terior offices, which so frequently are buried,
" if not under ground, at least behind a close

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. ^7

** plantation of Scotch firs, may all become
" useful in the composition ; not only the
" stablesj which often, indeed, rival the man-
" sion, and divide the attention, but the
" meanest office may be made to contribute
" to the character of the whole and to raise,
** not degrade, the principal part. The dif-
" ference of expense between good and bad
" forms is comparatively trifling — the differ-
" ence in their appearance immense."

When the offices required are of moderate
extent, they may be connected with the house
by a handsome screen wall, of such height as
to hide them altogether : the wall may be
partially broken by planting.

Whilst speaking of the house, I cannot
omit a circumstance, the inattention to which
has spoiled two thirds of those which I have
seen : I allude to the entrance.

In a Grecian or Italian edifice, it may be
essential that the entrance should occupy the
centre of one of the fronts ; in which case, I
think it equally essential that the living rooms
should not be on the same front ; on the
contrary, we frequently see the entrance on
the south front, and the drawing room or
library exposed to the gaze of the servants

c

18 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

from the carriage, whilst the windows, which
should have opened upon the embellishments
of a terrace or a pleasure ground, look upon
a sweep of glaring gravel ; indeed, it is not
unusual to meet with the conservatory on a
line with the hall door.

I trust I shall not be deemed too severe
upon this great mistake, when I state, that I
have visited a house of much beauty and
expense, and commanding scenery of very
considerable variety and grandeur, where the
library window (the only room on the south
front) opens upon the approach, and the car-
riages drive up im.mediately under it: an
unfortunate error, now irremediable.

Where circumstances will admit, the alter-
ation of the entrance so misplaced is well
worthy of attention. At Footscray Place, the
approach formerly went round the house to
set down on the south side, with a flight of
steps up to the hall door ; the house is now
entered upon the north, on a level with the
hall, and the former entrance is converted
into a library, having access by the flight of
steps to a handsome terrace below.

As far as concerns the entrance, the irre-
gular Manorial is preferable to the Grecian

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 19

architecture ; for a mansion that does not
require the dimensions of a palace calls for
no sacrifice in its access. Indeed, its irregu-
larity is highly beneficial, both in the variety
of the outline, and in the light and shadow
resulting from it : the want of which is so
obvious in the square flat surface of so many
of our modern houses.

c 2

20 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

CHAP. 11.

THE APPROACH.

Next to the situation and character of the
house, the approach to it is to be considered.
I have frequently thought that an undue
stress is laid upon the approach, as connected
with the general scenery of the place. We
often meet with it studiously carried through
some of the finest points of view, and thus
forestalling what ought to have been reserved
for the windows or the pleasure ground. The
approach to the Priory at Stan more is an
illustration of my feeling upon this subject.
There is no doubt that the beauty of that ap-
proach, simply considered, would be improved
by the removal of a screen of high trees,
which excludes the distant country. But the
screen, notwithstanding any suggestions to
the contrary, is, with great judgment, re-
tained, as a premature disclosure would most
materially injure the effect of the magnificent
display of scenery that bursts upon you from
the drawing-room windows.

THE APPROACH.

21

An approach should appear to be an un-
studied road to the house : —

" So let th' approach and entrance to the place
" Display no glitter, and affect no grace : " *

and its character should vary with that of
the residence to which it leads. This variety
will be principally marked by its length, and
by its embellishments. The former of these
distinctions need not always exist ; the latter,
I confess, 1 have ever held to be essential.

After breaking off from the public road,
the approach should avoid any direction
parallel with it, as good sense dictates the
use of what is already provided, as long as it
is suitable to your purpose. The inattention
to this rule in places of limited extent be-
trays that limitation which might otherwise
escape detection. I have seen an approach
running parallel with the high road, with
little more than the hedge dividing them, up
to the very door ; and a shrubbery walk fol-
lowino- the same line, with scarce a wider
separation between it and the approach. The
lodge is a high-finished temple, built, as I was

* Knight's Landscape.
C 3

22 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

informed, at the cost of three thousand
pounds. I was not within the domain.

In forming the line of approach (if of any
considerable length) I would avoid an uni-
form curve, or easy sweep, as it is termed ;
there is to me a painful insipidity in a long
continued curve, be it either road or walk.
Where, therefore, the length is sufficient to
justify deviation from the curve, I should avail
myself of any fair obstacle to vary the direc-
tion of my road, which would return again at
a fit opportunity to its original destination.
This I take to be the idea of the poet,

" But still in careless easy curves proceed ; "

which is quite contrary to the lengthened
uniform curve I have ventured to condemn.
An aproach not being subject to the same
necessity of speed as the high road, I should
seek rather than avoid any occasional undula-
tion of ground as conducing to the variety
and interest of the scene. This, however,
requires great judgment ; for a visibly need-
less ascent is a palpable error.

As contrast is so conducive to enjoyment,
I would, by all fair means, avail myself of its
aid in conducting an approach. If the mansion

THE APPROACH. 23

commanded an extensive prospect, I would
take the approach through the more confined
scenery, should circumstances permit it. If,
on the contrary, the house reposed in a more
secluded scene, I would embrace every lawful
opportunity of catching from the approach
those features of variety and extent which
were excluded from the house, and its im-
mediate environs. In fine, I should endea-
vour (subject to what has been before ad-
vanced) to show from the approach such
scenery as did not come within view from
the house and the dress ground.

I have said that the approach should vary
according to the character of the residence ;
and that this variety will consist principally
in its length and its embellishments.

There are many instances amongst the old
mansions where their proximity to the high-
road admits of little or no approach, as at
Blickling and Wilton. On the other hand,
the approach of more modern times is often
carried through uninteresting scenery, merely
to prolong its length : where this is visible,
the effect is bad. Where the approach is of
necessity to be carried through a length of
uninteresting space, as at Clumber from Tux-

c 4

24 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

ford (a distance of three miles from the outer
lodge to the park gate), passing between
farms in various occupation, the best way of
getting over such country is by an avenue, as
it is there done ; which not only avoids a
multiplicity of gates, but is in character with
the magnitude of the domain through which
it leads.

We have seen at Wilton that length is not
always necessary, even in an approach to a
macrnificent residence : with reo-ard to the
other point of difference, emheUisliment, I hold
it to be an essential distinction, according to
the magnitude and character of the place.

By the embellishments of an approach, I
mean the trees and undergrowth that adorn
it. These embellishments, then, ought, I
conceive, to be in unison with the scene. In
driving through a park interspersed with
masses of wood, natural groups of trees, and
tliickets of thorn, holly, &c., we do not ex-
pect to meet with laurels, portugals, and
other materials of a shrubbery : in all such
cases I cannot but feel them utterly mis-
placed. The gardener has no business in
the park. But, at the cottage ornee, its
limited domain and general character not

THE APPROACH. 25

admitting the masses and groups of park
Scenery, the aid of shrubs may be allowed?
restrictintj them, however, to the more sober

CD ^

classes, principally evergreens, leaving the
gayer varieties to heighten the beauty and
interest of the pleasure ground, properly so
called. I would have no flowers, nor any
thing that apparently required the gardener's
care beyond neatness of keeping; let the
evergreens trail upon the lawn, and no mould
be seen. To the introduction of exotics in
an approach of enlarged scale, I confess my-
self most hostile, having witnessed the ap-
proach even to a palace-like mansion carried
through miles of shrubbery ; and in other
places have seen what is scarcely less objec-
tionable, the approach through the wild
scenery of a natural wood, spotted and dis-
figured bypatches of shrubs and flowers. I cer-
tainly should never so decorate an approach.
If I find one so treated, where time has in
some degree softened the incongruity by
giving freedom and ruggedness to the ma-
terials, I deal with it the best I may, judging
it, in this, as in most other cases, safer to
make the best of what I find, than risk the
alternative of a radical reform. Sometimes,

26 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

indeed, the natural character of the place will
warrant the extermination of exotics so mis-
placed : in other situations, such a removal
would materially injure the scenery, as in
one of the lines of approach at Oatlands,
which passes through a narrow hollow way,
and where time and accident have so united
the shrubs with the higher trees, that any
attempt to remove them would totally de-
stroy the beauty of the whole. Hollies, of
course, are not included in the foregoino; re-
marks, as they are the growth of the forest,
as well as the ornament of the shrubbery.

It is necessary here to mention, that I con-
sider a villa to be under the same circum-
stances, with regard to the approach, as the
cottage ornee. Though the residence may
be a palace as to size and character, yet the
limited domain on which it stands is a le^iti-
mate apology for the style of its accompani-
ments. A villa, I conceive, can only be so
termed, when within a {&^ miles of a city ;
where a spacious residence is requisite, though
the domain is, from circumstances, confined ;
but should the domain be more extensive, as
at Sion House, the approach should then as-
sume a higher character, as it there does.

THE APPROACH. 27

The avenue, as an approach, is, in general,
so destitute of composition, by cutting the
landscape in half, that the introduction of it
must depend upon the circumstances of the
place itself On the other hand, where time
has invested it with dignity, and the rest of
the scenery is coeval with it, temerity rather
than judgment would dictate its destruction.
Breaking it by partial removal is, I think,
equally injudicious.

The avenue in the Phoenix Park, Dublin,
is of a peculiar formation, being composed of
groups of trees at regular distance from each
other, and in exact line; but the groups on
one side facing the openings on the other.
The eifect is injurious to the grandeur and
solemnity of the avenue ; but it gives, per-
haps, a cheerfulness and variety to it as a
drive, for it leads to no mansion.

28 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

CHAP. III.

DRESS GROUND. — SCENERY BEYOND IT. COMPOSITION

IN LANDSCAPE. FOREGROUND, NATURAL AND ARTI-
FICIAL. OLD AND NEW SYSTEMS COMPARED. RE-
MOVAL OF TREES NEAR THE HOUSE. CHARACTER OF

TREES, AND THEIR APPLICATION. THE FORMATION

OF DRESS GROUND. FLOWER BEDS. FENCE OF

DRESS GROUND.

Having in the two preceding chapters con-
sidered the situation and character of the
house, together with the approach to it, under
the first head of improvement — formation^ —
we come now to treat of the dress ground,
and the scenery beyond it, in the uniting of
which into one harmonious whole hes the art
of improvement, properly so called. As this
discussion will unavoidably embrace both
formation and removal^ it will be equally as
applicable to the old place as to the new.

Most places, besides the features of the
class to which they belong, have some pecu-
liarities of their own, either as respects the
general expression of the whole, or the cir-
cumstances of the parts, as the ground, the
trees, &c.

DRESS GROUND. 29

The eye of taste will carefully observe these
varieties, as on the due improvement of them
at each place rests, in great measure, the
variety of its own character, and its distinction
from others of apparently similar features.

Composition in landscape embraces three
distinct parts, the distance^ the middle distance,
and i\\e foreg7'ouiid. The first of these is out
of the reach of improvement in itself, but will
contribute more or less to the general effect
of the scene, according to the treatment of
those other parts which are under our control.
And here it may not be improper to observe,
that the very natural pleasure arising from
extent of prospect has done much mischief,
both in placing the residence and in dictating
its accompaniments.

Some years ago I visited a very picturesque
spot, upon which an appropriate house was
then buildino;. It was a varied knoll covered
with full-grown wood ; the openings here and
there carried the eye across a valley adorned
with the winding reaches of the Thames to a
rich distance beyond. Through one of these
openings a distant spire was happily, I should
rather say unhappily, seen. A visiter well

30 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

acquainted with the geography of the coun-
try, to whom the owner of tlie house pointed
out this fortunate circumstance, informed him
that he might, if he chose it, see from his
lawn seven churches, by removing the trees
that hid them. In an evil hour he listened to
the tempter, and when, some time after, in
passing through the neighbourhood, I called,
in expectation of seeing what had been so
happily begun as successfully completed, I
found the proprietor seated on a bare lawn,
contemplating through a telescope his seven
churches. I have here stated a literal fact,
and, I fear, not a solitary instance, in which
the love of prospect has triumphed over taste,
comfort, and convenience.

An extensive distance is no doubt highly
interesting. The indistinctness of its com-
ponent parts, and its susceptibility of variety
from every passing cloud, offer that constant
invitation to curiosity which excites the sensa-
tion of cheerfulness in the mind of the be-
holder. But while

" the rude unskilful eye

" Which wild variety with zeal pursues,

" And still is pleased the more, the more it views,"

DRESS GROUND. 31

would lay open the wide extent, —

" More cautiously will taste its stores reveal :
" Its greatest art is, aptly to conceal ;
«' To lead with secret guile the prying sight
" To where component parts may best unite,
" And form one beauteous well connected whole,
" To charm the eye and captivate the soul." *

I cannot understand Mr. Kepton's distinc-
tion in the followino; remark : — " The mind
" is astonished and pleased at a very extensive
" prospect, but it cannot be interested except
" by those objects which strike the eye dis-
" tinctly." Nor is it easy to reconcile this
observation with another, which occurs a few
pages further on, where he says, " By Land-
" scape I mean a view capable of being re-
" presented in painting. It consists of two,
" three, or more, well-marked distances, each
" separated from the other by an unseen
" space, which the imagination delights to
" fill up with fancied beauties, that may not,
" perhaps, exist in reality." f

Can the mind be pleased^ nay, delighted,
without being interested ? How diflferent the
estimation of an extensive prospect that

* Knight's Landscape.

t Sketches and Hints on Landscape Gardening.

32 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

sussested the beautiful reflections of the
poet ! —

" See on the mountain's southern side, ')

" Where the prospect opens wide, V

" Where the evening gilds the tide ; J

" How close and small the hedfjes lie I

" What streaks of meadows cross the eye !

" A step, methinks may pass the stream,

" So little distant dangers seem.

" So we mistake the future's face,

" Eyed through Hope's deluding glass ;

" As yon summits soft and fair,

" Clad in colours of the air,

*• W^hich to those who journey near,

" Barren, brown, and rough appear ;

*' Still we tread the same coarse way,

" The present's still a cloudy day." *

The middle distance will sometimes be within
the influence of immediate improvement, par-
ticularly where the domain is extensive. That
improvement will depend upon the character
of the oi'ound. If it consists of bold swellincr
forms, the plantations made to vary and
enrich those forms may also be managed so
as to rise occasionally above the horizon,
should it require to be broken ; if, on the
contrary, the middle distance be of a flatter

* Grongar Hill.

DRESS GROUND. SS

character, the planting should be so effected
as to hide a considerable portion of that flat-
ness. In both cases, the plantations should
be massive, and their outline varied. If the
general occupation of the land be arable, and
consequently divided by hedge-rows, a con-
siderable improvement may be effected by
planting the corners of some of the fields, so
as to unite the anovular hedge-row timber into
masses of wood.

But, after all, it will most frequently occur
that the principal improvement will be limited
to the foreground; and, in all cases, the
treatment of that part of the landscape will
have the greatest influence upon the whole
composition.

Foregrounds, as connected with the subject
before us, are of two kinds. One of these may
be termed natural, as consisting; of crround,
trees, shrubs, &c., either existing in a natural
state, or formed on that model. The other
may be called architectural, being composed
of masonry, as parapets, terraces, flights of
steps, &c.

The more I reflect upon the subject, the
greater is my astonishment, and the deeper
my regret, that the architectural foreground

D

34 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

should have fallen a sacrifice to the undistin-
2:uishino: and desolating hand of the modern
system of improvement. Upon what prin-
ciple of grandeur, of harmony, of propriety,
or comfort, has the exchange been made ?

It seems to be universally allowed, that the
habitation of man should be distinct from
that of the cattle that graze around him. We
see this principle acted upon from the palace
to the cottage ; which, with its dwarf wall or
garden pales, broken and enriched with the
simple creepers of honeysuckle, ivy, &c. is an
object pleasing to every eye as well as to that
of the painter. The variety of material, of
form, and of colour, with the light and shadow
which pervades the whole, are the secret
source of this pleasure. Strip the cottage of
these accompaniments, and what eye can fail
to regret the destruction? '' What such rustic
" embellishments," says Sir Uvedale Price,
" are to the cottage, terraces, urns, vases,
" statues, and fountains are to tlie palace
" and palace-like mansion." * It will be

* I will here remind the reader of my professed object
in these pages, as expresed in the introduction to them ;
viz. to concentrate and render more practically useful the
principles of true taste, diffused through the whole of Sir

DRESS GROUND. 35

obvious that the degree of decoration should
vary with the character and consequence of
the building which it is to accompany ; but
let the principle of the architectural fore-
ground be established, and its adaptation to
the various circumstances both of cost and
situation will be easily adjusted by the eye of
taste.

Let us then compare the two systems, with
regard to the dress-ground in immediate con-
nection with the dwelling ; first, as respects
comfort ; and, secondly, with reference to
propriety, beauty, and picturesque effect.

To seek retirement and protection is na-
tural to man. Hence originated the hicrh
walls and close-clipped hedges that bounded
the limited gardens of our ancestors ; where,
on the straight-sheltered walk, the scholar
could take his exercise without interruption
of his meditation, or relieve his mind by the
amusement of his bowling-green, safe from

Uvedale Price's interesting and instructive work ; and in
proportion as I may induce the study of that work, in that
proportion will be my share in rescuing from destruction
all that is worthy to be retained in the old system, and in
uniting it with all that is worthy of adoption in the new.

D 2

36 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

all observation. Here, too, the females of
the mansion, secured from every blast and
every intrusive eye, could cultivate the glow-
ing parterre, which, participating in the same
comfortable shelter, afforded a wreath even
for the brow of Winter.

This sequestered spot usually opened into
the kitchen garden, where broad sunny walks
prolonged the exercise, while a succession of
varied objects imparted a pleasing variety of
sensations to the mind.

These embellishments were amplified with
the extent and consequence of the building
which they accompanied ; and terraces, balus-
trades, steps, &c. increased the variety and
heightened the decoration of the different
mansions, according to their different circum-
stances and character: still, however, under
whatever modification, comfort and protec-
tion characterised the whole.

The modern system throws down the walls,
terraces, steps, and balustrades at " one fell
swoop," and exposes every recess of retire-
ment, every nook of comfort to the blast, and
to the public gaze. The approach invades the
precincts of the garden, which now, in spotty
distinctness, is spread over a space cleared of

DRESS GROUND. 37

every vestige of intricacy and repose ; while
a sunk fence excludes the cattle from that
lawn which is apparently open to them, or the
flimsy barrier of an iron hurdle is attached to
a building whose ivyed battlements have
witnessed the lapse of ages.

What compensation, then, does the modern
system offer for this destruction of all com-
fort ? Let us consider the question, as we
proposed, secondly, as to propriety, beauty^
and picturesque effect.

By propriety, I mean that harmony which
should invariably exist between the mansion
and its accompaniments ; and if it be true
that external objects affect us by the impres-
sion which they make on the senses, and by
the reflections which they suggest to the mind,
how essential is it that the accompaniments
and decorations of the old system should be
maintained around the building to which
they have been united, perhaps, for centuries \
Whoever has visited Powis Castle (as com-
plete in its parts as it is interesting as a
whole), may form some idea of the violence
that would have been done both to the senses,
and the mind, had the impr^ovement been there

D S

38 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

effected which Sir Uvedale Price so feehngly
describes, and so justly condemns.

The Beautiful and the Picturesque are so
intimately united in the architectural fore-
ground, as to be almost inseparable : the Pic-
turesque embraces the leading forms, the
angular projections, the abruptnesses, and
varieties of the outline ; while the Beautiful
is traced in the symmetry, regularity, and
finishing of the parts.

Let the richness, intricacy, and variety that
characterise the old system be contrasted with
the best arrangement of ground, the finest
verdure, and the most natural disposition of
trees and shrubs which modern improvement
can effect ; and, I conceive, it will be gener-
ally allowed that the former will excite an
interest, both in the eye and in the mind,
beyond any that can arise from the present
system ; and this in proportion to the magni-
tude and decorative character of the mansion,
as artificial objects require a corresponding
accompaniment of art to unite them gradually
with the scenery of simple nature.

If, again, we consider the architectural
foreground as respects colour, and light, and
shadow, the advantage it possesses will be

DRESS GROUND. 39

equally obvious. The contrast between the
colour of stone and the various tints of vege-
tation must strike every cultivated eye ; while
the projections of the parapet, the overhang-
ing coping, the catching lights on the ba-
lusters, with the deep recesses between them,
broken by the festoons of the various climb-
ing plants, give a play of light and shade
highly pleasing ; and this architectural ar-
rangement may be more or less accompanied
by trees, as the presiding character of the
place shall dictate.

The consent to the destruction of all that
had cost so much to create, and had imparted
so much comfort and enjoyment, could not,
in several instances, have been obtained with-
out many struggles between long attachment
and the love of novelty, and would be followed
by painful though fruitless regret. Sir Uvedale
Price's confession might be echoed by all
those who had any reverence for antiquity,
any feeling for the picturesque.

" I may, perhaps," says Sir Uvedale, " have
" spoken more feelingly on this subject, from
" having done myself what I so condemn in
" others — destroyed an old-fashioned garden.
" It was not, indeed, in the high style of those

D 4

40 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

' I have described ; but it had many circum-

* stances of a similar kind and effect : as I
' have long since perceived the advantage
' which I could have made of them, and how

* much I could have added to that effect, —
' how well I could, in parts, have mixed the
' modern style, and have altered and con-

* cealed many of the stiff and glaring formal-
' ities, — I have long reo;retted its destruction.
' I destroyed it, not from disliking it : on the

* contrary, it was a sacrifice 1 made, against

* m.yown sensations, to the prevailing opinion.
' I doomed it and all its embellishments, with
' which I had formed such an early connec-

* tion, to sudden and total destruction."

Some, indeed, would be found alike indif-
ferent to the claim of antiquity and to the sug-
gestions of the Picturesque, — who would
view change as hnijrovement^ and sacrifice every
thing without compunction at the shrine of
novelty. I was once consulted by the owner
of such a place, who told me, with much self-
gratulation, that I could form no idea of the
labour he had accomplished in the removal
of terraces, sloping banks, &c. so as to reduce
the around to the state in which I then saw
it — a flat insipid lawn, spotted all over with

DRESS GROUND. 41

distinct shrubs, without connection, with-
out design. The utter insensibiUty of the
owner to any ray of taste relieved me from
the painful endeavour to restore a harmony
which he had destroyed for ever.

Upon the whole, from a due consideration
of the question between the old and new
system of landscape gardening, I cannot but
think that the former has been sacrificed on
account of some tasteless absurdities con-
nected with it, which the early improvers, not
being able to separate from it, took the
shorter method of destroying the whole, sub-
stituting the simplicity of unadorned nature
as the accompaniment to the mansion rich in
architectural decoration and variety ; whereas
the architectural foreground, in connection
with a shrubbery below it, would lead in an
easy gradation to the natural scenery of the
park or pasture beyond it.*

And here, perhaps, I may be allowed to
express my opinion that the magnificent

* Sir Uvedale Price seems to be of this opinion when he
says, " Besides the profit arising from total change, a dis-
" ciple of Mr. Brown has another motive for recommend-
" ing it : he hardly knows where to begin, or what to set
" about, till every thing is cleared ; for those objects which
" to painters are indications are to him obstructions."

42 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

mansion at Burlei^li loses half its character
and effect from the want of an architectural
separation from the park. As it now is, the
naked lawn around it, and that only par-
tially mowed, has an unfinished appearance,
and excites a regret that some of the origi-
nal features had not been preserved, or
have not been judiciously restored, as the
indispensable accompaniments to such a
splendid specimen of Elizabethan architec-
ture. There would, doubtless, be some diffi-
culty in the arrangement, from the shape of
the ground, and from the living rooms being
on a level with the lawn ; but I conceive that
the richness and embellishment so peculiarly
essential to a mansion of that character could
be drawn around it with great advantage.

Though the foregoing; observations are prin-
cipally applicable to the buildings of former
years, with the hope of preventing the de-
struction of the architectural accompaniments
where they already exist, yet, as I have before
stated, I should strongly recommend them
(particularly the terrace) to general adoption,
regulated by the circumstances of each place,
as there are scarcely any situations that might
not be improved by the application, while to

DRESS GROUND. 43

some it is most essential ; as, for instance,
when a house stands upon the brow of a steep
descent, and where, the soil being unfavour-
able for the growth of trees, no other fore-
a;round can be obtained. Dale Park, in
Sussex, is a striking example of such a
situation. The house stands on the very
brink of a chalky hill, and commands a rich
middle distance of park scenery, with an
extensive view of the sea in the distance.
A bold terrace, with its accompaniments, by
adding a foreground, would form a beau-
tiful and interesting composition. The de-
cided form of the parapet, with its light and
shadow, would, by its contrast, increase the
aerial softness of the distance, at the same
time that it would hide from the windows the
bare unbroken slope of lawn ; and, by carrying
the eye immediately to the middle ground,
leaving the imagination to fill up the inter-
vening space below, would give great apparent
extent to the scene.

The architectural foreground is also essen-
tial, where the ground on one side slopes
across the eye with no contrasting line on the
other : the terrace wall, in this case, intersect-
ing the sloping line, restores the horizontal

44 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

plane upon which a house should stand. It
will not be necessary that the whole space
between the house and the terrace should be
levelled, where the distance between them is
sufficient to allow of an easy undulation.

I will take the liberty to illustrate my ideas
upon this head from Bromley Hill, so justly
celebrated for the taste it displays.

I conceive that the composition would be
abundantly improved, if, instead of the open
fence showing the awkward slope of the
ground, a horizontal wall and corresponding
line of terrace were carried as far as the first
group of high evergreens, where it might end;
as, from the rapid fall of the ground, the fence
is then lost from the house. I should return
the wall to the corner of the house, which
would necessarily throw the approach farther
off, and out of sight of the windows, if it were
turned before it ascended the hill ; a point, in
my estimation, of great importance. These
hints were suggested in a hasty view of a
place where the just and various calls for
admiration left little time for criticism.

The effect of a terrace wall thus applied
may be seen to great advantage at Heanton,

/.

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DRESS GROUND. 45

near Okehampton, in Devonshire, from which
the accompanying sketch was made.

Caledon, in Ireland, is an instance of the
effect produced by the architectural fore-
ground. The house stands upon a knoll, the
ground falling every way from it. About
five years ago, I recommended a broad gravel
terrace, with a flight of steps leading to a
second terrace, as a parterre garden. The
good taste of the noble proprietor has added
a third compartment, on a stilll ower level :
and, when I visited the place in October, I
found the myrtles in full bloom upon the
terrace walls, where before no flower could
have endured the exposure of the situation ;
while the parapets, vases, &c. form a rich
accompaniment to the mansion, and an ap-
propriate and picturesque foreground to the
scenery beyond it. Perhaps there is no place
where the adoption of the terrace and its
accompaniments has produced a more strik-
ino- effect than at Clumber. The house on
that side was separated from the park by a
handsome iron fence, almost close to the
windows ; from this fence the ground gra-
dually sloped to the water, about a hundred
feet off: that space is now occupied by a

46 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

double terrace, the lower one laid out in a
parterre garden, and ornamented with vases,
fountains, &c. ; the whole surrounded by a
balustrade wall, with a flight of steps down
to the lake. The result fully justifies the
undertaking.

In mentioninoj the advantages of the terrace,
I must not omit Otely Park, near Ellesmere,
where the variety of the ground has given an
opportunity of connecting three different
levels by flights of steps, accompanied by the
decorations of a flower garden, &c. These
terraces command a varied view of the JNIere
below, broken by the fine trees on its margin ;
while the town of Ellesmere, on the opposite
side, completes the picture. Indeed the
whole scenery of Otely Park, including the
very picturesqe mansion, is highly interest-
ing.

Nor is it only as seen from the house that
the accompaniments of terraces, steps, &c.
are productive of that harmony and variety
which constitute the Grand, the Beautiful, or
the Picturesque effect, according to the situ-
ation and character of the building to which
they are attached: the extended masonry
of the parapet or balustrade, when seen from

DRESS GROUND. 47

he approach or the park, gives a base to
the superstructure ; while the circumstances
of steps, vases, &c. mixed with trees and
shrubs, produce a richness and variety well
calculated to relieve the square mass which
characterises the generality of our country
residences. Burley on the Hill is a striking
example of the good effect of a terrace, as
seen from the country around it.

As there are, no doubt, many situations
where the terrace cannot be immediately
connected with the mansion, it will be neces-
sary to consider the dress grounds under such
circumstances, according to their different
varieties of character.

Cassiobury stands upon a dead flat ; the
living rooms upon a level with the lawn : the
scenery, as viewed from the window, is prin-
cipally bounded by the park. A raised ter-
race would have interfered with this principal
feature, and destroyed, in great measure, the
cheerfulness of tlie scene : a broad walk is,
therefore, very properly substituted for a
terrace.

At Gorhambury, the ground immediately
about the house is also flat : but the living
rooms, being over a basement story, afford

48 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

a more varied and extensive view of the
park than at Cassiobury. Under these cir-
cumstances, I ventured to recommend a
sloping bank to be raised, about four feet
above the level of the lawn, at a short dis-
tance from the house, and parallel with it ;
and upon this bank there is a broad terrace
of nearly four hundred feet in length, the re-
taining wall of which forms a fence against
the deer, while the varied masses of shrubs
planted upon it unite it with the flat lawn
beneath, and the whole forms a foreground
to the scenery beyond. The terrace is con-
nected, by a flight of steps at each end, with
the pleasure ground.

As improvement will mainly depend upon
the management of trees, including both
planting and removal, it may be proper to
offer a few hints upon their arrangement
under the latter head before we consider the
subject of general planting.

With all my partiality for the old system,
I would not be understood as deprecating
any improvement — as recommending every
thin^r to be left as we find it. No doubt
many points may be yielded to modern com-
fort and convenience, both in the house and

DRESS GROUND. 49

in its accompaniments, without sacrificing
the o-eneral character and effect.

It may be allowed, perhaps, that shelter
rather than taste dictated the deep masses of
wood in which some of the mansions under
the old system are embedded : in such cases,
it is surely lawful to substitute arrangement
for quantity — variety for dull uniformity. The
operation, however, requires much caution
and judgment, especially with trees situated
near the house ; as an error may be fatal in
that situation, which, in a more remote one,
might be unobserved, or more easily repaired.
In this, as in every circumstance of improve-
ment, the leading character of the place
should guide the hand of the improver.

Though it would be difficult to find any
prospect that might not be improved by
trees on the foreground, yet they may occa-
sionally be so thick as to render it necessary
to break them, both for the improvement of
the several groups, and for the general com-
position.

It is hazardous, on so delicate a subject as
this, to give a general prescription : circum-
stances hardly perceptible to the untutored
eye may, to that which has been accustomed

E

50 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

to the study of landscape, both in nature and
in pictures, be of the greatest moment. A
few hints, however, as to what ought not to
be done, may be safely given ; and I would
recommend every proprietor of a place so
circumstanced (if he become his own im-
prover) to consult such pictures or prints as
are applicable to the case. The " Liber Veri-
tatis" of Claude, and the " Liber Studiorum"
of Turner, will afford many examples to the
purpose.

The first caution, then, that I would sug-
gest to a person not conversant with the
study of landscape, is, not to remove any tree
from the foreground till he has accurately
observed the effect in winter, as well as in
summer. Secondly, not to take away a tree
merely upon account of its insignificance, nor
even its ugliness ; as the beauty of the group
may be mainly influenced by that very tree.
Thirdly, not to seek variety in the group from
the difference of the trees which compose it,
so much as from the general form of the
whole. I would also suggest that round-
headed trees are more picturesque than
pointed ones ; though, particularly in connec-
tion with buildings, the latter have frequently

I

DRESS GROUND. 51

a good effect ; and, in some cases, are most
essentially useful. There is, I conceive,
scarcely any tree that may not be advanta-
geously used in the various combinations of
form and colour : and, as immediately con-
nected with buildings, I must say that the
Lombardy poplar appears to me to be un-
justly condemned; inasmuch as we have no
tree that so well supplies the place of the
cypress, in contrasting the horizontal lines
of masonry, and giving occasional variety to
the outline of the group. Portman Square
affords an example in point : the horizontal
lines of the houses on each side beino; broken
and contrasted by the Lombardy poplars in
the plantations ; while the plantations them-
selves derive consequence and variety from
the pointed form and superior height of the
poplars : as, therefore, we cannot command
the cypress of Italian growth, we find the
Lombardy poplar its best representative.

In my former edition of these Hints I
deemed it superfluous to remonstrate against
clipping the evergreens into formal shapes,
conceiving it to be an obsolete barbarism.
I was lately, however, painfully convinced of
my error by finding the shrubs in the flower-

E 2

5z LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

garden at Croom utterly disfigured; and
even a group of magnificent cypress near the
Rotunda trimmed into obelisks, and the
branches bound round with wire, lest a stray
twio; should endeavour to relieve the de-
formity.

If what has been said upon the advantage
of trees near the house has any foundation
in taste, it follows that the same principle
dictates the planting of trees in similar situ-
ations. In doing this, though the immediate
result will bear no comparison with that of
old trees left ; yet you have an opportunity of
choice, both as to situation and character of
tree, for future effect, which should be care-
fully attended to ; and then the group may be
thickened with undergrowth, both for shelter
and present appearance. It will be obvious
that these standard trees should be suited to
the soil, and the lawn carried under the group
as soon as can be effected. Sir Henry Stewart's
very ingenious treatise upon the transplant-
ing of trees will be found highly useful in
forming these foregrounds, as it directs the
choice of tree, as well as the mode of re-
moval, so as to produce at once the desired
effect.

DUESS GROUND. 53.

If a massive foreground of wood, while it
excluded an uninteresting country, should at
the same time "ive a sombre effect to the
dwelling, I would rather seek to enliven the
general effect by decoration, than by laying
open a prospect so uninviting; as quantity
and richness, even to excess, is preferable to
the insipidity of baldness. It is not the least
of the advantages of trees near the house,
that they create a variety in the scenery as
viewed from the different windows, and vary-
ing points of the walks. It may, perhaps,
sometimes happen, that what would be essen-
tially useful from one window, might inter-
fere with the prospect from another : in such
case, the consequence of the windows must
decide the question. But more frequently,
if properly effected, it wdll appear that the
partial hiding of the scene by foreground
trees will not only be a source of variety
from the different windows, but that the
composition from each will be benefited. It
should ever be borne in mind that prospect
should not be obtained at the expense of
composition. Neither is it from the interior
only that trees near the house are desirable :
they are highly requisite, as accompaniment<i

E 3

54 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

to the masonry, when seen from the approach,
and, indeed from all parts where the house
itself is visible.

" Towers and battlements he sees
Bosom'd high in tufted trees,"

will apply more or less to every mansion ac-
cording to its magnitude and character ; and,
in such situations, the Lombardy poplar will
frequently be of essential service.

After all, it will be remembered that re-
moval^ in common with every measure con-
nected with improvement, must rest mainly
upon the local circumstances of the place, and,
consequently, will only admit of general sug-
gestions by which the proprietor may be
awakened to the subject ; so far, at least, as
not to destroy the character of his place by
substituting the baldness of the modern
system for the rich formality of the old
school. The hand of taste will cautiously
withdraw the veil which separates them, and,
by degrees, admit the surrounding scenery,
without destroying the shelter and partial
seclusion so essential to the mansion we have
been considering : cheerfulness, rather than
gaiety, should be the proposed result.

DRESS GROUND. 55

The following remarks upon the treatment
of the dress ground may occasionally apply
to the old mansion ; but it is to assist in the
formation of a new place that they are prin-
cipally directed : —

" To deck the shapely knoll

That, softly swell'd and gaily dress'd, appears
A flovv'ry island, from the dark green lawn
Emerging, must be deem'd a labour due
To no mean hand, and asks the touch of taste." *

The dress ground immediately connected
with the house should be considered as the
foreground of the picture, which the whole
scene, taken together, presents to the eye, and
should be treated as such. The groups, and
single trees upon it, should be planted with
reference to the scenery beyond, so as to lead
the eye into the remote parts of the picture ;
excluding, as far as may be, whatever might
injure the general composition.

In the formation, then, of the dress ground,
I should recommend the making a slight
sketch from the leading points of view,

• Cowper.
E 4

56 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

(usually the windows of the library or draw-
ing-room,) of the general scene as it exists;
and then add to your sketch such groups of
trees and shrubs, and such detached trees, as
would hide the less interesting parts of the
landscape, and, by breaking the uniformity of
other parts, produce that connection so es-
sential to composition. In forming such
groups, particularly of larger trees, it should
be well considered, whether a massive or a
lighter group is requisite ; whether the most
distant scenery is to be caught through the
stems of these trees, or to be altogether ex-
cluded by them. I would plant all the larger
features with this reference to the general
scene, before proceeding to the lesser em-
bellishments of the lawn, as flower-beds, &c.
which should be formed with reference to
those features.

The groups of larger trees will usually be
accompanied by shrubs of various size and
character, to connect them with the lawn :
rhododendrons, savine, and other of the
pendent evergreens, are very useful for such
purpose, when the turf, being carried under
them, leaves no cutting line of border.
Shrubs, in my opinion, should not be accom-

DRESS GROUND. 57

panied, in the same bed, by such flowers as
require digging ; the line of border above
mentioned destroying that repose and that
variety of form which ought to characterise
the former. In a lawn of small dimensions,
the loosing: of the turf under the shrubs is of
the utmost importance, as it gives an appear-
ance of extent to its limited proportion.
Pgeonies, roses, hollyhocks, and other flowers
that are of sufficient height or size to mingle
with the shrubs, may be fairly united with
them, if it can be effected without showing
the mould. In the first formation of these
plantations of shrubs, the borders must be
dug, and, for a time, kept so; but every oppor-
tunity sliould be taken to break the edgy
line, till it can be finally obliterated : to help
this end, even in the first instance, periwinkle,
St. John's wort, and other ground creepers,
may be planted with the shrubs ; and, by
uniting them with the lawn, will tend to di-
minish the hard line of the border : a thing
that cannot be too strongly insisted upon, as
essential to continuity and repose.

It is impossible to lay down rules that may
regulate the size, situation, or character of
these plantations of shrubs, which will depend

58 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

upon the shape, character, and extent of the
grounds they are to embellish : some hints,
however, as in other cases, may be suggested,
to direct the unskilful hand in an operation
of no small importance.

And first, as before observed, the plant-
ations should be marked out from the prin-
cipal point of view, so as to agree with the
general scene. The size of each mass will
depend partly upon what is to be excluded
or broken in the remote landscape, and partly
upon the character and size of the ground.
If the situation to be planted be of small
dimensions, one mass of tolerable size may be
better than dividing it : but, if the ground
admit of it, a variety of masses is preferable,
as producing more intricacy and greater ap-
pearance of extent. In this case, the masses
of shrubs will be so disposed as to show por-
tions of lawn intersecting them in o:lades of
different size and form. The general in-
clination of these masses of shrubs should
tend, though in different degrees, towards
the most interesting part of the scene, either
within or without the dress ground, as cir-
cumstances may be. A horizontal line of
plantation can rarely have a good effect.

DRESS GROUND. 59

Though there will be a variety in the forms
of the plantations, there should be a general
harmony of outline between them when they
approach each other ; the more swelling part
of one opposing itself to the recess of the
other. The nearer masses should generally
be of lower material than the more remote,
that the one may occasionally be seen over
the other. Where the dress ground is of
such dimensions as to allow these masses
upon a large scale, the variety of their re-
spective forms should be boldly marked, as,
in the course of a few years, they ought to be
broken. A few of the choicest plants will
then occupy the space that present effect
requires to be filled up with common mate-
rial. For this purpose, care should be taken,
in the first instance, to dispose of the choice
plants before the mass is filled up, so that
the former shall hereafter stand where they
ought; whereas, for want of this precaution,
a cedar of Lebanon may, when grown up,
destroy the composition which, had it been
rightly placed, it would have materially im-
proved. For places where a cedar of Leba-
non, or anv of the larojer firs, miofht be
thought too big, the Virginia cedar or the

60 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

hemlock spruce is well adapted : the latter is,
in my opinion, the most beautiful of that
class of evergreens i it likes shade and a
moist ground, though I have seen it flourish
in drier and more exposed situations.

When I said that these masses of shrubs, &c.
should be marked out from the principal
point of view, I did not mean that they need
not be studied from any other point : on the
contrary, it is essentially necessary that they
be examined from every situation from which
they are to be seen, that no beauty, as far as
can be avoided, may be lost through in-
attention.

In order to assist the arrangement of these
plantations, I should recommend forming
them on the ground, with branches of various
lengths, with the leaves on, which gives a far
better idea of the intended effect that can be
given by stakes : the branches, being laid on
the ground, can be turned in any direction,
till the best forms are obtained, which may
then be marked on the turf with the edging-
iron. Larger branches, stuck in the ground,
will direct the placing of trees with the same
advantage over a mere stake. Good hints
for such planting of a lawn may be found on

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DRESS GROUND. 61

any common, where furze, broom, &c. fur-
nish endless varieties of form and grouping.
Having disposed the masses of trees, shrubs,
&c. with reference to the general effect of the
whole scene, we come now to the finishing
touches of decoration — flowers.

From the general love of flowers, and their
increasing varieties, we frequently see the
breadth and repose of the lawn sacrificed to
them. In a flower-garden, properly so called,
they hold undivided sway, and are at liberty
to cover the whole surface, and to assume
every variety of form that fancy may dic-
tate ; but, when flower-beds are component
parts of the dress ground we have been con-
sidering, they must be amenable to the rules
of composition, otherwise they injure the
scenery they are intended to adorn. Beau-
tiful examples of the former arrangement (the
flower-garden) will be found at Cassiobury
and at Redleaf; the combination requisite
to the latter will be found in equal perfection
at Danesfield.

The disposition of flower-beds will vary
with the character of the house, and the ex-
tent and circumstances of the ground about it.
At the manorial building, where the straight

62 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

walks and the appropriate accompaniments
are retained, the flower-beds should, in my
opinion, be characterized by the same pre-
cision and regularity. I have treated them
upon that principle at Somerhill, one of the
finest specimens of the Elizabethan mansion
with which I am acquainted.* As, however,
beds of this description, being necessarily
filled with flowers of low growth, have rather
a flat and tame appearance, their effect will
be greatly improved by a border, which will
elevate them above the lawn, and, by pro-
ducing a variety of light and shadow, will give
richness and variety to the mass. The border
may be made of wood or iron, painted to re-
semble stone, which will unite them more
harmoniously with the masonry of the house,
terrace, walls, &c., at the same time that it will
relieve them from the lawn better than any
other colour. The height of the border will
depend upon the size of the beds : for those
of moderate size, about six inches will be
sufficient. When of larger dimensions, a foot

* It is hoped that such references to different places
will be taken as they are intended, viz.? to give an oppor-
tunity of comparing the principles laid down with their
actual effect.

DRESS GROUND. 63

is not too high. The effect of flower-beds so
constructed may be seen in the garden of
Lambeth Palace.

Where the character and decoration of the
mansion will warrant it, these borders might
be made highly ornamental, and might, I
conceive, be cast in iron at a moderate ex-
pense. The effect, even in the simple style,
will be improved by the introduction of
vases, flower-stands, and orange trees, or
other shrubs, in handsome tubs : the flower-
stands should not be of rustic character, but
of regular form and exact finishing. Wood
or iron is preferable to stone, as less exposed
to injury from the roller.

In what may be termed a free disposition
of flower-beds, the first care should be to
avoid the spottiness which must result from
putting a bed wherever room can be found
for it : on the contrary, the beds should be
treated upon the same plan of composition
that arranged the shrubs they are to accom-
pany. The glades of lawn that have been
created by the foregoing operation must not
be destroyed by scattered beds of flowers
crossing them in all directions ; though oc-
casionally a bed will be introduced to break

64 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

the continuity of the line of shrubs, and re-
lieve, by brilliancy of colour, their more
sober tone. As breadth, however, equally
with connexion, is essential to composition,
the beds, in general, should be brought to-
gether in masses, leaving lesser glades among
them ; and these glades, again, should be
broken by a single plant or basket, taking
care never to place such interruption midnay
between the sides of the glade. The masses
themselves will be lightened by a detached
bed or two of a lesser size. There is no ob-
jection to the occasional introduction of a
regular form in the flower-beds ; though, for
the most part, the easy curving lines will
unite better with each other. Baskets and
picturesque stands are also useful to relieve
the flat surfice of the masses, if they are not
too profusely introduced. It may here be
observed, that, though basket-like forms may
be applied to beds of a large size, the handle
should not be added to any one longer than
appears capable of being lifted, as the want of
proportion is too glaring : and the handle
itself cannot be enriched so as to be well
united with the contents of the basket.

Gravel walks being necessary to the enjoy-

DllESS GROUND. 65

ment of the scenery we have been considering,
it may be useful to offer a few observations
upon this part of our subject. The line of
walk should, I conceive, be regulated by the
size and circumstances of the place. And,
first, of whatever extent the grounds may be,
I would never carry the walk round the
boundary ; nothing, as I have before ob-
served, is, to my feeling, so insipid as a long-
continued sweep : and the hanging perpetu-
ally on the boundary, by betraying the real
dimensions of the place, destroys all idea of
extent as effectually as it does that of variety.
Whoever has seen the pleasure-ground at
Caversham (laid out by Brown), cannot but
perceive what an improvement it would be
to wind the walk amongst the noble trees
and rich masses of shrubs, which now trails its
monotonous course by the side of the sunk
fence.

A similar mistake by the same artist occurs
in the pleasure-grounds at Croome, where
there is no escape from the monotonous walk,
and where mai^nificent cedars, which should
have been grouped on an open lawn, are
choked l)y an uninterrupted line of ever-
greens, mixed with flowers equally misplaced.

66 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

There are situations where the walk can-
not, in any direction, be carried round the
dress ground, without manifest injury to the
general eflfect ; as, when the lawn in front of
the house is flat and of small extent ; and
which, for the sake of the scenery beyond,
must be kept open and unbroken by plant-
ing for a considerable space. A walk, under
such circumstances, would destroy the repose
of the lawn, and, at the same time, narrow its
extent by placing it between two lines of
gravel, as there must be a w^alk close to the
house. In such a case, the house-walk (as we
will call it) may be taken on either side, as
may best suit, through the closer plantations,
^nd may be returned into itself, out of sight
of the windows, leaving the lawn to be paced
in any direction that the variety and richness
of its glowing decorations may invite.

The above remark was suggested to my
mind by a perfect example of its propriety,
and which is at this moment before me. You
step from a colonnade filled with the gayest
flowers upon the walk, that, passing a con-
servatory, leads you under a canopy of over-
hanging trees, — a short but beautiful circuit,
which returns you to the lawn, sparkling with

DRESS GROUND. 67

flowers, the arrangement of which I have
ah'cady noticed. This lawn falls in a varied
slope, till it is lost in the recesses of a woody
skreen, which shelters it at once from the
northern blast and from the obtrusive gaze
of the approach ; while far below are seen
the remains of Medmenham Abbey, backed
by magnificent elms standing upon a winding
reach of the Thames, enlivened by the cir-
cumstances of a ferry boat, and other craft
passing up and down the river. A group of
horse chestnut, under the branches of which
the Abbey is seen, forms the foreground, and.
finishes the picture. To those who are ac-
quainted with this beautiful, and, I may add,
unique spot, I need not name Danesfield. In
laying out the walks, care should be taken to
keep them as much as possible out of sight
of the windows, and also of each other; as
seeing one walk from another gives an idea
of limitation. Where an occasional portion
of walk thus intrudes, it may be hid by raising
the turf; but this should be effected by a
gentle slope. A terrace walk, even at the
shortest distance, will not offend, either from
the windows or the walk under them, as it is,
if I may so speak, a limitation of choice, not

F 2

68 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

of necessity. I am not partial to herceau
walks : they belong, at any rate, rather to
the flower-garden than to the shrubbery, of
which we are now speaking : they may, how-
ever, be occasionally well applied ; as in
leadinir to a seat or ornamental buildincr in
character with them ; or, still more appropri-
ately, in masking some boundary fence which
cannot easily be avoided : but long walks of
this description, intersecting the open lawn,
I think, are sadly misplaced.

The width of a walk must in great measure
be determined by circumstances. If it be of
such extent as to afford the means for exer-
cise, it should admit of three persons walking
abreast ; as otherwise one is thrown out : this
accommodation cannot be obtained under a
width of six feet, but I think seven better.
When the walk is of too limited extent to be
used for exercise, its width should be in pro-
portion to its length, and to the scale of the
grounds. It is desirable, however, that the
walk near the house, where it can be done,
should be of sufficient length and width to
supply the want of a terrace, where the latter
cannot be obtained. If this walk can be
made a straight one, it will answer the pur-

DRESS GROUND. 69

pose better than if curved, and its width may
be more easily accommodated to that of the
narrower walk continuing from it than can
be effected on the latter form. When one
walk breaks off from another, it should be at
a right angle, thus avoiding a sharp point of
lawn between them, which it is difficult to
break by any shrub or other decoration.

Having now planted the dress ground,
given it the last touches of decorative finish-
ing, and carried the walks through its varying
scenery, it becomes necessary to protect it
from the incursions of the cattle that sraze
the pasture from which it has been taken.

The observations I have ventured to make
a few pages back, express my opinion upon
the absolute necessity in many cases, and the
great utility in many more, of an architec-
tural fence between the dress lawn and the
country beyond it. As, however, there are
various situations to which those observations
will not apply, it becomes necessary to enter
more largely into the subject offences.

That the fence should vary with the charac-
ter of the place, might have been expected to
be generally allowed ; experience, however,
proves the contrary : we see the sunk fence,

Y O

70 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

or the iron hurdle, applied indiscriminately
to the mansion of two centuries' standing,
and to the erection of yesterday ; to the castle,
and to the cottat^e. There are, it must be
allowed, many degrees of finishing in the
latter ; from the common hurdle to what is
called an invisible fence ; the last, the most
objectionable, upon the principle I wish to
recommend.

I cannot but think that (with the exception
of Sir Uvedale Price) the different writers
upon the improvement of scenery as con-
nected with residences have, as far as I am
acquainted with them, altogether mistaken the
question of a separating fence. They think
it essential that no visible interruption should
exist between the smooth and decorated lawn
and the scenery, of whatever description, be-
yond it. To effect this junction they have
recourse, as the happiest expedient, to a sunk
fence ; yet, fearful of detection, they recom-
mend various modes of hiding this invisible
fence ; in effecting which, they are likely to
to raise a far more objectionable line of sepa-
ration than the rudest fence would be.

The author of Observations on ]\Iodern
Gardening, from whom better taste might

DRESS GROUND.

71

have been expected, entangles himself on this
subject in the following observations : —

" The use of a fosse," says this writer,
" is merely to provide a fence without ob-
" structing the view. To blend the garden
" with the country is no part of the idea ;
" the cattle, the objects, the culture, without
" the sunk fence, are discordant to all within,
** and keep the division. A fosse may open
" the most polished lawn to a corn-field,
" a road, or a common, though they mark
'' the very point of separation. It may be
*' made on purpose to show objects which
" cannot or ought not to be in the garden ;
" as a church, or a mill, a neighbouring gen-
" tleman's seat, a town, or a village ; and yet
" no consciousness of the existence can re-
" concile us to this division. The most
" obvious disguise is to keep the hither
" above the further bank all the way ; so
" that the latter may not be seen at a com-
" petent distance : but this alone is not always
" sufficient, for a division appears, if an uni-
" formly continued line, however faint, be
" discernible ; that line, therefore, must be
" broken : low but extended hillocks may
" sometimes interrupt it ; or the shape on

F 4

72 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

one side may be continued across the sunk
fence on the other ; as when the ground
sinks in the field, by beginning the dechvity
in the garden. Trees, too, without, con-
nected with those within, and seeming part
of a chimp, or a grove, will frequently
obliterate every trace of an interruption.
By such or other means the line may be, and
should be, hid or disguised ; not for the
purpose of deception (when all is done we
are seldom deceived), but to preserve the
continued surface entire. If, where no union
is intended, a line of separation is disagree-
able, it must be disgusting when it breaks
the connection between the several parts of
the same piece of ground. That connec-
tion depends on the junction of each part
to those about it, and on the relation of
every part to the whole. To complete the
former, such shapes should be contiguous
as most readilv unite ; and the actual di-
vision between them should be anxiously
concealed. If a swell descends upon a
level, if a hollow sinks from it, the level
is an abrupt termination, and a little rim
marks it distinctly. To cover a short
sweep at the foot of a swell, a small rotun-

DRESS GROUND. 73

dity at the entrance of a hollow must be
interposed. In every instance, when ground
changes its direction, there is a point where
the change is effected, and that point should
never appear; some other shapes, uniting
easily with both extremes, must be thrown
'in to conceal it. But there must be no
uniformity even in these connections : if
the same sweep be carried all round the
bottom of a swell, the same rotundity all
round the top of a hollow, though the
junction be perfect, yet the art by which it
is made is apparent ; and art must never
appear. The manner of concealing the
separation should itself be disguised ; and
different degrees of cavity or rotundity,
different shapes and dimensions to the
little parts, thus distinguished by degrees ;
and those parts breaking, in one place more,
in another less, into the principal forms
which are to be united, produce that va-
riety with which all nature abounds, and
without which ground cannot be natural."*
Allowing, for the present, the justice of
the theory here laid down, what possible

* Observations on Modern Gardening, p. 8.

74 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

chance is there of its being executed so as to
effect tlie purpose intended? The manage-
ment of ground requires the greatest skill,
even when the scale of operation is of con-
siderable extent and breadth of character.
With what hopes of success then can tliese
" low but extended hillocks " be attempted ? To
whom could be committed the delicate oper-
ation of a connection that depends on the junc-
tion of each part to the -whole f To what hand
could be intrusted the manner of concealing
the sepyaration, n-hich should itself be disguised

— the different degrees of cavity or rotundity

— the different shapes and dimensions to the little
parts thus distinguished by degrees^ Sec. &c. ?
If this intricate operation were to be effected
under direction that could afford any pro-
spect of success, the expense would outweigh
the advantage proposed : if it were committed
to other direction, the attempt would be
worse than abortive. But, added to all this,
these low but extended hillocks, &c. are,
many of them, if not all, calculated for a
single point of view, as change of place would
materially derange the efiect intended by
them.

Let us, however, see how far the author's

DRESS GROUND. 75

observations are founded upon the principles
of taste. He tells us the use of a fosse is
merely to provide a fence without obstructing
a view : he here takes it for granted that no
view is to be obstructed ; his prescription is
of universal application : a corn-field, a road,
or a common ; a neighbouring gentleman's
seat, a mill, a town, or a village, are equally
objects to be shown ; at the same time, he
admits these objects to be discordant to all
within.

It is in such circumstances as this that the
study of landscape in pictures, as well as in
nature, appears to be essential in qualifying
an improver for his profession. Such study
would have shown the author of the above
observations that composition, not view only,
is the object to be aimed at. How, for in-
stance, would the nicest concealment of the
fosse ever reconcile to the eye of a landscape
painter such ground as we were considering
a few pages back, where one uniform slope
passes across the eye, with no contrasting
form to balance it?

Mr. Mason, in his Essay on Design in
Gardening, treats the subject of fences as
follows : —

76 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" Uniting the scenery in landscape is the
" chief purpose of sunk fences. Wherefore
" they should be perfectly concealed them-
" selves, that we may not discover insuf-
" ficiency in the execution : neither should
" unnatural swells of ground be made use of
*' in order to conceal them ; for thus the very
" purpose of uniting must be defeated.

" The author of Observations on Modern
*' Gardening enters (p. 8.) on this subject of
" fosses ; but in so superficial a manner as
" plainly shows, either that he was but little
" acquainted with the principle of their ap-
" plication, or did not choose to encounter all
" the difficulties of reducing this principle to
" practice. But the poet, in the second book
" of the English Garden, goes fairly into the
" subject of sunk fences, and describes the
" best that can be made, both for internal
" and external deception. He acknowledges,
" indeed, that such contrivances are

' defective still.

' Though hid with happiest art.*

" Yet one consequential defect he certainly
" palliates. To say that the scythe on one
" side, and the cattle on the other, ' create a

DRESS GROUND. 77

" ' kindred verdure,' is more poetical than
" exact. The cattle always leave something
" which the scythe does not leave, and suf-
" ficient to mark the line of separation to a
" common eye. This defect, indeed, may
" sometimes be easily cured, by only using
" the scythe a little way on the outside ; for by
" this method the extremity of the scythe's
" dominion may be made so conspicuous as to
" preclude any suspicion of deception there,
" and mere change of cultivation will not
" alone spoil harmony of landscape. Where
" the junction is easy, we still admit

* The useful arable and waving corn,
' With soft turf border'd.'

Shipley.

" But sunk fences, wherever visible, are so
" manifestly artificial, that a good designer
" will take great pains to secure their perfect
" concealment, and rather have recourse to
" any other practicable mode of harmonizing
" landscape.

" One other method, by which we are to
" annihilate the view even of an upright rail-
" ing, is given us by the same poet. His
" way of doing it is with an invisible colour ;

78 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

and an admirable expedient it would be, if
the theory would hold in practice ; which,
I apprehend, it will not. The receipt in
the poem is quite enigmatical — not, how-
ever, inexplicable as to the materials ; but
the proportionable quantities of each are
left very much at large, and I never could
meet with any mixture of them that per-
fectly answered the purpose. The chief
use of such colour would, in my idea, be
hiding gates between enclosures, where they
could not so well be hidden by any other
means ; for as it is impossible the fallacy
should succeed within a moderate distance
from the eye, a length of such fences can
never be eligible. The poet very justly
observes, in his postscript, that the con-
cealment of fences is a matter of si'eat
difficulty both to design and to execute :
for which reason it may not be amiss to
dwell a little longer on the subject. And
here I repeat, that harmonising a landscape
is always the point to be aimed at. Uniting
different enclosures, and givino; an air of
unlimited extent to the premises, may be
consequential incidents, but should never
be considered as a principle to work by.

DRESS GROUND. 79

" As far as vision is concerned, taste, in
" Shen stone's language,

* Appropriates all we see.'

' But (without any reference to actual pro-
^ perty) a narrow line of partition is of
' itself a disgreeable object; and wherever it
' obtrudes upon the sight in such a form,
' necessarily destroys harmony of landscape.
* A place, however, must be very destitute
' of inequality of ground, not to admit a
' change in the nature of the narrow line by
' low plantations adjoined to it, without ob-
' structing the view above it. There are
' shrubs of every stature (down to the creep-
' ing perriwinkle) proper for this purpose
' within a garden, and there are hollies and
' thorns for pastures."

Can any thing be more superficial than
these observations ? and yet their author
applies that term to the elaborate discussion
we have just been considering, as taken from
the Observations on Modern Gardening.
Mr. Mason's ideas upon the subject, I think,
are not to be ascertained from the above
extract; the only use of which is, that it

80 LANDSCAPE GAUDENING.

affords a proof, in addition to many others, of
the inutihty of suggestions not founded upon
some principle.

The acknowledgment of the author of the
English Garden, after all his investigation of
the sunk fence, that it is

" defective still,
" Though hid with happiest art,"

renders it unnecessary to go through the
subject with him ; and I fear his receipt for
annihilating an upright railing is equally
defective.

Mr. Repton, treating offences to the dress
ground, says, — " After various attempts to
' remedy these defects, I have at length
' boldly had recourse to artificial manage-
' ment, by raising the ground near the house
' about three feet, and by supporting it with
' a wall of the same material as the house.
' In addition to this, an iron rail on the top,

* only three feet high, becomes a sufficient

* fence, and forms a sort of terrace in front
' of the house, making an avowed separation

* between grass kept by the scythe, and the
' park fed by deer or other cattle."

In many instances, this raising of the

DRESS GROUND. 81

ground must have a bad effect ; nor, I fear,
would the iron rail make " an avowed sepa-
" ration " between the dress ground and the
pasture.

In point of expense nothing is saved, as
the supporting wall is to be of the same cha-
racter as the house ; and consequently would
serve for the dwarf wall I recommend.

But whence this horror of a fence, which
good sense — a constituent part of good taste
— prescribes ? If it be contrary to good sense
to admit the cattle on the dressed lawn, it is,
I conceive, equally contrary to let it appear
they are admitted. The observations I have
ventured to make a few pages back, express
my opinion upon the absolute necessity in
many places, and the great utility in many
more, of an obvious and solid fence between
the dress ground and the country beyond it.
I would not, however, be understood as pre-
scribing a wall for the appropriate fence, in
all cases. To prevent such misapprehension,
it may be necessary to enter more largely
into the subject.

And first, there are places where no sepa-
rating fence is visible, either on the dress
side or on that of the approach ; as at Wilton,

G

82 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

and at the Priory near Stanmore. The
former, being entered by an enclosed court-
yard, leaves such extensive grounds on the
dress side, that the fence is lost amongst the
masses of trees and shrubs with which it is
adorned. The entrance to the latter, though
open to the park, is also completely excluded
from the dress side of the house : and, in a
pleasure ground of fifty acres, melting with
natural gradation into the scenery beyond,
no distinct line of fence is seen or required.
So also at Clumber, the only visible fence
is the terrace wall, which extends from the
house to the river, the latter then becoming
the separating line. When, however, a fence
is attached to, or seen from, a house of the
old character, I hold it essential that such
fence be of masonry, even where circum-
stances do not admit of a terrace. I was
much pleased to find my idea realized at
Cassiobury by a corresponding feeling ; and
I could not name a place where the effect
is more completely illustrated.

Nor is it only in connection with houses
of the old school that I should recommend a
dwarf wall as the separating fence. In all
houses which approach to the consequence

DRESS GROUND. 83

of a mansion, if circumstances permit, I
should wish its adoption : more particularly
where it is essential that the uniformly in-
clined line of the scenery be interrupted, as
described in the observation on Bromley
Hill, a transparent fence will not restore the
horizontal plane so necessary to the compo-
sition, as the sloping ground beyond will be
seen through it.

We have already seen that some places
are so circumstanced as to require no fence
visible from the windows : there are, also,
others, though of smaller dimensions, where?
from the inequality of the dress ground, the
fence will be lost among the shrubs in the
bottom. Neither will a wall be applicable
where the lawn falls laterally as seen from the
windows, and cannot be planted out without
injury to the view. Danesfield is an example in
point, where the lawn, having passed the win-
dows in a horizontal direction, falls rapidly
down till it is lost in a wood below : here,
however desirable a dwarf wall might be on
the horizontal plane of the lawn, any attempt
to plant out its junction with the fence on the
descending line would be highly detrimental.

In places where the dwarf wall is appli-
G 2

84 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

cable, its situation with regard to the house
will vary according to the different circum-
stances of each place. When the living rooms
are on, or nearly on, a level with the lawn,
and where the scenery is rather flat than
elevated, the wall should not be far from the
house, as it would shut out too much of the
view. And here again, Cassiobury furnishes
an apt example ; the space enclosed by the
wall before the windows being small, while
the pleasure ground stretches into quantity
in another direction. The wall also is, with
great judgment, varied to agree with the
varieties of projection and recess of the man-
sion, as one straight line of such length
standino; on the flat surface of the lawn would
be very insipid ; whereas the different rect-
angular breaks, with the lioht and shadow
resulting from them, give a variety and rich-
ness higlily pleasing.

The height of the wall will be governed in
like manner by its relation to the circumstances
of the house. The one which we have been
considering, is two feet six inches high ; a
greater height would have interfered with
the scenery. Where such interference is not
apprehended, I think three feet a better

DRESS GROUND. 85

height, as seen from within ; and by sloping
the o-i'ound without, so as to get tour feet,
you have a sufficient fence except against deer ;
where that is necessary, a slight iron wire
addition on the top of the wall will answer
the purpose, and be scarcely visible from the
windows. Previous to building the wall, I
should recommend trying the effect both of
its height and situation, by throwing a garden
mat over a pole a few yards long, which may
be shifted till the best situation, &c. is ascer-
tained. I have met, occasionally, with places,
where to fill up an existing sunk fence would
be very expensive : in that case, I would erect
a wall on the inside of it, so as to remove all
idea of an invisible fence ; a skirting wall of a
foot or eicrhteen inches high will effect this,
if circumstances, either of cost or situation,
forbid a higher. Where stone is not easily
procured, the wall may be built of brick, and
splashed to resemble stone, which is the case
with the wall at Cassiobury, as it is, indeed,
with the house itself. Where the walk ac-
companies the line of wall, the effect, I think,
is better, when it is unbroken by any creepers:
but, where there is a space between them to
be filled with flowers, then the festoons of

G 3

86 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

creepers give an appropriate and beautiful
variety to the masonry.

When a terrace is formed to a building of
a regular front, it is desirable, where no ob-
vious impediment prevents, that the extent
of the wall should be at equal distance from
each end of the house ; but, where an ade-
quate impediment interferes, the irregularity
of extent is satisfactorily accounted for ; but
I think the extended side should, in that
case, be of such length as to preclude all idea
of agreement with the other.

To sum up, in few words, my ideas upon
the subject of fences : — I hold it imperative
that a manorial house, either of ancient or
modern date, should be separated from the
pasture by a wall. I think it agreeable to
good taste, that a Grecian, Italian, or any
other pile of sufficient character or magni-
tude, should also be thus accompanied. In
cases where this accompaniment is not requi-
site, or cannot well be applied, I prefer a
more solid fence to a flimsy one ; and a sunk
fence I hold to be totally irreconcileable to a
shadow of taste. It will be remembered, I
am speaking of the division between the dress
ground and the pasture beyond it. To more

DRESS GROUND. 87

remote situations, where it may be desirable
to remove a hedge, and yet retain the divi-
sion of the grounds, the least visible separating
line will be the best adapted to the purpose,
and a sunk fence may be as good as any
other. It will also be remembered, that I am
recommending a wall only where the dress
lawn is seen in conjunction with the pasture.
Before we quit this subject, it may be use-
ful to notice an arrangement of Mr. Brown's,
as destructive of cheerfulness as it is destitute
of taste, viz, the enclosing by a sunk fence
a large portion of ground beyond the dress
lawn (from which it is separated by the same
expedient), and planting both the sides, while
the remote front is left open to admit the
distant view. Within this sunk fence, but on
the outside of the plantation, a monotonous
walk leads you round the confines of this
cheerless patch of coarse grass, which, being
neither ornamented nor fed, is intended as
an apparent continuation of the velvet turf
surrounding the mansion. A stronger in-
stance of mistaken theory and practice in the
art of gardening, I think, is scarcely to be
met with. I trust this arrangement is im-
proved at Woolterton, in Norfolk, and at

(; 4

88 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

Kirklinton, near Woodstock, by substituting
a terrace, and carrying the walk in a varied
line through the plantation, now grown into
fine trees, and by the planting of groups of
ornamental shrubs in the enclosure at the
one place, and at the other by throwing it
open to the sheep, according to the different
circumstances of each.

PLANTING. 89

CHAP. IV.

PLANTING. ERRORS COMMITTED. — IRREGULAR FORM IN

OPPOSITION TO OVALS AND CIRCLES. CONTROVERSY

BETWEEN SIR UVEDALE PRICE AND MR. REPTON.

From the dress ground we pass to the scenery
beyond it. As the beauty and character of
this part of the picture will depend (as far as
art can assist it) chiefly upon planting, some
general hints may be given on that head, for
conducting it so as to show and improve such
varieties of ground as the place may possess,
though it will not be possible to give a plan
that shall be applicable to all cases.

One rule, indeed, may be universally laid
down — never to plant a belt.

In planting, the first care should be to con-
nect the different plantations under one gene-
ral intention ; not to scatter them in detached
spots, as it were at random, without any pur-
pose of uniting them in composition.

How frequently do we see undulations of
ground, which might have been infinitely
varied by judicious planting, utterly deformed

90 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

by a cap of fir or larch placed on every swell.
Whereas, had the plantation on one knoll
extended into the hollow, it would have more
strongly marked the depth between it and
the corresponding swell on the other side of
the valley ; on which swell a looser plantation
might flow halfway down, connecting it again,
by a straggling group or two, with some other
mass of wood.

No. 72. of the Quarterly Review incul-
cates this lesson with great force and taste :
the passage will be found worthy of attentive
perusal.

" The improver ought to be governed by
" the natural features of the ground, in choos-
" ing the shape of his plantations, as well as
" in selecting the species of ground to be
" planted. A surface of ground undulating
" into eminences and hollows forms, to a
" person who delights in such a task, per-
" haps, the most agreeable subject on which
" the mind of the improver can be engaged.
" He must take care, in this case, to avoid
" the fatal yet frequent error, of adopting
" the boundaries of his plantation from the
" surveyor's plan of the estate, not from the
" ground itself He must recollect, that the

#

PLANTING. 91

" former is a flat surface, conveying, after the
" draughtsman has done his best, but a very
" imperfect idea of the actual face of the
" country, and can, therefore, guide him but
" imperfectly in selecting the ground proper
" for his purpose. And again, the man of
" taste will be equally desirous that the boun-
" daries of his plantations should follow
" the lines designed by nature, which are
" always easy and undulating, or bold, pro-
" minent, and elevated, but never either stiff
" or formal. In this manner the future woods
" will advance and recede from the eye ac-
" cording to, and along with, the sweep of
" the hills and banks which support them,
" thus occupying precisely the place in the
" landscape where Nature's own hand would
*' have planted them. The projector will
'' rejoice the more in this allocation, that in
" many instances it will enable him to con-
" ceal the boundaries of his plantations ; an
" object which, in point of taste, is almost
" always desirable."

In forming plantations, either of larger or
smaller dimensions, I should strongly recom-
mend, in agreement with the above quotation,
avaried form instead of the lengthened straight

92 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

line or gentle curve of the former, and the
oval or circular fii^ure of the latter, which
have so generally prevailed. The beauty of
a wood depends mainly on the beauty of its
outline : and that outline requires a variety,
which can never be found in an insipid sweep,
but which arises from the contrast of projec-
tion and recess ; remembering that small
variations will not correct the insipidity, and
that the effect will be good in proportion to
the boldness of the contrast. These recesses,
again, should vary from each other both in
size and character ; but, in all. an angular ab-
ruptness should be preferred to a smoother
form : and, above all, the connection of the
several parts into one harmonious whole
should be ever kept in view. The nature of
the lower growths, as thorn, holly, &c., is
essentially useful in producing these varieties
of character, by giving density to some parts,
whilst others will admit the eye through the
boles of the more open grove into the in-
terior of the wood ; thus producing that
variety and intricacy which a natural wood
seldom fails to exhibit.

It is very necessary to notice an error too
prevalent in forming large masses of wood ; I

PLANTING.

93

mean planting the whole surface, and trust-
ing to future removal for producing that
variety acknowledged as essential to the in-
tended effect. By this mistaken plan, those
undulations of ground, upon which the beauty
of the plantation will mainly depend, are
buried, and never can be restored with any
thincp like orio:inal character and effect : add
to which, the future outline will be described
by trees more or less deformed by their in-
terior situation, and deprived of that drapery,
if we may so term it, which should break the
swelling line, and overhang the receding
hollow.

I remember passing by a wood belonging
to the Duke of Buccleugh, I think in the
neighbourhood of Ecclefeckin, which, from
having been partially burnt, offered a perfect
model for the mode of planting above recom-
mended.

What has been said with regard to
the outline of a wood, will apply equally to
a clump, as it is called ; preserving a due
proportion according to its extent : indeed,
the bad outline of a clump is, perhaps, more
offensive than that of a wood, as the massive-
ness of the latter, in some measure, atones

94 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

for the poverty of its outline, while the
beauty of the clump depends almost entirely
upon its form.

It is difficult to conceive how any person,
conversant with the varieties and combina-
tions of nature (which every improver should
be), could ever stumble upon so monotonous
a form as an oval or a circular group of trees.
If variety and intricacy are essential to pic-
turesque effect, what of either is to be found
in these figures, whether in their youth, or
when released from their enclosure? Let
any one, conversant with the subject, ex-
amine an oval or circular plantation of any
age, and try how many trees he can preserve
in the endeavour to give it any resemblance
to a natural group : nearly all within are
poles ; and so many must be removed from
the circular line, ere that line can be at all
obliterated, as will leave at last a very small
proportion of the number originally planted.
I speak, I may say, from painful experience ;
having frequently been under the necessity
of inverting the principle of decimation by
the removal of nine out of ten, to obtain
even a tolerable combination.

On the other hand, the irregular form

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PLANTING. 95

offers, I conceive, every facility for future
improvement ; as by separating altogether
some of its projecting points, you obtain de-
tached groups of varied size and character,
and yet in connection with the larger mass :
added to which, the groups thus separated
will consist of well furnished trees, from their
having been exposed to the air and sun since
they were first planted.

As I cannotbut think it self-evident, that the
future effect of the irregular must be preferable
to any that can be obtained from a regular
clump, so I conceive its present appearance
to be abundantly better. View the regular
form on which side you will, it is a dense
mass of unvarying shape and surface : whilst
the irregular is a continued variety of form
as you move round it ; and, from its angular
projections and recesses, affords that light and
shade which is sought in vain from the uni-
form curve. It is necessary that groups or
clumps should be of different size as well as
of different form, as similarity of appearance
marks them as works of art ; one great ob-
jection to the regularity of form in the oval
or the circle.

The upper sketch is an exact representation

96 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

of the Park at Sledmere, in Yorkshire : the
oval plantations, though of about a thousand
feet in circumference, do not appear to me in
any way to " preclude the stale objection of
" a want of variety, and a too frequent re-
" currence of the same figures," which Sir
Henry Steuart anticipates from their enlarged
size : the figure is the same, w^hatever be its
dimensions.

The sketch below represents the alteration
I have ventured to make in " those elegant
" forms, the oval, and the circle," which Sir
Henry advocates.

The ideas here stated upon this subject
being in direct opposition to those set forth
in Steuart's Planter's Guide, and differing in
some dem'ee from the feeling; manifested in
the review of that work in the Quarterly, it
becomes imperative to state the question at
issue in such a point of view as will enable
those who are interested in it to make their
election. To this end it is necessary that the
writers above mentioned should be heard
at large upon a point, on which they have as
unreservedly condemned the opinions just
stated, as I have ventured to do those which
thev advocate.

m

^3i^

^ '4^

f '^"^

PLANTING. 97

The author of the Planter's Guide says,

* It is undeniably true, that there was great
' formality in the endless dotted clumps of
' Brown and his followers, which are long
' since exploded. Price alleged, with great
' severity and some truth, that a recipe could
' be given for making a place any where by

* Brown's system ; because you had only to
' take a belt with a walk in it, a few round
' clumps, and a formal piece of water, and
' the object was effected. But as to the cir-
' cular and oval clumps, as fashion always
' runs into extremes, it has now given us
•' something greatly worse in their stead.

" It would have been nothing, after Brown

* (according to Price's witty remark) had
' changed Quadr^ata Rotundis, if the profes-

* sors of the present school had again sub-

* stituted Rotunda Quadratis, and restored the
' rectangular figures of a former day. But
' instead of this, our present landscape gar-
' deners have made a merit, and are regularly
' vain of disfiguring their most beautiful sub-
'jects with clumps and plantations, and
' even approaches, in the most zigzag and

grotesque figures, which are ten times more
hideous and unpicturesque than the worst

H

98 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" productions of their predecessors ! As a
" late powerful writer says, ' Their plant-
" ' ations, instead of presenting the regular or
" * rectilinear plan, exhibit nothing but a
" * number of broken lines, interrupted circles,
" ' and salient angles, which are as much at
" ' variance with Euclid as with nature. In
" * cases of enormity, they have been made
" ' to assume the form of pincushions, of
" ' hatches, of penny tarts, and of breeches
" ' displayed at old clothesmen's doors.' See
" Quarterly Review, No. 72.

" In all this they tell you they are imitating
" nature! they seem truly to be of opinion,
*' that to change must be the same thing as
" to improve ; and that, in order to display the
" taste of Price and Knight, they have only
" to reprobate that of Brown and Repton.
" There is no man, whose taste has been
" formed on any correct model, that does not
" feel and acknowledge the beauty of those
" elegant forms — the oval, the circle, and the
<» cone — and who does not experience the
" pleasure of contemplating smooth and soft
" surfaces, every where marked by swelling
" undulations and gentle transitions. Such
" are the outlines constantly prevalent in all

PLANTING. 99

" the most beautiful objects in nature. We
" derive them originally from that most per-
" feet of all forms, the female figure; and
" there are few well educated persons who
" will for a moment compare to them a mul-
" titude of obtuse and acute angles, great
" and small, following each other in fantasti-
" cal and unmeaning succession.

" If masses must be planted in parks, in
" order to get up wood for future single trees
" and detached groups (which, without the
" interposition of the transplanting, they must
" be), it is plain that they will continue in
" existence for five and twenty or five and
" thirty years, before they can be cut out with
" proper effect. What shape, I would ask,
" can be adopted with such distant objects
" in view, more generally pleasing than that
" of the'circle, or the oval, or some modifica-
" tion of it ? Observing always, in laying out
" such plantations, to make the masses large
" enough, which will preclude the stale ob-
" jection of a want of variety, and a too fre-
*' quent recurrence of the same figures. * The
" ' man of taste' (as the eminent author above
"mentioned observes) 'will be desirous that
" * the boundaries of his plantations should

H 2

100 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" ' follow the lines designed by nature, which
" ' are always easy and undulating, or bold,
" ' prominent, and elevated, but never stiff
" * and formal.'

" It is to be hoped that there is discern-
" ment enough in our present race of artists
" to see the propriety of adopting or restoring
" those fine figures, the oval and the circle,
" as certainly the best for temporary and
" large detached masses of wood. And now
" that all controversy between hostile systems
" is at an end, I trust that the English garden,
" distinguished by simplicity and freedom,
" will henceforth be under no law but that of
" Nature, improved and embellished by such
" art only as owns her supremacy, and knows
" to borrow, without being herself seen, every
" pleasing form which owes its origin to that
" unfailing source of variety and beauty." *

It appears singular that the advocates on
each side of the question before us, should
appeal to nature as the foundation of their
diametrically opposite systems. I say advo-
cates, as there are authorities for the view of
the subject which I have taken, at least as high
in matters of taste as either of those with

* Steuart's Planter's Guide, note 2. p. 422.

PLANTING. 101

whom I have the misfortune to difFer in this
discussion ; which authorities shall speak for
themselves in due time.

The author of the Planter's Guide seems to
me to have lost sight of nature altogether, as
a model for our imitation in the subject before
us, when he would lead us to " acknowledge
" the beauty of those elegant forms, the oval,
" the circle, and the cone." We do acknow-
ledge them, and, with him, " experience the
" pleasure of contemplating smooth and soft
" surfaces, swelling undulations, and gentle
" transitions :" and, with him, admire their
beautiful prototype in the female form : we
also most cordially agree in his following
remark, that " there are few well educated
" persons who will for a moment compare to
" them a multitude of obtuse and acute angles,
" great and small, following each other in
" fantastical and unmeaning succession." We
do, I repeat, most cordially agree with him
in this position, as we cannot see what pos-
sible comparison can exist between them.
Surely the smooth soft surface, the swelling
undulations, and gentle transitions exhi-
bited by Nature in the most beautiful of all
her works, the female figure, did not suggest

H 3

102 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

the model for her rocks, her precipices, and
her forests. As well might we compare a
picture of Guido with one of Salvator Rosa,
to adjust their separate excellence in their
common art. Each took nature for his mo-
del : and the man of taste (who, I apprehend,
is here meant by the well-educated) will ad-
mire each without depreciating the other.

It will be remembered, that this system of
circles and ovals is recommended for the
planting of a park, or park-like scenery ; and
not only recommended, but insisted upon, as
exclusively consonant with good taste. Let
VIS hear what the same author says in another
part of his book ; where, in speaking of plant-
ing, he observes, — " But on such subjects, as
" on most others connected with taste in the
" disposition of wood, great diversity of opi-
" nion must prevail ; and that mode of ar-
*' rangement or execution will generally seem
" the handsomest, in which the genius of the
" place is best studied, and where the most
" luxuriant orowth and the most careless
" disposition of wood are produced. The
" greatest triumphs of art must always be
*' those in which, in rivalling Nature, she most
** completely effects her own concealment."

PLANTING. 10.3

Could this just observation have been ex-
pected from the advocate for circles and
ovals? What agreement, let me ask him, can
exist between such monotonous forms and
the '* }nost careless dispositions of iwod f How
is the genius of the place to be consulted in
the universal application of these fine forms?
or how is Art to effect her own concealment
under them ? When, therefore, the author
of the Planter's Guide triumphantly asks,
" What shape can be adopted more generally
" pleasing than that of the circle, or the oval,
'* or some modification of it?" he may be
answered, " Take any form but that." Nei-
ther is it at all apparent, that, however large
the masses may be, " the stale objection of a
" want of variety, and a too frequent recur-
" rence of the same figure, is any way re-
" moved ;" as all the variety that can be given
will consist in the difference of size in these
monotonous forms ; which forms being ne-
cessary, according to the writer's statement,
for twenty or thirty years, will never fully
escape from that thraldom : witness oval and
circular groups of full-grown trees in many
places worthy of better taste.

The paragraph which asks the above ques-
H 4

104 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

tion, " Jf'hcif shape can be adopted so generally
" jileasing as the circle or the oval f' concludes
thus: " The man of taste" (as the eminent
" author above mentioned observes) " will be
" desirous that the boundaries of his plant-
" ations should follow the lines designed by
" nature, which are always easy and undu-
" lating, or bold, jjroininejif, and elevated, but
" never stiff and formal. "" How shall we recon-
cile this paragraph to itself? Did Nature
ever bound her plantations by a circular or
an oval form ? Surely such forms are as
remote from the easy and undulating, as they
are from the bold and prominent character
of nature's outline ; and must, I apprehend,
be classed under the '< stiff and formal which
" she disowns."

I know not if the Planter's Guide intends
me the honour of a place among " our pre-
" sent landscape gardeners, who have made a
" merit and are regularly vain of disfiguring
" their most beautiful subjects with clumps
" and plantations, and even approaches in the
" most zigzag and grotesque figures, and
" which are ten times more hideous and un-
" picturesque than the worst productions of
« their predecessors:" the accusation appears

PLANTING. 105

to admit of no exception ; and is at least as
severe as any thing the writer of it can find
in Price, whose severity he censures. Where
the author of the Planter's Guide has met
with these grotesque figures, these hideous
and unpiduresque productions, he has not told
us ; nor have I, in a tolerably extensive range
of observation, discovered a single example
of them.

The conclusion of this long note, as tran-
scribed from the Planter's Guide, has, I con-
fess, puzzled me extremely in my attempt to
discover any support it affords to the object
of the note itself, — the propriety of circles
and ovals as applied to plantations. The
passage runs thus : —

" It is to be hoped that there is discern-
" ment enough in our present race of artists
" to see the propriety of adopting or restor-
" ing those fine figures, the oval and the
" circle, as certainly the best for temporary
" and large detached masses of wood. And
" now that all controversy between hostile
" systems is at an end, I trust that the En-
*' glish Garden, distinguished by simplicity
" and freedom, will henceforth be under no
" law but that of Nature, improved and

106 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" embellished by such Art only as owns her
" supremacy, and knows to borrow, without
" being herself seen, every pleasing form
" which owes its orioriii to that unfailinc?
" source of variety and beautv."

Presuming that our present race of artists
means landscape painters, In contradistinction
to our present landscape gardeners, so lately
denounced as destitute of all pretension to
taste, will the author of the Planter's Guide
forgive me if I say, it is to be hoped that
there is discernment enough in our present
race of artists to see the propriety of omitting
" those fine figures the oval and the circle,'^
whenever they may be called upon to repre-
sent a scene disfigured by such misapplica-
tion of forms, though pronounced by him as
certainly the best for temporary and large
detached masses of wood ? I would ask. Are
these forms thus misapplied to be found in
the works of those artists, ancient or modern,
who have carried landscape painting to its
highest excellence? Are they to be traced in
Claude or Poussin — in Wilson or in Turner?

Sir Uvedale Price entertains a much more
enlightened view of the question, when he
says, — " It may be said, with much truth, that

PLANTING. 107

" the reformation of public taste in real land-
*' scape more immediately belongs to the
" higher landscape painters, among whom
" the higher painters of every kind may
" generally be included ; but there are cir-
" cumstances which are likely to prevent
" them from succeeding in a task for which
" they are so well qualified. In the first
" place, they have few opportunities of gi vino*
" their opinion, being seldom employed in
" improved places ; certainly not in repre-
" senting the improved parts : for there is
" a strong repugnance, of which the owners
" themselves are aware, in him wlio has stu-
" died Titian, Claude, and Poussin, and the
" style of art and of nature that they had
" studied, to copy the clumps, the naked
" canals, and no less naked buildings of Mr.
" Brown."*

It does not appear upon what grounds the
author of the Planter's Guide pronounces all
controversy between hostile systems to be at
an end, when he might himself be hailed as
the champion of the opposite opinions in the
subject before us. The Brown ists would
triumphantly quote his recommendation of

* Price on the Picturesque, vol. ii. p. 1 79.

108 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

those fine figures, the oval and the circle, as
certainly the best models for their plantations ;
while those who erect nature and the best
works of art for their standard, would tran-
scribe upon their banner his concluding sen-
tence : — '* I trust that the English Garden,
" distinguished by simplicity and freedom,
*' will henceforth be under no law but that of
" Nature, improved and embelhshed by such
" art only as owns her supremacy, and knows
" to borrow, without being herself seen, every
*' pleasing form which owes its origin to that
" unfailing source of variety and beauty."

Before we enter upon the enquiry, to which
of the contending systems these observations
of the Planter's Guide lend their aid, I will
take the opportunity to disclaim, for myself
at least, all intention of controversy; for
which I have neither inclination nor leisure.
When, however, a work so widely circulated
as is the Planter's Guide — supported, too, by
the powerful talent of its Reviewer, — when
these authorities manifest such unreserved
and sweeping contempt of the principles
which the study of a long life has confirmed
me in, I owe it to my own professional cha-
racter— I owe it to those gentlemen, both in

PLANTING. 109

England and Scotland, who have honoured
me with their approbation — to show that I
have not hghtly undertaken the task they
have severally committed to my care ; but
that I have used my best endeavours to im-
prove each place in conformity with its lead-
ing features, and to unite, as much as in me
lies, every thing, from whatever source, that
ma}^ tend to give propriety, character, and
harmony to the whole. If I add, that the
name I bear is not unknown as connected
with subjects of taste, it is merely to suggest
the probability that an early and long-con-
tinued intimacy with the relatives to whom I
allude, would not leave me altogether un-
informed of its true principles.

What then, we will ask, are those prin-
ciples as applicable to our immediate subject
— park or park-like scenery ? The author of
the Planter's Guide answers, — " Nature, im-
" proved and embellished by such art only as
" owns her supremacy, and knows to borrow,
'* without being herself seen, every pleasing
" form which owes its origin to that unfliiling
" source of variety and beauty."

With this definition I cordially agree : it is
the basis upon which I aim to found all my

no LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

practice, — it is the model upon which I
venture to recommend the irregular and
varied form of planting, in preference to the
regular a?id monotonous oval and circle. Surely
Art, in administering to the embellishment
of a park, would seek in vain to borroiv from
the scenery around her an authority for the
oval and the circle. If, therefore, she ob-
trudes these forms, she no longer owns the
supremacy oi^ Nature ; but stands condemned,
by the above definition, as an handmaid de-
void of all propriety and taste in pinning
upon her mistress's sylvan attire the orna-
ments that belong to her robes of state and
splendour.

It would appear tliat the predilection for
ovals and circles arises from a too confined
view of the subject among its advocates.
Their Hi*eat admiration of curved and flowino;
lines prevents their investigation as to the
propriety of their application ; but if judi-
cious selection be a leading feature of good
taste, it is not easy to see how an application
totally foreign to the subject can have any
foundation on that quality. Let the author
of the Planter's Guide spend a day amidst
the splendid scenery of the New Forest, or

PLANTING. Ill

in any of the natural woods I have visited in
Scotland, with a view to this question ; and I
am indeed mistaken, if the hand that has
laboured so successfully for the embellishment
of Nature in one particular line could have the
hardihood — I had almost said the sacrilege —
to insult her, thus enthroned, with a knot of
circular or oval plantation. Let him, after-
wards, behold in the late plantations in Rich-
mond Park an example of the tasteless system
he advocates — destitute of all variety — out
of harmony with all around it.

A park, it will be allowed, is not a forest;
but the " genius loci " is equally entitled to
attention in our attempts at embellishing it :
nor do I see how the " easy and undulating
" line of boundary " can be produced by an
assemblage of convex forms, whose only
variety must arise from the difference of size
and position.

Not to deprive the author of the Planter's
Guide of any support to his system of circles,
cones, and ovals, we will venture to examine
the opinions manifested in the Review of his
work ; for, though that masterly production
does not absolutely prescribe the forms we
are combating, yet I conceive it may appear

112 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

tacitly to advocate them in the following
passage : —

* " Repton, indeed, has justly urged, in
" favour of the works of Kent and Brown, that
" the formal belts and clumps which they
" planted were intended only to encourage the
" rise of the young plantations, which were
" afterwards to be thinned out into varied and
" picturesque forms; but which have, in many
" instances, been left in the same crowded
" condition and formal disposition which they
" exhibited at their being first planted. If
" the school of Kent and Brown were liable
" to be thus baffled by the negligence of those
" to whom the joint execution of their plans
" were necessarily trusted, a much greater
" failure may be expected, during the subse-
" quent generation, from the neglect of plans
" which affect to be laid out upon the prin-
" ciples of Price. We have already stated,
" that it is to be apprehended that a taste for
" the fantastic will supersede that which the
" last age have entertained in favour of the
" formal. We have seen various efforts, by
" artists of different degrees of taste and
" eminence, to form plantations which are
* Quarterly Review, March, 1828, p. 32].

PI-ANTING. 113

" designed at some future day to represent
" the wild outline and picturesque glades of a
" natural wood. When the line of these is
" dictated by the character of the ground,
" such attempts are extremely pleasing and
" tasteful. But where a bizarre and extrava-
'• gant irregularity of outline is introduced
" upon a plain, or rising ground ; when its
" whole involutions resemble the irregular
" flourishes of Corporal Trim's harangue; and
*' when we are told that this is designed to
" be one day a picturesque plantation ; we
" are tempted to recollect the common tale
" of the German baron, who endeavoured to
*' imitate the liveliness of Parisian society
" by jumping over stools, tables, and chairs
" in his own apartment ; and when the other
" inhabitants of the hotel came to enquire the
" cause of this disturbance, answered them
" with the explanation sli apprends d'estre ff.
" If the visiter applies to know the meaning of
" the angles and contortions introduced into
" the lines of the proposed plantations in
" Petruchio's language,

' What ! up and down, carved like an apple tart;
Here's snip, and nip, and cut, and slish, and slash.
Like to a censor in a barber's shop;*

114 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" he receives the plausible reply, that what
" he now sees is not the final result of the
" designer's art ; but that all this fantastic zig-
" zaggery, which resembles the traces left by
" a dog scampering through snow, is but a set
" of preparations for introducing, at a future
" period, as the trees shall come to maturity,
" those groups and glades — that advancing
'• and retirinor of the woodland scene — which
" will realise the effects demanded by the
" lovers of the picturesque. At present, we
" are told, that the scene resembles a lady's
" tresses in papillotes, as they are called, and
" in training for the conquests which they
" are to make when combed into becoming
" ringlets. But, alas ! art is in this department
" peculiarly tedious ; and life, as in all cases,
" precarious and short. How many of these
" papillotes will never be removed at all,
" and remain unthinned out, like the clumps
" and belts of Brown's school, disfiguring the
" scenes thev were desiojned to adorn ! "

I must here repeat, that examples in any
way agreeing with the above description have
not fallen under my observation : I will, how-
ever, meet them in all due deference to the
splendid talent of the author who states them

PLANTING. 1 J 5

to exist ; and, though I conceive that their
general bearing has been already discussed, I
am anxious to examine the minutest point
advanced by an authority so highly and so
justly elevated in the annals of taste ; and I
cannot but regret, that some extravagant
imitations of nature's outline should have
driven an eye so alive to the rich varieties of
landscape scenery to adopt the dull monotony
of the circular system in the accompaniments
to that scenery.

It appears, then, I conceive, that the amount
of the above critique is such as almost every
thing in art or science is subject to; viz. the
mischievous effects of conceit and ignorance.
But, surely, the value of medicine is not to be
appreciated by the errors of empyricism, nor
the art we are discussing to be estimated by
the failures of those who are altogether igno-
rant of the foundation on which it rests.

The study of nature, both in the disease
and in the remedy, marks the skilful physi-
cian ; the study of nature, in all her varieties
of character and composition, can alone lit
the man of taste for the supplying of her
deficiencies, or the correction of her exuber-
ances. The wise physician will improve his

I 2

116 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

practical knowledge by the study of the best
authorities in medicine: the judicious im-
prover will mature his taste by that of the
great masters in landscape painting. Em-
pirics in both these pursuits there undoubt-
edly will be, whose prescriptions will vary
from each other according to their own erro-
neous views of the subject. The practitioners
in landscape may be divided (to use the term
of the Review) between the fantastic and the
formal : but the affected and whimsical irre-
gularity of the one is no commendation of
the dull monotony of the other; and, indeed,
more hope may be entertained of correcting
the extravagancies of the irregular system,
than of engrafting any improvement upon
that which has been pronounced as certainly
the best. At any rate, a happy result may
occasionally follow the labours of the most
irregular practitioner, while the circular re-
medy, though recojnmended in all cases, yet
beino- adapted to none, can produce no such
result, except as a warning to those who have
not yet suffered from its baleful effects.

But to return to the critique. I confess
myself somewhat puzzled in attempting to
substantiate the basis on which the author of

PLANTING. 1 I 7

it rests his objection to the irregular form ;
when, speaking of plantations so constituted,
he observes, — " When the line of these is
" dictated by the character of the ground,
" such attempts are extremely pleasing and
" tasteful. But, when a bizarre and extra-
" vagant irregularity of outline is introduced
" upon a plain or rising ground," &c. &c.
Now, if neither a plain nor a rising ground
be fit subjects for this irregularity of outline,
I do not readily conceive that character of
ground, which renders such attempts extremely
pleasing and tasteful. At any rate, the blame
is here divided between the form itself and
its misapplication. I will venture, however,
to suggest, that the irregular form is appli-
cable to any character of ground, if intricacy
and variety are essential to picturesque effect :
and, indeed, a plain is of all species of
ground, perhaps, the most indebted to plant-
ation for producing that effect ; and whether,
I will ask, are the qualities of variety, in-
tricacy, and connection, to be sought in the
irregular outline, or in that of the oval and
circle ? Upon this principle, I have treated
the flat extent of park at Cassiobury, which,
having been originally planted with similar

I 3

118 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

groups of trees, afforded little of that variety
of cliaracter, whicli, I trust, will result from
the large irregular masses of plantation I
ventured to recommend.

But to resume. The flourish of Corporal
Trim's harangue will, perhaps, be conceded,
as merely a flourish : but I have no hesitation
in avowing my readiness to follow the out-
line of the Reviewer's favourite, throus^h his
wildest vagaries over the snow, in preference
to tracing the insipid formality of Kent or
Brown ; and I feel assured the result would
justify the preference. The papillottes, from
their similarity of size and shape, I conceiv-e
to be more allied to the circular system than
to the " zigzaggery," to which the Reviewer
has attached them. The tale of the German
baron is also, I think, at least as applicable
to the dull uniformity of circles and ovals,
claiming affinity with the playful elegance
and variety of nature, as it is to the over-
strained irregularity of the opposite system.

As a visible example is sometimes more
convincing than any argument, a slight illus-
tration is here subjoined of the effect of the
opposite systems, both in their infancy and
their future maturity ; and I should have no

PLANTING. 119

fear of the award of the authority with which
I am at present more immediately at vari-
ance, as I trust it will be obvious that the
objections he has urged are not against the
irreiiular outline, but against the conceit and
ignorance he has seen manifested in its ap-
plication.

The author of the Planter's Guide is not,
I think, entitled to the support he assumes
from the " late powerful writer " whom he
quotes ; and who, but for the term late, might
be identified with the equally powerful writer
from whom we have just parted. The passage
on which he rests occurs in the Review of
Monteith's Planter's Guide.* I have already
given Sir H. Steuart's version of it ; but, as
the true bearing of the passage is not, I
think, contained in that version, I beg leave
to transcribe the whole passage itself, as most
essential to the question before us.

The Review, having given some useful
hints for providing the necessary plants, pro-
ceeds : " Thus provided with the material of
" his enterprise, and with the human force
" necessary to carry it into effect, the planter's

* See Quarterly Review, vol. xxxvi.

I 4

120 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

'* next point is to choose the scene of oper-
" ation. On this subject reason and common
" sense at once point out the necessary re-
" strictions. No man of common sense would
" select, for the purpose of planting, rich
" holmes, fertile meadows, or the ground
" peculiarly fit for producing corn or for
" supporting cattle. Such land, valuable
" every where, is peculiarly so in a country
" where fertile spots are scarce, and where
" there is no lack of rough, exposed, and at
" present unprofitable tracts. The necessary
" ornament of a mansion house would alone
" vindicate such an extraordinary proceeding.
" Nay, a considerate planter would hesitate
" to cut up and destroy even a fine sheep
" pasture for the purpose of raising a wood,
" while there remained on the estate ground
" which might be planted at a less sacrifice.
** The ground ought to be shared betwixt
" pasture and woodland, with reference to
" local circumstances ; and it is in general by
" no means difficult to form the plantation
" so as to be of the hio-hest advanta<je to the
" sheep walk. In making the selection, the
" proprietor will generally receive many a
" check on this subject from his land steward

PLANTING. 121

" or bailiff, to whom any other agricuhural
" operations are generally more desirable
" than the pursuits of the forester. To con-
" firm the proprietor in resisting this narrovv-
** minded monitor, it is necessary to assure
" him, that the distinction to be drawn be-
**' twixt the ground to be planted, and that
" which is to be reserved for sheep, is to be
'' drawn with a bold and not a timid hand.
" The planter must not, as we have often
" seen vainly attempted, endeavour to ex-
" elude from his proposed plantations all
" but the very worst of the ground. When-
" ever such paltry saving has been attempted,
" the consequences have been very unde-
" sirable in all respects. In the first place,
" the expense of fencing is greatly in-
" creased ; for in order to form these pinched
** and restricted plantations, a great many
'' turnings and involutions, and independent
" fences, must be made, which become totally
'' unnecessary when the woodland is formed
" on an ample and liberal scale. In the
" second place, this parsimonious system
** leads to circumstances contrary to Christian
" charity ; for the eyes of every human being
" that looks on plantations so formed, feeling

122 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" hurt as if a handful of sand were flung into
" them, the sufferers are too apt to vent their
" resentment in the worst of wishes against
" the devisers and perpetrators of such enor-
" mities. We have seen a brotherhood of
" beautiful hills, the summits of which, while
" they remained unplanted, must have formed
" a fine undulating line, now presenting
" themselves with each a circle of black fir
" like a skimming-dish on its head, com-
" bined too^ether with loner narrow lines of the
** same complexion, like a chain of ancient
" fortifications, consisting of round towers
" flanking a strait curtain, or rather like a
" range of college caps connected by a broad
" black riband. Other plantations, in the
" awkward angles which they have been
" made to assume, in order that they might
" not trespass upon some edible portion
" of grass land, have come to resemble
*' Uncle Toby's bowling-green transported to
" a northern hill side. Here you shall see a
*• solitary mountain with a great black patch
" stuck on its side, like a plaster of Bur-
*' gundy pitch ; and there another, where the
" plantation, instead of gracefully sweeping
" down to its feet, is broken short off" in mid

PLANTING. 123

" air, like a country wench's gown tucked
" through her pocket holes, in the days when
" such things as pockets were extant in i^erum
" naturd. In other cases of enormity, the
" unhappy plantations have been made to
" assume the form of pincushions, of hatchets,
" of penny tarts, and of breeches displayed at
" an old clothesman's door. These abortions
" have been the consequence of a resolution
" to occupy with trees only those parts of
'- the hill where nothing else will grow ; and
" which, therefore, is carved out for their
" accommodation with ' up and down and
" « snip and slash,' whatever unnatural and
" fantastic forms may be thereby assigned to
" their boundaries.

" In all such cases, the insulated trees, de-
" prived of the shelter they experience when
« planted in masses, have grown thin and
" hungrily — affording the unhappy planter
" neither pleasure to his eye, credit to his
" judgment, nor profit to his purse. A more
" liberal projector would have adopted a very
" different plan. He would have considered,
" that although trees, the noblest production
" of the vegetable realm, are of a nature
" extremely hardy, and can grow where not

124 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" even a turnip could be raised, they are yet
" sensible of and m'ateful for the kindness
" which they receive. In selecting the por-
" tions of waste land which he is about to
" plant, he would, therefore, extend his limits
" to what may be called the natural bound-
" aries ; carry them down to the glens on
" one side, sweep them around the foot of
" the hills on another, conduct them up the
" ravines on a third; giving them as much
" as possible the character of a natural wood,
" which can only be attained by keeping
" their boundaries out of sight, and suggest-
" ino; to the imagination that idea of extent
" which always arises when the limits of a
" wood are not visible. It is true, that in this
" manner some acres of good ground may
" be lost to the flocks ; but the advantages to
'* the woodland are a complete compensation.
" It is, of course, in sheltered places that the
" wood beo:ins to grow ; and the youncp trees.
'* arising freely on such more fertile spots
*• on the verge of the plantation, extend pro-
" tection to the general mass which occupies
'' the poorer ground. These less favoured
" plants linger long, while left to their own
" unassisted operations : annoyed at the

PLANTING. 125

" same time by want of nourishment and
" the severity of the blast, they remain, in-
" deed, alive, but make little or no progress ;
" but when they experience shelter from
" those which occupy a better soil, they seem
" to profit by their example, and speedily
" arise under their wings.

" The improver ought to be governed by
" the natural features of the ground, in choos-
" ing the shape of his plantations, as well as
" in selecting the species of ground to be
" planted. A surface of ground undulating
" into eminences and hollows, forms, to a
" person who delights in such a task, perhaps,
" the most agreeable of considerations on
" which the mind of the improver can be
'^ enchased. He must take care in this case
*' to avoid the fatal error of adopting the
" boundaries of his plantations from the sur-
" veyor's plan of the estate, not from the
" ground itself He must recollect that the
" former is a flat surface, conveying, after
" the draughtsman has done his best, but a
" very imperfect idea of the actual face of
" the country, and can, therefore, guide him
" but imperfectly in selecting the ground
" proper for his purpose.

126 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" Having, therefore, made himself person-
" ally acquainted with the localities of the
" estate, lie will find no difficulty in adopting
" a general principle for lining out his worst
" land. To plant the eminences, and thereby
" enclose the hollows for cultivation, is what
" all parties will agree upon ; the mere farmer,
" because in the oeneral case, the rule will
" assign to cultivation the best oround, and
" to woodland that which is most sterile ;
" and also, because a wood placed on an
" eminence affords, of course, a more com-
" plete protection to the neighbouring fields,
" than if it stood upon the same level with
" them. The forester will give his ready
" consent, because wood nowhere luxuriates
" so freely as on the slope of a hill. The
" man of taste will be equally desirous that
" the boundaries of his plantation should
" follow the lines designed by nature, which
" are always easy and undulating, or bold, pro-
" minent, and elevated, but never either stiff
" or formal. In this manner the future woods
*' will advance and recede from the eye ac-
" cording to, and along with, the sweep of
'* the hills and banks which support them,
" thus occupying precisely the place in the

PLANTING. 1 27

" landscape where Nature's own hand would
" have planted them. The projector will
" rejoice the more in this allocation, that in
" many instances it will enable him to con-
" ceal the boimdaries of his plantations ; an
" object which, in point of taste, is almost
" always desirable. In short, the only per-
" sons who will suffer by the adoption of this
" system, will be the admirers of mathema-
" tical regularity, who deem it essential that
" the mattock and spade be under the pe-
" remptory dominion of the scale and com-
" pass ; who demand that all enclosures shall
" be of the same shape and the same extent ;
" who delight in straight lines and in sharp
" angles, and desire that their woods and
" fields be laid out with the same exact cor-
" respondence to each other as when they
<' were first delineated upon paper. It is to
" be conjectured, that when the inefficiency
" of this principle and its effects are pointed
" out, few would wish to resort to it, unless
" it were an humourist like Uncle Toby, or
" a martinet like Lord Stair, who planted
" trees after the fashion of battalions formed
" into line and column, that they might assist
" them in their description of the battles of

128 LANDSCAPE GAUDENING.

" AVjnendale and Dettingen. It may, how-
" ever, be a consolation to the admirers of
" strict uniformity and regularity, if any
" such there still be, to be assured that their
" object is, in fact, unattainable ; it is as im-
" possible to draw straight lines of wood —
" that is, lines which shall produce the ap-
" pearance of mathematical regularity along
" the uneven surface of a varied country — as
" it would be to draw a correct diagram upon
" a crumpled sheet of paper, or lay a carpet
" down smoothly upon a floor littered with
" books. The attempt to plant upon such a
*• system will not, therefore, present the re-
" gular plan expected ; but, on the contrary, a
" number of broken lines, interrupted circles,
" and salient angles, as much at variance with
" Euclid as with Nature."

Now, I will ask, is there any passage in
the whole of this quotation that warrants
Sir Henry Steuart's deduction from it? Are
the broken lines, interrupted circles, salient
angles, pincushions, hatchets, and penny tarts,
represented as the offspring of the vanity and
bad taste of our present landscape gardeners ?
Is he borne out in his affirmation — " In all
" these they will tell you they are imitating

PLANTING. 129

*' nature ?" On the contrary, it appears, that
in his anxiety to claim the powerful support
of the writer whom he quotes, he has over-
looked that writer's own account of the origin
of the deformities which he has been cen-
suring, when he says, — " These abortions
" have been the consequence of a resolution
*' to occupy with trees only those parts of
" the hill where nothing else will grow, and
*' which, therefore, is carved out of for their
" accommodation, with up and down, and
" snip and slash, whatever unnatural and fan-
" tastic form may be thereby assigned to
" their boundaries." We will, therefore, dis-
miss this whole group of uncouth forms, pre-
suming only that the penny tarts were not of
the usual shape, or they would have better
suited the taste of the author of the Planter's
Guide.

So far, indeed, is the Review in question
from affording that assistance to Sir Henry
Steuart's system, which in truth it stands in
need of, that the spirit of the whole criticism
is as remote from Sir Henry's ideas, as those
ideas are from true taste. Let any one read
attentively the excellent hints as to the form
and disposal of plantations, which are to be

K

130 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

found both in the quotation just given, and
also throughout the whole of the Review ;
and it will be abundantly manifest, that the
author of the Planter's Guide has mis-
taken not only the passages which he selects,
but the general bearing of the whole.

Having already considered the only pas-
sage in the Review of Sir Henry's own work*
which in any way bears upon the question,
I scruple not to say, that the whole spirit of
that review, in strict conformity with the one
on Monteith, appears altogether irreconcile-
able to the system of circles and ovals, as
" certainly the best for temporari/ and large
" detached masses of n'ood.'' Nay, I am per-
suaded, that, were Sir Henry himself to visit
some places originally planted in avenues and
formal hues, he would be constrained to ac-
knowledge the oval and circle to be as irre-
concileable to such planting, as they are to
the face and varied outline of Nature's hand.

Take, for instance, Burleigh ; compare
the circular and oval plantations of the outer
park with the original planting of that mag-
nificent scenery. The original is formal ; but
that formality is accompanied by a grandeur

* Page 109.

PLANTING. 131

that is in the strictest harmony with the
mansion : and though we cannot but occa-
sionally regret the loss of some deep glade,
by the intervention of a long line of trees ;
yet, owing to the number of these lines, and
the variety of their situations, as well as of
their length, many pleasing groups and
happy combinations are produced as you pass
through them. But where shall we find any
grandeur, beauty, or variety, in the oval and
circular clumps and plantations of the outer
park, scattered here and there with no refer-
ence to each other, or the general character
and scenery of the place —

" Marring fair Nature's lineaments divine ? "

Normington, in the same neighbourhood, ex-
hibits a similar instance (though on a smaller
scale) of the deformity of those fine figures,
the oval and the circle, when applied to
plantation.

Although the whole tenor of the autho-
rities subjoined is in direct opposition to the
circular system, a few of the passages which
bear more immediately on the subject may
be selected from them.

K 2

132 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

Wliately, in his Observations on Modern
Gardening, says, — " Though the surface of
" a wood, when commanded, deserves all
" these attentions, yet the outline more fre-
" quently calls for our regard ; it is also more
" in our power ; it may sometimes be great,
" and may always be beautiful. The first re-
" quisite is irregularity. That a mixture of
" trees and imderwood should form a long
" straight line, can never be natural ; and a
" succession of easy sweeps and gentle rounds,
" each a portion of a greater or less circle,
" composing altogether a line literally ser-
" pentine, is, if possible, worse. It is but a
" number of regularities put together in a
" disorderly manner, and equally distant from
" the beautiful, both of Art and of Nature.
" The true beauty of an outline consists more
" in breaks than in sweeps — rather in angles
*' than in rounds — in variety, not in succes-
" sion. The eye, which hurries to the ex-
" tremity of whatever is uniform, delights to
'* trace a varied line through all its intri-
" cacies."*

" Let us hear Sir Uvedale Price's opinion

* Observations on Modern Gardening, p. 42.

PLANTING. 133

upon the circular system of planting: — " It
" must be remembered, that strongly marked,
" distinct, and regular curves, unbroken and
" undisguised, are hardly less unnatural and
" formal, though far less grand and simple,
" than straight lines ; and that, independently
*' of monotony, the continual and indiscrimi-
" nate use of such curves has an appearance
" of affectation, and of studied grace, which
" always creates disgust."* And again; — " But
" the orreat distinsuishino; feature of modern
" improvement is the Clump — a name which,
" if the first letter w^ere taken away, would
" most accurately describe its form and effect.
" Were it made the object of study how to
•' invent something which, under the name
" of ornament, should deform whole districts,
" nothing; could be contrived to answer that
" purpose like a clump. Natural groups
" being formed by trees of different ages and
" sizes, and at different distances from each
" other — often, too, by a mixture of those of
" the largest size with thorns, hollies, and
" others of inferior growth — are full of variety
" in their outlines : and from the same causes,

* Price on the Picturesque, vol. i. p. 231.
K 3

134 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" no two groups are exactly alike. But
" clumps, from the trees being of the same
" age and growth, from their being planted
t* nearly at the same distance, in a circular
" form, and from each tree being equally
" pressed by his neighbour, are as like each
'* other as so many puddings turned out of
" one common mould. Natural groups are
" full of openings and hollows ; of trees ad-
" vancing before, or retiring behind each
" other ; all productive of intricacy, of va-
" riety, of deep shadows, and brilliant lights.
" In walking about them, the form changes
" at each step : new combinations, new lights
" and shades, new inlets, present themselves
" in succession. But clumps, like compact
" bodies of soldiers, resist attacks from all
" quarters : examine them in every point of
" view — walk round them — no opening, no
" vacancy, no stragglers, but, in the true
" military character. Us font face pa7iout."
And the same author observes — " The mass
" of improvers seem, indeed, to forget that
" we are distinguished from other animals
" by being

* Nobler far, of look erect/

PLANTING. 135

" They go about

< With leaden eye that loves the ground ; '

" and are so continually occupied with turns
" and sweeps, and manoeuvring stakes, that
" they never gain an idea of the first prin-
" ciples of composition.

" Such a mechanical system of operations
" little deserves the name of an art. There
" are, indeed, certain words in all languages
" that have a good and a bad sense ; such as
" simplicity and simple, art and artful, which
*' as often express our contempt as our
" admiration. It seems to me, that whenever
" art, with regard to plan or disposition, is
" used in a good sense, it means to convey an
" idea of some degree of invention, of con-
" trivance that is not obvious ; of something
" that raises expectation, and which differs
" with success from what we recollect having
" seen before. With regard to improving,
" that alone I should call art, in a good sense,
** which was employed in collecting from the
" infinite varieties of accident (which is com-
" monly called Nature, in opposition to what
*' is called Art), such circumstances as may
" be happily introduced according to the

K 4

136 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" real capabilities of the place to be im-
" proved. This is what painters have done
" in their art ; and hence it is, that many of
" these lucky accidents being strongly pointed
" out by them, are called Picturesque." *

Mason, in his Essay on Design in Garden-
ing, in defining a clump, says, — " The word
" comprehends many regular (or nearly re-
" gular) figures of small plantations, whether
" square, (like Lord Shrewsbury's avenue of
" clumps, in Oxfordshire,) circular, or oval,
" or approaching to either. The clumps
" alluded to in the text were chiefly regular,
" and mostly circular, and at that time ima-
" gined by me to have lost their vogue ; but
" I fear that they afterwards recovered it."

Knight, in contrasting the loose and varied
groups of nature with the formal clumps of
the improver, exclaims —

" But, ah ! how different is the formal lump

Which the improver plants, and calls a clump ! "

A writer, who was one of the first of those
who awakened the public attention to the
beauties of natural scenery, speaking of

* Price on the Picturesque, vol. i. p. 344.

PLANTING. 137

plantations, says, — *' Thus far we have con-
" sidered a clump as a single independent
"object — as the object of a foreground,
" consisting of such a confined number of
" trees as the eye can fairly include at once.
" And when trees strike our fancy, either in
" the wild scenes of nature, or in the im-
" provements of art, they will ever be found
" in combinations similar to these.

" When the clump grows larger, it becomes
" Qualified only as a remote object, combining
" with vast woods, and forming a part of
" some extensive scene, either as a first, a
" second, or a third distance.

" The great use of the larger clump is to
" lighten the heaviness of a continued distant
" wood, and connect it gently with the plain,
" that the transition may not be too abrupt.
" All we wish to find in a clump of this kind
" is proportion and general form.

" With respect to proportion, the detached
" clump must not encroach too much on the
" dignity of the wood it aids, but must observe
" a proper subordination. A large tract of
" country covered with wood will admit seve-
" ral of these auxiliary clumps, of different
" dimensions. But if thewood be of smaller

138 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" size, the clumps also must be smaller and
" fewer.

" With regard to the general form of the
" larger clump, we observed, that in a single
" tree we expected elegance in the parts. In
" the smaller clumps this idea was relinquished,
" and in its room we expected a general con-
" trast in trunks, branches, and foliage. But
" as the clump becomes larger, and recedes
" in the landscape, all these pleasing contrasts
" are lost, and we are satisfied with a general
^^ form. No regw/«r form is pleasing. A clump
" on the side of a hill, or in any situation
'* where the eye can more easily investigate
" its shape, must be circumscribed by an irre-
" gular line, in which it is required that the
" undulations both at the base and summit of
" the clump should be strongly marked ; as
" the eye, probably, has a distinct view of
" both." *

Sir Uvedale Price, with his usual accurate
discrimination, says — " It is only by a habit
" of observation, added to natural sensibility,
" that we learn to distinguish what is really
*' beautiful from what is merely smooth and

* Gilpin's Forest Scenery, vol. i. p. 177.

PLANTING. 139

" flowing, and to give a decided preference to
" the former." *

Upon the whole, it is, I think, obvious, that
the author of the Planter's Guide, having de-
voted much time and study to the maturing
of his ingenious work on the transplanting
of trees, has not exercised that habit of observ-
ation by which we learn to distinguish what is
really beautiful from what is merely smooth and
flowing, so as to give a preference to the former.
I conceive this is abundantly proved by the
discrepancy of his own observations upon the
subject, as above transcribed.

To the ovals and circles I would willingly
apply the observation with which the Review
dismisses a collection of forms scarcely more
at variance with taste. " We are happy to
" say that this artificial mode of planting,
" the purpose of which seems to be a sort
" of inscribing on every plantation that it
" was the work of man, not of nature, is now
" going fast out of fashion."

It cannot, however, be expected that the
author of the following observation can fully
appreciate the propriety and taste displayed

* Essays on the Picturesque, vol. i. p. 342.

140 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

in the passages selected from tlie Essays on
the Picturesque. " The Landscape, a poem
" by the ingenious Mr. Knight ; and the
" Essays on the Picturesque, by that accom-
" plished scholar, Mr. Price, are productions
" of hish merit, which we must ever value, as
" having been the means of retrieving the
" public taste, and showing what is unnatural,
" formal, or monotonous in the character of
" the school of Brown and Repton ; yet, as
« these meritorious works were composed
" under peculiar circumstances, and during
" the bitterness of controversy, they should
" be read by the young student cmm grano
" salis. Mr. Loudon's able treatise on the
" * Improvement of Country Residences,'
<' (which came out in 1806, and has not been
" half so much praised as it deserves,) forms
" a far less exceptionable guide to the man
" of taste, or the country gentleman, who,
" having no practical skill himself, is yet
" desirous to improve real landscape where it
" exists, or to create it where it is wanting."*
Now, whatever be the merit of the trea-
tise here recommended, to prefer it, or any
similar work, to the luminous and compre-

• Planter's Guide, p. 360.

PLANTING. 141

hensive spirit that pervade the Essays on the
Picturesque, as a guide to the man of taste,
argues, surely, but a slender acquaintance
with that quality. Neither are the peculiar
circumstances under which the Essays were
composed, and which impugn their authority,
at all apparent ; nor have I, at least, been
able to discover the bitterness of controversy
ascribed to them by Sir Henry Steuart. Mr.
Repton's name, if 1 mistake not, occurs but
twice in the whole work, and each time in a
note. The first is upon the impropriety of
breaking; an avenue, where Sir Uvedale Price
says, — " The bad consequence of this system
" of separating trees which had long grown
" together, is no where more apparent than
" when an old avenue is broken into clumps ;
" yet it may very well happen that a land-
" scape painter, however strongly he may
'^ condemn the alteration, as it affected the
" general views, and the character of the
" place, might find some particular advantage
" from it, wdth respect to his own art : for, as
*' he is not obliged to make an exact portrait,
" it is sufficient for his purpose if he discover
" the principal materials for composition from
" the spot where he places himself He, there-

142 ' LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" fore, may select a view between any two of
" the clumps ; and as a very slight alteration
" in his expeditious art turns them into
" groups, the whole may form a very pleasing
" landscape : again, as only two of the clumps
" would appear, no one could suspect, from
" such a picture or drawing, that there were
" other clumps which strongly marked the
" old line of the avenue from every part
" where they were seen. All this is perfectly
" fair in the painter, with reference to his
" own art : but were he employed to show
" what would be the future effect of breaking
" an avenue into clumps, it would, in the
" same degree, be unfair ; it would, in fact,
" be a deception, and tend to deceive his
" employer. Yet this is precisely what Mr.
" Repton has done, for the purpose of show-
" ing how an avenue may be broken with
" good effect. He has, in one plate, repre-
" sented the avenue on which the operation
" is to be performed, at its length, and of
" course describing the straight line ; and,
" in common justice, he ought to have given
" the same view of it when broken : but he
" well knew what a figure his clumps would
" make when the straight line was dotted

I

PLANTING. 143

" with them. He, therefore, in the other
" plate, has very dexterously changed both
" the point of view and the scale ; and as he
" knew that even a third clump would have
" marked the straight line, he has supposed
" himself at the exact point from which only
" two of them could be introduced into the
" drawing ; and to this painter-like liberty
" he has added that of varying their forms, so
" as to give them some appearance of natural
" groups. Mr. Repton cannot be ignorant,
" that when trees have been long pressed on
" each side by others, whenever one or more
" of them are left separate, two of their sides
" must be naked and flattened ; and that
" although by degrees the nakedness is clothed
" with small boughs and with leaves, hardly
" any length of time will make the flatness
" completely disappear. This is what on such
" occasions ought fairly to be stated ; and, if a
" drawing or engraving be made, ought fairly
" to be represented : but it is singular, that
" the person who has most strongly written
" against the use of applying painting to land-
" scape gardening, should have furnished the
" most flagrant instance of its abuse." *

* Essays on the Picturesque, vol. i. p. 332.

144 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

The other instance, where Mr. Repton's
name occurs, may be considered as comph-
mentary rather than severe : —

" Mr. Repton, who is deservedly at the
" head of his profession, might effectually
" correct the errors of his predecessors, if to
" his taste and facility in drawing (an advan-
" tage they did not possess), to his quickness
" of observation, and to his experience in the
" practical part, he were to add an attentive
" study of what the higher artists have done
" both in their pictures and drawings. Their
" selections and arrangements would point
" out many beautiful compositions and effects
" in nature, which, without such a study,
" may escape the most experienced observer.

" The fatal rock on which all professed
" improvers are likely to split, is that of
" system : they become mannerists, both from
" getting fond of what they have done before,
" and from the ease of repeating what they
" have so often practised ; but to be reckoned
" a mannerist is at least as great a reproach
" to the improver as to the painter. Mr.
" Brown seems to have been perfectly satis-
" fied, when he had made a natural river look
" like an artificial one : I hope Mr. Repton

: «

PLANTING. 145

" will have a nobler ambition — that of hav-
" ing his pieces of water mistaken for lakes
" and rivers." *

Notwithstanding that Mr. Repton remained
unconvinced by the arguments of his powerful
opponent, he does not appear to accuse him
of any bitterness, or to manifest any towards
him, when he writes —
" Sir,

" I am much obliged by your attention in
" having directed your bookseller to send me
" a copy of your ingenious work. It has
" been my companion during a long journey,
" and has furnished me with entertainment
" similar to that which I have occasionally
" had the honour to experience from your
" animated conversation on the subject. In
" the general principles and theory of the art,
" which you have considered with so much
" attention, I flatter myself that we agree ;
" and that our difference of opinion relates
" only to the propriety, or, perhaps, possi-
" bility, of reducing them to practice.

" I am oblio;ed both to Mr. Knight and to
" yourself, for mentioning my name as an ex-

* Essays on the Picturesque, vol. i. p. 398.
L

146 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" ception to the tasteless herd of jNlr. Brown's
" followers. But while you are pleased to
" allow me some of the qualities necessary to
" rny profession, you suppose me deficient in
" others ; and, therefore, strongly recommend
" the study of what the higher artists have
" done both in their pictures and drawings ;
" a branch of knowledge which I have always
" considered to be not less essential to my
" profession than hydraulics or surveying,
" and without which I should never have
" presumed to arrogate to myself the title of
" Landscape Gardener, wdiich you observe is
" a title of no small pretension," &c. &c.

The strongest passage in this letter is the
following: — "Amidst the severity of your
" satire against ]Mr. Browai and his followers,
" I cannot be ignorant that many pages are
" chiefly pointed at my opinions ; although
" with more delicacy than your friend Mr.
" Knight has shown," &c.

The conclusion of the letter is in harmony
with the beoinnino;: — " Xotwithstandintj the
" occasional asperity of your remarks on my
" opinions, and the unprovoked sally of jNIr.
" Knight's wit, I esteem it a very pleasant
" circumstance of my life to have been per-

PLANTING. 147

" sonally known to you both, and to have
" witnessed your good taste in many situ-
" ations. I shall beg leave, therefore, to
" subscribe myself, with regard and esteem,"
&c. &c.

I am the more solicitous to remove the
charge of bitterness of controversy from the
Essays, both as its supposed existence might
interfere with their utility, and also to rescue
the memory of their author from an imputation
which, from personal knowledge, I can testify
did no way attach to him. Whatever may ap-
pear severe throughout the work in question,
is attributable to an uncommon quickness of
perception, joined to a keenness of expression
that delighted all who had the pleasure of his
acquaintance, and who, I doubt not, would
universally confirm the appeal made to them
in the concluding part of his answer to Mr.
Repton's letter, — a letter which evinces that
a playful brilliancy of taste, not the bitterness
of controversy, guided the pen of an author,
who will be admired the more, the closer he
is studied.

The passage alluded to runs thus : —
" The joint compliment you have paid
" to my friend and me, I can, for my own

L 2

148 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" part, return with great sincerity ; and on
" this occasion I dare say I may answer for
" Mr. Knight. I fear, however, that as you
" complain of the occasional asperity of my
" supposed remarks on your opinions, you
" will not think me grown milder in this
" open and continued controversy ; for, in
" the course of pointing out and explaining
" the tendency of many indirect attacks and
" insinuations, which at first sight might not
" be obvious, some degree of sharpness in my
" answer would naturally arise ; but he who
" writes a formal challenge must not expect
" a billet doux in return. I may also observe,
" that every man (whatever the game may
" be) has his particular manner of playing ;
" an allusion which may not unaptly be ap-
" plied to writing. I have been told by some
" of my friends, that my play is sharp ; I
" believe it may be so ; but were I to en-
" deavour to alter it, I could not play at all.
" I trust, however, that my friends will vouch
" for me, that whatever sharpness there may
" be in my style, there is no rancour in my
" heart.

" On reading over what I have written, I
" could not but lament that there should be

PLANTING. 149

" any controversy between us. Controversy
" at best is but a rough game, and in some
" points not unlike the ancient tournaments ;
" where friends and acquaintance, merely for
" a trial of skill, and love of victory, with all
" civility and courteousness tilted at each
''other's breasts — tried to unhorse each
"other — grew more eager and animated
" — drew their swords — struck where the
" armour was weakest, and where the steel
" would bite to the quick, — and all without
" animosity. As these doughty combatants
" of the days of yore, after many a hard
" blow given and received, met together in
" perfect cordiality at the famous round
" tables ; so I hope we shall often meet at
'* the tables of our common friends. And as
" they, forgetting the smart of their mutual
" wounds, gaily discoursed of the charms of
" beauty, of feats of arms, of various strata-
" gems of war, of the disposition of troops,
" the choice of ground, and ambuscades in
" woods and ravines — so we may talk of the
" many correspondent dispositions and stra-
" tasems in our milder art : of its broken
" picturesque ravines, of the intricacies and
" concealments of woods and thickets, and

L 3

150 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" of all its softer and more generally attrac-
" live beauties.

'* Though I have already, perhaps, dwelt
" too long on that great principle — connec-
'^ tion, yet I cannot conclude this letter with-
" out mentioning an example of its effects in
" a more important sphere. Not that its ef-
" fects are doubtful, but that it is an example
*' by no means unapplicable to the subject on
*• which I have been writing, and one that,
" in the present crisis, cannot be too much
" impressed on our minds.

" The mutual connection and dependence
" of all the different ranks and orders of men
" in this country ; the innumerable but vo-
" luntary ties by which they are bound and
" united to each other (so different from
'* what are experienced by the subjects of
" any other monarchy), are, perhaps, the
" firmest securities of its glory, its strength,
" and its happiness. Freedom, like the ge-
" neral atmosphere, is diffused through every
" part, and its steady and settled influence,
" like that of the atmosphere on a fine even-
" ing, gives at once a glowing warmth, and a
" union to all within its sphere : and although
" the separation of the different ranks and

PLANTING. 151

" their gradations, like those of visible ob-
*' jects, is known and ascertained, yet, from
" the beneficial mixture and frequent inter-
" communication of high and low, that sepa-
" ration is happily disguised, and does not
" sensibly operate on the general mind. But
" should any of these important links be
" broken : should any sudden gap, any dis-
" tinct undisguised lineof separation, be made,
" such as between the noble and the roturier,
" the whole strength of that firm chain (and
*' firm may it stand) would at once be broken.
" May the strength of that exalted prin-
" ciple, whose effects I have so much enlarged
" upon, enable us to cultivate this and every
'' other art of peace in full security, whatever
" storms threaten us from without ; and as it
" so happily pervades the true spirit of our
'' government and constitution, may it no
*' less prevail in all our plans for embel-
" lishing the outward face of this noble
" kingdom,

' Till Albion smile
' One ample theatre of sylvan grace.'

" I will now conclude this long comment
" on your Letter; and as it is the first, so I

L 4

152 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" hope itwill be the last time of my address-
" ing you in this public manner : in every
" private intercourse and communication, I
" shall always feel great satisfaction.

" I am," &c. &c.

I trust that the passages above recited will
remove all imputation of bitterness from the
controversy between rivals, now alike indif-
ferent to the meed of victory, — alike uncon-
scious of the fair face of nature which
awakened the strife between them ; and that
the Essays, freed from every impediment to
their utility, will be considered (as they de-
serve to be) the standard of taste on the
subjects of which they treat : and I shall
feel most gratified, if my humbler attempt
may prepare the uninitiated to reap the full
advantage of that elegant and interesting
work.

ON WATER.

153

CHAP. V.

ON WATER. THE ACCOMPANIMENTS OF IT.

Amongst all the beautiful objects of nature,
there is none more interesting in itself, or
more useful in the various combhiations of
landscape, than water : it possesses an univer-
sal attraction, and has ever been considered
as the highest achievement of the improver's
skill. In proportion, however, to the beauty
of artificial water, when happily effected, is
the difficulty of producing such a result. It
will be obvious, that this difficulty will vary
accordins to the natural character of the
ground to be flooded, as the concealment of
the head is the first thing to be attended to.
When, therefore, the ground runs in an un-
dulating valley, narrowing towards the end,
the formation of the head becomes an easy
process ; but, where there is no such advan-
tage of ground, the operation will require all
the talent of the most experienced artist to
construct his lakes or rivers so as to resemble
those of nature ; which resemblance can alone
crown his labours with success.

154 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

In forming a piece of water, the first con-
sideration will be, the character it should
assume: whether of river, pool, or lake. This
consideration will be influenced by the size
and character of the place, the shape of the
ground, and the attendant circumstances of
trees, &c. It may be well to remember that
beauty, not quantity, is the object to be kept
in view.

In water, as in a plantation, the outline
is of the utmost moment ; and the same ob-
servation will apply to both, viz. that the
excellence of the form will depend upon the
boldness of its indentations, not upon the
frequency of their occurrence. These indent-
ations should be formed with immediate re-
ference to the house, if the water be seen
from it ; and care should be taken, that the
remote bank or shore be not parallel with
the house, as any depth of bay so situated
will appear little better than a straight line,
especially if the house does not occupy an
elevated situation.

In staking out a piece of water, of whatever
character, attention should be paid to the
improvement of any variety of surface that
may exist, as such hints will generally suggest

ON WATER. 155

better forms than can be made with the
spade : where, however, no such varieties of
surface are to be met with, they should be
created, by depositing the earth from the ex-
cavation, so as to give different degrees of
elevation to the different points or promon-
tories of the banks or shores of the river or
the lake. A pool is a small lake.

The placing of these points or promon-
tories will be decided from the principal sta-
tions from whence they are to be seen, so as
not to be hereafter hidden by any mass of
wood, or groups of trees, that may be judged
essential to the general composition. It is
desirable that these promontories should be
marked with as bold a variety as the character
and circumstances of the scene will warrant ;
and this boldness of contrast will be more
easily effected, where the aid of trees (either
existing, or to be planted) can be obtained, as
it is easier to hide the junction of the created
promontory with the ground beyond, than to
unite them with good effect. The planting, in
such cases, should consist mainly of the lower
growths ; as they would more immediately,
and more effectually, hide the junction of
the artificial hillocks with the natural ground.

156 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

In the commencement of the operation
which we have been considerinor, I should
recommend (as in forming a plantation) the
marking on paper the existing state of things,
and adapting the situation, form, and circum-
stances of the water to be created, so as to
produce cm harmonious la-hoIe ; infinitely more
important than the size or even the beauty
of the water, simply considered.

The ojeneral form of the water being staked
out, the digging should not be taken too close
to the form given, but at different places
should be more or less within it, so as to give
an opportunity for the water to form its own
line against the bank. Parts also of the in-
tended bank might be left as first broken
down with the pickaxe, rather than be more
determined by the spade. Upon the same
principle, the earth should be so heaped upon
the different hillocks as to allow room for it
to fall irregularly towards the bottom, as
nothinor can be more unnatural than a hano--
ing level, as the workmen term it.

Though the principal varieties of form will
be obtained where the sliallowness of the water
admits best of the operation, yet, in forming
the head, it is desirable to give some variety

ON WATER. 157

to its outline, instead of the straight line, or
uniform curve, which usually characterise it.
One bold promontory shooting into the
water would divide the length of the head,
especially where it is of considerable extent.
Great improvement also might, I conceive,
be made in the construction of the head,
by giving variety to its surface, instead of
making it a dead level, as is usually the case.
This variety of surface would, moreover, give
opportunity for planting near the water, which
an not be safely done on the level surface
for fear of injuring the puddle bank.

It is seldom that the head can be con-
structed so as to unite easily with the ground
beyond it ; for which reason, the drive or
walk should not (if it can be avoided) pass over
it. Indeed, under no circumstances should
you be permitted to walk all round a piece
of water, as, its limits being thus betrayed, its
extent is ascertained ; whereas, when the
walk is so conducted as occasionally to come
upon the water, and that at the best points
of view, and to be constrained by the inter-
vention of planting, &c. again to leave it,
not only is the apparent extent, as well as
the variety, greatly increased, but the wish to

158 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

explore what is thus hidden creates an in-
terest beyond any that complete disclosure
could afford. The small but beautiful arti-
ficial lake at the Priory, near Stanmore, is an
illustration of what has been here stated ;
where the form of the lake, the conduct-
ing of the walk, the beauty of the openings
to the water, and the appropriateness and
variety of the interposing masses, groups,
and single trees, &c. afford a striking ex-
ample of the correct taste that executed the
whole, and which has also dictated the theory
on which it was formed.* This theory, as
detailed at large in the Essays on the Pic-
turesque, will be read with great advantage
by those persons who wish to give to artificial
water the character of nature.

Had the piece of water in the pleasure
grounds of Buckingham Palace been formed
on such a model, the effect would have been
strikini]^. The water, instead of beincn acces-
sible on all sides, would have been carried

* Since the first edition was printed, I have been in-
formed by the Earl of Aberdeen, that this beautiful lake,
and indeed the whole of the intei'esting scenery of the
Priory? was formed under the immediate direction of the
late Marquis of Abercorn.

ON WATER. 159

under the woody base of the high mound in
the neighbourhood, and been lost in a deep
recess of overhanging trees.*

The decoration of water will depend much
upon the general description of the scenery
around it. If that be of the wild character
of nature, the accompaniments of the river or
lake should partake of the roughness of that
character. Broken banks, as though indented
by the action of the water, and roots of trees
bared by the same operation, with their
stems occasionally slanting athwart the stream,
will unite the riverj with corresponding
boldness, to the scenery around. But if the
water reposes in the smoother lap of nature,
its decorations should be adapted to the
tranquillity of the scene. Decoration, how-
ever, it must have, as an uniform bank or
shore will never assimilate the artificial river
or lake to their prototypes in nature's works.
The banks of the river, though not so boldly
trasted as in the wilder scene, will still
admit of considerable variety in their decora-
tion. The smooth grassy bank, sliding almost
imperceptibly into the water, will be relieved

* I speak of the water as it was when first made ; it may
have been improved.

160 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

by a jutting point fringed with the varieties
of water plants, enriched, if circumstances
allow, with fragments of stone of different
size and colour : groups of alder or willow
will occasionally break the margin, or the
pendent and massive foliage of the wych elm
will throw its broad shadow across the re-
tiring reach. These and such like circum-
stances are essential to the completion even
of the happiest form that the artificial river
can assume.

Mr. Repton appears to abandon all attempt
at the imitation of nature's lakes or rivers,
when he says, " Mr. Price has written an
" Essay to describe the practical manner of
" finishintr the banks of artificial water : but
" I confess, after reading it with much atten-
" tion, I despair of making any practitioner
" comprehend his meaning ; indeed, he con-
" fesses that no workman can be trusted to
" execute his plans. It is very true, that large
" pieces of water may be made too trim and
" neat about the edges ; and that often, in
" Mr. Brown's works, the plantations are not
" brought near enouo;h to the water : but if
" the banks are finished smoothly at first, the
" treading of cattle will soon give them all the

ON WATER. 161

" irregularity they require: and with respect
" to plantations, we must always recollect,
" that no young trees can be planted without
" fences, and every fence near the water is
" doubled by reflection ; consequently, all
" rules for creating bushes to enrich the
" banks are nugatory, except where cattle
" are excluded." *

Now, what are the difficulties that so alarm
Mr. Repton, as to deter him from the imita-
tion of that which, in the same page, he allows
to be beautiful? " There is a part of the river
" Theme, above the house, where both its
" banks are richly clothed with alders ; and
" every person of discernment must admire
" the beauty of this scene."

However difficult it may be to imbue the
mind of the workman wdth the principles of
taste, the professor, possessing those prin-
ciples, is surely able to direct the hand of the
labourer in every practicable improvement.

Whether in creating the varied forms of
the banks themselves, or in clothing them
when formed, the operation, as far as the

* Observations on the Theory and Practice of Land-
scape Gardening, p. 119.

M

162 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

workman is concerned, differs nothing from
labours in any other part of improvement :
and I conceive it to be the fault of the pro-
fessor, if the '^ smoothly finished banks''' are left
to the tread of cattle, to " give them all the
" irregularity they require."

The doubling of the fence by reflection in
the water deters Mr. Repton from planting
the banks. As reflection is one of the si'eat-
est charms of water, this apprehension is ill-
timed, when it would expose the broad ample
channel to the sky, and leave a naked margin
round it.

In like manner, the artificial lake must be
united with the surrounding scenery ; and
the wood, which adorns its margin, must be
connected, by means of groups of trees of
various size and character, with other masses
in its neighbourhood, either already existing,
or to be planted for this purpose of connec-
tion. A sandy or gravelly promontory shoot-
ing into the water is very useful in producing
a variety of colour, and giving a focus of
light. A boat-house, or fishing-cottage, when
aptly placed, are, upon the same principle,
favourable circumstances on the border of the
lake, which, like the bank of the river, will

ON WATER. 163

be enriched with the different plants suited
to it. These plants, however, should not be
universally introduced along the margin ; as
a line of uninterrupted material, of whatever
kind, would destroy that variety, which is the
very essence of the beauty of a lake.

A lake is more easy of successful imitation
than a river, as greater variety of outline can
be given, upon a moderate extent, to the
former, than to the latter. The lake, also,
may be complete, though on a small scale ;
whereas the artificial river can only be, com-
paratively, a small portion of the character it
assumes. The difficulty of concealing the ex-
tremities of the artificial river, so as to impress
the idea of continuity, will be considerable,
even under the most favourable circum-
stances ; add to which, models for lakes pre-
sent themselves upon a scale that admits of
entire imitation. Ponds on commons, where
the ground is of unequal surface, frequently
assume the varied shores of a beautiful lake.
Settlements of water in old pits suggest ad-
mirable hints to the same purpose ; wanting
only an increased extent, and judicious plant-
ing, to form a complete lake.

Islands, if properly introduced, and well
M 2

164 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

formed, are essentially useful in creating
variety of composition, as the lake is viewed
from different situations. The size and num-
ber of them must depend upon the size of the
water, and the circumstances of the place. It
is hardly possible that an island in the middle
of a lake can have a good effect ; neither
can a regular form convey the idea of a
natural island. The island should not be
parallel with the shore. The effect of an island
will sometimes depend upon its being raised
above the level of the neighbouring shore, by
which means greater variety and intricacy
will be produced. It is also frequently de-
sirable, that the island itself should be of un-
equal height. A low point projecting from
under the hanging wood of the higher part
of the island, especially if the point can be en-
riched with fragments of stone, or varied in
its colouring by the warm tints of a sandy or
gravelly soil, will have the happiest effect.

In the description of a scene in nature by
two persons equally alive to its beauties, the
general features of the composition would
appear pretty much the same in each ; yet,
in the detail, considerable variety might be
found ; the attention of one having, perhaps.

ON WATER. 165

been principally directed to the beauty and
harmony of the colouring and general effect,
while that of the other had been more im-
mediately occupied in tracing the intricacy,
variety, and elegance of the outline. But, if
these two persons were required to explain
the principles upon which such a scene might
be successfully imitated, being then under the
necessity of critically examining all the com-
ponent parts which constituted its beauty, the
only difference between them would arise
from the superior taste and discernment that
either might possess above the other : their
rule of operation would be the same in
practice.

In such situation am I just now placed;
agreeing entirely with Sir Uvedale Price
throusfh the whole of his discussion on the
Picturesque ; admiring and studying equally
with him the works of Nature and of Art,
with a view to the establishing a just basis for
the improvement of Landscape Gardening; I
have hitherto, I trust, treated the subject in
unison with him, without following his track.
Sir Uvedale has given to the public the fruit
of his research, adorned with that brilliancy
of talent, which so eminently distinguished

M 3

166 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

him. I have endeavoured to suggest the
same principles in humbler attire : but, hav-
ing arrived at the most difficult point of
landscape improvement, which consequently
requires the most minute attention to the
detail, viz. the decoration of artificial water, I
find Sir Uvedale's collection of circumstances
so comprehensive, and their application so
complete, as to leave me no choice but of
appearing to repeat his sentiments in my
words, or to let mine be given in his. Secure
of the approbation of the reader, I shall adopt
the latter, and transcribe part of the " Essay
on Artificial Water," &c.

" Islands in artificial water have, in many
" instances, been so shaped, and so placed, as
" to throw a ridicule on the use of them ;
" but, if we once allow ourselves to argue
" from abuse, they would not be the only
" imitations of natural objects that ought to
" be condemned. That islands are often
" beautiful in natural scenery, and in a high
" degree productive of variety and intricacy,
" can not be doubted ; and if it be true, that
" those parts of seas and large lakes where
" there are most islands (such as the entrance
« of Lake Superior or the Archipelago) are

ON WATER. 167

" most admired for their beauty, and if the
" manner in which those islands produce
" that beauty be by dividing, concealing, and
" diversifying what is too open and uniform,
" the same cause must produce the same
" effect in all water, however the scale may
" be diminished ; the same in a pool or a
" gravel pit as in an ocean.

" Islands, though very common in many
" rivers, yet seem (if I may be allowed to say
" so) more perfectly suited to the character
" of lakes ; and, as far as there is any truth
" in this idea, it is in favour of making the
" latter our chief models for imitation. In
" artificial water, the most difficult parts are
" the two extremities, and particularly that
" where the dam is placed ; which, from
" beino- a mere ridge between two levels, is
" less capable of being varied to any degree
" by bays and projections, or by difference
" of height. The head, therefore, must, in
" o;eneral, be the most formal and uninterest-
" ing part, and that to which a break, or a
" disguise of some kind, is most necessary ;
" but as it is likewise the place where the
" water is commonly the deepest, neither a
" projection from the land, nor an island, can

M 4

168 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" easily be made thereabouts.* There are
" generally, however, some shallow parts at
" a sufficient distance from the head, where
" one or more islands might easily be formed,
" so as to conceal no inconsiderable portion
" of the line of the head from many points.
" In such places, and for such purposes,
" islands are peculiarly proper ; a large pro-
"jection from the side of the real bank,
" might too much break the general line ;
" but by this method that line would be pre-
" served, and the proposed effect be equally
" produced.

" It is not necessary that islands should
" strictly correspond with the shores, either in
" height or shape ; for there are frequent
" instances in nature, where islands rise high
" and abruptly from the water, though the
" shore be low and sloping ; and this liberty
" of giving height to islands may be made
" use of with particular propriety and effect
" towards the head, which usually presents a
" flat thin line, but little disguised or varied
" by the usual style of planting. An island.

* I do not see this difficulty in so strong a light, and
have given my ideas upon it in page 1 55.

ON WATER. 169

" therefore, (or islands, as the case may re-
" quire,) in such a situation as I have pro-
" posed, with banks higher than those of the
" head, abrupt in parts, with trees projecting
" sideways over the water, by boldly advanc-
" ing itself to the eye, by throwing back the
" line of the head, and showing only part of
" it, would form an apparent termination of
" a perfectly new character ; and so disguise
" the real one, that no one could tell, when
" viewing it from the many points whence
" such island would have its effect, which was
" the head, or where the water was likely to
" end.

" In forming and planting these islands, I
" should proceed much in the same manner
" as in forming the outline of the other
" banks. I should stake out the general
" shape, not keeping to any regular figure,
" and then direct the labourers to heap up
" the earth as high as I meant it should be,
" without levelling or shaping it, making
" allowance for its sinking, and reserving
" always the best mould for the top. In the
" course of heaping up the earth without
" sloping it, a great deal will fall beyond the
" stakes, and would unavoidably give some-

170 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" thing of that irregularity and play of out-
" line which we observe in natural islands ;
" the new earth would likewise settle, and
" fall down in different degrees, and in vari-
" ous places ; from all which accidents in-
" dications how to give greater variety might
" be taken. If it be allowed that a mixture
" of the lower growths is as generally useful
" as I have supposed, it must be particularly
" so in islands, where partial concealment
" is so principal an object ; and as you can
" never give such a natural appearance of
" underwood and of intricacy, can never so
" humour the ground, so mark its varieties,
" especially on a small scale, by planting as
" by sowing, — it is most advisable to plant
" only what is more immediately necessary,
" and to sow seeds and berries of the lower
" o-rowths, quite from the lowest growths of
" all ; and to encourage fern, and whatever
" may give richness and naturalness. In any
" part where I wished the boughs to project
" considerably over the water, I would raise
" the bank higher than the rest of the ground,
" and many times give it the appearance of
" abruptness ; yet, by means of stones and
" roots, endeavour both to render it pictur-

ON WATER. 171

" esque, in its actual state, and to prevent any
" chano-e from its being broken down. On
" this high point I should plant one or more
" of such trees as had already an inclination
" to lean forward, from having been forced
" in that dh'ection by trees behind them ;
" and some of that kind are generally to be
" met with even in nurseries and plantations.
" By this method the bank and the trees of
" that part of the island would have a bold
" effect ; and in places where the water began
" to deepen so much that it would be dif-
" ficult to extend the island itself any farther,
" its apparent breadth, and consequently the
" concealment occasioned by it, would in no
" slight degree be extended.

" The best trees for such a situation are
" those which are disposed to extend their
" lateral shoots, and are not subject to lose
" them by decay, and which likewise will
" bear the drip of other tress ; such, for in-
" stance, as the beech, hornbeam, witch elm,
" &c. ; or should the insular situation, not-
" withstanding the height of the bank, be
" found too moist for such trees, the improver
" will naturally choose from the various
" aquatics what will best suit his purpose.

172 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" Among them the alder, however common,
" holds a distinguished place, on account of
" the depth and freshness of its green, and
" its resemblance, when old, to the noblest
" of forest trees — the oak. In a very dif-
" ferent style the plane is a tree of the most
" generally acknowledged beauty ; and it may
" be observed, that the boughs, both of that
" and of the witch elm, form themselves into
" canopies, with deep and distinct coves be-
" neath them, in a greater degree than those
" of almost any other deciduous trees ; a
" form of bough peculiarly beautiful when
" hanorino; over water. As the aim of the
" planter would be to make the whole of
" these trees push forward in a lateral direc-
" tion, it might often be right to plant some
" other trees behind them of a more aspiring
" kind, such as the poplar ; and by means of
" such a mixture, together with some of the
" lower growths, very beautiful groups may be
" formed, without any appearance of affected
" contrast.

" It may not be useless to remark on this
" occasion, that all trees, of which the foliage
" is of a marked character, and the colour
" either light and brilliant, or in the opposite

ON WATER. 173

" extreme, should be used with caution, as
" they will produce light or dark spots, un-
" less properly blended with other shades of
" green, and balanced by them. The fir tribe,
" in general, has not a natural look upon
" islands on a small scale ; but should a mix-
" ture of them happen to prevail on the
" other banks of the water, the Cedar of Li-
" banus would remarkably suit the situation
" I have just mentioned ; and that, and the
" pine-aster, in place of the poplar rising
" behind it from amidst laurels, arbutus, &c.,
" would form altogether a combination of
" the richest kind.

" All the plants which I have hitherto
" mentioned, are such as take root on dry
" land, or at least above the surface of the
" water ; but there are others which grow
" either in the water itself, or in ground ex-
" tremely saturated with moisture, and there-
" fore must, of course, be suited to the cha-
" racter of islands. These are the various sorts
" of flags, the bull-rush, the waterdock, &c. ;
" to which may be added, those plants which
" float upon the surface of the water, such as
" the water-lily. From the peculiarity of
" their situation and of their forms, and from

174 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" the richness of their masses, they very much
" contribute to the effect of water, and great
" use may be made of them by a judicious
" improver, particularly where the shore is
" low. I have observed a very happy effect
" from them in such low situations towards
" the extremity of a pool, that of preventing
" any guess or suspicion where the water was
" to end, although the end was very near.
" This is an effect which can only be pro-
" duced by islands, or by such plants as root
" in the water ; for where trees or bushes
" o-row on low ground, however completely
" they may conceal that ground by hanging
" over the water, yet we know that the land
" must be there, and that the water must end;
" but flags or bullrushes being disposed in
" tufts or groups behind each other, do not
" destroy the idea of its continuation.

" A laro-e uniform extent of water, which
" presents itself to the eye, without any in-
" tricacy in its accompaniments, requires to
" be broken and diversified like a similar
" extent of lawn ; though by no means in the
« same degree ; for the delight which we
" receive from the element itself, compen-
" sates a great deal of monotony. Islands,

ON WATER. 175

when varied in their shape and accom-
paniments, have the same effect as forest
thickets, circular islands that of clumps ;
and the same system which gives rise to
round distinct clumps, of course, produces
islands equally round and unconnected. As
the prevailing idea has been to show a
great uninterrupted extent, whether of grass
or of water, islands on that account have
been but little in fashion : I have, indeed,
seldom seen more than one in any piece of
artificial water, and that apparently made
rather for the sake of water-fowl than of
ornament. When one of these circular
islands is too near the shore, the canal
which separates them is mean, and the
island from most points appears like a pro-
jection from the shore itself; and when, on
the other hand, it is nearly in the centre
(a position of which I have seen some very
ridiculous instances), it has much the same
unnatural, unmeaning look, as the eye
which painters have placed in the middle
of the Cyclops' forehead ; and that is one
of the few points on which the judgment
of painters seems to me to be nearly on a
level with that of gardeners : they have

176 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" an excuse, however, which I believe the
" latter could never allege — that of having
" been misled by the poets."

In the above quotation I have selected
what more immediately applies to the deco-
ration of the banks : the whole of the Essay
I have already recommended to the study of
every one, who is desirous of forming a piece
of artificial water.

Before quitting this part of our subject, it
may not be amiss to suggest great care in in-
terfering with the character of a brook. Where
the ground and other circumstances concur,
the stream may occasionally be brought to
spread itself into a little pool ; its indefinite
maro-in of alder, willow, and other bushes on
the lower side concealing the resumption of
its modest channel, till some favourable op-
portunity may again allure it from its re-
tirement; thus creating a variety without
destroying its character. But it should be
well considered, before the brook is sacrificed
for a piece of water, whether the latter can
be so formed and decorated as to warrant the
change.

MISCELLANEOUS. 177

CHAP. VI.

MISCELLANEOUS.

ENTRANCE TO THE HOUSE NOT TO BE ON THE SIDE OF

THE LIVING ROOMS. ALTERING THE ENTRANCE.

TURNING THE APPROACH. REMOVING HEDGE-ROWS.

CAUTION NECESSARY. KITCHEN GARDEN. ON OPEN-
ING SCENERY. CHEERFULNESS AS CONNECTED WITH

SCENERY. BLUE DISTANCE ONE GREAT SOURCE OF IT.

A VILLAGE OR HAMLET CONDUCIVE TO IT. MIS-
TAKE IN HIDING SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES. PLANTING.

CHARACTERS OF TREES. SCOTCH FIR. VARIOUS

OPINIONS OF IT. TREES IN GROUPS. LEVELLING AND

SMOOTHING. HYDE PARK. FENCES. LODGES.

BRIDGES. VILLAGES.

In the arrangement of the foregoing chapters,
I have endeavoured, as far as I have been
able, to keep the connection free from inter
ruption ; to effect which I have reserved
several insulated questions, as they may be
termed, for a miscellaneous discussion : and,
though the bearing of some of them may,
perhaps, have been already partially noticed,
yet, having, in the Introduction, requested
the reader's indulgence for such repetition,
and utility being the end proposed, I will

N

178 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

proceed to consider such questions as may
occur to me.

It has been already stated, that judicious
improvement must be founded upon the size,
character, and circumstances of the place to
which it is applied. Were this rule more
generally observed, the result would be a
harmonious consistency in each place, and a
variety when compared with others of even
apparently similar features. There is one
circumstance, however, which, in my opinion,
is equally applicable to all, — from the palace
to the smallest residence of gentility, — viz.
the entrance. I have, in another place,
strongly expressed my feeling upon this sub-
ject ; but, as it is an error, not of accident,
but of design, I cannot but press the con-
sideration of it as a matter of the utmost
moment, both to internal comfort, and to ex-
ternal effect.

Where a house is to be built, I would
request the owner to study well the scenery
around ; for want of which precaution we
frequently find the offices occupying the
ground on which the drawing-room should
have been placed, and the entrance destroy-
ing the repose of the library. Where a house

MISCELLANEOUS. 179

is already so unfortunately circumstanced, I
should recommend the trying of every pos-
sible method to remedy the evil. I have suc-
ceeded in several instances with houses of
various size and character : and I think there
are comparatively but few that might not be
thus improved. Examples of this improve-
ment will be found at Hawarden Castle, near
Chester; Castleton, near Carlisle; and at Wick-
ham Park, in the vicinity of Croydon. And
even where circumstances may not admit of
the entrance being changed, the approach
may frequently be so conducted as to become
less exposed to the living-rooms ; sometimes
by taking it round the back of the house,
instead of crossing the front of it; sometimes
by merely altering the back road a consider-
able improvement may be effected. The
wrono* situation of the entrance is the only
blot in the beautiful scenery at Marston, in
Somersetshire ; but I am not without hope
of seeing it corrected. A great improvement
has been effected at Mell's Park in the same
neighbourhood, by removing the road to the
stables, which passed the library windows,
and contracted the shrubbery within a limit
incompatible with the size of the mansion.

K 2

180 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

Part of that road is now converted into a
liandsome terrace, commanding, through the
trees of the lofty bank wliich it surmounts, a
fall of water backed by a rising wood on the
other side of the valley through which the
river glides. The whole of this interesting
scenery was completely excluded from the
dress-ground by the injudicious situation of
the stable-road. Speaking of the entrance,
I would observe, that, in my opinion, there is
scarcely any circumstance which can justify
the driving round a plot of grass, either naked
or planted with shrubs : neither would I ge-
nerally make a semicircular sweep of gravel
before the door; a rectangular form being
more in harmony with the architectural ar-
rangement of the building, especially if it be
on a large scale.

As a mansion, of whatever character, re-
quires a corresponding extent of domain, it
will, in forming this accompaniment, be fre-
quently necessary to remove the limitation
of hedge-rows, to change arable into pas-
ture, and to clothe the widened extent with
large masses of plantation. But the dwelling
of less pretension by no means requires this
sacrifice. Here the approach may cross a

MISCELLANEOUS. 181

field or two, throuo;h an irreoular kind of
avenue, to avoid gates ; the arable may retain
its situation ; the hedge-rows may be kept
up without detriment to the character of the
house, and its immediate accompanimentSv
So also, 1 conceive, that the stable offices,
and even the farm buildings, if well grouped
with trees, and not in the way of the view,
may frequently be retained with perfect pro-
priety in connection with a house of this
description, of which shelter is an indispens-
able characteristic. One or two openings to
the country, made with judgment, will gene-
rally be preferable to a more extensive clear-
ing, especially on the approach side.

It may be here suggested, that, where ex-
tent of park or sheep-walk is necessary, great
caution should be exercised in the removing
of hedse-rows. How often do we see a line
of trees standing each on a little mound, and
markino: the course of the hedge in which
they had stood ; whereas, had the hedge been
partially removed, including the trees in that
removal, and in places the hedge and trees
been left standing together, a group of thorns,
or sometimes a single tree, planted so as to
break the straight line, would obliterate all

N 3

182 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

vestige of a former separation. When, from
the beauty of the tree itself, or from any
other cause, one should be retained in the
opening, the mound should be softened off
as gently as possible, and a thorn either left
or planted to break the swelling line on one
side. A good effect may frequently be ob-
tained by planting the angles of cross hedges,
whether the hedges are to remain or not. In
the first case, such planting gives a general
appearance of wood to the scene at small
expense of fencing ; in the second instance,
good groups of trees may be obtained.

The placing of the kitchen-garden is fre-
quently a question of great difficulty ; but in
this, as in the case of the offices, much will
depend upon the size and character of the
house. Where an easy connection between
the dress-o-round and the kitchen-f^arden can
be obtained without detriment to the scenery,
I should recommend such an arrangement;
as a kitchen garden so situated offers an
agreeable variety of interesting circumstances,
and may furnish flowers for the decoration
of the house, without robbing the beds in the
dress-irround. This situation of the kitchen-
garden may occasionally be compatible with

MISCELLANEOUS. 183

the character and extent of a mansion, — parti-
cularly of the manorial character, — but might
frequently be adopted with great propriety
in connection with the house of less pre-
tension. The kitchen-garden offers an op-
portunity for a straight broad walk, should
circumstances not admit it in the dress-
ground.

There is no part of improvement in which
cautious operation is so necessary as in open-
in cr scenery. A desire of extent and a love
of prospect have done irreparable mischief in
numberless instances. Injudicious plantiiig
may be remedied ; but the evil resulting
from injudicious removal can never be re-
paired, at least in the lifetime of the owner
who has fallen into this common and de-
structive error. I was once consulted upon
the improvement of a place on a large scale.
The striking fliult was, the want of trees on
the foreo-round connected with the house : I
therefore marked several places for groups
and single trees to supply this deficiency.
But what was my astonishment, when the
owner told me he had cut down the trees that
had occupied the very situations I had se-
lected for planting 1

N 4

184 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

It is under such circumstances, that a
knowledge of landscape-painting is peculiarly
applicable. Such knowledge would teach
the necessity of studying the character of the
surrounding country, and the impropriety of
destroying the rich embowered, scenery of
Hobbima, in the vain hope of obtaining the
crraduated and aerial distance of Claude.

Cheerfulness, as connected with scenery,
being generally the object proposed in this
indiscriminate clearing, it may not be un-
instructive to examine into the component
parts, if we may so speak, of this quality. It
has been already stated, that blue distance,
from its susceptibility of change under the
variation of sun and cloud, and of the differ-
ent periods of the day, &;c., offers a perpetual
subject of investigation to the eye, and hence
constitutes one main source of cheerfulness
in scenery.*

* Mr. Repton appears to be insensible to tliis cause of
cheerfulness, when he says, " But as distant prospects de-
" pend so much on the state of the atmosphere, I have
" frequently asserted, that the views from a house — and
" particularly those from the drav.ing-room — ought rather
" to consist of objects which evidently belong to the place."
And again, " Views of distant mountains, which may be
" seen as well from the high road, are not features that
" justify extensive lawn over a flat surface."

MISCELLANEOUS. 185

As, however, all places have not the ad-
vantage of blue* distance, we must seek
for other causes to enliven such scenes. A
hamlet or village partially seen through the
accompanying trees, presenting a variety of
form and colour to the eye, and suggesting
many a pleasing reflection to the mind, will
imperceptibly spread a cheerful hue on all
around. Even the curling smoke rising from
the lonely cottage, and slowly floating across
the darkenino- wood below it, markinoj the
preparation for the labourer's evening meal,
cannot but awake a kindly social feeling,
and impart a conscious cheerfulness to the
mind of the beholder.

I lately met with a m^ost striking instance
of excluding; such rural circumstances. A
mansion of the manorial character, com-
manding a rocky gorge, fringed with wood,
throuMi which a river forces its a^jjitated
course, presents to the library window a truly
romantic scene, of which a group of trees, on
a precipitous bank, about fifty feet from the
house, forms the foreground.

At the mouth of the gorge stands a pic-

* This term is used to signify that distance which melts
into the horizon.

186 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

turesque cottage, as if placed bj the hand
of taste itself. Tiie improver, conceiving this
cottage an improper appendage, has removed
a large portion of earth (from, a situation to
which it was essential) to raise a mound on
this foreground, for the purpose of excluding
it : this he has completely effected, and, with
the cottage, has shut out the valley, the gorge,
the river, and buried behind his mound the
boles of the foreground trees ; thus contriving
to render abortive the judicious selection of
the architect. A more glaring example of
perverted taste cannot exist.

Shenstone observes, " A rural scene, to me,
" is never perfect without the addition of
" some building. A cottage is a pleasing ob-
" ject, partly on account of the variety it
" may introduce, on account of the tran-
" quillity that seems to reign there, and,
" perhaps, I am somewhat afraid on account
" of the pride of human nature."

The improver above mentioned seems to
have been alike insensible to both the causes
of Shenstone's predilection for the cottage in
landscape-scenery.

But, perhaps, life and motion are, after all,
the principal sources of cheerfulness, as con-

MISCELLANEOUS. 187

nected with scenery. The sea is ahvays
grand; but it is the varying circumstances of
navigation which imparts cheerfulness to the
scene. This will be obvious to every one
who has observed the contrast between Mud-
diford and Dover ; as also in many other
places on the sea-side.

This necessity of Hfe and motion to con-
stitute cheerfulness is manifested in several
places laid out by Brown, where a lawn, sur-
rounded b^ a sunk fence, and closed on two
sides with corresponding rows of trees like
blinkers, being left in a state of nature, but
unoccupied by cattle, throws a veil of mono-
tonous dulness over the scene, which no
ray of cheerfulness can penetrate. Such was
the case at Woolterton, in Norfolk, and at
Kirtlino-ton Park, near Woodstock.

If there be any truth in the above observ-
ations, it follows, that to plant out or remove
such circumstances is a great mistake ; and
yet how frequently do we see a formal clump
of larch or fir placed, either to hide a keeper's
lodge, or to conceal a labourer's cottage, or to
exclude the scattered hamlet, which we have
been considerinjj so essential, in some in-
stances, to the cheerfulness of the scene.

188 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

Cassiobury affords a striking instance of
this mistaken Dlanting;. Tiie Grand Junction
Canal passes through the park, close under a
high and finely wooded bank. Under such a
circumstance, the improver, conceiving the
canal an unsightly object, made a plantation of
larch, fir, &c. to hide it : not perceiving that
the consequence of hiding the canal would be
the exclusion of the wooded bank beyond it —
the finest feature of the scene. The plantation
is now removed, and the occasional passing of
the boats is a source of cheerfulness rather
th an of d efo r m ity.

If life and motion impart cheerfulness to
scenery, cattle, and particularly sheep, should
be admitted to the very boundary of the
dress-ground. Nor should I be anxious to
remove a pathway from the park, if it were
not too close to the house: the occasional
group of villagers supplying an additional
embellishment to the landscape.

There are so many treatises on planting, as
connected with soil, exposure, &c. — the result
of greater experience than I possess on that
subject, — that it is with due deference I ven-
ture an opinion as to the distance at which
trees should be placed in forming a plant-

MISCELLANEOUS. 189

ation. I cannot but think, that, under ordinary
circumstances, six feet is sufficiently near.
This will also assist the advantaoe of thinning,
which is seldom begun early enough. I have
already suggested some hints on introducing
a considerable proportion of undergrowth in
all plantations, which will also materially
assist the thinning. I will only observe, that,
if the spruce firs, as nurses, are cut off, when
about five feet high, they form, by the exten-
sion of the lateral branches, excellent cover
for game. With regard to exposure, and
principally as it concerns the materials for
the dress-ground, I will mention a few cir-
cumstances which have fallen under my own
observation. In the exposed situations in
Cornwall, the ilex evidently stands foremost
in resisting the sea-air. The pinaster claims
the second place ; but, though it resists the
blast for some time, it never, as far as I have
seen, becomes a tolerably good tree ; whereas
the ilex continues to flourish and improve in
size and foliage. It should seem that the
silver fir stands the sea-breeze ; as some of
the largest I ever saw are growing upon the
highest point of land at Tregothnan. But
not having met with them any where else.

190 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

under such circumstances, I can only state
the fact. I have, in one or two instances,
found the cedar of Lebanon flourishing under
nearly similar exposure. The sycamore is
known to resist the sea better than any other
deciduous tree. Among the shrubs, I have
seen the Phillyrea most luxuriant under such
exposure, and the Arbutus not far inferior.
The common laurel shrinks beneath the saline
atmosphere : the Portugal bears it better.

It has been already observed, that there is
no tree which may not be advantageously
employed in the decoration of scenery. I
have ventured to condemn the larch in park
plantation ; but, as a variety in the dress-
ground, it is sometimes highly ornamental,
especially if, from any cause, it has been di-
verted from its pyramidal form, or has lost its
leader, and so assumed the character of Pic-
turesque rather than that of Beauty. The
most splendid example of the picturesque
larch I have seen is growling in the pleasure
ground at Killymoon, in the county of Tyrone.
The larch may occasionally mix with good
effect in a group. The grandest example of
such a group is to be seen in the dress-ground
at Wilton Park, near Beaconsfield, where two

MISCELLANEOUS. 191

larches of very large size and varied in-
clination, entwining their elegantly sweeping
branches with the more masculine arms of
the spruce fir, and other trees of deep foliage,
form a study worthy the pencil of Turner.

The mansion of early date is usually sur-
rounded by trees of a corresponding age and
size ; which, as we have seen*, may frequently
require partial removal, both for the improve-
ment of the general composition of the scene,
and that of the trees themselves, by throwing
them into groups that shall produce a cor-
responding foreground. Trees thus con-
nected with building are, I conceive, to be
estimated rather by their appropriate charac-
ter than by their intrinsic merit or individual
beauty.

The cedar of Lebanon adorns alike the
gayer lawn of the Grecian mansion, and the
deeper recesses of the manorial pile ; and
rash indeed must be the hand that would
remove it from either. But, had I the choice
between the oak and the elm as accompani-
ments, especially to the manorial architec-
ture, I should not hesitate to prefer the
latter, as far more consonant with the general

* Page 48.

192 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

tone and sentiment of the building than the
grandest oak. Whoever has studied the
perfect harmony that subsists between the
" antique towers" of Eton College and the
stately ehiis which adorn its lawns, will
not hastily condemn this preference. The
oaks of Blythfield Park could not produce
that solemn grandeur which results from the
deep tone of colour and the monotonous
masses of dense foliage of those elms, whose
grand, though simple outline, unbroken by
any playful variety, are in unison with that
contemplative solemnity, with which the
scene, and a consequent train of reflections,
cannot fail to inspire the sensitive mind.

The Scotch fir has, of late years, been
planted merely as nurse to the forest tree ;
but there are to be seen in many old places
specimens which exhibit it in the very first
rank of picturesque character, and approach-
ing closely even to the grandeur of the cedar.

Various opinions have been suggested, as
to the cause of this obvious declension of a
tree, still continued to be planted throughout
all the varieties of soil and climate in Great
Britain. A very general mode of accounting
for this declension is, that the closeness of

MISCELLANEOUS. 193

the plantation not only prevents the expan-
sion of the branches, but interferes with the
life of the modern tree, as it is seldom found
in a healthy state after sixty or seventy years'
growth. This cause is not, however, of uni-
versal application, as very different results
are observable under apparently similar cir-
cumstances. A considerable quantity of
Scotch firs were lately cut out of the belt at
Addington Park, not one of which had the
smallest approximation to the old character ;
while there are now standing, in the belt at
Drayton Manor, in Staffordshire, numerous
specimens, which, though from a similar pres-
sure they have lost their lateral branches, yet
manifest, in the surface and colour of the
bole, as well as in the rich luxuriance of the
foliage, the true character of the Scotch fir. I
have also observed the same circumstance in
Kent, particularly in the neighbourhood of
Tonbridge. The specimen here given was
drawn from a tree of large dimensions, and
in perfect health, though it must be of very
considerable age ; it stands amongst many
others near the church at Sundridge.

A gentleman having mentioned to me
some remarkable Scotch firs that had been

o

194 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

felled on an estate, I believe, in Lancashire,
did me the favour to write the following ac-
count of them : —

" I have made inquiries about the Scotch
" firs ; there were, so far as I can recollect,
" about twenty trees ; one tree was mea-
" sured in my presence ; it contained eighty
" feet of timber : on my observing what a
" magnificent tree it was, the carter said, he
" thought there was one a little lars^er. I
" should say, they were all nearly of the
" same size, certainly in height, but, perhaps,
" a little less timber in some.

" They had complete umbrella tops. They
" stood in a row ; and as there was one stood
** on the contrary side of the road, but lower,
" I should think there had formerly been an
*' avenue of them. This last-mentioned tree
*' was a poor stunted one ; perhaps not more
" than nine or ten feet of wood, — left because
" of little value.

" They were cut up for boards, &c. for
" farm and other buildings ; and the wood
*' has proved to be of the soundest and best
" quality. It was so good, that a high price
" was offered for the wood by a timber mer-
" chant at Preston ; I forget the sum.

MISCELLANEOUS.

195

" I have stated all I can call to mind about
" them, and have spoken to my clerk of the
" works, who confirms my statement, as to
" the quality of the wood, and the magnifi-
" cent appearance of the trees, as he never
" saw any thing like them before."

Examples of this character, though of very
inferior magnitude, are to be seen in various
places : as in the long avenue on the road
between Dunchurch and Coventry, and near
the Lichfield race-course. The finest group
of them that I am acquainted with is in the
pleasure grounds at Teddesly, in Staflbrd-
shire.

It would appear that, from whatever cause,
the Scotch fir has, for many years, deteriorated
both in its picturesque character and in its
general estimation. An acute observer of the
beauties of Nature, more than half a century
ago, made the following remarks upon this
subject : —

" The Scotch fir is supposed to be the only
" indigenous Terebinthine tree in this island ;
" and yet though it abounds, and when seen
" in perfection is a very picturesque tree, we
" have little idea of its beauty. It is generally
" treated with great contempt. It is a hardy

o 2

196 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

plant, and therefore put to every servile
office. If you wish to skreen your house from
the south-west wind, plant Scotch firs, and
plant them close and thick. If you want
to shelter a nursery of young trees, plant
Scotch firs ; and, the phrase is, you may
afterwards weed them out, as you please.
This is ignominious. I wish not to rob
society of these hardy services from the
Scotch fir ; nor do I mean to set it in com-
petition with many of the trees of the forest,
which in their infant state it is accustomed
to shelter : all I mean is to rescue it from
the disgrace of being thought fit for nothinoj
else, and to establish its character as a pic-
turesque tree. For myself, I admire its
foliage, both the colour of the leaf and its
mode of growth. Its ramification, too, is
irregular and beautiful, and not unlike that
of the stone pine, which it resembles also
in the easy sweep of its stem, and likewise
in the colour of the bark, which is com-
monly, as it attains age, of a rich reddish
brown. The Scotch fir, indeed, in its strip-
ling state, is less an object of beauty. Its
pointed and spiry shoots, during the first
3^ears of its growth, are formal ; and yet I

MISCELLANEOUS. 197

" have sometimes seen a good contrast pro-
" diiced between its spiry points and the
" round-headed oaks and ehiis in its neigh-
" bourhood. When I speak, however, of the
" Scotch fir as a beautiful individual, I con-
" ceive it, when it has outgrown all the more
" unpleasant circumstances of its youth —
" wdien it has completed its full age — and
" when, like Ezekiel's cedar, it has formed its
" head among the thick branches. I may be
" singular in my attachment to the Scotch
" fir ; I know it has many enemies ; and that
" may perhaps induce me to be more com-
" passionate to it : however, I wish my opi-
" nion in its favour may weigh no more than
" the reasons I give to support it.

" The great contempt, indeed, in which
" the Scotch fir is commonly held, arises, I
" believe, from two causes.

" People object, first, to its colour. Its
" dark murky hue, we are told, is un pleasing.
" With regard to colon?' in generaU I think I
" speak the language of painting when I
" assert that the picturesque eye makes little
" distinction in this matter. It has no attach-
*' ment to one colour in preference to another;
" but considers the beauty of all colouring as

o 3

198 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" resulting not from the colours themselves,
" but almost entirely from their harmony
" with other colours in their neighbourhood.
" So that as the fir tree is supported, com-
" bined, or stationed, it forms a pleasing tint,
" or a murky spot.

" A second source of that contempt, in
" which the Scotch fir is commonly held, is
" our rarely seeing it in a picturesque state.
" Scotch firs are seldom planted as single
" treeSf or in a judicious group ; but generally
" in close compact bodies, in thick array, which
" suffocates or cramps them ; and if they ever
" get loose from this bondage, they are
" already ruined ; — their lateral branches
" are gone, and their stems are drawn into
" poles, on which their heads appear stuck as
" on a centre. Whereas if the tree had
" grown in its natural state, all mischief had
" been prevented ; its stem would have taken
" an easy sweep ; and its lateral branches,
" which naturally grow with as much beauti-
" ful irregularity as those of deciduous trees,
" would have hung loosely and negligently ;
" and the more so, as there is something
" peculiarly light and feathery in its foliage.
" I mean not to assert, that every Scotch fir.

MISCELLANEOUS. 199

" though in a natural state, would possess
** these beauties ; but it would at least have
" the chance of other trees ; and I have
" seen it, though indeed but rarely, in such a
" state as to equal in beauty the most elegant
" stone-pine.

" All trees, indeed, crowded together, na-
" turally rise in perpendicular stems ; but
" the fir has this peculiar disadvantage, that
" its lateral branches once injured, never shoot
" again. A grove of crowded saplings, elms,
" beeches, or almost of any deciduous trees,
" when thinned, will throw out some lateral
" branches, and in time recover a degree of
" beauty ; but if the education of the fir has
" been neglected, he is lost for ever.

" Some of the most picturesque trees of
" this kind, perhaps, in England, are at Mr.
" LenthalFs deserted and ruinous mansion
" of Basilsleigh, in Berkshire. The soil is a
" deep but rich sand, which seems to be
" adapted to them. And as they are here at
" perfect liberty, they not only become large
" and noble trees, but expand themselves
" likewise in all the careless forms of nature.
' Very noble Scotch firs also may be seen at
" Thirkleby, near Thirsk, in Yorkshire. Nor

o 4

200 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" has any man, I think, a right to depreciate
" the Scotch fir, till he has seen it in a per-
" feet state of nature."*

The author of these remarks, though he
regrets the contempt generally manifested
towards the Scotch fir, does not appear to
have been aware of the radical change whicli
I cannot but conceive to have taken place in
the plant itself To account for this change,
as a means of restorino; the original character,
would be a work worthy of those whose
knowledge and opportunities of investigation
fit them for the inquiry ; and this not only
in a picturesque point of view, but also as
connected with profit, in providing a useful
and durable substitute for the worthless plant
now adopted.

Evelyn, in his Sylva, throws no light upon
this subject ; but Dr. Hunter, in his edition
of that work, gives the copy of a letter from
Mr. James Farquharson, in which are the fol-
lowino; remarks : —

" It is generally believed that there are two
" kinds of fir trees, the produce of Scotland,
" viz. the red or resinous large tree, of a fine

* Gilpin's Remarks on Forest Scenery.

MISCELLANEOUS. 201

" grain, and hard solid wood ; the other, a
" white-wooded fir, with a much smaller pro-
" portion of resin in it, of a coarser grain, and
" of a soft spongy nature ; it never comes to
" such a size, and is more liable to decay. At
" first appearance this would readily denote
" two distinct species ; but I am convinced
" that all the trees in Scotland, under the
" denomination of Scotch fir, are the same;
" and that the difference of the quality of the
" wood, and size of the trees, are entirely
" owing to circumstances, such as climate,
" situation, and the soil they grow in. The
" finest fir trees appear in the most mountain-
" ous parts of the Highlands of Scotland, in
'* glens, or on sides of hills generally lying to
" a northerly aspect, and the soil of a hard
" gravelly consistence, being the natural pro-
" duce of these places.

" Upon cutting a tree over close at the
" root, I can venture to point out the exact
" age, which, in these old firs, comes to an
" amazing number of years. I lately pitched
" upon a tree of two feet and a half diameter,
" which is near the size of a planted fir of
" fifty years of age, and I counted exactly two
" hundred and fourteen circles or coats, which

202 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" makes this natural fir above four times the
" age of the planted one."

It is to be regretted that the author of the
above observations, which were written in
1775, had not followed up this investigation
by such experiments as might, by this time,
have thrown a clearer light upon this interest-
ing subject. The result of my own inquiries
amongst persons conversant with extensive
planting is, that the Scotch fir, properly so
called, is no longer propagated ; but that the
tree now bearing that name was originally
imported from America ; and the reason
assigned for its universal adoption is, that the
real tree gives out its seed with difficulty,
while that of the substitute is easily pro-
cured.

This idea appears to me to derive some
confirmation from a passage in the letter we
have just quoted, where the writer says, " In
" order to raise plantations of the Scotch fir,
" let the cones be orathered in the month of
" February, or March, from, thriving young
" trees, as the old ones are not easily acces-
" sible, nor so productive of seed. These are
" to be exposed to the heat of the sun thinly
" spread on any kind of coarse canvass, taking

MISCELLANEOUS. 203

' them under cover in the night-time, and
' only exposing them when tlie sun shines.
' This soon makes the cones expand with a
' crackling noise. When any quantity of the
' seed is shed, it must be separated from the

* cones, otherwise the first dropped seeds
' would become too dry before the cones

* 3'ielded their whole quantity, which often
' takes up a considerable time ; so that we
' are sometimes obliged to dry the cones in

* kilns, to make them give their contents in

* time for so win o- — which ouoht to be done
' by the end of April or the beginning of

jAIay."

After all that has been advanced with
regard to the varieties of soil, climate, and
circumstances beino; the causes of the declen-
sion of the Scotch fir, I confess myself un-
convinced, while I find the remnants of the
original character flourishino^ under all those
varieties in our own country ; and while the
broad distinction in the Baltic timber corro-
borates, in my opinion, a fundamental dif-
ference beyond what such varieties could
produce.

The Quarterly ReviewofMonteith's Plant-
er's Guide laments, in common with myself.

204 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

the loss of the Scotch fir, though it does not
o-o into the details of the question.

Since the printing of the former edition of
these observations, I have met with a letter
in No. 36. of the Gardener's Magazine, which
to me appears conclusive on this subject;
and which, as connected equally with utility
and beauty, I shall venture to transcribe.

" An Account of the Common and Highland
Pines, as found in Scotland. By J. G.

a SiR^ — It has lately been ascertained that
" there is a variety of pine in Scotland very
" different from, and greatly superior to, the
" common tree of that name, in size, quality,
" and durability. It has long been known,
" indeed, that the wood of the one is prefer-
" able to that of the other ; yet people were
" always inclined to reckon them both under
" the general title of Scotch pine, and to take

to '■

" for oTanted that the difference must be
" occasioned by age, soil, or situation. That
" any or all of tliese causes can account for
" the difference is, I think, flir from probable.
" How can age be thought a sufficient reason.

MISCELLANEOUS. 205

while it is known that thousands of the
common pine have arrived at maturity,
and thousands have died, which at no period
of their a^e were better than those which
are every day felled for the most ordinary
purposes ? How can soil or situation be
given as a reason, while it is known that
the common pine is scattered over all Scot-
land, in as good soils and situations as those
in which the superior sort grows, and yet
are found, when cut up, to be but of infe-
rior quality ?

" This superior variety abounds in the
highland districts of Abernethy, in Strath-
spey, and in the north of Scotland ; and the
first individuals who collected the seeds,
and raised plants of this sort, were Messrs.
Alexander and John Grigor, nurserymen
at Elgin and Forres, at whose nurseries
plants of these pines are always to be found,
and for w^hose exertions the Highland So-
ciety of Scotland awarded their premium.
These gentlemen, in the short period of two
years (the time they require before being
fit for transplanting), raised and sold no
less a quantity than two millions of the real
Highland pine, and thus put into the pos-

206 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" session of landholders a variety that pro-
" duces wood equal to that brought from
" Norway.

" The late Mr. Don of Forfar considered
" that this pine, which I have termed a va-
'' riety, should, on account of its great simi-
" larity to the Pinus sylvestris, its long tufted
" leaves, and the horizontal direction of its
" branches, constitute a distinct species, which
" might, with propriety, be termed Pinus ho-
'< rizontalis. The members of the Highland
" Society have adopted his opinion ; and one
" of the most distinguished writers of the day
*' (Sir Walter Scott), in an article in the
" Quarterly Review, some years ago, pointed
" out, with singular effect, not only its pecu-
" liarity of shape, &c., but the amazing dura-
" bility of its wood.

" I shall record a circumstance that oc-
" curred in the north of Scotland, which
" proves, beyond the reach of doubt, that
" there must be two distinct species of Scotch
" pine. About fifty years ago, a young fo-
" rester happened to be travelling over that
" district in which the real Highland pine
" abounds. As he passed along, he observed
" a few small ones springing up among the

MISCELLANEOUS. ^i07

" heath ; and being struck with the appear-
" ance they presented, and having a plantation
" of common ones going on at the time, he
" pulled one, wrapped it up, and, having ar-
" rived at his plantation, he planted it along
" with the rest, and placed a durable mark
" beside it. During the whole period of its
" growth, this tree presented a singular ap-
" pearance ; and when it was felled and cut
" up (which happened about ten years ago),
" it was found superior to any of the sur-
" rounding ones. Now, this is a proof that
" must remove every idea of a variation in
'• soil, age, or situation accomplishing the
" existing difference ; a proof that there are
*' in Scotland forests of a pine superior to the
" common, and remote enough from it to
" constitute a species.

" Shall I yet be told, then, that there is no
" difference ? Yes ; there are still some who
" maintain it : and, but for this fact, I should
" have treated the subject in a different man-
" ner. There are still some who have,
" through ignorance, attempted to overturn
" all this, and, in supporting their position,
" have employed the most unreasonable ar-
" guments. The march of discernment, how-

208 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

" ever, is moving on, and, I rejoice to say, it
" will soon leave them in merited obscurity.
" I can account for their adopting such an
" opinion in no other way than by supposing
" that they have never seen the magnificent
" Highland pines ; for it is almost impossible
*' that any person with his eyes open could
" pass over those districts in which they
" abound, without perceiving the difference
" in appearance ; and it is well known that
" the wood-merchant, and the meanest car-
'' penter on Scotia's mountain side, can alike
" point out the superiority of the timber of
" the Highland pine over that common
" worthless species which has been so long
" propagated, and with so little benefit to the
" country.

" The members of the Highland Society
" of Scotland have been amono- the first to
" direct attention to this subject, and their
" exertions have been successful. Land-
*' holders are now eagerly inquiring after the
*' * new sort,' as they call it, and are deter-
" mined to banish the ' old' from their estates.
" They have long experienced the uselessness
" of the one, and are now convinced of the
*' excellence of the other. They have seen

MISCELLANEOUS. 209

" that the common pine can only be used for
" paling fences or fuel j while the other can
" be applied to the most important purposes
" in building.

** It is pleasing to think that our northern
" gentlemen are now carrying on an improve-
" ment which must not only benefit them-
" selves l^ut the country generally ; and alike
" pleasing to think that a proportion of those
" immense tracts of waste land, that every-
" where abound in Scotland, may soon groan
" under a load of pines equal to those that
" flourish on the Norwegian hills.

" I remain, Sir, yours, &c.

" J. G.

*^ Kensington, Dec. 1831."

The stone pine, in point of beauty, would
supply the loss of the old Scotch fir. Splendid
specimens of this most picturesque tree are
profusely scattered in the beautiful scenery of
Pains Hill, so justly celebrated in the Essays
on the Picturesque.

Where trees are to be planted as a fore-
ground, and at the same time the view is to
be seen under them from the windows, such
trees should be selected as will bear pruning,

p

210 LANDSCAPE GARDENIKG.

without destroying their beauty. Neither
the oak nor the ehn are good subjects for
such a situation, which requires a more flow-
in o- hne, and smoother bark than characterises
either of them. The beech, the ash, or the
svcamore, according to the circumstances of
soil and exposure, will be found equally ap-
plicable for this purpose. The choice among
them (where the above circumstances admit
of it) will be determined by the question,
whether a lighter, or a more massive foliage,
suits best the general character of the scene ?
And here, the improver, if he be unacquainted
with the study of landscape painting, will do
well to consult such pictures or prints as are
applicable to the subject ; for, indifferent as
it may appear to the common observer, the
effect of the composition is heightened or in-
jured by a judicious or injudicious selection.

It would be difficult on this head to offer
particular directions for general application,
so much must depend upon variety of cir-
cumstances ; but, perhaps, a few suggestions
may assist in showing the advantage of apply-
ing the principles of landscape painting to
the improvement of real scenery.

It may be sufficient for our present purpose

MISCELLANEOUS. 211

to class the composition of landscape under
the two leading characters of cheerfulness
and grandeur. With the former of these,
the elegant and pendant branches of the ash,
or the light feathery extremities of the beech,
are in unison : while the close formal outline
and deep-toned foliage of the sycamore assi-
milate with the latter. It will be obvious to
the most casual observer, that many circum-
stances of difference in each of these cha-
racters of landscape, and many more arising
from the varied degrees of mixture with each
other, will demand various modifications of
the above hint. The solemnity of the syca-
more may be relieved by the light playful
birch, or the more masculine yet elegant
limbs of the Spanish chestnut, which ought,
indeed, to have been named as a principal,
rather than an auxiliary, in forming such a
group, as no tree offers a fairer subject for
the pruning necessary for it. The cheerful
character may, in like manner, occasionally
require a mixture of closer foliage and deeper
colour. Variety is the leading feature of the
cheerful ; unity the characteristic of the grand.
An example of a foreground group of the
lip'hter character will be found at WooUaton

p 2

212 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

near Nottingham, composed of noble shafts
of beech : a splendid specimen of the grand
may be seen at Killymoon, before mentioned,
where a group of sycamore of gigantic size,
standing on a jutting knoll, makes the fore-
ground of a most romantic composition,
formed by tlie junction of two brawling
streams, struggling together in a rude rocky
channel, overhung by high woody banks.
The catches of light playing on the agitated
water, contrasted with the deep sombre tone
of the surrounding scenery, reminds you of
the happiest effort of Ruysdale's pencil.

In planting groups of trees, the number
should not be the same in each group ; a
thorn or two, occasionally introduced, gives
variety to the character. When the group is
composed of three trees, two of them, in my
opinion, ought to be of one kind, as three
distinct ones can hardly be supposed the re-
sult of natural combination, at which all
planting should aim. For this reason, I
should always plant two or more trees of one
kind on those points of plantation, which are
hereafter to be separated as a group. With
the same view of imitatino- the accident of
Nature, trees should not be set at equal dis-

MISCELLANEOUS. 213

tances. Two may be nearer, and one consi-
derably more remote. Frequently two may
stand close together; but, in that case, a
fourth will generally be necessary to give a
right balance to the group. As the trees
composing the groups should not be at equal
distances, so neither should the groups them-
selves. The character of the ground, the
situation of some mass of wood, or some
other local circumstance, will, if attended to,
frequently suggest occasions for variety in
their disposal.

It may here be observed, that a woodman
should never be admitted among trees de-
sio-ned for ornament. His aim is to create
individual distinctness ; that of the landscape
painter to promote the intricacy and variety
of composition.

The practice of levelHng the surface has
done much mischief both in park and plea-
sure ground. No one conversant with the
study of landscape, can fail to observe and
to regret its baneful influence in Hyde Park,
where smoothness and clearing have been
deemed essential accompaniments of the
drive. Nor is this, in my opinion, the only
mistake in the late embellisliments of this

p 3

214 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

park. The striking scene which meets the eye
on entering from Piccadilly, will be blotted out
by the line of trees planted along the ride.
They would have been better placed on the
other side of it. As they are now situated,
the ample lawn, enriched with varied groups
of fine trees, and backed by the bold line of
Kensincrton Garden wood, the whole smilinoj
cheerfully on the beholder, will shortly be
changed into the monotony of a row of trees,
excluding all variety of form or colour; and
this wdll be the dull attendant of the ride.

But to return to the subject of levelling.
Hardly is there a more common mistake,
than that of filling up a gravel pit, should it
be within sight of the approach of the drive ;
whereas, there are few circumstances more
capable of decoration ; especially if accom-
panied by water, which is frequently the
case where the pit is of sufficient depth. The
bays and promontories, w^ith all the acci-
dental varieties of excavation, afford excellent
models for the formation of artificial water ;
and, with judicious planting, the pit itself
becomes a picturesque appendage to the
scene. A fine example of this kind of de-
coration may be seen at Dun more Park, in

MISCELLANEOUS.

215

Scotland, where the stone quarry, from which
the mansion was built, exhibits a composition
truly romantic. A rocky precipice, crowned
with trees, and reflected in the pool below,
whose sides are fringed with wood, is caught
under various combinations from a path, that
winds its devious way through the inequal-
ities of the excavation, from the bottom to
the top of the quarry.

When, from any circumstance, spare earth
is to be disposed of in the pleasure ground,
it is usually applied to the filling up of any
hollows that may fortunately exist : whereas
it should be used to increase any indications
of undulating forms ; as even the smallest
variety of this kind is highly advantageous,
whether in the lawn, or in the plantations of
shrubs which surround it. It will be safer
for the unpractised eye to increase the exist-
ing varieties of the ground, rather than to
create new ones ; the arrangement of earth
for this latter purpose being an operation of
considerable difficulty, whereas a moderate
degree of caution cannot well fail in the
former.

The fencing of plantations is a subject of
considerable difficulty, arising principally from

p 4

216 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

the expense attending it. The general method
of a quick fence upon a bank, when applied
to plantations near the house or the approach,
is highly objectionable, as it excludes the
boles of the trees, whether the hedge be suf-
fered to grow wild or be kept clipped.

The most desirable fence is, doubtless, that
which is least observable. For this purpose,
iron hurdles have sometimes been used ; but,
where the plantations are extensive, the ex-
pense becomes a serious objection.

I have lately seen, in several places, a wire
fence, which appears to me likely to recon-
cile the contending objects of beauty and
expense ; for I am informed, that it can be
put up at the cost of from fifteen to eighteen
pence a yard, and that it will resist heavy
cattle. In situations where sheep only are
admitted, no doubt of its sufficiency can be
entertained.

If such a fence can be obtained at the cost
mentioned above, I should conceive it to be
cheaper than a quick hedge, as that must
itself be protected by a post and rail till it
becomes capable of resisting the stock.

A friend of mine has put up a fence de-
scribed in the sketch at the cost of a shilling

■I

^

i
5

^
!%

i

^7>€ u^n^/il ■i./r.et hw/i /ivm thf aretuid

MISCELLANEOUS. 217

a yard, upon the following plan: — Wooden
or iron standards placed at forty yards a])art,
with iron uprights a rood distance from each
other. The uprights are not fastened into
stone or wooden blocks, but merely driven
eighteen inches into the trround. A notch,
such as is shown in the example, is made at
the top and bottom of the upright, the
former about two inches from the upper end ;
the latter six inches from the ground, so
as to prevent lambs from getting under the
wire. The wires are confined in these notches
by thinner wires twisted round them, which
are also passed round the intervening lines
of wire, as represented in the example. I
am not aware of any advantage in this mode
above the usual method of drilling holes in
the uprights, except that it greatly facilitates
the chansino: of the direction of the fence,
which, in the situation to which we are apply-
ing it, will not be required. If, after all, the
wire fence should be deemed too expensive
for large plantations, it may be used for those
parts which are near to the house, or to the
approach ; while the less visible portions may
be protected by a hedge, with as little bank
as possible. It is not necessary that the fence

218 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

should follow all the varieties in the outline
of the plantation j the lesser angles of lawn
may be filled with furze, fern, or brambles,
which all assimilate with the wood.

Where the occasional thinnings are suffi-
cient to supply a fence as long as protection
is necessary, I should prefer a post and rail
to a hedge, as the boles of the trees, and the
recesses in the plantation, will be visible
through it.

It may not be amiss to state, that a deer
fence surrounding a plantation is not required
to be of a greater height than one for general
purposes, as, except they are driven, the deer
will not leap into such an inclosure. The
fence of the new plantations in Richmond
Park is only four feet high ; and that at Cas-
siobury the same.

Where a quick hedge is made the fence to
a plantation, it should follow the varieties of
the outline ; otherwise, those varieties will be
lost. The effect will be considerably assisted
by groups of thorns planted at different
distances from the hedge itself; thereby
relieving its uniformity of surface.

The adaptation of the entrance lodge to
the residence has occasioned much discussion,

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without leading to any fixed principle. It is
not with any pretension to adjust this diffi-
culty that I offer a few remarks upon the
subject ; but, principally, to suggest a con-
deration, which I do not recollect either to
have met with in print, or to have heard viva
voce.

Among the various opinions on the pro-
priety of a lodge, and the numerous examples
for its different styles, the subject has been
considered merely with relation to the re-
sidence to which it is attached.

Now, I conceive the question of propriety
to depend at least as much upon the charac-
ter of the scenery where the lodge is placed
as upon that of the house which it accom-
panies.

The splendid gateways at Burleigh and at
Woburn, opening into the grand and extensive
scenery of the parks, are perfectly in unison
with that scenery j but were any approach to
enter the domains at some spot where the
inequality of the ground, and the confined
scenery, afforded little room for display, I
should conceive such gateways sadly mis-
placed. A gamekeeper's cottage would be
more in harmony with the scene, and there-

220 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

fore, in my opinion, every way more appro-
priate.

Dalmenev, in the neioflibourhood of Edin-
burgh, affords a good ilhistration of this idea.
The mansion is worthy of the extensive and
beautiful domain over which it presides ; but
the shape and character of the ground at
both the entrances forbid any attempt to the
erection of a lodge corresponding with the
architecture of the house; and I think good
taste has substituted a simple building at
each of them.

Where a splendid lodge is appropriate, I
should prefer an arched gateway to any other
building, provided the gateway be deep
enough. A thin archway, being deficient in
point of liglit and shadow, is to me, I confess,
very unsatisfactory. Moreover, this depth
admits of the porter's residence within it,
which I take to be more simple and charac-
teristic than any separate lodge united with
such a gateway can be. A wall of corre-
sponding height and character should accom-
pany this entrance.

A gate between pillars, if upon a large
scale, seems to require a lodge for each
flank ; but such an arrangement, appearing as

MISCELLANEOUS. 221

a sacrifice of comfort for display, is not, per-
haps, in the best taste. A pair of lodges
under any circumstances of less grandeur are,
in my opinion, utterly indefensible.

The numerous designs, given for what are
termed Gothic lodges, afford ample room for
choice ; which choice should depend upon
the circumstances of each place. I will only
advise, that simplicity of composition direct
the choice; as I cannot but feel that many
of these designs are over-done in chimneys,
gables, porches, &c.

I should recommend the improving of any
cottage that may happen to stand near an
entrance gate (if capable of improvement),
in preference to the erection of a Gothic
lodge. The addition of a porch to the door,
of hoods to the windows, and other little
decorations, will, under good taste, often
produce a picturesque lodge, pleasing on
account both of its simplicity and its rarity,
— as the Gothic is found at almost every
entrance.

An example of such a lodge may be seen
at Bickley, near Bromley, decorated by the
same hand that erected those beautiful spe-
cimens of the Gothic cottage at Redleaf.

222 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

The gate will vary with the character of
the lodge. If the arch gateway be of the
Grecian architecture, an iron gate seems the
most appropriate : but then it should be
massive and rich in its construction ; and, in
my opinion, should fill the whole arch. If
the gateway be of the Gothic character, I
should prefer a close wooden gate, as better
suited to the sombre tone of the build ino;.
This gate should range w^ith the spring of the
arch, and be a straight line on the top. A
gate with open bars half way down is not
unsuitable to the Gothic, provided the bars
are massive, and the mouldings bold. The
colour of the wooden cfate should be that of
oak. I should advise a straight line for a gate
in all cases, except where it fills the arch.

As I conceive a lodge to be governed
more bv its relative situation than bv the
mansion, so also, in my opinion, the situ-
ation is the primary object to be considered
in the character of a bridge.

Wiiere the scenery warrants, and the
splendour of the mansion demands, an archi-
tectural bridge, if I may so speak, the degree
of magnificence or decoration will depend
upon the degree of those qualities exhibited

MISCELLANEOUS. 223

in the mansion itself. In all cases it should
be horizontal.

It is not, however, often that the width of
the water, or its j)roximity to the house, de-
mands such a bridge. Where the scenery
justifies such a structure, it forms a beautiftd
feature in the landscape, as at Clumber.

In general, a bridge is required merely to
cross some rivulet or brook, which interrupts
the approach ; and under such circumstances,
whatever be the extent and magnificence of
the domain and the mansion, picturesque
effect should prescribe the character of the
bridge.

Utility being the primary object in all
simple structures, ornament is at best mis-
placed when applied to unadorned nature.
Upon this principle, I prefer a plain wooden
brido-e for the crossino; of a shallow stream,
to which a regular arch seems superfluous.
The stays of the annexed sketch, while they
give a variety to the outline of the bridge,
yet are all apparently necessary to its sta-
bility.

Should the stream require a longer bridge,
arches will becom.e necessary ; and they will
be built of brick or stone, as circumstances

224 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

may dictate. But, though masonry will form
the basis, I should prefer having the battle-
ments of timber, which should overhang the
masonry beneath. Many examples of such
construction are to be met with in unfre-
quented country roads.

The same principle will apply to foot-
bridges, as to those we have been considering.
The beautiful Paladian bridge at Wilton is
in perfect harmony with the mansion, and
with the magnificent cedars which accompany
it; but were a wood-walk in the same do-
main interrupted by a stream, the bridge
should be of the simplest character, in com-
pliance with the scene.

I am not fond of what is termed a rustic
bridge, as lightness I conceive to be essential
to such a structure. Neither would I have
an iron bridge in such a situation, as it wears
too dressed an appearance.

It is desirable, that in proportion to the
size of the domain, its influence in improve-
ment should be extended to the scenery
around it; which scenery will frequently
include the village.

Villages may be divided into the regular
and irregular. The irregular village is doubt-

MISCELLANEOUS. 225

less the more picturesque, admitting of greater
variety of composition from the intricacy of
its outline.

The improvement of such a village (as far
as picturesque effect is concerned) need not
be expensive : the principal part, in many
instances, will consist in preserving the va-
rieties of form and material existing in the
different cottages that compose it. A porch
where it may be required, hoods occasionally
placed over the windows, will relieve the flat
surface of the wall, and add those deep
shadows so necessary to effect. A wall, a
hedge, or a paling to be restored, will com-
prise all that the greater part of such a village
will require.

Care should be taken to preserve all those
varieties of outline, those irregular and an-
gular projections, which mark the old houses ;
and if it be necessary to rebuild the chimneys
of such a structure, the original character
should be adhered to.

Neatness being an essential characteristic
of a village bordering upon a mansion, will
require the hedge that bounds the cottage-
garden to be kept nicely clipped; and the
garden itself to manifest in its keeping the

Q

226 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

pleasure it affords to the inhabitant. Creepers
of various kinds will adorn the porch, and
dress the wall or paling, if such be the fence ;
while flowers and shrubs will decorate such
part of the ground as can be spared from
culinary purposes. The hollyhock, in its
varied and luxuriant hues, rising high above
the simple fence, and breaking the quiet tone
of the building, is peculiarly adapted to such
a garden. In fine, the decorations of the
various dwellings should appear rather as the
result of the feeling of each inhabitant, than
as arising from any regular plan of improve-
ment.

One great requisite in village scenery con-
sists in trees : indeed, the village is not perfect
without such accompaniment. What beau-
tiful examples do we occasionally meet with !
— A yew, sheltering with its dense foliage the
projecting porch, and relieving by its sombre
tone the light and playful creeper which
adorns the rustic tracery, — a cypress, or a
Virginia cedar, contrasting the horizontal
lines of the roof and eaves of the cottage, its
head mingling in group with the shaft of the
chimneys above. Every opportunity, there-
fore, should be taken to enrich the general

MISCELLANEOUS. 227

composition by this accompaniment of foliage;
adapting the tree to its situation, both as to
size, colour, and character.

As variety in colour, as well as in form, is
essential to picturesque effect, great caution
should be observed on that head of improve-
ment. Indeed, village architecture, almost
over the whole of England, is suffering as
much from the colour as it is from the form
of modern cottages. Wherever it is neces-
sary to rebuild a village, brick is nearly the
universal material ; and if its fiery tone should
be deemed offensive, a general whitewash is
the remedy. How jealous, then, should we be
to preserve such varieties as the old village
mav afford. The rich varied tints of an
ancient house ought never to be interfered
with ; and should the walls of another be
unsightly smeared, it should be restored by a
sober wash, approaching to drab rather than
to white ; another might be of a grayer ten-
dency ; but pure white scarcely ever can have
a good effect. Sir Uvedale Price objects to
thatch, from its damp and dirty look when
passing into decay ; but I consider it, almost
under any circumstances, to be preferable to
tiles, or the cold blue slate generally used.

Q 2

228 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

The flat tile, when old, becomes picturesque,
and well adapted to the village roof.

Where a mansion is so unfortunate as to
have a regular village for its neighbour, all
attempt at the picturesque is hopeless, espe-
cially if there are houses on both sides of the
road. Neatness, and a degree of symmetry,
are all that can be effected. Ripley, near Har-
rowgate, is a good example of such a village.

When a village is to be partially rebuilt,
every opportunity of irregularity should be
attended to ; and care taken to assimilate the
new, as far as convenience will permit, to the
old. Any swelling knoll that will contain a
cottage should be so occupied, as tending to
that variety we have been considering.

A village sometimes appears as the re-
sidence of people above the labouring class,
from the size and decoration of the houses
which compose it. The village of Belton,
near Grantham, exhibits a striking example
of this character : the variety of the houses,
and the picturesque form of each, evince the
taste of the designer. The highest specimen
of the straircplins village with whicli I am ac-

OO CD O

quainted is adjoining the grounds at Foxley,
the residence of the late Sir Uvedale Price.

MISCELLANEOUS. 229

Being very little conversant with flowers,
as to their varieties, culture, &c., I merely
mention a circumstance with regard to the
dahlia, which strikes me as a great improve-
ment in that universal favourite. The flower
of the dahlia is doubtless a magnificent dis-
play of beauty and variety ; but, from the
quantity of coarse green leaves, and the height
of the plant, it never appears to me to form
agreeably in a bed either alone or mixed with
other flowers. A person mentioned to me
his having seen it produce a splendid appear-
ance from each plant being pegged down
when about a foot high ; and thus covering
the whole bed with flowers. I merely repeat
what I was told, not having had any oppor-
tunity of seeing the effect.

As a solid walk is in all cases an essential
comfort, and gravel in many places difficult
to procure, the following method of supply-
ing that want may be serviceable as a sub-
stitute for that useful article. As in the
instance of the dahlia, I only repeat what
was told me, never having seen the experi-
ment tried.

To make paths quite hard : — Rough gravel,
or broken stone, at bottom, about three inches

Q 3

230 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

thick ; to be covered from two and a half to
three inches thick with a composition of fine
beach or coarse sand and fine chalk rubbish,
in the proportion of one of fine chalk to three
of sand, made up with water and gas tar
(using one of tar to six of water) and beat
down solid to a fair surface.

In the search after truth in any science,
it has ever been held allowable to examine
freely such publications as have treated on
the subject in discussion.

Upon the same principle, I trust I may
be permitted to elucidate my ideas upon the
subject of taste by a reference to such public
works as are connected with that subject ; as
it is only by examples of notoriety that the
question can be fairly brought to an issue,
so as to assist in the establishment of some
standing on a question of such general and
increasing interest.

It is under this sanction, that I have ven-
tured to give my opinion upon the treatment
of the water at Buckingham Palace, and also
upon the late improvements in Hyde Park ;
and under the same sanction, I now proceed
to offer a few remarks upon another public

MISCELLANEOUS. 231

work, which is closely linked with the sub-
ject of these pages.

In treating of the terrace, I have held a
strait line to be an indispensable character-
istic. Under this impression, I cannot but
view the terrace round the flower garden, at
Windsor Castle, as a mistake. The curving
line, in my opinion, destroys the very essence
of a terrace. It should have been a strait
line, parallel with the Castle front to which it
is attached ; and it should have been entered
upon by a flight of steps at each end.

Another advantage would have been ob-
tained by forming the terrace on a strait line ;
the whole of the wall surrounding the flower
o-arden would have been angular, which I think
would be more in harmony with the Castle
than the present form ; and it would, more-
over, have given an opportunity for a pavilion
at each end of the terrace, and thus relieve
the continued flatness along so great an ex-
tent of masonry.

This flatness, I should now endeavour to
break by shrubs planted on the banks above
the flower beds, which, in my opinion, would
be a great improvement to the general com-
position of the scene, as tending to promote

232 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

that richness and variety so essential to the
size of the garden. Such a process would
also apparently lessen the depth of the flower
beds below the terrace, which I cannot but
think rather too great.

Having already expressed rriy opinion, that
it is essential that a professor should explain
the principles upon which he suggests any im-
provement, I would now warn the proprietor
not hastily to adopt any plan which cannot
be thus explained ; as, I am sorry to say, I
have seen too many instances of irreparable
mischief arisino^ from the utter ic^norance of
the professional improver.

Alteration is frequently mistaken for im-
provement, and laborious operation for su-
perior taste. I should recommend caution
in adopting any proposal of the latter class,
as a professor destitute of true principles will
overlook those apparently little circumstances
upon which real improvement frequently rests,
and will proceed to a total subversion of the
scene which he knows not how to adorn.

If the practical hints I have thrown toge-
ther have any foundation on principle, I trust
they will assist the proprietor in determining
the character of his own place, and in adapt-

MISCELLANEOUS. 233

ing his improvements to that character. This
is the first lesson to be learned, without
which, if any real, though partial, improve-
ment is effected, it must arise from accident.

I will offer another observation, which
concerns equally the proprietor and the pro-
fessional man.

It will occasionally liappen, that the pro-
prietor does not embrace the whole of the
proposed plan, but does not state his objec-
tions at the time. The consequence will
sometimes be the mutilation of that w^hich,
had the objection been stated in the first
instance, might have been so managed as to
meet the proprietor's ideas, without derang-
ing the whole scheme.

In justice to the professional improver, I
will becp leave to observe, that he is not to be
held answerable for the discrepancies that
will occasionally be found between his prin-
ciples and the illustration of them in various
places.

Besides the mutilation above mentioned,
instances will occur of the most flagrant vio-
lation of every principle of taste.

I was consulted, some years ago, upon the
improvement of a place, worthy of every at-

234 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

tention. The house was undergoing a repair,
and a drawing-room, or library, was to be
added, commanding a fine view over a varied
landscape.

The original approach came too near the
end of the house where the additional room
was to be built. The hall-door was where it
ouo-ht to be — remote from the living rooms.
An old avenue presented an opportunity for a
fine approach.

These circumstances I pointed out to the
proprietor, and rejoiced in the prospect of
o-ettinw rid of the road from the living rooms,
and in so fortunate a line as the avenue offered
for it.

I left the country, anticipating the beauty
of the dress-ground, and the scenery beyond
it, when relieved Irom the intrusion of the
approach. What was, then, my astonishment
and mortification, when I learned, a short
time ago, that the hall-door was placed close
to the library, and the approach carried under
the windows.

This fact, among many others, will evince,
that local advantages, aided by the happiest
plan of improvement, are of no avail when
a false idea has taken possession of the mind.

MISCELLANEOUS. 235

The reason given for the irreparable error
which I have stated, is in itself contrary to
the first principles of taste, viz. that the ap-
proach should exhibit the beautiful scenery,
vi'hich ought to have been reserved for the
windows and the dress-ground.

Should these few pages be the means of
correcting only this one error, they will not
have been written in vain.

THE END.

London :

Printed by A. Spottiswoode,

New- Street- Square.

7 1-92-^