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A
TREATISE
ON
THE THEORY AND PRACTICE
LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
ADAPTED TO
NORTH AMERICA;
WITH A VIEW TO
THE IMPROVEMENT OF COUNTRY RESIDENCES.
COMPRISING
HISTORICAL NOTICES AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE ART,
DIRECTIONS FUR LAYING OUT GROUNDS AND ARRANGING PLANTATIONS,
THE DESCRIPTION AND CULTIVATION OF HARDY TREES,
DECORATIVE ACCOMPANIMENTS TO THE HOUSE AND GROUNDS,
THE FORMATION OF PIECES OF ARTIFICIAL WATER, FLOWER GARDENS, ETC.
WITH REMARKS ON
RURAL ARCHITECTURE.
Fourth Edition,
ENLARGED, REVISED, AND NEWLY ILLUSTRATED.
enn
ees y x: .
BY At 3 DOWNING,
AUTHOR OF DESIGNS FOR COTTAGE RESIDENCES, ETC.
new
“Tnsult not Nature with absurd expense,
Nor spoil her simple charms by vain pretence ;
Weigh well the subject, be with caution bold,
Profuse of genius, not profuse of gold.”’
NEW YORK:
GEORGE P. PUTNAM, 155 BROADWAY.
LONDON:
‘ LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN & LONGMANS.
SUP'G. ARCH'T: |
TREASURY /
DEPT, /
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ee Entered according to the: pet of cece in ie gee 1849, ri
ere ten GEORGE P. PUTNAM, alent Se ana
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In the Clerk’s Bes of the District Court for ee Souhern District of New York,
MAR 41 1944
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EX-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 5
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“I3 RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATED, | ‘en
BY HIS FRIEND, a :
3 THE AUTHOR,
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PREFACE
TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
Ir is even more gratifying to the author of this work to
know, from actual observation, that the public taste in
Rural Embellishment has, within a few years past, made
the most rapid progress in this country, than to feel assured
by the call for a fourth edition, that his own imperfect
labors for the accomplishment of that end have been most
kindly appreciated.
In the present edition considerable alterations and
amendments have been made in some portions—especially
in that section relating to the nature of the Beautiful and
the Picturesque. The difference among critics regarding
natural expression and its reproduction in Landscape
Gardening, has led him more carefully to examine this
part of the subject, in order, if possible, to present it in
the clearest and most definite manner.
The whole work has also been revised, and more
copiously illustrated, and is now offered in a more com-
plete form than in any previous edition.
As
Newburgh, New York, Jan. 1849.
PREFACE.
A vaste for rural improvements of every description
is advancing silently, but with great rapidity in this country.
While yet in the far west the pioneer constructs his rude
hut of logs for a dwelling, and sweeps away with his axe
the lofty forest trees that encumber the ground, in the
older portions of the Union, bordering the Atlantic, we
are surrounded by all the luxuries and refinements that
belong to an old and long cultivated country. Within the
last ten years, especially, the evidences of the growing
wealth and prosperity of our citizens have become
apparent in the great increase of elegant cottage and villa
residences on the banks of our noble rivers, along our
rich valleys, and wherever nature seems to invite us by
her rich and varied charms.
In all the expenditure of means in these improvements,
amounting in the aggregate to an immense sum, pro-
fessional talent is seldom employed in Architecture or
Landscape Gardening, but almost every man fancies
himself an amateur, and endeavors to plan and arrange his
own residence. With but little practical knowledge, and
few correct principles for his guidance, it is not surprising
that we witness much incongruity and great waste of time
and money. Even those who are familiar with foreign
works on the subject in question labor under many
obstacles in practice, which grow out of the difference in
our soil and climate, or our social and political position.
These views have so often presented themselves to me of
late, and have been so frequently urged by persons
desiring advice, that I have ventured to prepare the present
volume, in the hope of supplying, in some degree, the
Vill PREFACE.
desideratum so much felt at present. While we have
treatises, in abundance, on the various departments of the
arts and sciences, there has not appeared even a single
essay on the elegant art of Landscape Gardening. Hun-
dreds of individuals who wish to ornament their grounds
and embellish their places, are at a loss how to proceed,
from the want of some leading principles, with the
knowledge of which they would find it comparatively easy
to produce delightful and satisfactory results.
In the following pages I have attempted to trace out
such principles, and to suggest practicable methods of
embellishing our Rural Residences, on a scale com-
mensurate to the views and means of our proprietors.
While I have availed myself of the works of European
authors, and especially those of Britain, where Landscape
Gardening was first raised to the rank of a fine art, I have
also endeavored to adapt my suggestions especially to this
country and to the peculiar wants of its inhabitants.
As a people descended from the English stock, we
inherit much of the ardent love of rural life and its pursuits
which belongs to that nation ; but our peculiar position, in
a new world that required a population full of enterprise
and energy to subdue and improve its vast territory, has,
until lately, left but little time to cultivate a taste for Rural
Embellishment. But in the older states, as wealth has
accumulated, the country become populous, and society
more fixed in its character, a return to those simple and
fascinating enjoyments to be found in country life and
rural pursuits, is witnessed on every side. And to this
innate feeling, out of which grows a strong attachment to
natal soil, we must look for a counterpoise to the great
tendency towards constant change, and the restless spirit
of emigration, which form part of our national character ;
and which, though to a certain extent highly necessary to
our national prosperity, are, on the other hand, opposed to
social and domestic happiness. “In the midst of the
continual movement which agitates a democratic com-
munity,’ says the most philosophical writer who has yet
discussed our institutions, “the tie which unites one
generation to another is relaxed or broken ; every man
.
PREFACE. — ix
readily loses the trace of the ideas of his forefathers, or
takes no care about them.”
The love of country is inseparably connected with the
love of home. Whatever, therefore, leads man to assemble
the comforts and elegancies of life around his habitation,
tends to increase local attachments, and render domestic
life more delightful; thus not only augmenting his own
enjoyment, but strengthening his patriotism, and making
him a better citizen. And there is no employment or
recreation which affords the mind greater or more
permanent satisfaction, than that of cultivating the earth
and adorning our own property. “God Almighty first
planted a garden; and, indeed, it is the purest of human
pleasures,” says Lord Bacon. And as the first man was
shut out from the garden, in the cultivation of which no
alloy was mixed with his happiness, the desire to return to
it seems to be implanted by nature, more or less strongly,
in every heart.
In Landscape Gardening the country gentleman of
leisure finds a resource of the most agreeable nature.
While there is no more rational pleasure than that derived
from its practice by him, who
« Plucks life’s roses in his quiet fields,”
the enjoyment drawn from it (unlike many other amuse-
ments) is unembittered by the after recollection of pain
or injury inflicted on others, or the loss of moral rectitude.
In rendering his home more beautiful, he not only con-
tributes to the happiness of his own family, but improves
the taste, and adds loveliness to the country at large.
There is, perhaps, something exclusive in the taste for
some of the fine arts. ~A>
= ‘ URSA KS Ima
—lQS—_
{Fig.5. The Lake at Montgomery Place.)
Ellerslie is the seat of William Kelly, Esq. It is three
miles below Rhinebeck. It comprises over six hundred
acres, and is one of our finest examples of high keeping
and good management, both in an ornamental and an
agricultural point of view. The house is conspicuously
placed on a commanding natural terrace, with a fair fore-
ground of park surface below it, studded with beautiful
groups of elms and oaks, and a very fine reach of river and
4
50 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
distant hills. This is one of the most celebrated places on
the Hudson, and there are few that so well pay the lover
of improved landscape for a visit.
Just below Ellerslie are the fine mansion and pleasing
grounds of Wm. Emmet, Esq.,—the former a stone edifice,
in the castellated style, and the latter forming a most
agreeable point on the margin of the river.
The seat of Gardiner Howland, Esq., near New Ham-
burgh, is not only beautiful'in situation, but is laid out
with great care, and is especially remarkable for the many
rare trees and shrubs collected in its grounds.
Wodenethe, near Fishkill landing, is the seat of H. W.
Sargent, Esq., and is a bijou full of interest for the lover of
rural beauty ; abounding in rare trees, shrubs, and plants,
as well as vases, and objects of rural embellishment of all
kinds. . ;
Kenwood (Fig. 6), the residence of J. Rathbone, Esq., is
one mile south of Albany. Ten years ago this spot was a
wild and densely wooded hill, almost inaccessible. With
great taste and industry Mr. Rathbone has converted it
into a country residence of much picturesque beauty,
erected in the Tudor style, one of the best villas in the
country, with a gate-lodge in the same mode, and laid out
the grounds with remarkable skill and good taste. There
are about 1200 acres in this estate, and pleasure grounds,
forcing houses, and gardens, are now flourishing where all
was so lately in the rudest state of nature; while, by the
judicious preservation of natural wood, the effect of a long
cultivated demesne has been given to the whole.
The Manor House of the “ Patroon” (as the eldest son
of the Van Rensselaer family is called) is in the northern
suburbs of the city of Albany. The mansion, greatly
Hy) a\cunnnson $©
Kenwood, Residence of J Rathbone, Esq near Albany. N, Y.
Fig. 9.
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Fig 8. Cottage Residence ot Wm. H. Aspinwall, Esq
HISTORICAL NOTICES. 51
enlarged and improved a few years since, from the designs
of Upjohn, is one of the largest and most admirable in all
respects, to be found in the country, and the pleasure-
grounds in the rear of the house are tasteful and beau-
tiful. ;
Beaverwyck, a little north of Albany, on the opposite
bank of the river, is the seat of Wm. P. Van Rensselaer,
Esq. (Fig. 7.) The whole estate is ten or twelve miles
square, including the village of Bath on the river shore,
and a large farming district. The home residence em-
braces several hundred acres, with a large level lawn,
bordered by highly varied surface of hill and dale. The
mansion, one of the first class, is newly erected from the
plans of Mr. Diaper, and in its interior—its hall with
mosaic floor of polished woods, its marble staircase,
frescoed apartments, and spacious adjoining conservatory
—is perhaps the most splendid in the Union. The grounds
are yet newly laid out, but with much judgment; and siz
or seven miles of winding gravelled roads and walks have
been formed—their boundaries now leading over level
meadows, and now winding through woody dells. The
drives thus afforded, are almost unrivalled in extent and
variety, and give the stranger or guest, an opportunity of
seeing the near and distant views to the best advantage.
At Tarrytown, is the cottage residence of Washington
Irving, which is, in location and accessories, almost the
beau ideal of a cottage ornée. The charming manner in
which the wild foot-paths, in the neighborhood of this
cottage, are conducted among the picturesque dells and
banks, is precisely what one would look for here. A little
below, Mr. Sheldon’s cottage, with its pretty lawn and its
charming brook, is one of the best specimens of this kind
52 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
of residence on the river. At Hastings, four or five miles
south, is the agreeable seat of Judge Constant.
About twelve miles from New York, on the Sound, is
Hunter’s Island, the seat of John Hunter, Esq., a place of
much simplicity and dignity of character. The whole
island may be considered an extensive park carpeted with
soft lawn, and studded with noble trees. ‘The mansion is
simple in its exterior, but internally, is filled with rich
treasures of art. The seat of James Munroe, Esq., on the
East river in this neighborhood, abounds with beautiful
trees, and many other features of interest.
The Cottage residence of William H. Aspinwall, Esq., on
Staten Island, is a highly picturesque specimen of Land-
scape Gardening. The house is in the English cottage
style, and from its open lawn in front, the eye takes in a
wide view of the ocean, the Narrows, and the blue hills of
Neversink. In the rear of the cottage, the surface is
much broken and varied, and finely wooded and planted.
In improving this picturesque site, a nice sense of the
charm of natural expression has been evinced; and the
sudden variations from smooth open surface, to wild
wooded banks, with rocky, moss-covered flights of steps,
strike the stranger equally with surprise: and delight. A
charming greenhouse, a knotted flower-garden, and a
pretty, rustic moss-house, are among the interesting points
of this spirited place. (See Fig. 8.)
The seat of the Wadsworth family, at Geneseo, is the
finest in the interior of the state of New York. Nothing,
indeed, can well be more magnificent than the meadow park
at Geneseo. It is more than a thousand acres in extent,
lying on each side of the Genesee river, and is filled with
thousands of the noblest oaks and elms, many of which, but
Seat of Wadsworth Family at Genese
Fig. 9
i
HISTORICAL NOTICES. 53
more especially the oaks, are such trees as we see in the
pictures of Claude, or our own Durand ; richly developed,
their trunks and branches grand and majestic, their heads
full of breadth and grandeur of outline. (See Fig. 9.)
These oaks, distributed over a nearly level surface, with
the trees disposed either singly or in the finest groups, as
if most tastefully planted centuries ago, are solely the work
of nature; and yet so entirely is the whole like the
grandest planted park, that it is difficult to believe that
all is not the work of some master of art, and intended for
the accompaniment of a magnificent residence. Some of
the trees are five or six hundred years old.
In Connecticut, Monte Video, the seat of Daniel Wads-
worth, Esq., near Hartford, is worthy of commendation, as
it evinces a good deal of beauty in its grounds, and is one
of the most tasteful in the state. The residence of James
Hillhouse, Esq., near New-Haven, is a pleasing specimen
of the simplest kind of Landscape Gardening, where grace-
ful forms of trees, and a gently sloping surface of grass,
are the principal features. The villa of Mr. Whitney,
near New-Haven, is one of the most tastefully managed in
the state. In Maine, the most remarkable seat, as respects
landscape gardening and architecture, is that of Mr. Gav-
diner, of Gardiner.
The environs of Boston are more highly cultivated than
those of any other city in North America. There are here
whole rural neighborhoods of pretty cottages and villas, ad-
mirably cultivated, and, in many cases, tastefully laid out
and planted. The character of even the finest of these
places is, perhaps, somewhat suburban, as compared with
those of the Hudson river, but we regard them as furnish-
54 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
ing admirable hints for a class of residence likely to become
more numerous than any other in this country—the taste-
ful suburban cottage. The owner of a small cottage resi-
dence may have almost every kind of beauty and enjoy-
ment in his grounds that the largest estate will afford, so
far as regards the interest of trees and plants, tasteful ar-
rangement, recreation, and occupation. Indeed, we have
little doubt that he, who directs personally the curve of
every walk, selects and plants every shrub and tree, and
watches with solicitude every evidence of beauty and pro-
gress, succeeds in extracting from his tasteful grounds of
half a dozen acres, a more intense degree of pleasure, than
one who is only able to direct and enjoy, in a general
sense, the arrangement of a vast estate.
Belmont, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq., is a residence
of more note than any other near Boston; but this is,
chiefly,.on account of the extensive ranges of glass, the
forced fruits, and the high culture of the gardens. A new
and spacious mansion has recently been erected here, and
the pleasure-grounds are agreeably varied with fine groups
and masses of trees and shrubs on a pleasing lawn.
(Fig. 10.)
The seat of Col. Perkins, at Brookline; is one of the
most interesting in this neighborhood. The very beautiful
lawn here, abounds with exquisite trees, finely disposed ;
among them, some larches and Norway firs, with many
other rare trees of uncommon beauty of form. At a short
distance is the villa residence of Theodore Lyman, Esq.,
remarkable for the unusually fine avenue of Elms leading
to the house, and for the beautiful architectural taste dis-
played in the dwelling itself. The seat of the Hon. John
Fig. 10. Belmont Place, near Boston, the Seat of J P. Cushing, Esq.
SA RAAT AAI
ay
Rig. 1] Mr. Dunz Cottage, Mount He lly, N J
HISTORICAL NOTICES. 55
Lowell, at Roxbury, possesses also many interesting gar-
dening features.*
Pine Bank, the Perkins estate, on the border of
Jamaica lake, is one of the most beautiful residences
near Boston. The natural surface of the ground is ex-
ceedingly flowing and graceful, and it is varied by two or
three singular little dimples, or hollows, which add to its
effect. The perfect order of the grounds; the beauty of
the walks, sometimes skirting the smooth open lawn, en-
riched with rare plants and shrubs, and then winding by
the shadowy banks of the water; the soft and quiet cha-
racter of the lake itself—its margin richly fringed with
trees, which conceal here and there a pretty cottage, its
firm clean beach of gravel, and its water of crystal purity ;
all these features make this place a little gem of natural
* We Americans are proyerbially impatient of delay, and a few years in
prospect appear an endless futurity. So much is this the feeling with many,
that we verily believe there are hundreds of our country places, which owe
their bareness and destitution of foliage to the idea, so common, that it requires
“an age” for forest trees to “ grow up.”
The middle-aged man hesitates about the good of planting what he imagines
he shall never see arriving at maturity, and even many who are younger, con-
ceive that it requires more than an ordinary lifetime to rear a fine wood of
planted trees. About two years since, we had the pleasure of visiting the seat
of the late Mr. Lowell, whom we found in a green old age, still enjoying, with
the enthusiasm of youth, the pleasures of Horticulture and a country life. For
the encouragement of those who are ever complaining of the tardy pace with
which the growth of trees advances, we will here record that we accompanied
Mr. L. through a belt of fine woods (skirting part of his residence), nearly half
a mile in length, consisting of almost all our finer hardy trees, many of them
apparently full grown, the whole of which had been planted by him when he
was thirty-two years old. At that time, a solitary elm or two were almost
the only trees upon his estate. We can hardly conceive a more rational source
of pride or enjoyment, than to be able thus to walk, in the decline of years,
beneath the shadow of umbrageous woods and groves, planted by our own
hands, and whose growth has become almost identified with our own pro-
gress and existence.
56 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
and artistical harmony, and beauty. Mr. Perkins has just
rebuilt the house, in the style of a French maison de cam-
pagne; and Pine Bank is now adorned with a most
complete residence in the latest continental taste, from
the designs of M. Lémoulnier.
On the other side of the lake is the cottage of Thomas
Lee, Esq. Enthusiastically fond of botany, and gardening
in all its departments, Mr. Lee has here formed a residence
of as much variety and interest as we ever saw in so
moderate a compass—about 20 acres. It is, indeed, not
only a most instructive place to the amateur of landscape
gardening, but to the naturalist and lover of plants. Every
shrub seems placed precisely in the soil and aspect it likes
best, and native and foreign Rhododendrons, Kalmias, and
other rare shrubs, are seen here in the finest condition.
There is a great deal of variety in the surface here, and
while the lawn-front of the house has a polished and
graceful air, one or two other portions are quite picturesque.
Near the entrance gate is an English oak, only fourteen
years planted, now forty feet high.
The whole of this neighborhood of Brookline is a kind
of landscape garden, and there is nothing in America, of
the sort, so inexpressibly charming as the lanes which lead
from one cottage, or villa, to another. No animals are
allowed to run at large, and the open gates, with tempting
vistas and glimpses under the pendent boughs, give it quite
an Arcadian air of rural freedom and enjoyment. These
lanes are clothed with a profusion of trees and wild shrub-
bery, often almost to the carriage tracks, and curve and
wind about, in a manner quite bewildering to the stranger
who attempts to thread them alone; and there are more
hints here for the lover of the picturesque in lanes, than
Mind 7
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—
HISTORICAL NOTICES. 57
we ever saw assembled together in so small a com-
pass.
In the environs of New Bedford are many beautiful resi-
dences. Among these, we desire particularly to notice the
residence of James Arnold, Esq. There is scarcely a small
place in New England, where the pleasure-grounds are so
full of variety, and in such perfect order and keeping, as at
this charming spot; and its winding walks, open bits of
lawn, shrubs and plants grouped on turf, shady bowers,
and rustic seats, all most agreeably combined, render this
a very interesting and instructive suburban seat.
In New Jersey, the grounds of the Count de Survilliers,
at Bordentown, are very extensive ; and although the sur-
face is mostly flat, it has been well varied by extensive
plantations. At Mount Holly, about twenty miles from
Camden, is Mr. Dunn’s unique, semi-oriental cottage, with
a considerable extent of pleasure ground, newly planted,
after the designs of Mr. Notman. (Fig. 11.)
About Philadelphia there are several very interesting
seats on the banks of the Delaware and Schuylkill, and
the district between these two rivers.
The country seat of George Sheaff, Esq., one of the most
remarkable in Pennsylvania, in many respects, is twelve
miles north of Philadelphia. The house is a large and re-
spectable mansion of stone, surrounded by pleasure-grounds
and plantations of fine evergreen and deciduous trees. The
conspicuous ornament of the grounds, however, is a mag-
nificent white oak, of enormous size, whose wide stretching
branches, and grand head, gave an air of dignity to the
whole place. (Fig. 12.) Among the sylvan features here,
most interesting, are also the handsome evergreens, chiefly
Balsam or Balm of Gilead firs, some of which are now
58 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
much higher than the mansion. These trees were planted
by Mr. Sheaff twenty-two years ago, and were then so
small, that they were brought by him from Philadelphia,
at various times, in his carriage—a circumstance highly
encouraging to despairing planters, when we reflect how
comparatively slow growing is this tree. This whole es-
tate is a striking example of science, skill, and taste,
applied to a country seat, and there are few in the Union,
taken as a whole, superior to it.*
Cottage residence of Mrs. Camac. This is one of the
most agreeable places within a few miles of Philadelphia.
The house is a picturesque cottage, in the rural gothic
style, with very charming and appropriate pleasure grounds,
comprising many groups and masses of large and finely
grown trees, interspersed with a handsome collection of
shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged.
(Fig. 13.) The lawn is prettily varied in surface, and
there is a conservatory attached to the house, in which the
plants in pots are hidden in beds of soft green moss, and
which, in its whole effect and management, is more tasteful
and elegant than any plant house, connected with a dwell-
ing, that we remember to have seen.
* The farm is 300 acres in extent, and, in the time of De Witt Clinton, was
pronounced by him the model farm of the United States. At the present time
we know nc‘hing superior to it; and Capt. Barelay, in his agricultural tour, says
it was the only instance of regular, scientific system of husbandry in the Eng-
lish manner, he saw in America. Indeed, the large and regular fields, filled
with luxuriant crops, everywhere of an exact evenness of growth, and every-
where free from weeds of any sort ; the perfect system of manuring and cul-
ture ; the simple and complete fences; the fine stock ; the very spacious barns,
every season newly whitewashed internally and externally, paved with wood,
and as clean as a gentleman’s stable (with stalls to fatten 90 head of cattle) ;
these, and the masterly way in which the whole is managed, both as regards
culture and profit, render this estate one of no common interest in an agricul-
tural, as well as ornamental point of view.
Ci
= imac’s Re 1]
s; Residenc
HISTORICAL NOTICES. 59
Stanton, near Germantown, four miles from Philadelphia,
is a fine old place, with many picturesque features. The
farm consists of 700 acres, almost without division fences—
admirably managed—and remarkable for its grand old
avenue of the hemlock spruce, 110 years old, leading to a
family cemetery of much sylvan beauty. There is a large
and excellent old mansion, with paved halls, built in 1781,
which is preserved in its original condition. This place
was the seat of the celebrated Logan, the friend of William
Penn, and is now owned by his descendant, Albanus Logan.
The villa residence of Alexander Brown, Esq., is situated
on the Delaware, a few miles from Philadelphia. There
is here a good deal of beauty, in the natural style, made up
chiefly by lawn and forest trees. A pleasing drive through
plantations of 25 years’ growth, is one of the most interest-
ing features—and there is much elegance and high keeping
in the grounds.
Below Philadelphia, the lover of beautiful places will
find a good deal to admire in the country seat of John R.
Latimer, Esq., near Wilmington, which enjoys the reputa-
tion of being the finest in Delaware. The place has all
the advantages of high keeping, richly stocked gardens and
conservatories, and much natural beauty, heightened by
judicious planting, arrangement, and culture.
At the south are many extensive country residences re-
markable for trees of unusual grandeur and beauty, among
which the live oak is very conspicuous ; but they are, in
general, wanting in that high keeping and care, which is
so essential to the charm of a landscape garden.
Of smaller villa residences, suburban chiefly, there are
great numbers, springing up almost by magic, in the bor-
ders of our towns and cities. Though the possessors of
60 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
these can scarcely hope to introduce anything approaching
to a landscape garden style, in laying out their limited
grounds, still they may be greatly benefited by an ac-
quaintance with the beauties and the pleasures of this
species of rural embellishment. When we are once master
of the principles, and aware of the capabilities of an art,
we are able to infuse an expression of tasteful design, or
an air of more correct elegance, even into the most humble
works, and with very limited means.
While we shall endeavor, in the following pages, to give
such a view of modern Landscape Gardening, as will enable
the improver to proceed with his fascinating operations, in
embellishing the country residence, in a practical mode,
based upon what are now generally received as the correct
principles of the art, we would desire the novice, after
making himself acquainted with all that can be acquired
from written works within his reach, to strengthen his taste
and add to his knowledge, by a practical inspection of the
best country seats among us. In an infant state of society,
in regard to the fine arts, much will be done in violation of
good taste; but here, where nature has done so much for
us, there is scarcely a large country residence in the Union,
from which useful hints in Landscape Gardening may not
be taken. And in nature, a group of trees, an accidental
pond of water, or some equally simple object, may form a
study more convincing to the mind of a true admirer of
natural beauty, than the most carefully drawn plan, or the
most elaborately written description.
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 61
SECTION IL.
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART.
Capacities of the art, The beauties of the ancient style. The modernstyle. The Beauti-
ful and the Picturesque: their distinctive characteristics. Illustrations drawn from
Nature and Painting. Nature and principles of Landscape Gardening as an Initative
art. Distinction between the Beautiful and Picturesque. The principles of Unity,
Harmony, and Variety.
«Here Nature in her unaffected dresse,
Plaited with vallies and imbost with hills,
Enchast with silver streams, and fringed with woods,
Sits lovely. ””—
CHAMBERLAYNE,
«Tl est des soins plus doux, un art plus enchanteur.
C’est peu de charmer Pil, il faut parler au cceur.
Avez-vous done connu ces rapports invisibles,
Des corps inanimés et des étres sensibles ?
Avez-vous entendu des eaux, des prés, des bois,
La muette éloquence et la secréte voix ?
Rendez-nous ces effets.” Les Jardins, Book I.
EFORE we proceed to a detailed and
more practical consideration of the subject,
let us occupy ourselves for a moment with
the consideration of the different results
which are to be sought after, or, in other
words, what kinds of beauty we may hope to
produce by Landscape Gardening. To attempt the smallest
work in any art, without knowing either the capacities of
62 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
that art, or the schools, or modes, by which it has previous-
ly been characterized, is but to be groping about in a dim
twilight, without the power of knowing, even should we be
successful in our efforts, the real excellence of our produc-
tion ; or of judging its merit, comparatively, as a work of
taste and imagination.
{Fig. 14. The Geometric style, from an old print.]
The beauties elicited by the ancient style of gardening
were those of regularity, symmetry, and the display of
labored art. These were attained in a merely mechanical
manner, and usually involved little or no theory. The
geometrical form and lines of the buildings were only ex-
tended and carried out in the garden. In the best classical
models, the art of the sculptor conferred dignity and ele-
gance on the garden, by the fine forms of marble vases and
statues ; in the more intricate and labored specimens of the
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 63
Dutch school, prevalent in England in the time of William
IV. (Fig. 14), the results evince a fertility of odd conceits,
rather than the exercise of taste or imagination. Indeed,
as, to level ground naturally uneven, or to make an avenue,
by planting rows of trees on each side of a broad walk,
requires only the simplest perception of the beauty of ma-
thematical forms, so, to lay out a garden in the geometric
style, became little more than a formal routine, and it was
only after the superior interest of a more natural manner
was enforced by men of genius, that natural beauty of
expression was recognised, and Landscape Gardening was
raised to the rank of a fine art.
The ancient style of gardening may, however, be intro-
duced with good effect in certain cases. In public squares
and gardens, where display, grandeur of effect, and a highly
artificial character are desirable, it appears to us the most
suitable; and no less so in very small gardens, in which
variety and irregularity are out of the question. Where a
taste for imitating an old and quaint style of residence
exists, the symmetrical and knotted garden would be a
proper accompaniment ; and pleached alleys, and sheared
trees, would be admired, like old armor or furniture, as
curious specimens of antique taste and custom.
The earliest professors of modern Landscape Gardening
have generally agreed upon two variations, of which the
art is capable—variations no less certainly distinct, on the
one hand, than they are capable of intermingling and com-
bining, on the other. These are the beautiful and the pic-
turesque: or, to speak more definitely, the beauty charac-
terized by simple and flowing forms, and that expressed by
striking, irregular, spirited forms.
The admirer of nature, as well as the lover of pictures
64 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
and engravings, will at once call to mind examples of
scenery distinctly expressive of each of these kinds of
beauty. In nature, perhaps some gently undulating plain,
covered with emerald turf, partially or entirely encompassed
by rich, rolling outlines of forest canopy,—its wildest ex-
panse here broken occasionally, by noble groups of round-
headed trees, or there interspersed with single specimens
whose trunks support heads of foliage flowing in outline,
or drooping in masses to the very turf beneath them. In
such a scene we often behold the azure of heaven, and its
silvery clouds, as well as the deep verdure of the luxuriant
and shadowy branches, reflected in the placid bosom of a
silvan lake ; the shores of the latter swelling out, and reced-
ing, in gentle curved lines ; the banks, sometimes covered
with soft turf sprinkled with flowers, and in other portions
clothed with luxuriant masses of verdant shrubs. Here are
all the elements of what is termed natural beauty,—or a
landscape characterized by simple, easy, and flowing lines.
For an example of the opposite character, let us take a
stroll to the nearest woody glen in your neighborhood—
perhaps a romantic valley, half shut in on two or more
sides by steep rocky banks, partially concealed and over-
hung by clustering vines, and tangled thickets of deep
foliage. Against the sky outline breaks the wild and irre-
gular form of some old, half decayed tree near by, or the
horizontal and unique branches of the larch or the pine,
with their strongly marked forms. Rough and irregular
stems and trunks, rocks half covered with mosses and
flowering plants, open glades of bright verdure opposed to
dark masses of bold shadowy foliage, form prominent ob-
jects in the foreground. If water enlivens the scene, we
shall hear the murmur of the noisy brook, or the cool dash-
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 65
ing of the cascade, as it leaps over the rocky barrier. . Let
the stream turn the ancient and well-worn wheel of the old
mill in the middle ground, and we shall have an illustration
of the picturesque, not the less striking from its familiarity
to every one.
To the lover of the fine arts, the name of Claude Lor-
raine cannot fail to suggest examples of beauty in some of
its purest and most simple forms. In the best pictures of
this master, we see portrayed those graceful and flowing
forms in trees, foreground, and buildings, which delight so
much the lover of noble and chaste beauty,—compositions
emanating from a harmonious soul, and inspired by a cli-
mate and a richness of nature and art seldom surpassed.
On the other hand, where shall we find all the elements
of the picturesque more graphically combined than in the
vigorous landscapes of Salvator Rosa! In those rugged
scenes, even the lawless aspects of his favorite robbers and
banditti are not more spirited, than the bold rocks and wild
passes by which they are surrounded. And in the produc-
tions of his pencil we see the influence of a romantic and
vigorous imagination, nursed amid scenes teeming with
the grand as well as the picturesque—both of which he
embodied in the most striking manner.
In giving these illustrations of beautiful and of pictu-
resque scenes, we have not intended them to be understood
in the light of exact models for imitation in Landscape
Gardening—only as striking examples of expression in
natural scenery. Although in nature many landscapes
partake in a certain degree of both these kinds of expression,
yet it is no doubt true that the effect is more satisfactory,
where either the one or the other character predominates.
The accomplished amateur should be able to seize at once
5)
66 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
upon the characteristics of these two species of beauty in
all scenery. To assist the reader in this kind of discrimi-
nation, we shall keep these expressions constantly in view,
and we hope we shall be able fully to illustrate the differ-
ence in the expression of even single trees, in this respect.
A few strongly marked objects, either picturesque or simply
beautiful, will often confer their character upon a whole
landscape ; as the destruction of a single group of bold
rocks, covered with wood, may render a scene, once pictu-
~ resque, completely insipid.
The early writers on the modern style were content with
trees allowed to grow in their natural forms, and with an
easy assemblage of sylvan scenery in the pleasure-grounds,
which resembled the usual woodland features of nature.
The effect of this method will always be interesting, and an
agreeable effect will always be the result of following the
simplest hints derived from the free and luxuriant forms of
nature. No residence in the country can fail to be pleasing,
whose features are natural groups of forest trees, smooth
lawn, and hard gravel walks.
But this is scarcely Landscape Gardening in the true
sense of the word, although apparently so understood by
many writers. By Landscape Gardening, we understand
not only an imitation, in the grounds of a country residence,
of the agreeable forms of nature, but an expressive, harmo-
nious, and refined imitation.* In Landscape Gardening,
* «Thus, there is a beauty of nature and a beauty of art. To copy the
beauty of nature cannot be called being an artist in the highest sense of the
word, as a mechanical talent only is requisite for this. The beautiful in art
depends on ideas ; and the true artist, therefore, must possess, together with the
talent for technical execution, that genial power which revels freely in rich
forms, and is capable of producing and animating them. It is by this, that the
merit of the artist and his production is to be judged ; and these cannot be
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 67
we should aim to separate the accidental and extraneous
in nature, and to preserve only the spirit, er essence. This
subtle essence lies, we believe, in the expression more or
Jess pervading every attractive portion of nature. And it
is by eliciting, preserving, or heightening this expression,
that we may give our landscape gardens a higher charm,
than even the polish of art can bestow.
Now, the two most forcible and complete expressions to
be found in that kind of natural scenery which may be
reproduced in Landscape Gardening, are the Beauriru.
and the Picruresave. As we look upon these as quite
distinct, and as success in practical embellishment must
depend on our feeling and understanding these expressions
beforehand, it is necessary that we should attach some
definite meaning to terms which we shall be continually
obliged toemploy. This is, indeed, the more requisite, from
the vague and conflicting opinions of most preceding writers
on this branch of the subject ; some, like Repton, insisting
that they are identical; and others, like Price, that they
are widely different.
Gilpin defines Picturesque objects to be “those which
please from some quality capable of being illustrated in
painting.”
Nothing can well be more vague than such a definition.
We have already described the difference between the
beautiful landscapes of Claude and the picturesque scenes
painted by Salvator. No one can deny their being essen-
properly estimated among those barren copyists which we find so many of our
flower, landscape, and portrait painters to be. But the artist stands much
higher in the scale, who, though a copyist of visible nature, is capable of seiz-
ing it with poetic feeling, and representing it in its more dignified sense ; such,
for example, as Raphael, Poussin, Claude, &c.”—WEINBREUNER.
68 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
>
tially distinct in character; and no one, we imagine, will
deny that they both please from “some quality capable of
being illustrated in painting.” The beautiful female heads
of Carlo Dolce are widely different from those of the pictu-
resque peasant girls of Gerard Douw, yet both are favorite
subjects with artists. A symmetrical American elm, with
its wide head drooping with garlands of graceful foliage, is
very different in expression from the wild and twisted larch
or pine tree, which we find on the steep sides of a moun-
tain; yet both are favorite subjects with the painter. It is
clear, indeed, that there is a widely different idea hidden
under these two distinct types, in material forms.
Beauty, in all natural objects, as we conceive, arises
from their expression of those attributes of the Creator—
infinity, unity, symmetry, proportion, ete——which he has
stamped more or less visibly on all his works; and a beau-
tiful living form is one in which the individual is a harmo-
nious and well balanced development ofa fine type. Thus,
taking the most perfect specimens of beauty in the human
figure, we see in them symmetry, proportion, unity,
and grace—the presence of everything that could add
to the idea of perfected existence. In a beautiful tree,
such as a fine American elm, we see also the most complete
and perfect balance of all its parts, resulting from its
growth under the most favorable influences. It realizes,
then, perfectly, the finest form of a fine type or species of
tree.
But all nature is not equally Beautiful. Both in living
things and in inorganized matter, we see on all sides evi-
dences of nature struggling with opposing forces. Moun-
tains are upheaved by convulsions, valleys are broken into
fearful chasms. Certain forms of animal and vegetable life,
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 69
instead of manifesting themselves in those more complete
and perfect forms of existence where the matter and spirit
are almost in perfect harmony, appear to struggle for the
full expression of their character with the material form,
and to express it only with difficulty at last. What is
achieved with harmony, grace, dignity, almost with appa-
rent repose, by existences whose type is the Beautiful, is
done only with violence and disturbed action by the former.
This kind of manifestation in nature we call the Pictures-
que.
More concisely, the Beautiful is nature or art obeying
the universal laws of perfect existence (i. e. Beauty),
easily, freely. harmoniously,-and without the display of
power. The Picturesque is nature or art obeying the same
laws rudely, violently, irregularly, and often displaying
power only.
Hence we find all Beautiful forms characterized by curved
and flowing lines—lines expressive of infinity,* of grace,
and willing obedience: and all Picturesque forms character-
ized by irregular and broken lines—lines expressive of vio-
lence, abrupt action, and partial disobedience, a strug-
gling of the idea with the substance or the condition of its
being. The Beautiful is an idea of beauty calmly and har-
moniously expressed ; the Picturesque an idea of beauty or
power strongly and irregularly expressed. As an example
of the Beautifulin other arts we refer to the Apollo of the
Vatican ; as an example of the Picturesque, to the Laocoon
or the Dying Gladiator. In nature we would place before
* Hogarth called the curve the line of beauty, and all artists have felt instinct-
ively its power, but Mr. Ruskin (in Modern Painters) was, we believe, the
first to suggest the cause of that power—that i expresses in its varying ten-
dencies, the infinite.
70 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
the reader a finely formed elm or chestnut, whose well
balanced head is supported on a trunk full of symmetry and
dignity, and whose branches almost sweep the turf in their
rich luxuriance ; as a picturesque contrast, some pine or
larch, whose gnarled roots grasp the rocky crag on which it
grows, and whose wild and irregular branches tell of the
storm and tempest that it has so often struggled against.*
In pictures, too, one often hears the Beautiful confounded
with the Picturesque. Yet they are quite distinct; though
in many subjects they may be found harmoniously com-
bined. Some of Raphael’s angels may be taken as perfect
illustrations of the Beautiful. In their serene and heavenly
countenances we see only that calm and pure existence of
which perfect beauty is the outward type ; on the other hand,
Murillo’s beggar boys are only picturesque. What we ad-
mire in them (beyond admirable execution) is not their rags
or their mean apparel, but a certain irregular struggling
of a better feeling within, against this outward poverty of
nature and condition.
Architecture borrows, partly perhaps by association, the
same expression. We find the Beautiful in the most sym-
metrical edifices, built in the finest proportions, and of the
purest materials. It is, on the other hand, in some irregu-
lar castle formed for defence, some rude mill nearly as wild as
the glen where it is placed, some thatched cottage, weather
stained and moss covered, that we find the Picturesque.
The Temple of Jupiter Olympus in all its perfect proportions
* This also explains why trees, though they retain for the most part their
characteristic forms, vary somewhat in expression according to their situation.
Thus the larch, though always picturesque, is far more so in mountain ridges
where it is exposed to every blast, than in sheltered lawns where it only finds
soft airs and sunshine.
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 71
was prized by the Greeks as a model of beauty ; we, who
see only a few columns and broken architraves standing,
with all their exquisite mouldings obliterated by the vio-
lence of time and the elements, find them Picturesque.
To return to a more practical view of the subject,
we may remark, that though we consider the Beautiful and
the Picturesque quite distinct, yet it by no means follows
that they may not be combined in the same landscape.
This is often seen in nature ; and indeed there are few
landscapes of large extent where they are not thus harmo-
niously combined.
But it must be remembered, that while Landscape Gar-
dening is an imitation of nature, yet it is rarely attempted
on so large a scale as to be capable of the same extended
harmony and variety of expression ; and also, that in Land-
scape Gardening as in the other fine arts, we shall be more
successful by directing our efforts towards the production
of a leading character or expression, than by endeavor-
ing to join and harmonize several.
Our own views on this subject are simply these. When
a place is small, and only permits a single phase of natural
expression, always endeavor to heighten or to make that
single expression predominate ; it should clearly either aim
only at the Beautiful or the Picturesque.
When, on the contrary, an estate of large size comes
within the scope of the Landscape Gardener, he is at liberty
to give to each separate scene its most fitting character ;
he will thus, if he is a skilful artist, be able to create great
variety both of beautiful and picturesque expression, and
he will also be able to give a higher proof of his power, viz.
by uniting all those scenes into one whole, by bringing
them all into harmony. An artist who can do this has
reached the ultimatum of his art.
72 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Again and again has it been said, that Landscape Gar-
dening and Painting are allied. In no one point does it ap-
pear to us that they are so, more than in this—that in pro-
portion to the limited nature of the subject should simpli-
city and unity of expression be remembered. In some of
the finest smaller compositions of Raphael, or some of the
Landscapes of Claude, so fully is this borne in mind, that
every object, however small, seems to be instinct with the
same expression ; while in many of the great historical
pictures, unity and harmony are wrought out of the most
complex variety of expression.
We must not be supposed to find in nature only the
Beautiful and the Picturesque. Grandeur and Sublimity
are also expressions strongly marked in many of the noblest
portions of natural landscape. But, except in very rare
instances, they are wholly beyond the powers of the land-
scape gardener, at least in the comparatively limited scale
of his operations in this country. All that he has to do, is
to respect them where they exist in natural landscape which
forms part of his work of art, and so treat the latter, as
to make it accord with, or at least not violate, the higher
and predominant expression of the whole.
There are, however, certain subordinate expressions
which may be considered as qualities of the Beautiful, and
which may originally so prevail in natural landscape, or be
so elicited or created by art, as to give a distinct character
to a small country residence, or portions of a large one.
These are simplicity, dignity, grace, elegance, gaiety,
chasteness, &c. It is not necessary that we should go
into a labored explanation of these expressions. They are
more or less familiar to all. A few fine trees, scattered
and grouped over any surface of smooth lawn, will give a
Picturesque in Landscape Gardening.
273
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 73
character of simple beauty; lofty trees of great age,
hills covered with rich wood, an elevation commanding a
wide country, stamp a site with dignity ; trees of full and
graceful habit or gently curving forms in the lawn, walks,
and all other objects, will convey the idea of grace ; as
finely formed and somewhat tall trees of rare species, or a
great abundance of bright climbers and gay flowering shrubs
and plants, will confer characters of elegance and gaiety.
He who would create in his pleasure grounds these more
delicate shades of expression, must become a profound stu-
dent both of nature and art; he must be able, by his
own original powers, to seize the subtle essence, the half
disclosed idea involved in the finest parts of nature, and to
reproduce and develope it in his Landscape Garden.
Leaving such, however, to a broader range of study than
a volume like this would afford, we may offer what, per-
haps, will not be unacceptable to the novice—a more de-
tailed sketch of the distinctive features of the Beautiful and
the Picturesque, as these expressions should be embodied
in Landscape Gardening.
Tue Beautirut in Landscape Gardening (Fig. 15) is
produced by outlines whose curves are flowing and gradual,
surfaces of softness, and growth of richness and luxuriance.
In the shape of the ground, it is evinced by easy undulations
melting gradually into each other. In the form of trees, by
smooth stems, full, round, or symmetrical heads of foliage,
and luxuriant branches often drooping to the ground,—which
is chiefly attained by planting and grouping, to allow free
development of form ; and by selecting trees of suitable cha-
racter, as the elm, the ash, and the like. In walks and
- roads, by easy flowing curves, following natural shapes of
the surface, with no sharp angies or abrupt turns. In water,
74 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
by the smooth lake with curved margin, embellished with
flowing outlines of trees, and full masses of flowering
shrubs—or in the easy winding curves of a brook. The
keeping of such a scene should be of the most polished
kind,—grass mown into a softness like velvet, gravel walks
scrupulously firm, dry, and clean; and the most perfect
order and neatness should reign throughout. Among the
trees and shrubs should be conspicuous the finest foreign
sorts, distinguished by beauty of form, foliage, and blossom ;
and rich groups of shrubs and flowering plants shouid be
arranged in the more dressed portions near the house.
And finally, considering the house itself as a feature in the
scene, it should properly belong to one of the classical
modes; and the Italian, Tuscan, or Venetian forms are
preferable, because these have both a polished and a
domestic air, and readily admit of the graceful accom-
paniments of vases, urns, and other harmonious
accessories. Or, if we are to have a plainer dwelling,
it should be simple and symmetrical in its character, and
its veranda festooned with masses of the finest climbers.
Tue Picruresave in Landscape Gardening (Fig. 16)
aims at the production of outlines of a certain spirited
irregularity, surfaces comparatively abrupt and broken,
and growth of a somewhat wild and bold character. The
shape .of the ground sought after, has its occasional
smoothness varied by sudden variations, and in parts runs
into dingles, rocky groups, and broken banks. The trees
should in many places be old and irregular, with rough
stems and bark; and pines, larches, and other trees of
striking, irregular growth, must appear in numbers sufficient
to give character to the woody outlines. As, to produce
the Beautiful, the trees are planted singly in open groups
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 75
to allow full expansion, so for the Picturesque, the grouping
takes every variety of form; almost every object should
group with another; trees and shrubs are often planted
closely together; and intricacy and variety—thickets—
glades—and underwood—as in wild nature, are indispensa-
ble. Walks and roads are more abrupt in their windings,
turning off frequently at sudden angles where the form of
the ground or some inviting object directs. In water, all
the wildness of romantic spots in nature is to be imitated
or preserved ; and the lake or stream with bold shore and
rocky, wood-fringed margin, or the cascade in the secluded
dell, are the characteristic forms. The keeping of such a
landscape will of course be less careful than in the
graceful school. Firm gravel walks near the house, and
a general air of neatness in that quarter, are indispensable
to the fitness of the scene in all modes, and indeed properly
evince the recognition of art in all Landscape Gardening.
But the lawn may be less frequently mown, the edges of
the walks less carefully trimmed, where the Picturesque
prevails; while in portions more removed from the house,
the walks may sometimes sink into a mere footpath
without gravel, and the lawn change into the forest glade
or meadow. The architecture which belongs to the
picturesque landscape, is the Gothic mansion, the old
English or the Swiss cottage, or some other striking
forms, with bold projections, deep shadows, and irregular
outlines. Rustic baskets, and similar ornaments, may
abound near the house, and in the more frequented parts
of the place.
The recognition of art, as Loudon justly observes, is a
first principle in Landscape Gardening, as in all other arts ;
and those of its professors have erred, who supposed that
76 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
ca
the object of this art is merely to produce a fac-simile of
nature, that could not be distinguished from a wild scene.
But we contend that this principle may be fully attained
with either expression—the picturesque cottage being as
well a work of art as the classic villa; its baskets, and
seats of rustic work, indicating the hand of man as well
as the marble vase and balustrade ; and a walk, sometimes
narrow and crooked, is as certainly recognised as man’s
work, as one always regular and flowing. Foreign trees
of picturesque growth are as readily obtained as those of
beautiful forms. The recognition of art is, therefore,
always apparent in both modes. The evidences are
indeed stronger and more multiplied in the careful polish
of the Beautiful landscape,* and hence many prefer this
species of landscape, not, as it deserves to be preferred, °
because it displays the most beautiful and perfect ideas in
its outlines, the forms of its trees, and all that enters into
its composition, but chiefly because it also is marked by
that careful polish, and that completeness, which imply
the expenditure of money, which they so well know how
to value.
If we declare that the Beautiful is the more perfect
expression in landscape, we shall be called upon to explain
why the Picturesque is so much more attractive to many
minds. This, we conceive, is owing partly to the imper-
* The beau ideal in Landscape Gardening, as a fine art, appears to us to be
embraced in the creation of scenery full of expression, as the beautiful or pic-
turesque, the materials of which are, to a certain extent, different from those in
wild nature, being composed of the floral and arboricultural riches of all climates,
as far as possible ; uniting in the same scene, a richness and a variety never to
be found in any one portion of nature ;—a scene characterized as a work of art,
by the variety of the materials, as foreign trees, plants, &c., and by the polish
and keeping of the grounds in the natural style, as distinctly as by the uniform
and symmetrical arrangement in the ancient style.
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 71%
fection of our natures by which most of us sympathize
more with that in which the struggle between spirit and
matter is most apparent, than with that in which the
union is harmonious and complete; and partly because
from the comparative rarity of highly picturesque land-
scape, it affects us more forcibly when brought into
contrast with our daily life. Artists, we imagine, find
somewhat of the same pleasure in studying wild land-
scape, where the very rocks and trees seem to struggle
with the elements for foothold, that they do in contem-
plating the phases of the passions and instincts of
human and animal life. The manifestation of power is
to many minds far more captivating than that of beauty.
All who enjoy the charms of Landscape Gardening,
may perhaps be divided into three classes : those who have
arrived only at certain primitive ideas of beauty which
are found in regular forms and straight lines; those who
in the Beautiful seek for the highest and most perfect
development of the idea in the material form ;
and those who in the Picturesque enjoy most a certain
wild and incomplete harmony between the idea and the
forms in which it is expressed.
As the two latter classes embrace the whole range
of modern Landscape Gardening, we shall keep distinctly
in view their two governing principles—the Beautiful and
the Picturesque, in treating of the practice of the art.
There are always circumstances which must exert a
controlling influence over amateurs, in this country, in
choosing between the two. These are, fixed locality, ex-
pense, individual preference in the style of building, and
many others which readily occur to all. The great variety
of attractive sites in the older parts of the country, afford an
78 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
abundance of opportunity for either taste. Within the last
five years, we think the Picturesque is beginning to be pre-
ferred. It has, when a suitable locality offers, great advan-
tages for us. The raw materials of wood, water, and sur-
face, by the margin of many of our rivers and brooks, are
at once appropriated with so much effect, and so little art,
in the picturesque mode; the annual tax on the purse too
is so comparatively little, and the charm so great!
While, on one hand, the residences of a country of level
plains usually allow only the beauty of simple and grace-
ful forms; the larger demesne, with its swelling hills and
noble masses of wood (may we not, prospectively, say the
rolling prairie too?), should always, in the hands of the
man of wealth, be made to display all the breadth, va-
riety, and harmony of both the Beautiful and the Pictu-
resque.
There is no surface of ground, however bare, which has
not, naturally, more or less tendency to one or the other of
these expressions. And the improver who detects the true
character, and plants, builds, and embellishes, as he should,
constantly aiming to elicit and strengthen it—will soon
arrive at a far higher and more satisfactory result, than one
who, in the common manner, works atrandom. The latter
may succeed in producing pleasing grounds—he will un-
doubtedly add to the general beauty and tasteful appearance
of the country, and we gladly accord him our thanks. But
the improver who unites with pleasing forms an expres-
sion of sentiment, will affect not only the common eye, but
much more powerfully, the imagination, and the refined
and delicate taste.
But there are many persons with small cottage places,
of little decided character, who have neither room, time,
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 79
nor income, to attempt the improvement of their grounds
fully, after either of those two schools. How shall they
render their places tasteful and agreeable, in the easiest
manner? We answer, by attempting only the simple and
the natural; and the unfailing way to secure this, is by
employing as leading features only trees and grass. A
soft verdant lawn, a few forest or ornamental trees
well grouped, walks, and a few flowers, give universal
pleasure ; they contain in themselves, in fact, the basis of
all our agreeable sensations in a landscape garden (na-
tural beauty, and the recognition of art); and they are
the most enduring sources of enjoyment in any place.
There are no country seats in the United States so unsa-
tisfactory and tasteless, as those in which, without any
definite aim, everything is attempted; and a mixed jumble
of discordant forms, materials, ornaments, and decorations,
is assembled—a part in one style and a bit in another,
without the least feeling of unity or congruity. These
rural bedlams, full of all kinds of absurdities, without a
leading character or expression of any sort, cost their
owners a vast deal of trouble and money, without giving a
tasteful mind a shadow of the beauty which it feels at the
first glimpse of a neat cottage residence, with its simple,
sylvan character of well kept lawn and trees. If the latter
does not rank high in the scale of Landscape Gardening
as an art, it embodies much of its essence as a source of
enjoyment—the production of the Beautiful in country
residences.
Besides the beauties of form and expression in the differ-
ent modes of laying out grounds, there are certain univer-
sal and inherent beauties common to all styles, and, indeed,
to every composition in the fine arts. Of these, we shall
80 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
especially point out those growing out of the principles of
UNITY, HARMONY, and VARIETY.
Uniry, or the production of a whole, is a leading
principle of the highest importance, in every art of taste or
design, without which no satisfactory result can be
realized. This arises from the fact, that the mind can only
attend, with pleasure and satisfaction, to one object, or one
composite sensation, at the same time. If two distinct
objects, or classes of objects, present themselves at once to
us, we can only attend satisfactorily to one, by withdraw-
ing our attention for the time from the other. Hence the
necessity of a reference to this leading principle of unity.
To illustrate the subject, let us suppose a building,
partially built of wood, with square windows, and the
remainder of brick or stone, with long and narrow
windows. However well such a building may be con-
structed, or however nicely the different proportions of the
edifice may be adjusted, it is evident it can never forma
satisfactory whole. The mind can only account for such
an absurdity, by supposing it to have been built by two
individuals, or at two different times, as there is nothing
indicating unity of mind in its composition.
In Landscape Gardening, violations of the principle of
unity are often to be met with, and they are always indi-
cative of the absence of correct taste in art. Looking upon
a landscape from the windows of a villa residence, we
sometimes see a considerable portion of the view embraced
by the eye, laid out in natural groups of trees and shrubs,
and upon one side, or perhaps in the middle of the same
scene, a formal avenue leading directly up to the house.
Such a view can never appear a satisfactory whole,
because we experience a confusion of sensations in con-
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 81
templating it. There is an evident incongruity in bringing
two modes of arranging plantations, so totally different,
under the eye at one moment, which distracts, rather than
pleases the mind. In this example, the avenue, taken by
itself, may be a beautiful object, and the groups and con-
nected masses may, in themselves, be elegant; yet if the
two portions are seen together, they will not form a whole,
because they cannot make a composite idea. For the
same reason, there 1s something unpleasing in the introduc-
tion of fruit trees among elegant ornamental trees on a
lawn, or even in assembling together, in the same beds,
flowering plants and culinary vegetables—one class of
vegetation suggesting the useful and homely alone to the
mind, and the other, avowedly, only the ornamental.
In the arrangement of a large extent of surface, where a
great many objects are necessarily presented to the eye at
once, the principle of unity will suggest that there should
be some grand or leading features to which the others
should be merely subordinate. Thus, in grouping trees,
there should be some large and striking masses to which
the others appear to belong, however distant, instead of
scattered groups, all of the same size. Even in arranging
walks, a whole will more readily be recognised, if there are
one or two of large size, with which the others appear
connected as branches, than if all are equal in breadth,
and present the same appearance to the eye in passing.
In all works of art which command universal admiration
we discover an unity of conception and composition, an
unity of taste and execution. To assemble in a single
composition forms which are discordant, and portions
dissimilar in plan, can only afford pleasure for a short time
to tasteless minds, or those fond of trifling and puerile
6
82 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
conceits. The production of an accordant whole is, on
the contrary, capable of affording the most permanent
enjoyment to educated minds, everywhere, and at all periods
of time.
After unity, the principle of Varrery is worthy of con-
sideration, as a fertile source of beauty in Landscape Gar-
dening. Variety must be considered as belonging more to
the details than to the production of a whole, and it may
be attained by disposing trees and shrubs in numerous dif-
ferent ways; and by the introduction of a great number of
different species of vegetation, or kinds of walks, ornamental
objects, buildings, and seats. By producing intricacy, it
creates in scenery a thousand points of interest, and elicits
new beauties, through different arrangements and combi-
nations of forms and colors, light and shades. In pleasure-
grounds, while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the
different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other,
should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive
the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity.
Harmony may be considered the principle presiding over
variety, and preventing it from becoming discordant. It,
indeed, always supposes contrasts, but neither so strong nor
so frequent as to produce discord; and variety, but not so
great as to destroy a leading expression: In plantations,
we seek it in a combination of qualities, opposite in some
respects, as in the color of the foliage, and similar in others
more important, as the form. In embellishments, by a great
variety of objects of interest, as sculptured vases, sun dials,
or rustic seats, baskets, and arbors, of different forms, but all
in accordance, or keeping with the spirit of the scene.
To illustrate the three principles, with reference to Land-
scape Gardening, we may remark, that, if unity only were
BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 83
consulted, a scene might be planted with but one kind of
tree, the effect of which would be sameness; on the other
hand, variety might be carried so far as to have every tree
of a different kind, which would produce a confused effect.
Harmony, however, introduces contrast and variety, but
keeps them subordinate to unity, and to the leading expres-
sion ; and is, thus, the highest principle of the three.
In this brief abstract of the nature of imitation in Land-
scape Gardening and the kinds of beauty which it is possible
to produce by means of the art, we have endeavored to
elucidate its leading principles, clearly, to the reader.
These grand principles we shall here succinctly recapitu-
late, premising that a familiarity with them is of the very
first importance in the successful practice of this elegant
art, Viz. : «
Tue Imrration or tHe Beauty or Expression, derived
from a refined perception of the sentiment of nature: Tus
Recognition or Art, founded on the immutability of the
true, as well as the beautiful: Anp tue Propucrion or
Unity, Harmony, anp Variety, in order to render com-
plete and continuous, our enjoyment of any artistical
work.
Neither the professional Landscape Gardener, nor the
amateur, can hope for much success in realizing the nobler
effects of the art, unless he first make himself master of the
natural character or prevailing expression of the place to
be improved. In this nice perception, at a glance, of the
natural expression, as well as the capabilities of a residence,
lies the secret of the superior results produced even by the
improver, who, to use the words of Horace Walpole, “ is
proud of no other art than that of softening nature’s harsh-
ness, and copying her graceful touch.” When we discover
84 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
the picturesque indicated in the grounds of the residence to
be treated, let us take advantage of it ; and while all harsh-
ness incompatible with scenery near the house is removed,
the original expression may in most cases be heightened, in
all rendered more elegant and appropriate, without lower-
ing it in force or spirit. In like manner good taste will
direct us to embellish scenery expressive of the Beautiful,
by the addition of forms, whether in trees, buildings, or
other objects, harmonious in character, as well as in color
and outline.
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 85
SECTION II.
ON WOOD.
The beauty of Trees in Rural Embellishments. Pleasure resulting from their cultivation.
Plantations in the Ancient Style ; their formality. In the Modern Style ; grouping trees.
Arrangement and grouping in the Graceful school; in the Picturesque school. Illustra-
tions in planting villa, ferme ornée, and cottage grounds. General classification of trees
as to forms, with leading characteristics of each class.
“ He gains all points, who pleasingly confounds,
Surprises, varies, and conceals the bounds.
Calls in the country, catches opening glades,
Joins willing woods, and varies shades from shades ;
Now breaks, or now directs the intending lines ;
Paints as you plant, and, as you work, designs.”
Pore.
ai M O N G all the materials at our disposal
8 for the embellishment of country resi-
Se ce e dences, none are at once so highly orna-
mental, so indispensable, and so easily managed, as trees, or
wood. We introduce them in every part of the landscape,
—in the foreground as well as in the distance, on the tops
of the hills and in the depths of the valleys. They are, in-
deed, like the drapery which covers a somewhat ungainly
figure, and while it conceals its defects, communicates to it
new interest and expression.
A tree, undoubtedly, is one of the most beautiful objects
in nature. Airy and delicate in its youth, luxuriant and
majestic in its prime, venerable and picturesque in its old
86 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
age, it constitutes in its various forms, sizes, and develop-
ments, the greatest charm and beauty of the earth in all
countries. The most varied outline of surface, the finest
combination of picturesque materials, the stateliest country
house would be comparatively tame and spiritless, without
the inimitable accompaniment of foliage. Let those who
have passed their whole lives in a richly wooded country,
—whose daily visions are deep leafy glens, forest clad hills,
and plains luxuriantly shaded,—transport themselves for a
moment to the desert, where but a few stunted bushes raise
their heads above the earth, or those wild steppes where
the eye wanders in vain for some “leafy garniture,’’—where
the sun strikes down with parching heat, or the wind
sweeps over with unbroken fury, and they may, perhaps,
estimate, by contrast, their beauty and value.
We are not now to enumerate the great usefulness of
trees,—their value in the construction of our habitations,
our navies, the various implements of labor,—in short, the
thousand associations which they suggest as ministering to
our daily wants; but let us imagine the loveliest scene, the
wildest landscape, or the most enchanting valley, despoiled
of trees, and we shall find nature shorn of her fair propor-
tions, and the character and expression of these favorite
spots almost entirely destroyed.
Wood, in its many shapes, is then one of the greatest
sources of interest and character in Landscapes. Variety,
which we need scarcely allude to as a fertile source of
beauty, is created in a wonderful degree by a natural
arrangement of trees. To a pile of buildings, or even of
ruins, to a group of rocks or animals, they communicate
new life and spirit by their irregular outlines, which, by
partially concealing some portions, and throwing others
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 87
into stronger light, contribute greatly to produce intricacy
and variety, and confer an expression, which, without these
latter qualities, might in a great measure be wanting. By
shutting out some parts, and inclosing others, they divide
the extent embraced by the eye into a hundred different
landscapes, instead of one tame scene bounded by the
horizon.
The different seasons of the year, too, are inseparably
connected in our minds with the effects produced by them
on woodland scenery. Spring is joyous and enlivening to
us, as nature then puts on her fresh livery of green, and the
trees bud and blossom with a renewed beauty, that speaks
with a mute and gentle eloquence to the heart. In sum-
mer they offer us a grateful shelter under their umbrageous
arms and leafy branches, and whisper unwritten music to
the passing breeze. In autumn we feel a melancholy
thoughtfulness as
«We stand among the fallen leaves,”
and gaze upon their dying glories. And in winter we see
in them the silent rest of nature, and behold in their leaf-
less spray, and seemingly dead limbs, an annual type of
that deeper mystery—the deathless sleep of all being.
By the judicious employment of trees in the embellishment
of a country residence, we may effect the greatest alterations
and improvements within the scope of Landscape Garden-
ing. Buildings which are tame, insipid, or even mean in
appearance, may be made interesting, and often picturesque,
by a proper disposition of trees. Eddifices, or parts of them
that are unsightly, or which it is desirable partly or wholly
to conceal, can readily be hidden or improved by wood ;
and walks and roads, which otherwise would be but simple
88 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
ways of approach from one point to another, are, by an
elegant arrangement of trees on their margins, or adjacent
to them, made the most interesting and pleasing portions of
the residence.
In Geometric gardening, trees disposed in formal lines,
exhibit as strongly art or design in the contriver, as regu-
lar architectural edifices; while, in a more elevated and
enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them in our plea-
sure-grounds and parks, around our houses, in all the vari-
ety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a
manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general
nature ; producing a portion of landscape which unites with
all the comforts and conveniences of rural habitation, the
superior charm of refined arrangement, and natural beauty
of expression.
If it were necessary to present any other inducement
to the country gentleman to form plantations of trees,
than the great beauty and value which they add to his
estate, we might find it in the pleasure which all derive
from their cultivation. Unlike the pleasure arising from
the gratification of our taste in architecture, or any other
of the arts whose productions are offered to us perfect
and complete, the satisfaction arising from planting and
rearing trees is never weakened. “We look,” says a
writer, “upon our trees as our offspring; and nothing
of inanimate nature can be more gratifying than to see
them grow and prosper under our care and attention,—
nothing more interesting than to examine their progress,
and mark their several peculiarities. In their progress
from plants to trees, they every year unfold new and
characteristic marks of their ultimate beauty, which not
only compensate for past cares and troubles, but like the
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 89
returns of gratitude, raise a most delightful train of
sensations in the mind; so innocent and rational, that
they may justly rank with the most exquisite of human
enjoyments.”
“ Happy is he, who in a country life
Shuns more perplexing toil and jarring strife;
Who lives upon the natal soil he loves,
And sits beneath his old ancestral groves.”
To this, let us add the complacent feelings with which a
man in old age may look around him and behold these
leafy monarchs, planted by his boyish hands and nurtured
by him in his youthful years, which have grown aged and
venerable along with him ;
«A wood coeyal with himself he sees,
And loves his own contemporary trees.”
PLanrations In THE Ancient Sryue. In the arrange-
ment and culture of trees and plants in the ancient style
of Landscape Gardening, we discover the evidences of
the formal taste,—abounding with every possible variety
of quaint conceits, and rife with whimsical expedients,
so much in fashion during the days of Henry and Eliza-
beth, and until the eighteenth century in England, and
which is still the reigning mode in Holland, and parts of
France. In these gardens, nature was tamed and subdued,
or as some critics will have it, tortured into every shape
which the ingenuity of the gardener could suggest ; and
such kinds of vegetation as bore the shears most patiently,
and when carefully trimmed, assumed gradually the
appearance of verdant statues, pyramids, crowing cocks,
and rampant lions, were the especial favorites of the
90 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
gardeners of the old school.* The stately etiquette and
courtly precision of the manners of our English ancestors,
extended into their gardens, and were reflected back by the
very trees which lined their avenues, and the shrubs which
surrounded their houses. ‘“ Nonsuch, Theobalds, Green-
wich, Hampton Court, Hatfield, Moor-Park, Chatsworth,
Beaconfield, Cashiobury, Ham, and many another,” says
William Howitt, “stood in all that stately formality which
Henry and Elizabeth admired; and in which our Surreys,
Leicesters, Essexes, the splendid nobles of the Tudor
dynasty, the gay ladies and gallants of Charles I.’s court,
had walked and talked,—fluttering in glittering processions,
or flirting in green alleys and bowers of topiary work, and
amid figures, in lead or stone, fountains, cascades,—
copper-trees dropping sudden showers on the astonished
passers under, stately terraces with gilded balustrades, and
curious quincunxes, obelisks, and pyramids ;—fitting objects
of admiration of those who walked in high heeled shoes,
ruffs, and fardingales, with fan in hand, or in trunk hose
and laced doublet.”
Symmetrical uniformity governed with despotic power
even the trees and foliage, in the ancient style. In the
more simple country residences, the plantations were
always arranged in some regular lines or geometrical
figures. Long parallel rows of trees were planted for
groves and avenues along the principal roads and walks.
The greatest care was taken to avoid any appearance of
irregularity. A tree upon one side of the house was
opposed by another vis @ vis, and a row of trees at the
* The unique ideal of the “Garden of Eden,” by one of the old Dutch
painters, with sheared hedges, formal alleys, and geometric plots of flowers, for
the entertainment of our first parents, is doubtless familiar to our readers.
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS, 91
right of the mansion had its always accompanying row
on the left: or, as Pope in his Satire has more rhythmically
expressed it—
“ Grove nods at grove, each alley has its brother,
And half the platform just reflects the other.”
In the interior of the park, the plantations were generally
disposed either in straight avenues crossing each other, or
clumped in the form of circles, stars, squares, etc. ; and
long vistas were obtained through the avenues divaricating
from the house in various directions, over level surfaces.
One of the favorite fancies of the geometric gardener
was the Labyrinth (fig. 17), of which a few celebrated
examples are still in existence in England, and which
consisted of a multitude of trees thickly planted in
impervious hedges, covering sometimes several acres of
ground. These labyrinths were the source of much
amusement to the family and guests, the trial of skill being
to find the centre, and from that point to return again
without assistance ; and we are told by a historian of the
garden of that period, that “the stranger having once
entered, was sorely puzzled to get out.”
[Fig. 17. A Labyrinth.]
92 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Since the days when these gardens were in their glory
the taste in Landscape Gardening has undergone a great
change. The beautiful and the picturesque are the new
elements of interest, which, entering into the composition
of our gardens and home landscapes, have to refined minds
increased a hundred fold the enjoyment derived from this
species of rural scenery. Still, there is much to admire
in the ancient style. Its long and majestic avenues, the
wide-spreading branches interlacing over our heads, and
forming long, shadowy aisles, are, themselves alone, among
the noblest and most imposing sylvan objects. Even the
formal and curiously knotted gardens are interesting, from
the pleasing associations which they suggest to the mind,
as having been the favorite haunts of Shakspeare, Bacon,
Spenser, and Milton. They are so inseparably connected,
too, in our imaginations, with the quaint architecture of
that era, that wherever that style of building is adopted
(and we observe several examples already among us) this
style of gardening may be considered as highly appropriate,
and in excellent keeping with such a country house.
It has been remarked, that the geometric style would
always be preferred in a new country, or in any country
where the amount of land under cultivation is much less
than that covered with natural woods and forests; as the
inhabitants being surrounded by scenery abounding with
natural beauty, would always incline to lay out their gar-
dens and pleasure-grounds in regular forms, because the
distinct exhibition of art would give more pleasure by con-
trast, than the elegant imitation of beautiful nature. That
this is true as regards the mass of uncultivated minds, we
do not deny. But at the same time we affirm that it
evinces a meagre taste, and a lower state of the art, or a
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 93
lower perception of beauty in the individual who employs
the geometrical style in such cases. A person, whose
place is surrounded by inimitably grand or sublime scenery,
would undoubtedly fail to excite our admiration, by at-
tempting a fac-simile imitation of such scenery on the small
scale of a park or garden; but he is not, therefore, obliged
to resort to right-lined plantations and regular grass plots,
to produce something which shall be at once sufficiently
different to attract notice, and so beautiful as to command
admiration. All that it would be requisite for him to do
in such a case, would be to employ rare and foreign orna-
mental trees; as for example, the horse-chestnut and the
linden, in situations where the maple and the sycamore are
the principal trees,—elegant flowering shrubs and beautiful
creepers, instead of sumacs and hazels,—and to have his
place kept in high and polished order, instead of the tan-
gled wildness of general nature.
On the contrary, were a person to desire a residence
newly laid out and planted, in a district where all around
is in a high state of polished cultivation, as in the suburbs
of a city, a species of pleasure would result from the imita-
tion of scenery of a more spirited, natural character,
as the picturesque, in his grounds. His plantations are
made in irregular groups, composed chiefly of picturesque
trees, as the larch, &c.—his walks would lead through
varied scenes, sometimes bordered with groups of rocks
overrun with flowering creepers and vines ; sometimes
with thickets or little copses of shrubs and flowering
plants; sometimes through wild and comparatively ne-
glected portions ; the whole interspersed with open glades
of turf.
In the majority of instances in the United States, the
94 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
modern style of Landscape Gardening, wherever it is ap-
preciated, will, in practice, consist in arranging a demesne
of from five to some hundred acres,—or rather that portion
of it, say one half, one third, etc., devoted to lawn and
pleasure-ground, pasture, etc.—so as to exhibit groups of
forest and ornamental trees and shrubs, surrounding the
dwelling of the proprietor, and extending for a greater or
less distance, especially towards the place of entrance from
the public highway. Near the house, good taste will dic-
tate the assemblage of groups and masses of the rarer or
more beautiful trees and shrubs; commoner native forest
trees occupying the more distant portions of the grounds.*
Piantrations in THE Mopern Sryzze. In the Modern
Style of Landscape Gardening, it is our aim, in plantations,
to produce not only what is called natural beauty, but
even higher and more striking beauty of expression, and of
individual forms, than we see in nature; to create variety
* Although we love planting, and avow that there are few greater pleasures
than to see a darling tree, of one’s own placing, every year stretching wider its
feathery head of foliage, and covering with a darker shadow the soft turf beneath
it, still, we will not let the ardent and inexperienced hunter after a location for
a country residence, pass without a word of advice. This is, always to make
considerable sacrifice to get a place with some existing wood,or a few ready
grown trees upon it; especially near the site for the house. It is better to
yield a little in the extent of prospect, or in the direct proximity to a certain
locality; than to pitch your tent in a plain,—desert-like in its bareness—on
which your leafy sensibilities must suffer for half a dozen years at least, before
you can hope for any solace. It is doubtful whether there is not almost as
much interest in studying from one’s window the curious ramifications, the
variety of form, and the entire harmony, to be found in a fine old tree, as in
gazing from a site where we have no interruption to a panorama of the whole
horizon ; and we have generally found that no planters have so little courage
and faith, as those who haye commenced without the smallest group of large
trees, as a nucleus for their plantations.
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 95
and intricacy in the grounds of a residence by various
modes of arrangement ; to give a highly elegant or polished
air to places by introducing rare and foreign species ; and
to conceal all defects of surface, disagreeable views, un-
sightly buildings, or other offensive objects.
As uniformity, and grandeur of single effects, were the
aim of the old style of arrangement, so variety and har-
mony of the whole are the results for which we labor in
the modern landscape. And as the Avenue, or the straight
line, is the leading form in the geometric arrangement of
plantations, so let us enforce it upon our readers, the Group
is equally the key-note of the Modern style. The smallest
place, having only three trees, may have these pleasingly
connected in a group; and the largest and finest park—the
Blenheim or Chatsworth, of seven miles square, is only
composed of a succession of groups, becoming masses,
thickets, woods. If a demesne with the most beautiful
surface and views has been for some time stiffly and
awkwardly planted, it is exceedingly difficult to give it a
natural and agreeable air ; while many a tame level, with
scarcely a glimpse of distance, has been rendered lovely
by its charming groups of trees. How necessary, therefore,
is it, in the very outset, that the novice, before he begins
to plant, should know how to arrange a tasteful group!
Nothing, at first thought, would appear easier than to
arrange a few trees in the form of a natural and beautiful
group,—and nothing really is easier to the practised hand.
Yet experience has taught us that the generality of persons,
in commencing their first essays in ornamental planting,
almost invariably crowd their trees into a close, regular
clump, which has a most formal and unsightly appearance,
96 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
as different as possible from the easy, flowing outline of the
group.*
“Were it made the object of study,” said Price, “how
to invent something, which, under the name of ornament,
should disfigure a whole park, nothing could
* ede, 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 others of inferior growth, are full of variety in
their outlines ; and from the same causes, no two groups
are exactly alike. But clumps, from the trees being gene-
rally of the same age and growth, from their being planted
nearly at the same distance, in a circular form, and from
each tree being equally pressed by his neighbor, are as like
each other as so many puddings turned out of one com-
mon mould. Natural groups are full of openings and
hollows, of trees advancing before, or retiring behind each
other; all productive of intricacy, of variety, of deep
shadows and brilliant lights: in walking about them the
form changes at every step; new combinations, new lights
and shades, new inlets present themselves in succession.
* A friend of ours, at Northampton, who is a most zealous planter, related to
us a diverting expedient to which he was obliged to resort, in order to ensure
irregular groups. Busily engaged in arranging plantations of young trees on
his lawn, he was hastily obliged to leave home, and intrust the planting of the
groups to some common garden laborers, whose ideas he could not raise to a
point sufficiently high to appreciate any beauty in plantations, unless made in
regular forms and straight lines. ‘ Being well aware,” says our friend, “ that
if left to themselves I should find all my trees, on my return, in hollow squares
or circular clumps, I hastily threw up a peck of potatoes into the air, one by
one, and directed my workmen to plant a tree where every potatoe fell!
Thus, if I did not attain the maximum of beauty in grouping, I at least had
something not so offensive as geometrical figures.”
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 97
But clumps, like compact bodies of soldiers, resist attacks
from all quarters; examine them in every point of view;
walk round and round them; nv opening, no vacancy, no
stragglers ; but in the true military character, ils sont fuce
partout !*
The chief care, then, which is necessary in the forma-
tion of groups, is, not to place them in any regular or
artificial manner,—as one at each corner of a triangle,
square, octagon, or other many-sided figure; but so to
dispose them, as that the whole may exhibit the variety,
connexion, and intricacy seen in nature. “The greatest
beauty of a group of trees,” says Loudon, “as far as
respects their stems, is in the varied direction these take
as they grow into trees; but as that is, for all practical
purposes, beyond the influence of art, all we can do, is to
vary as much as possible the ground plan of groups, or
the relative positions which the stems have to each other
where they spring from the earth. This is considerable,
even where a very few trees are used, of which any
person may convince himself by placing a few dots on
paper. Thus two trees (fig. 18), or a tree and shrub,
which is the smallest group (a), may be placed in three
different positions with reference to a spectator in a fixed
point ; if he moves round them, they will first vary in form
separately, and next unite in one or two groups, according
to the position of the spectator. In like manner, three
* Those who peruse Price’s “ Essay on the Picturesque,’ cannot fail to be
entertained with the vigor with which he advocates the picturesque, and
attacks the clumping method of laying out grounds, so much practised in Eng-
land on the first introduction of the modern style. Brown was the great
practitioner at that time, and his favorite mode seems to have been to cover
the whole surface of the grounds with an unmeaning assemblage of round
bunchy clumps.
7
98 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
trees may be placed in four different positions ; four trees
may be placed in eight different positions (b); five trees
may be grouped in ten different ways, as to ground plan;
six may be placed in twelve different ways (c), and so on.”
(Encyclopedia of Gard.)
[Fig. 18. Grouping of Trees.)
In the composition of larger masses, similar rules must
be observed as in the smaller groups, in order to prevent
them from growing up in heavy, clumpish forms. The
outline must be flowing, here projecting out into the grass,
there receding back into the plantation, in order to take
off all appearance of stiffness and regularity. Trees of
medium and smaller size should be so interspersed with
those of larger growth, as to break up all formal sweeps in
the line produced by the tops of their summits, and oc-
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 99
casionally, low trees should be planted on the outer edge
of the mass, to connect it with the humble verdure of the
surrounding sward.
* In many parts of the union, where new residences are
being formed, or where old ones are to be improved, the
grounds will often be found, partially, or to a considerable
extent, clothed with belts or masses of wood, either pre-
viously planted, or preserved from the woodman’s axe.
How easily we may turn these to advantage in the natural
style of Landscape Gardening ; and by judicious trimming
when too thick, or additions when too much scattered,
elicit often the happiest effects, in a magical manner! In
the accompanying sketch (fig. 19), the reader will re-
cognise a portrait of a hundred familiar examples, existing
with us, of the places of persons of considerable means and
intelligence, where the house is not less meagre than the
{Fig. 19. View of a Country Residence, as frequently seen.]
stiff approach leading to it, bordered.with a formal belt of
trees. The succeeding sketch (fig. 20) exhibits this place
as improved agreeably to the principles of modern Land-
scape Gardening, not only in the plantations, but in the
house,—which appears tastefully altered from a plain un-
meaning parallelogram, to a simple, old English cottage,—-
and in the more graceful approach. Effects like these
100 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
are within the reach of very moderate means, and are
peculiarly worth attention in this country, where so much
has already been partially, and often badly executed.
ee tn tn
(Fig. 20. View of the same Residence, improved.]
Where there are large masses of wood to regulate and
arrange, much skill, taste, and judgment, are requisite, to
enable the proprietors to preserve only what is really
beautiful and picturesque, and to remove all that is super-
fluous. Most of our native woods, too, have grown so
closely, and the trees are consequently so much drawn up,
that should the improver thin out any portion, at once, to
single trees, he will be greatly disappointed if he expects
them to stand long; for the first severe autumnal gale
will almost certainly prostrate them. The only method,
therefore, is to allow them to remain in groups of con-
siderable size at first, and to thin them out as is finally
desired, when they have made stronger roots and become
more inured to the influence of the sun and air.*
But to return to grouping; what we have already en-
deavored to render familiar to the reader, may be called
* When, in thinning woods in this manner, those left standing have a mea-
gre appearance. a luxuriant growth may be promoted by the application of
manure plentifully dug in about the roots. This will also, by causing an abun-
dant growth of new roots, strengthen the trees in their position.
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 101
grouping in its simple meaning—for general effect, and
with an eye only to the natural beauty of pleasing forms.
Let us now explain, as concisely as we may, the mode of
grouping in the two schools of Landscape Gardening here-
tofore defined, that is to say, grouping and planting for
Beautiful effect, and for Picturesque effect ; as we wish it
understood that these two different expressions, in artificial
landscape, are always to a certain extent under our control.
PLantinc AND Grouprine TO pRopUcE THE Beautirut.
The elementary features of this expression our readers
will remember to be fulness and softness of outline, and
perfectly luxuriant development. To insure these in plan-
tations, we must commence by choosing mainly trees of
graceful habit and flowing outlines; and of this class of
trees, hereafter more fully illustrated, the American elm
and the maple may be taken as the type. Next, in dis-
posing them, they must usually be planted rather distant
in the groups, and often singly. We do not mean by this,
that close groups may not occasionally be formed, but there
should be a predominance of trees grouped at such a dis-
tance from each other, as to allow a full development of
the branches on every side. Or, when a close group is
planted, the trees composing it should be usually of the
same or a similar kind, in order that they may grow up
together and form one finely rounded head. Rich creepers
and blossoming vines, that grow in fine luxuriant wreaths
“and masses, are fit accompaniments to occasional groups
in this manner. Fig. 21 represents a plan of trees grouped
along a road or walk, so as to develope the Beautiful.
It is proper that we should here remark, that a distinet
species of after treatment is required for the two modes.
Trees, or groups, where the Beautiful is aimed at, should be
102 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
[Fig. 21. Grouping to produce the Beautiful. |
pruned with great care, and indeed scarcely at all, except
to remedy disease, or to correct a bad form. Above all,
the full luxuriance and development of the tree should be
encouraged by good soil, and repeated manurings when
necessary ; and that most expressively elegant fall and
droop of the branches, which so completely denotes the
Beautiful in trees, should never be warred against by any
trimming of the lower branches, which must also be care-
fully preserved against cattle, whose browsing line would
soon efface this most beautiful disposition in some of our
fine lawn trees. Clean, smooth stems, fresh and tender
bark, ‘and a softly rounded pyramidal or drooping head,
are the characteristics of a Beautiful tree. We need not
add that gently sloping ground, or surfaces rolling in easy
undulations, should accompany such plantations.
Puantine anp Grovupine To PropuUcE THE PicTuRESQUE.
All trees are admissible in a picturesque place, but a pre-
dominance must be used by the planter of what are truly
called picturesque trees, of which the larch and fir tribe,
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 103
and some species of oak, may be taken as examples. In
Picturesque plantations everything depends on intricacy
{Fig. 22. Grouping to produce the Picturesque. }
and irregularity, and grouping, therefore, must often be
done in the most irregular manner—rarely, if ever, with
single specimens, as every object should seem to connect
itself with something else ; but most frequently there should
be irregular groups, occasionally running into thickets, and
always more or less touching each other ; trusting to after
time for any thinning, should it be necessary. Fig. 22
may, as compared with Fig. 21, give an idea of picturesque
grouping.
There should be more of the wildness of the finest and
most forcible portions of natural woods or forests, in the
disposition of the trees; sometimes planting them closely,
even two or three in the same hole, at others more loose
and scattered. These will grow up into wilder and more
striking forms, the barks will be deeply furrowed and rough,
the limbs twisted and irregular, and the forms and outlines
distinctly varied. They should often be intermixed with
smaller undergrowth of a similar character, as the hazel,
hawthorn, etc., and formed into such picturesque and strik-
104 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
ing groups, as painters love to study and introduce into
their pictures. Sturdy and bright vines, or such as are
themselves picturesque in their festoons and hangings,
should be allowed to clamber over occasional trees in a
negligent manner; and the surface and grass, in parts of
the scene not immediately in the neighborhood of the
mansion, may be kept short by the cropping of animals, or
alowed to grow in a more careless and loose state, like that
of tangled dells and natural woods.
There will be the same open glades in picturesque as in
beautiful plantations; but these openings, in the former,
will be bounded by groups and thickets of every form, and
of different degrees of intricacy, while in the latter the
eye will repose on softly rounded masses of foliage, or sin-
gle open groups of trees, with finely balanced and graceful
heads and branches.
In order to know how a plantation in the Picturesque
mode should be treated, after it is established, we should
reflect a moment on what constitutes picturesqueness in
any tree. This will be found to consist either in a certain
natural roughness of bark, or wildness of form and outline,
or in some accidental curve of a branch of striking manner
of growth, or perhaps of both these conjoined. A broken
or crooked limb, a leaning trunk, or several stems springing
from the same base, are frequently peculiarities that at once
stamp a tree as picturesque. Hence, it is easy to see that
the excessive care of the cultivator of trees in the graceful
school to obtain the smoothest trunks, and the most sweep-
ing, perfect, and luxuriant heads of foliage, is quite the
opposite of what is the picturesque arboriculturist’s ambi-
tion. He desires to encourage a certain wildness of growth,
and allows his trees to spring up occasionally in thickets
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 105
to assist this effect; he delights in occasional irregularity
of stem and outline, and he therefore suffers his trees here
and there to crowd each other; he admires a twisted limb
or a moss covered branch, and in pruning he therefore is
careful to leave precisely what it would be the aim of the
other to remove ; and his pruning, where it is at all neces-
sary, is directed rather towards increasing the naturally
striking and peculiar habit of the picturesque tree, than
assisting it in developing a form of unusual refinement and
symmetry. From these remarks we think the amateur
will easily divine, that planting, grouping, and culture to
produce the Beautiful, require a much less artistic eye
(though much more care and attention) than performing
the same operations to elicit the Picturesque. The charm
of a refined and polished landscape garden, as we usually
see it in the Beautiful grounds with all the richness and
beauty developed by high culture, arises from our admira-
tion of the highest perfection, the greatest beauty of form,
to which every object can be brought ; and, in trees, a
judicious selection, with high cultivation, will always pro-
duce this effect.
But in the Picturesque landscape garden there is visible
a piquancy of effect, certain bold and striking growths
and combinations, which we feel at once, if we know them
to be the result of art, to be the production of a peculiar
species of attention—not merely good, or even refined
ornamental gardening. In short, no one can be a pictu-
resque improver (if he has to begin with young plantations)
who is not himself something of an artist—who has not
studied nature with an artistical eye—and who is not
capable of imitating, eliciting, or heightening, in his plan-
tations or other portions of his residence, the picturesque
106 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
in its many variations. And we may add here, that effi-
cient and charming as is the assistance which all orna-
mental planters will derive from the study of the best
landscape engravings and pictures of distinguished artists,
they are indispensably necessary to the picturesque im-
prover. In these he will often find embodied the choicest
and most captivating studies from picturesque nature ; and
will see at a glance the effect of certain combinations of
trees, which he might otherwise puzzle himself a dozen
years to know how to produce.
After all, as the picturesque improver here will most
generally be found to be one who chooses a comparatively
wild and wooded place, we may safely say that, if he has
the true feeling for his work, he will always find it vastly
easier than those who strive after the Beautiful; as the
majority of the latter may be said to begin nearly anew—
choosing places not for wildness and intricacy of wood, but
for openness and the smiling, sunny, undulating plain,
where they must of course to a good extent plant anew.
After becoming well acquainted with grouping, we
should bring ourselves to regard those principles which
govern our improvements asa whole. We therefore must
call the attention of the improver to the two following
principles, which are to be constantly in view: the pro-
duction of a whole, and the proper connexion of the parts.
Any person who will take the trouble to reflect for a mo-
ment on the great diversity of surface, change of position,
aspects, views, etc., in different country residences, will at
once perceive how difficult, or, indeed, how impossible it
is, to lay down any fixed or exact rules for arranging plan-
tations in the modern style. What would be precisely
adapted to a hilly rolling park, would often be found entire-
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 107
ly unfit for adoption in a smooth, level surface, and the
contrary. Indeed, the chief beauty of the modern style is
the variety produced by following a few leading principles,
and applying them to different and varied localities ; un-
like the geometric style, which proceeded to level, and
arrange, and erect its avenues and squares, alike in every
situation, with all the precision and certainty of mathe-
matical demonstration.
In all grounds to be laid out, however, which are of a
lawn or park-like extent, and call for the exercise of judg-
ment and taste, the mansion or dwelling-house, being itself
the chief or leading object in the scene, should form, as it
were, the central point, to which it should be the object of
the planter to give importance. In order to do this effec-
tually, the large masses or groups of wood should cluster
round, or form the back-ground to the main edifice ; and
where the offices or out-buildings approach the same
neighborhood, they also should be embraced. We do not
mean by this to convey the idea, that a thick wood should
be planted around and in the close neighborhood of the
mansion or villa, so as to impede the free circulation of
air; but its appearance and advantages may be easily
produced by a comparatively loose plantation of groups
well connected by intermediate trees, so as to give all the
effect of a large mass. The front, and at least that side
nearest the approach road, will be left open, or nearly so ;
while the plantations on the back-ground will give dignity
and importance to the house, and at the same time effectu-
aily screen the approach to the farm buildings, and other
»bjects which require to be kept out of view; and here,
»voth for the purposes of shelter and richness of effect, a
zood proportion of evergreens should be introduced.
108 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
From this principal mass, the plantations must break
off in groups of greater or less size, corresponding to the
extent covered by it; if large, they will diverge into
masses of considerable magnitude, if of moderate size, in
groups made up of a number of trees. In the lawn front
of the house, appropriate places will be found for a number
of the most elegant single trees, or small groups of trees,
remarkable for the beauty of their forms, foliage, or blos-
soms. Care must be taken, however, in disposing these,
as well as many of the groups, that they are not placed so
as, at some future time, to interrupt or disturb the finest
points of prospect.
In more distant parts of the plantations will also appear
masses of considerable extent, perhaps upon the boundary
line, perhaps in particular situations on the sides, or in the
interior of the whole; and the various groups which are
distributed between should be so managed as, though in
most cases distinct, yet to appear to be the connecting
links which unite these distant shadows in the composition,
with the larger masses near the house. Sometimes seve-
ral small groups will be almost joined together ; at others
the effect may be kept up by a small group, aided by a few
neighboring single trees. This, for a park-like place.
Where the place is small, a pleasure-ground character is
all that can be obtained. But by employing chiefly
shrubs, and only a few trees, very similar and highly
beautiful effects may be attained.
The grand object in all this should be to open to the
eye, from the windows or front of the house, a wide
surface, partially broken up and divided by groups and
masses of trees into a number of pleasing lawns or
openings, differing in size and appearance, and producing
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 109
a charming variety in the scene, either when seen from a
given point or when examined in detail. It must not be
forgotten that, as a general rule, the grass or surface of
the lawn answers as the principal light, and the woods or
plantations as the shadows, in the same manner in nature
as in painting; and that these should be so managed as to
lead the eye to the mansion as the most important object
when seen from without, or correspond to it in grandeur
and magnitude, when looked upon from within the house.
If the surface is too much crowded with groups of foliage,
breadth of light will be found wanting; if left too bare,
there will be felt, on the other hand, an absence of the
noble effect of deep and broad shadows.
One of the loveliest charms of a fine park is, undoubted-
ly, variation or undulation of surface. Everything,
accordingly, which tends to preserve and strengthen this
pleasing character, should be kept constantly in view.
Where, therefore, there are no obvious objections to such
a course, the eminences, gentle swells, or hills, should be
planted, in preference to the hollows or depressions. By
planting the elevated portions of the grounds, their
apparent height is increased ; but by planting the hollows,
all distinction is lessened and broken up. Indeed, where
there is but a trifling and scarcely perceptible undulation,
the importance of the swells of surface already existing is
surprisingly increased, when this course of planting is
adopted ; and the whole, to the eye, appears finely
varied.
Where the grounds of the residence to be planted are
level, or nearly so, and it is desirable to confine the view,
on any or all sides, to the lawn or park itself, the boundary
groups and masses must be so connected together as, from
110 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
the most striking part or parts of the prospect (near the
house for example) to answer this end. This should be
done, not by planting a continuous, uniformly thick belt of
trees round the outside of the whole ; but by so arranging
the various outer groups and thickets, that when seen from
the given points they shall appear connected in one whole.
In this way, there will be an agreeable variation in the
margin, made by the various bays, recesses, and detached
projections, which could not be so well effected if the
whole were one uniformly unbroken strip of wood.
But where the house is so elevated as to command a
more extensive view than is comprised in the demesne
itself, another course should be adopted. The grounds
planted must be made to connect themselves with the
surrounding scenery, so as not to produce any violent
contrast to the eye, when compared with the adjoining
country. If then, as is most frequently the case, the lawn
or pleasure-ground join, on either side or sides, cultivated
farm lands, the proper connexion may be kept up by
advancing a few groups or even scattered trees into the
neighboring fields. In the middle states there are but few
cultivated fields, even in ordinary farms, where there is
not to be seen, here and there, a handsome cluster of
saplings or a few full grown trees; or if not these, at
least some tall growing bushes along the fences, all of
which, by a little exercise of this leading principle of
connexion, can, by the planter of taste, be made to appear
with few or trifling additions, to divaricate from, and
ramble out of the park itself. Where the park joins
natural woods, connexion is still easier, and where it
bounds upon one of our noble rivers, lakes, or other large
sheets of water, of course connexion is not expected ; for
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 111
sudden contrast and transition is there both natural and
beautiful. |
In all cases good taste will suggest that the more polished
parts of the lawns and grounds should, whatever character
is attempted, be those nearest the house. There the most
rare and beautiful sorts of trees are displayed, and the
entire plantations agree in elegance with the style of art
evinced in the mansion itself. When there is much extent,
however, as the eye wanders from the neighborhood of the
residence, the whole evinces less polish; and gradually,
towards the furthest extremities, grows ruder, until it assi-
milates itself to the wildness of general nature around.
This, of course, applies to grounds of large extent, and must
not be so much enforced where the lawn embraced is but
moderate, and therefore comes more directly under the
eye.
It will be remembered that, in the foregoing section, we
stated it as one of the leading principles of the art of Land-
scape Gardening, that in every instance where the grounds
of a country residence have a marked natural character,
whether of beautiful or picturesque expression, the efforts
of the improver will be most successful if he contributes
by his art to aid and strengthen that expression. This
should ever be borne in mind when we are commencing
any improvements in planting that will affect the general
expression of the scene, as there are but few country resi-
dences in the United States of any importance which have
not naturally some distinct landscape character; and the
labors of the improver will be productive of much greater
satisfaction and more lasting pleasure, when they aim at
effects in keeping with the whole scene, than if no regard
be paid to this important point. This will be felt almost
112 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
intuitively by persons who, perhaps, would themselves be
incapable of describing the cause of their gratification, but
would perceive the contrary at once; as many are unable
to analyse the pleasure derived from harmony in music,
while they at once perceive the introduction of discordant
notes.
We do not intend that this principle should apply so
closely, that extensive grounds naturally picturesque shall
have nothing of the softening touches of more perfect
beauty; or that a demesne characterized by the latter ex-
pression should not be occasionally enlivened with a few
“ smart touches” of the former. This is often necessary,
indeed, to prevent tame scenery from degenerating into
insipidity, or picturesque into wildness, too great to be
appropriate in a country residence. Picturesque trees
give new spirit to groups of highly beautiful ones, and the
latter sometimes heighten by contrast the value of the
former. All of which, however, does not prevent the
predominance of the leading features of either style, suffi-
ciently strong to mark it as such; while, occasionally,
something of zest or elegance may be borrowed from the
opposite character, to suit the wishes or gratify the taste
of the proprietor.
GROUND PLANS OF ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. To
illustrate partially our ideas on the arrangement of plan-
tations we place before the reader two or three examples,
premising, that the small scale to which they are reduced
prevents our giving to them any character beyond that of
the general one of the design. The first (Fig. 28) repre-
sents a portion, say one third or one half of a piece of
property selected for a country seat, and which has hitherto
been kept in tillage as ordinary farm land. The public
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 118
D le.
ele
(Fig. 23. Plan of 2 common Farm, before any improvements. |
road, a, is the boundary on one side: dd are prettily wooded
dells or hollows, which, together with a few groups near
the proposed site of the house, c, and a few scattered single
trees, make up the aggregate of the original woody embel-
lishments of the locality.
In the next figure (Fig. 24) a ground plan of the place is
given, as it would appear after having been judiciously
laid out and planted, with several years’ growth. Ata, the
approach road leaves the public highway and leads to the
house at c: from whence paths of smaller size, b, make
the circuit of the ornamental portion of the residence,
taking advantage of the wooded dells, d, originally existing,
which offer some scope for varied walks concealed from
each other by the intervening masses of thicket. It will
8
114 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Wh via
2 OE:
(Fig. 24. Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years’ improvement]
be seen here, that one of the largest masses of wood forms
« background to the house, concealing also the out-build-
ings ; while, from the windows of the mansion itself, the
trees are so arranged as to group in the most pleasing and
effective manner; at the same time broad masses of turf
meet the eye. and fine distant views are had through the
vistas in the lines, ee. In this manner the lawn appears
divided into four distinct lawns or areas bounded by groups
of trees. instead of being dotted over with an unmeaning
contusion of irregular masses of foliage. The form of these
areas varies also with every change of position in the spec-
tator, as seen from different portions of the grounds, or difler-
ent points in the walks ; and they can be still further varied
at pleasure by adding more single trees or small groups,
whieh should always, to produce variety of outline, be
ON ‘WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 115
placed opposite the salient parts of the wood, and not in the
recesses, which latter they would appear to diminish or
clog up. The stables are shown at f; the barn at g, and
the kitchen garden adjacent at h; the orchard at i; and a
small portion of the farm lands at 4; a back entrance to
the out-buildings is shown in the rear of the orchard. The
plan has been given for a place of seventy acres, thirty of
which include the pleasure grounds, and forty the adjoin-
ing farm lands.
Figure 25 is the plan of an American mansion
(Fig. 25. Plan of a Mansion Revidence, laid out in the natural style.)
116 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. *
residence of considerable extent, only part of the farm
lands, 7, being here delineated. In this residence, as there
is no extensive view worth preserving beyond the bounds
of the estate, the pleasure grounds are surrounded by an
irregular and picturesque belt of wood. A fine natural
stream or rivulet, which ran through the estate, has been
formed into a handsome pond, or small lake, f, which adds
much to the interest of the grounds. The approach road
breaks off from the highway at the entrance lodge, a,
and proceeds in easy curves to the mansion, b; and the
groups of trees on the side of this approach nearest the
house, are so arranged that the visitor scarcely obtains
more than a glimpse of the latter, until he arrives at the
most favorable position for a first impression. From the
windows of the mansion,’at either end, the eye ranges
over groups of flowers and shrubs ; while, on the entrance
front, the trees are arranged so as to heighten the natural
expression originally existing there. On the other front,
the broad mass of light reflected from the green turf at h,
is balanced by the dark shadows of the picturesque
plantations which surround the lake, and skirt the whole
boundary. At 7, a light, inconspicuous wire fence
separates that portion of the ground, g, ornamented with
flowering shrubs and kept mown by the scythe, from the
remainder, of a park-like character, which is kept short by
the cropping of animals. At c, are shown the stables,
carriage house, etc., which, though near the approach
road, are concealed by foliage, though easily accessible by
a short curved road, returning from the house, so as not
to present any road leading in the same direction, to
detract from the dignity of the approach in going to it.
A prospect tower, or rustic pavilion, on a little eminence
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 117
overlooking the whole estate, is shown at j. The small
arabesque beds near the house are filled with masses of
choice flowering shrubs and plants; the kitchen garden is
shown at d, and the orchard at e.
Suburban villa residences are, every day, becoming
more numerous ; and in laying out the grounds around
them, and disposing the sylvan features, there is often
more ingenuity, and as much taste required, as in treating
a country residence of several hundred acres. In the
small area of from one half an acre to ten or twelve acres,
surrounding often a villa of the first class, it is desirable
to assemble many of the same features, and as much as
possible of the enjoyment, which are to be found in a large
and elegant estate. To do this, the space allotted to
various purposes, as the kitchen garden, lawn, ete., must
be judiciously portioned out, and so characterized and
divided by plantations, that the whole shall appear to be
much larger than it really is, from the fact that the
spectator is never allowed to see the whole at a single
glance ; but while each portion is complete in itself, the
plan shall present nothing incongruous or ill assorted.
An excellent illustration of this species of residence, is
afforded the reader in the accompanying plan (Fig. 26) of
the grounds of Riverside Villa. This pretty villa at
Burlington, New Jersey (to which we shall again refer),
was lately built, and the grounds, about six or eight acres
in extent, laid out, from the designs of John Notman, Esq.,
architect, of Philadelphia ; and while the latter promise a
large amount of beauty and enjoyment, scarcely anything
which can be supposed necessary for the convenience or
wants of the family, is lost sight of.
The house, a, stands quite near the bank of the river,
118 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Ne
@
Ss
peeve ee rerniy
HUVPUTEETE Ty
LVCUTLUE bart
ePQs e®
a
while one front commands fine water views, and the other
looks into the lawn or pleasure grounds, b. On one side
of the area is the kitchen garden, c¢, separated and
concealed from the lawn by thick groups of evergreen
and deciduous trees. At e, is a picturesque orchard, in
which the fruit trees are planted in groups instead of
straight lines, for the sake of effect. Directly under the
windows of the drawing-room is the flower garden, f; and
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 119
at g, is a seat. The walk around the lawn is also a
carriage road, affording entrance and egress from the rear
of the grounds, for garden purposes, as well as from the
front of the house. At A, is situated the ice-house; d,
hot-beds ; 7, bleaching green ; 7, gardener’s house, etc. In
the rear of the latter are the stables, which are not shown
on the plan.
The embellished farm (ferme ornée) is a pretty mode
of combining something of the beauty of the landscape
garden with the utility of the farm, and we hope to see
small country seats of this kind become more general. As
regards profit in farming, of course, all modes of arranging
or distributing land are inferior to simple square fields ;
on account of the greater facility of working the land in
rectangular plots. But we suppose the owner of the small
ornamental farm to be one with whom profit is not the
first and only consideration, but who desires to unite
with it something to gratify his taste, and to give a higher
charm to his rural occupations. In Fig. 27, is shown part
of an embellished farm, treated in the picturesque style
throughout. The various trees, under grass or tillage, are
divided and bounded by winding roads, a, bordered by
hedges of buckthorn, cedar, and hawthorn, instead of
wooden fences; the roads being wide enough to afford
a pleasant drive or walk, so as to allow the owner or
visitor to enjoy at the same time an agreeable circuit, and
a glance at all the various crops and modes of culture.
In the plan before us, the approach from the public road
is at b; the dwelling at c; the barns and farm-buildings
at d; the kitchen garden at e; and the orchard at f.
About the house are distributed some groups of trees, and
here the fields, g, are kept in grass, and are either mown
120 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
. in ns SRR ars a Os
ol EESE IN Bh Ct oa EN yo LS
aed es
[Fig. 27. View ofa Picturesque farm ( ferme ornée).}
or pastured. The fields in crops are designated h, on the
plan ; and a few picturesque groups of trees are planted,
or allowed to remain, in these, to keep up the general
character of the place. A low dell, or rocky thicket, is
situated at 7. Exceedingly interesting and agreeable
effects may be produced, at little cost, in a picturesque
farm of this kind. The hedges may be of a great variety
of suitable shrubs, and, in addition to those that we have
named, we would introduce others of the sweet brier, the
Michigan or prairie rose (admirably adapted for the
purpose), the flowering crab, and the like—beautiful and
fragrant in their growth and blossoms. These hedges we
would cause to grow thick, rather by interlacing the
branches, than by constant shearing or trimming, which
would give them a less formal, and a more free and
natural air. The winding lanes traversing the farm need
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. ‘ ey
only be gravelled near the house, in other portions being
left in grass, which will need little care, as it will generally
be kept short enough by the passing of men and vehicles
over it.
A picturesque or ornamental farm like this would be an
agreeable residence for a gentleman retiring into the coun-
try on a small farm, desirous of experimenting for himself
with all the new modes of culture. The small and irregu-
lar fields would, to him, be rather an advantage, and there
would be an air of novelty and interest about the whole
residence. Such an arrangement as this would also be
suitable for a fruit farm near one of our large towns, the
fields being occupied by orchards, vines, grass, and grain.
The house and all the buildings should be of a simple,
though picturesque and accordant character.
The cottage ornée may have more or less ground attached
to it. It is the ambition of some to have a great house and
little land, and of others (among whom we remember the
poet Cowley) to have a little house and a large garden.
The latter would seem to be the more natural taste. When
the grounds of a cottage are large, they will be treated by
the landscape gardener nearly like those of a villa residence ;
when they are smaller a more quiet and simple character
must be aimed at. But even where they consist of only
a rood or two, something tasteful and pretty may be ar-
ranged.* In Fig. 28, is shown a small piece of ground on
one side of a cottage, in which a picturesque character is
attempted to be maintained. The plantations here are
made mostly with shrubs instead of trees, the latter being
* For a variety of modes of treating the grounds of small places, see our
Designs for Cottage Residences.
122 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
only sparingly introduced for the want of room. In the
disposition of these shrubs, however, the same attention to
picturesque effect is paid as we have already pointed out
in our remarks on grouping ; and by connecting the thickets
and groups here and there, so as to conceal one walk from
the other, a surprising variety and effect will frequently be
produced in an exceedingly limited spot.
Lea Ge E ‘
ie SAN,
\ might be planted so as to produce
‘The same limited grounds
the Beautiful ; choosing, in this
case, shrubs of symmetrical
growth and fine forms, planting
and grouping them somewhat
singly, and allowing every speci-
men to attain its fullest luxuri-
ance of development.
“EEN : In making these arrangements,
(Pig. 28. Grounils of a Cottage omvée]_ even in the small area of a fourth
of an acre, we should study the same principles and en-
deavor to produce the same harmony of effects, as if we
were improving a mansion residence o° the first class. The
extent of the operations, and the sums lavished, are not by
any means necessarily connected with successful and
pleasing results. The man of correct taste will, by the aid
of vezy limited means and upon a small surface, be able
to afford the mind more true pleasure, than the improver
who lavishes thousands without it, creating no other emo-
tion than surprise or pity at the useless expenditure in-
curred ; and the Abbé Delille says nothing more true than
that,
« Ce noble emploi demand un artiste qui pense,
Prodigue de génie, et non pas de dépense.”
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 123
From the inspection of plans like these, the tyro may
learn something of the manner of arranging plantations,
and of the general effect of the natural style in particular
cases and situations. But the knowledge they afford is so
far below that obtained by an inspection of the effects in
reality, that the latter should in all cases be preferred
where it is practicable. In this style, unlike the ancient,
it is almost impossible that the same plan should exactly
suit any other situation than that for which it was intended,
for its great excellence lies in the endless variety produced
by its application to different sites, situations, and surfaces ;
developing the latent capacities of one place and heighten-
ing the charms of another.
But the leading principles as regards the formation of
plantations, which we have here endeavored briefly to
elucidate, are the same in all cases. After becoming
familiar with these, should the amateur landscape gardener
be at a loss how to proceed, he can hardly do better, as we
have before suggested, than to study and recur often to the
beautiful compositions and combinations of nature, dis-
played in her majestic groups, masses, and single trees, as
well as open glades and deep thickets; of which, fortu-
nately, in most parts of our country, checkered here and
there as it is with beautiful and picturesque scenery, there
is no dearth or scarcity. Keeping these few principles in
his mind, he will be able to detect new beauties and trans-
fer them to his own estate ; for nature is truly inexhaustible
in her resources of the Beautiful.
CLASSIFICATION OF TREES AS TO EXPRESSION. The
amateur who wishes to dispose his plantations in the natu-
ral style of Landscape Gardening so as to produce graceful
sr picturesque landscape, will be greatly aided by a study
124 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
of the peculiar expression of trees individually and in com-
position. The effect of a certain tree singly is often ex-
ceedingly different from that of a group of the same trees.
To be fully aware of the effect of groups and masses
requires considerable study, and the progress in this study
may be greatly facilitated by a recurrence from groups in
nature to groups in pictures.
As a further aid to this most desirable species of infor-
mation we shall offer a few remarks on the principal vari-
eties of character afforded by trees in composition.
Almost all trees, with relation to forms, may be divided
into three kinds, viz. round-headed trees, oblong or pyra-
midal trees, and spiry-topped trees; and so far as the
expressions of the different species comprised in these dis-
tinct classes are concerned, they are, especially when
viewed at a distance (as' much of the wood seen in a
prospect of any extent necessarily must be), productive of
nearly the same general effects.
Round-headed trees compose by far the largest of these
divisions. ‘The term includes all those trees which have
an irregular surface in their boughs, more or
a less varied in outline, but exhibiting in the
(Hig.29. Round- whole a top or head comparatively round ;
as the oak, ash, beech, and walnut. They are generally
beautiful when young, from their smoothness, and the ele-
gance of their forms; but often grow picturesque when
age and time have had an opportunity to produce their
wonted effects upon them. In general, however, the dif-
ferent round-headed trees may be considered as the most
appropriate for introduction in highly-cultivated scenery,
or landscapes where the character is that of graceful or
polished beauty ; as they harmonize with almost all scenes,
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 125
buildings, and natural or artificial objects, uniting well with
other forms and doing violence to no expression of scenery.
From the numerous breaks in the surface of their foliage,
which reflect differently the lights and produce deep
shadows, there is great intricacy and variety in the heads
of many round-topped trees; and therefore, as an outer
surface to meet the eye in a plantation, they are much
softer and more pleasing than the unbroken line exhibited
by the sides of oblong or spiry-topped trees. The sky
outline also, or the upper part of the head, varies greatly
in round-topped trees from the irregularity in the dispo-
sition of the upper branches in different species, as the
oak and ash, or even between individual specimens of the
same kind of tree, as the oak, of which we rarely see
two trees alike in form and outline, although they have
the same characteristic expression; while on the other
hand no two verdant objects can bear a greater general
resemblance to each other and show more sameness ot
figure than two Lombardy poplars.
“Tn a tree,” says Uvedale Price, “of which the foliage
is everywhere full and unbroken, there can be but little
variety of form; then, as the sun strikes only on the
surface, neither can there be much variety of light and
shade; and as the apparent color of objects changes
according to the different degrees of light or shade in
which they are placed, there can be as little variety of
tint ; and lastly, as there are none of these openings that
excite and nourish curiosity, but the eye is everywhere
opposed by one uniform leafy screen, there can be as
little intricacy as variety.” From these remarks, it will
be perceived that even among round-headed trees there
may be great difference in the comparative beauty of
126 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
different sorts; and judging from the excellent standard
here laid down, it will also be seen how much in the eye
of a painter a tree with a beautifully diversified surface,
as the oak, surpasses in the composition of a scene one
with a very regular and compact surface and outline, as
the horse-chestnut. In planting large masses of wood,
therefore, or even in forming large groups in park scenery,
round-headed trees of the ordinary loose and varied
manner of growth common in the majority of forest trees,
are greatly to be preferred to all others. When they
cover large tracts, as several acres, they convey an
emotion of grandeur to the mind; when they form vast
forests of thousands of acres, they produce a feeling of
sublimity ; in the landscape garden when they stand
alone, or in fine groups, they are graceful or beautiful.
While young they have an elegant appearance; when old
they generally become majestic or picturesque. Other
trees may suit scenery or scenes of particular and
decided characters, but round-headed trees are decidedly
the chief adornment of general landscape.
Spiry-topped trees (Fig. 30) are distinguished by
straight leading stems and horizontal branches, which are
comparatively small, and taper gradually
to a point. The foliage is generally ever-
green, and in most trees of. this class
(Big. 40. Spiry-pere’ hangs in parallel or drooping tufts from
the branches. The various evergreen trees, composing
the spruce and fir families, most of the pines, the cedar,
and among deciduous trees, the larch, belong to this
division. Their hue is generally much darker than that
of deciduous trees, and there is a strong similarity, or
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 127
almost sameness, in the different kinds of trees which
may properly be called spiry-topped.
From their sameness of form and surface this class
of trees, when planted in large tracts or masses, gives
much less pleasure than round-headed trees ; and the eye
is soon wearied with the monotony of appearance
presented by long rows, groups, or masses, of the same
form, outline, and appearance ; to say nothing of the effect
of the uniform dark color, unrelieved by the warmer tints
of deciduous trees. Any one can bear testimony to this,
who has travelled through a pine, hemlock, or fir forest,
where he could not fail to be struck with its gloom,
tediousness, and monotony, especially when contrasted
with the variety and beauty in a natural wood of
deciduous, round-headeu trees.
Although spiry-topped trees in large masses cannot be
generally admired for ornamental plantations, yet they
have a character of their own, which is very striking and
peculiar, and we may add, in a high degree valuable to
the Landscape Gardener. Their general expression when
single or scattered is extremely spirited, wild, and
picturesque; and when judiciously introduced into
artificial scenery, they produce the most charming and
unique effects. “The situations where they have most
effect is among rocks and in very irregular surfaces,.and
especially on the steep sides of high mountains, where their
forms and the direction of their growth seem to harmonize
with the pointed rocky summits.” Fir and pine forests are
extremely dull- and monotonous in. sandy plains and
smooth surfaces (as in the pine barrens of the southern
states); but among the broken rocks, craggy precipices,
128 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
and otherwise endlessly varied surfaces (as in the Alps,
abroad, and the various rocky heights in the Highlands
of the Hudson and the Alleghanies, at home) they are
full of variety. It will readily be seen, therefore, that
spiry-topped trees should always be planted in considerable
quantities in wild, broken, and picturesque scenes, where
they will appear perfectly in keeping, and add wonderfully
to the peculiar beauty of the situation. In all grounds
where there are abruptly varied surfaces, steep banks, or
rocky precipices, this class of trees lends its efficient aid
to strengthen the prevailing beauty, and to complete the
finish of the picture. In smooth, level surfaces, though
spiry-topped trees cannot be thus extensively employed,
they are by no means to be neglected or thought valueless,
but may be so combined and mingled with other round-
headed and oblong-headed trees, as to produce very rich
and pleasing effects. A tall larch or two, or a few spruces
rising out of the centre of a group, give it life and spirit,
and add greatly, both by contrast of form and color, to the
force of round-headed trees. . .
* r=
~ «
iat
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 373
dwelling-house, the expression of purpose is conveyed by
the chimney-tops, the porch or veranda, and_ those
various appendages indicative of domestic enjoyment,
which are needless, and therefore misplaced, in a public
building. In a church, the spire or the dome, when
present, at once stamps the building with the expression
of purpose ; and the few openings and plain exterior, with
the absence of chimneys, are the suitable and easily
recognised characteristics of the barn. Were any one to
commit so violent an outrage upon the principle of the
expression of purpose as to surmount his barns with the
tall church spire, our feelings would at once cry out
against the want of propriety. Yet how often do we
meet in the northern states, with stables built after the
models of Greek temples, and barns with elegant Venetian
shutters—to say nothing of mansions with none but
concealed chimney-tops, and without porches or append-
ages of any kind, to give the least hint to the mind of the
doubting spectator, whether the edifice is a chapel, a bank,
a hospital, or the private dwelling of a man of wealth and
opulence!
“The expression of the purpose for which every
building is erected,” says the writer before quoted, “is
the first and most essential beauty, and should be obvious
from its architecture, although independent of any
particular style; in the same manner as the reasons for
things are altogether independent of the language in
which they are conveyed. As in literary composition, no
beauty of language can ever compensate for poverty of
sense, so in architectural composition, no beauty of style
can ever compensate for want of expression of purpose.”
Applying this excellent principle to our own country
374 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
houses and their offices or out-buildings, we think every
reasonable person will, at the first glance, see how
lamentably deficient are many of the productions of our
architects and builders, in one of the leading principles of
the art. The most common form for an American country
villa is the pseudo-Greek Temple ; that is, a rectangular
oblong building, with the chimney-tops concealed, if
possible, and instead of a pretty and comfortable porch,
veranda, or piazza, four, six, or eight lofty wooden
columns are seen supporting a portico, so high as neither
to afford an agreeable promenade, nor a sufficient shelter
from the sun and rain.
There are two features, which it is now generally
admitted contribute strongly to the expression of purpose
in a dwelling-house, and especially in a country residence.
These are the chinmey-tops and the entrance porch.
Chimney-tops, with us, are generally square masses of
brick, rising above the roof, and presenting certainly no
very elegant appearance, which may perhaps serve as the
apology of those who studiously conceal them. But in a
climate where fires are requisite during a large portion of
the year, chimney-tops are expressive of a certain comfort
resulting from the use of them, which characterizes a
building intended for a dwelling in that climate. Chimney-
tops being never, or rarely, placed on those buildings
intended for the inferior animals, are also undoubtedly
strongly indicative of human habitations. Instead, there-
fore, of hiding or concealing them, they should be in all
dwellings not only boldly avowed, but rendered ornamental ;
for whatever is a characteristic and necessary feature,
should undoubtedly, if possible, be rendered elegant, or at
least prevented from being ugly. .
MITE eer es er
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 375
Much of the picturesque effect of the old English and
Italian houses, undoubtedly arises from the handsome and
curious stacks of chimneys which spring out of their roofs.
These, while they break and diversify the sky outline of the
building, enrich and give variety to its most bare and
unornamented part. Examples are not wanting, in all the
different styles of architecture, of handsome and character-
istic chimneys, which may be adopted in any of our
dwellings of a similar style. The Gothic, or old English
chimney, with octagonal or cylindrical flues or shafts united
in clusters, is made in a great variety of forms, either of
bricks or artificial stone. The former materials, moulded
in the required shape, are highly taxed in England, while
they may be very cheaply made here.
A Porch strengthens or conveys expression of purpose,
because, instead of leaving the entrance door bare, as in
manufactories and buildings of an inferior description, it
serves both as a note of preparation, and an effectual
shelter and protection to the entrance. Besides this, it
gives a dignity and importance to that entrance, pointing
it out to the stranger as the place of approach. A fine
country house, without a porch or covered shelter to the
doorway of some description, is therefore as incomplete,
to the correct eye, as a well printed book without a title
page, leaving the stranger to plunge at once in medias res,
without the friendly preparation of a single word of intro-
duction. Porches are susceptible of every variety of form
and decoration, from the embattled and buttressed portal
of the Gothic castle, to the latticed arbor porch of the
cottage, around which the festoons of luxuriant climbing
plants cluster, giving an effect not less beautiful than the
richly carved capitals of the classic portico. ,
376 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
In this country no architectural feature is more plainly
expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the
veranda, or piazza. The unclouded splendor and fierce
heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage
a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long
veranda round many of our country residences stands
instead of the paved terraces of the English mansions as
the place for promenade ; while during the warmer portions
of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed
in the enjoyment of the cool breezes, secure under low
roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays,
or the dews of night. The obvious utility of the veranda
in this climate (especially in the middle and southern states)
will, therefore, excuse its adoption into any style of archi-
tecture that may be selected for our domestic uses, although
abroad, buildings in the style in question, as the Gothic, for
example, are not usually accompanied by such an append-
age. An artist of the least taste or invention will easily
compose an addition of this kind, that will be in good
keeping with the rest of the edifice.
These various features, or parts of the building, with
many others which convey expression of purpose in
domestic architecture, because they recall to the mind the
different uses to which they are applied, and the several
enjoyments connected with them, also contribute greatly
to the interest of the building itself, and heighten its good
effect as part of a harmonious whole, in the landscape.
The various projections and irregularities, caused by
verandas, porticoes, etc., serve to connect the otherwise
square masses of building, by gradual transition with the
ground about it.
The reader, who thus recognises features as expressive
tt 2 Pee
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- + ‘ f
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 377
of purpose in a dwelling intended for the habitation of man,
we think, can be at no great loss to understand what would
be characteristic in out-buildings or offices, farm-houses,
lodges, stables, and the like, which are necessary structures
on a villa or mansion residence of much size or importance.
A proper regard to the expression of use or purpose, without
interfering with the beauty of style, will confer at all times
another, viz. the beauty of truth, without which no building
‘can be completely satisfactory ; as deceptions of this kind
(buildings appearing to be what they are not) always go
far towards destroying in the mind those pleasurable emo-
tions felt on viewing any correct work of art, however
simple in character or design.
We have now to consider rural architecture under the
guidance of the third leading principle, as an art of taste.
The expression of architectural style in buildings is un-
doubtedly a matter of the first importance, and proper care
being taken not to violate fitness and expression of purpose,
it may be considered as appealing most powerfully, at once,
to the mind of almost every person. Indeed, with many,
it is the only species of beauty which they perceive in
buildings, and to it both convenience and the expression
of purpose are often ignorantly sacrificed.
A marked style of architecture appears to us to have
claims for our admiration or preference for rural residences,
for several reasons. As it is intrinsically beautiful in itself;
as it interests us by means of the associations connected
with it ; as it is fitted to the wants and comforts of country
life; and as it is adapted to, or harmonizes with, the
locality or scenery where it is located.
The harmonious union of buildings and scenery, is a
point of taste that appears to be but little understood in
378 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
any country ; and mainly, we believe, because the architect
and the landscape painter are seldom combined in the same
person, or are seldom consulted together. It is for this
reason that we so rarely see a country residence, or cottage
and its grounds, making such a composition as a landscape
painter would choose for his pencil. But it does not seem
difficult, with a slight recurrence to the leading principle
of unity of expression, to suggest a mode of immediately
deciding which style of building is best adapted to harmo- °
nize with a certain kind of scenery.
The reader is, we trust, already familiar with our
division of landscapes into two natural classes,—the
Beautiful and the Picturesque,—and the two accordant
systems of improvement in Landscape Gardening which
we have based upon these distinct characters. Now, in
order to render our buildings perfectly harmonious, we
conceive it only to be necessary to arrange (as we may
very properly do) all the styles of domestic architecture in
corresponding divisions.
Some ingenious writer has already developed this idea,
and, following a hint taken from the two leading schools
of literature and art, has divided all architecture into the
Classical and the Romantic schools of design. The
Classical comprises the Grecian style, and all its near and
direct offspring, as the Roman and Italian modes; the
Romantic school, the Gothic style, with its numberless
variations of Tudor, Elizabethan, Flemish, and old English
modes.
It is easy to see, at a glance, how well these divisions
correspond with our Beautiful and Picturesque phases of
Landscape Gardening, so that indeed we might call the
Grecian or Classical style, Beautiful, and the Gothic or
RURAL ARCHITECTURE, 379
Romantic style, the Picturesque schools in architecture.
In classical buildings, as in beautiful landscape, we are led
to admire simplicity of forms and outlines, purity of effect,
and grace of composition. Inthe Romantic or Picturesque
buildings, we are struck by the irregularity of forms and
outlines, variety of effect, and boldness of composition.
What, therefore, can be more evident in seeking to
produce unity of effect than the propriety of selecting
some variations of the classical style for Beautiful
landscape, and some species of romantic irregular building
for Picturesque landscape ?
In a practical point of view, all buildings which have
considerable simplicity of outline, a certain complete and
graceful style of ornament, and a polished and refined kind
of finish, may be considered as likely to harmonize best
with all landscape where the expression is that of simple
or graceful beauty—where the lawn or surface is level or
gently undulating, the trees rich and full in foliage and
form, and the general character of the scenery peaceful
and beautiful. Such are the Grecian, Roman, Tuscan,
and the chaster Italian styles.
On the other hand, buildings of more irregular outline,
in which appear bolder or ruder ornaments, and a certain
free and more rustic air in finishing, are those which
should be selected to accompany scenery of a wilder or
more picturesque character, abounding in striking varia-
tions of surface, wood, and water. And these are the
Castellated, the Tudor, and the old English in all its forms.
‘There is still an intermediate kind of architecture,
originally a variation of the classical style, but which, in
becoming adapted to different and more picturesque
~ situations, has lost much of its graceful character, and has
380 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
become quite picturesque in its outlines and effects. Of
this kind are the Swiss and the bracketed cottage, and the
different highly irregular forms of the Italian villa. The
more simple and regular variations of these modes of
building, may be introduced with good effect in any plain
country ; while the more irregular and artistical forms have
the happiest effect only in more highly varied and suitable
localities.
The Egyptian, one of the oldest architectural styles,
characterized by its heavy colossal forms, and almost sub-
lime expression, is supposed to have had its origin in caverns
hewn in the rocks. The Chinese style, easily known by
its waving lines, probably had its type in the eastern tent.
The Saracenic, or Moorish style, rich in fanciful decoration,
is striking and picturesque in its details, and is worthy of
the attention of the wealthy amateur.
Neither of these styles, however, is, or can well be,
thoroughly adapted to our domestic purposes, as they are
wanting in fitness, and have comparatively few charms of
association for residents of this country.
The only styles at present in common use for domestic
architecture, throughout the enlightened portions of Europe
and America, are the Grecian and Gothic styles, or some
modifications of these two distinct kinds of building. These
modifications, which of themselves are now considered
styles by most authors, are, the Roman and modern Italian
styles, which have grown out of Greek architecture; the
Castellated, the Tudor, the Elizabethan, and the rural
Gothic or old English cottage styles, all of which are
variations of Gothic architecture.
Grecian or classic architecture was exhibited in its
purity in those splendid temples of the golden days of
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 381
Athens, which still remain in a sufficient degree of pre-
servation to bear ample testimony to the high state of
architectural art among the Greeks. The best works of
that period are always characterized by unity and sim-
plicity, and in them an exquisite proportion is united with
a chasteness of decoration, which stamps them perfect
works of art. Each of the five orders was so nicely
determined by their profound knowledge of the harmony
of forms, and admirably executed, that all modern attempts
at improving them have entirely failed, for they are, indi-
vidually, complete models.
— ——* First unadorned
And nobly plain, the manly Doric rose ;
The Ionic then with decent matron grace
Her airy pillar heaved ; luxuriant last
The rich Corinthian spread her wanton wreath.”
A single or double portico of columns supporting a lofty
pediment, the latter connected with the main body of the
building, which in most cases was a simple parallelogyam,
were the characteristic features of the pure Grecian archi-
tecture. And this very simplicity of form, united with
the chasteness of decoration and elegance of proportion,
enhanced greatly the beauty of the Grecian temple as a
whole.
To the scholar and the man of refined and cultivated
mind, the associations connected with Grecian architecture
are of the most delightful character. They transport him
back, in imagination, to the choicest days of classic litera-
ture and art, when the disciples of the wisest and best of
Athens listened to eloquent discourses that were daily
delivered from her grove-embowered porticoes. When
her temples were designed by a Phidias, and her architec-
382 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
ture encouraged and patronized by a Pericles; when, in
short, all the splendor of Pagan mythology, and the wisdom
of Greek philosophy, were combined. to perfect the arts and
sciences of that period, and the temples dedicated to the
Olympian Jove or the stately Minerva, were redolent with
that beauty, which the Greeks worshipped, studied, and so
well knew how to embody in material forms.
As it is admitted, then, that Grecian architecture is
intrinsically beautiful in itself, and highly interesting in
point of associations, it may be asked what are the
objections, if any, to its common introduction into domes-
tic Rural Architecture.
To this we answer, that although this form meagrely
copied, Fig. 42, is actually in more common use than any
other style in the United States, it is greatly inferior to
the Gothic and its modifications in fitness, including under
that head all the comforts and conveniences of country
life.
* at BRS ad
[Fig. 42. Grecian Residence.]
We have already avowed that we consider fitness and
expression of purpose, two leading principles of the first
importance in Rural Architecture ; and Grecian archi-
tecture in its pure form, viz. the temple, when applied to
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 383
the purposes of domestic life, makes a sad blow at both
these established rules. As a public building, the Greek
temple form is perfect, both as to fitness (having one or
more large rooms) and expression of purpose ;—showing
a high, broad portico for masses of people, with an ample
opening for egress and ingress. Domestic life, on the
contrary, requires apartments of various dimensions,
some large and others smaller, which, to be conveniently,
must often be irregularly placed, with perhaps openings or
windows of different sizes or dimensions. The comforts
of a country residence are so various, that verandas,
porches, wings of different sizes, and many other little
accommodations expressive of purpose, become necessary,
and, therefore, when properly arranged, add to the beauty
of Rural Architecture. But the admirer of the true
Greek models is obliged to forego the majority of these ;
and to come within the prescribed form of the rectangular
parallelogram, his apartments must be of a given size and
a limited number, while many things, both exterior and
interior, which convenience might otherwise prompt, have
to bow to the despotic sway of the pure Greek model.*
In a dwelling of moderate dimensions how great a sacrifice
of room is made to enable the architect to display the
portico alone! We speak now chiefly of houses of the
ordinary size, for if one chooses to build a palace, it is
evident that ample accommodations may be obtained in
any style.
* We are well aware that such is the rage for this style among us just now,
and so completely have our builders the idea of its unrivalled supremacy in
their heads, that many submit to the most meagre conveniences, under the
name of closets, libraries, ete., in our country houses, without a murmur,
believing that they are realizing the perfection of domestic comfort,
384 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
It has been well observed
by modern critics, that there
is no reason to believe the
_ temple form was ever, even
by the Greeks, used for pri-
vate dwellings, which easily
- accounts for our compara-
=“tive failure in constructing
iat dana tehidonee’) well arranged, small resi-
dences in this style.
The Romans, either unable to compose in the simple
elegance and beauty of the Grecian style, or feeling its
want of adaptation to the multifarious usages of a more
: Sax
< av BS]
JOT AULA t
[Fig. 44. View at Presque Isle, the residence of Wm. Denning, Esq., Dutchess Co., N. Y.]
luxurious state of society, created for themselves what is
generally considered a less beautiful and perfect, yet which
is certainly a more rich, varied, and, if we may use the
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 385
term, accommodating style. The Roman style is dis-
tinguished from its prototype by the introduction of arched
openings over the doors and windows, story piled over
story,—often with columns of different orders—instead of
the simple unbroken line of the Greek edifices. In
decoration, the buildings in this style vary from plain,
unornamented exteriors, to the most highly decorated
facades ; and instead of being confined to the few fixed
principles of the Greek, the greatest latitude is often
observed in the proportions, forms, and decorations of
buildings in the Roman style. These very circumstances,
while they rendered the style less perfect as a fine art, or
for public edifices, gave it a pliability or facility of
adaptation, which fits’ it more completely for domestic
purposes. For this reason, a great portion of the finest
specimens of the modern domestic architecture of the
other continent is to be found in the Roman style.*
The Italian style is, we think, decidedly the most
beautiful mode for domestic purposes, that has been the
direct offspring of Grecian art. It is a style which has |
evidently grown up under the eyes of the painters of more
modern Italy, as it is admirably adapted to harmonize with
general nature, and produce a pleasing and picturesque
effect in fine landscapes. Retaining more or less of the
columns, arches, and other details of the Roman style, it.
has intrinsically a bold irregularity, and strong contrast of
light and shadow, which give it a peculiarly striking and
painter-like effect.
* Perhaps the finest fagade ofa private residence, in America, is that of the
*Patroon’s house,’ near Albany, the ancient seat of the Van Rensselaer
family, lately remodelled and improved by that skilful architect, Mr. Upjohn,
of New York.
25
386 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
“The villa architecture of modern Italy,” says Mr.
Lamb, an able architect,* “is characterized, when on
a moderate scale, by scattered irregular masses, great
contrasts of light and shade, broken and plain surfaces, and
great variety of outline against the sky. The blank wall
on which the eye sometimes reposes ; the towering cam-
panile, boldly contrasted with the horizontal line of roof
only broken by a few straggling chimney-tops : the row of
equal sized, closely placed windows, contrasting with the
plain space and single window of the projecting balcony ;
the prominent portico, the continued arcade, the terraces,
and the variously formed and disposed out-buildings, all
combine to form that picturesque whole, which distinguishes
the modern Italian villa from every other.” +
A building in the Italian style may readily be known at
first sight, by the peculiar appearance of its roofs. These
are always projecting at the eaves, and deeply furrowed or
ridged, being formed abroad of semi-cylindrical tiles, which
give a distinct and highly marked expression to this
* Loudon’s Ency. of Arch. p. 951.
+ In this country, owing to the greater number of fires, the effect would be
improved by an additional number of chimney-tops.
Fig. 48 Villa of Theodore Lyman Esq. near Boston.
Fy gap mun ——
etal) Jel |E a
Fig. 49. Residence of Bishop Doane, Burlington, N. J.
387
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 387
portion of the building.* So many appliances of comfort
and enjoyment suited to a warm climate appear, too, in
the villas of this style, that it has a peculiarly elegant and
refined appearance. Among these are arcades, with the
Roman arched openings, forming sheltered promenades ;
and beautiful balconies projecting from single windows, or
sometimes from connected rows of windows, which are
charming places for a coup d’eil, or to enjoy the cool
breeze—as they admit, to shelter one from the sun, of a
fanciful awning shade, which may be raised or lowered at
pleasure. The windows themselves are bold, and well
marked in outline, being either round-arched at the tops,
or finished with a heavy architrave.
[Fig. 46. Residence of Gov. Morehead, North Carolina.}
All these balconies, arcades, etc., are sources of real
pleasure in the hotter portions of our year, which are quite
equal in elevation of temperature to summers of the south
of Europe; while by increased thickness of walls and
* Tn some situations in this country, where it might be difficult to procure
tiles made in this form, their effect may be very accurately imitated by deeply
ridged zine or tin coverings. ‘The bold projection of the eaves, in the Italian
style, offers great protection to a house against storms and dampness.
388 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
closeness of window fixtures, the houses may also be made
of the most comfortable description in winter.
The Italian chimney-tops, unlike the Grecian, are
always openly shown and rendered ornamental; and as
we have already mentioned, the irregularity in the masses
of the edifice and shape of the roof, renders the sky
outline of a building in this style, extremely picturesque.
A villa, however small, in the Italian style, may have an
elegant and expressive character, without interfering
with convenient internal arrangements, while at the same
time this style has the very great merit of allowing
additions to be made in almost any direction, without
injuring the effect of the
original structure; indeed
such is the variety of sizes
and forms which the dif-
ferent parts of an Italian
, villa may take, in perfect
Bee ays a Cha <3,
[Fig. 47. The New Haven Suburban Villa.*] 2¢Cordance with architec-
tural propriety, that the original edifice frequently gains in
beauty by additions of this description. Those who are
aware how many houses are every year erected in the
United States by persons of moderate fortune, who would
gladly make additions at some subsequent period, could
this be done without injuring the effect or beauty of the
main building, will, we think, acknowledge how much,
* New Haven abounds with tasteful residences. “ Hillhouse Avenue,” in
particular, is remarkable for a neat display of Tuscan or Italian Suburban
Villas. Moderate in dimension and economical in construction, these exceed-
ingly neat edifices may be considered as models for this kind of dwelling.
Fig. 47, without being a precise copy of any one of these buildings, may be
taken as a pretty accurate representation of their general appearance.
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 389
even were it in this single point alone, the Italian style is
superior to the Grecian for rural residences.*
* The villa of Theodore Lyman, Esq., at Brookline, near Boston, Fig. 48,
is a highly interesting specimen of this style, designed by Mr. Upjohn—
beautiful in exterior effect, and replete internally with every comfort and
convenience.
Riverside Villa, the residence of Bishop Doane, at Burlington, New
Jersey, is one of the best examples of the Italian style in this country. For
the drawings from which Figures 49 and 50 are engraved, and for the
following description, we are indebted to the able architect, John Notman,
Esq., of Philadelphia, from whose designs the whole was constructed.
The site of this villa is upon the east bank of the Delaware river, near the
town of Burlington, and within a few rods of the margin of this lovely
stream.
The Delaware, at this part of its course, takes a direction nearly west ; and
while the river front (comprising the drawing room, hall, and library), com-
manding the finest water views, which are enjoyed to the greatest advantage
in summer, has a cool aspeet: the opposite side of the house, including the
dining room, parlor, ete., is the favorite quarter in winter, being fully exposed
to the genial influence of the sunbeams during the absence of foliage at that
season. From this side of the house, a view is obtained of the pretty suburbs
of Burlington, studded with neat cottages and gardens.
In the accompanying plan, fig. 50, a, is the hall; b, the vestibule ; c, the
dining room ; d, the library ; e, the drawing room; f, the parlor; g, Bishop
D.’s room ; h, dressing room ; 2, water closets ; 7, bath room; k, store room ;
J, prineipal stairs ; m, back stairs; 0, conservatory ; p, veranda, ete.
A small terrace with balustrade, which surrounds the hall door, gives
importance to this leading feature of the entrance front. The hall, a, is 17
feet square; on the right of the arched entrance is a casement window,
opening to the floor, occasionally used as a door in winter, when the wind is
north. The vestibule, b, opens from the hall, 17 by 21 feet. In the ceiling
of this central apartment is a circular opening, with railing in the second
story, forming a gallery above, which communicates with the’ different
chambers, and affords ventilation to the whole house. Over this cireular
opening is a sky-light in the roof, which, mellowed and softened by a second
colored one below it, serves to light the vestibule. From the vestibule we
enter the dining room, b, 17 by 25 feet. The fine vista through the hall,
vestibule, and dining room, 7@ feet in length, is here terminated by the bay-
window at the extremity of the dining room, which, through the balcony,
opens on the lawn, varied by groups of shrubbery. On the left side of the
vestibule, through a wide circular headed opening, we enter upon the principal
390 | LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Pleasing associations are connected with Roman and
Italian architecture, especially to those who have studied
stairs, 7. This opening is balanced by a recess on the opposite side of the
vestibule. From the latter, a door also opens into the library, d, and another
into the drawing room, e: offering, by a window in the library, in a line with
atts,
SS
[Fig. 50. Plan of the Principal Floor.]
these doors, another fine vista in this direction. The library, 18 by 30 feet,
and 16 feet high, is fitted up in a rich and tasteful manner, and completely
filled with choice books. The bay-window, seen on the Jeft in the perspeetive
view, Fig. 49, is a prominent feature in this room, admitting, through its
colored panes, a pleasing, subdued light, in keeping with the character of the
apartment. ‘The drawing room is 19 by 30 feet, with an enriched panelled
ceiling, 15 feet high. At the extremity of this apartment, the veranda, p,
with a charming view, affords an agreeable lounge in summer evenings,
cooled by the breeze from the river. From the drawing room, a glazed door
opens to the conservatory, 0, and another door to the parlor, f. The latter is
18 by 20 feet, looking across the lawn and into the conservatory. Among
the minor details are a china closet, 7, and a butler’s closet, s, in the dining
room ; through the latter, the dishes are carried to and from the kitchen,
larder, ete. The smaller passage leading from the main staircase, opens to
the store room, k, and other apartments already designated, and communicates
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 391
their effect in all the richness and beauty with which they
are invested in the countries where they originated ; and
they may be regarded with a degree of classic interest by
every cultivated mind. The modern Italian style recalls
images of that land of painters and of the fine arts, where
the imagination, the fancy, and taste, still revel in a world
of beauty and grace. The great number of elegant forms
which have grown out of this long cultivated feeling for
the beautiful in the fine arts,—in the shape of fine vases,
statues, and other ornaments, which harmonize with, and
are so well adapted to enrich, this style of architecture,—
combine to render it in the fine terraced gardens of
Florence and other parts of Italy, one of the richest and
most attractive styles in existence. Indeed we can hardly
imagine a mode of building, which in the hands of a man
of wealth and taste, may, in this country, be made pro-
ductive of more beauty, convenience, and luxury, than
the modern Italian style ; so well suited to both our hot
summers and cold winters, and which is so easily suscep-
tible of enrichment and decoration, while it is at the same
time so well adapted to the material in the most common
use at present in most parts of the country,—wood.
Vases, and other beautiful architectural ornaments, may
now be procured in our cities, or imported direct from
the Mediterranean, finely cut in Maltese stone, at very
by the back stairs, m, with the servants’ chambers, placed over this part of the
house, apart from those in the main body of the edifice. The large kitchen
area, t, is sunk one story, by which the noise and smells of the kitchen,
situated under the dining room, are entirely excluded from the principal story.
In this sunk story, are also a wash room, scullery, and ample room for
eellerage, wine, coals, ete. -A forecing-pump supplies the whole house with
water from the river ; and in the second story are eight principal chambers,
averaging 360 square feet each, making in all 25 rooms in the house, of large
size.
392 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
moderate prices, and which serve to decorate both the
grounds and buildings in a handsome manner.
From the Italian style it is an easy transition to the
Swiss mode, a bold and spirited one, highly picturesque
and interesting in certain situations. To build an exact
copy of a Swiss cottage in a smooth cultivated country,
would, both as regards association and intrinsic want
of fitness, be the height of folly. But in a wild and
mountainons region, such as the borders of certain deep
valleys and rocky glens in the Hudson Highlands, or
rich bits of the Alleghanies, positions may be found
where the Swiss cottage (Fig. 51), with its low and broad
roof, shedding off the heavy snows, its ornamented
exterior gallery, its strong and deep brackets, and its
rough and rustic exterior, would be in the highest degree
appropriate.
[Fig. 51. The Swiss Cottage.]
A modification, partaking somewhat of the Italian and
Swiss features, is what we have described more fully in our
“Cottage Residences” as the Bracketed mode. It possesses
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 393
a good deal of character, is capable of considerable pic-
turesque effect, is very easily and cheaply constructed of
wood or stone, and is perhaps more entirely adapted to our
[Fig. 52. The Bracketed Mode.]}
hot summers and cold winters than any other equally
simple mode of building. We hope to see this Bracketed
style becoming every day more common in the United
States, and especially in our farm and country houses,
when wood is the material employed in their construction.
Gothic, or more properly, pointed architecture, which
sprang up with the Christian religion, reached a point of
great perfection about the thirteenth century ; a period
when the most magnificent churches and cathedrals of
England and Germany were erected. These wonderful
structures, reared by an almost magical skill and contriv-
ance, with their richly groined roofs of stone supported in
mid-air; their beautiful and elaborate tracery and carving
of plants, flowers, and animate objects ; their large windows,
394 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
through which streamed a rich glow of rainbow light ; their
various buttresses and pinnacles, all contributing to
strengthen, and at the same time give additional beauty to
the exterior; their clustered columns, airy-like, yet firm ;
and, surmounting the whole, the tall spire, piled up to an
almost fearful height towards the heavens, are lasting
monuments of the genius, scientific skill, and mechanical
ingenuity of the artists of those times. That person, who,
from ignorance or prejudice, fully supposes there is no
architecture but that of the Greeks, would do well to study
one of these unrivalled specimens of human skill. In so
doing, unless he closes his eyes against the evidences of his
senses, he cannot but admit that there is far more genius,
and more mathematical skill, evinced in one of these
cathedrals, than would have been requisite in the construc-
tion of the most celebrated of the Greek temples. Though
they may not exhibit that simplicity and harmony of pro-
portion which Grecian buildings display, they abound in
much higher proofs of genius, as is abundantly evinced in
the conception and execution of Cathedrals so abounding
in unrivalled sublimity, variety, and beauty.
Gothic architecture, in its purity, was characterized
mainly by the pointed arch. This novel feature in archi-
tecture, which, probably, in the hands of artists of great
mathematical skill, was suggested by the inefficiency of the
Roman arch first used, has given rise to all the superior
boldness and picturesqueness of this style compared with
the Grecian; for while the Greek artist was obliged to
cover his narrow openings with architraves, or solid blocks
of stone, resting on columns at short intervals, and filling
up the open space, the Gothic artist, by a single span of
his pointed arch, resting on distant pillars, kept the whole
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 395
area beneath free and unencumbered. Applied, too, to
openings for the admission of light, which were deemed
of comparatively little or no importance by the Greeks, the
arch was of immense value, making it possible to pierce
the solid wall with large and lofty apertures, that diffused
a magical brilliancy of light in the otherwise dim and
shadowy interior.
We have here adverted to the Gothic cathedral (as we
did to the Greek temple) as exhibiting the peculiar style in
question in its greatest purity. For domestic purposes,
both, for the same reasons, are equally unfitted; as they
were never so intended to be used by their original invent-
ors, and being entirely wanting in fitness for the purposes
of habitation in domestic life; the Greek temple, as we
have already shown, from its massive porticoes and the
simple rectangular form of its interior ; and the Gothic
cathedral, from its high-pointed windows, and immense
vaulted apartments. It would scarcely, however, be more
absurd to build a miniature cathedral, for a dwelling in the
Gothic style, than to make an exact copy of the Temple of
Minerva 30 by 50 feet in size, for a country residence, as
we often witness in this country.
The Gothic Style, as applied to Domestic Architecture,
has been varied and adapted in a great diversity of ways,
to the wants of society in different periods, from the 12th
century to the present time. The baronial castle of feudal
days, perched upon its solitary, almost inaccessible height,
and built strongly for defence ; the Collegiate or monastic
abbey of the monks, suited to the rich fertile plains which
these jolly ascetics so-well knew how to select; the Tudor
or Elizabethan mansion, of the English gentleman, sur-
rounded by its beautiful park, filled with old ancestral trees ;
396 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
and the pretty, rural, gabled cottage, of more humble pre-
tensions; are all varieties of this multiform style, easily
adapting itself to the comforts and conveniences of private
life.
Contrasted with Classic Architecture and its varieties,
in which horizontal lines are most prevalent, all the differ-
ent Gothic modes or styles exhibit a preponderance of
vertical or perpendicular lines. In the purer Gothic
Architecture, the style is often determined by the form of
the arch predominant in the window and door openings,
which in all edifices (except Norman buildings) were lancet-
shaped, or high pointed, in the 13th century ; four centred,
or low arched, in the times of Henry VII. and VIII.; and
finally square-headed, as in most domestic buildings of
later date.
Castellated Gothic is easily known, at first sight, by the
line of battlements cut out of the solid parapet wall, which
surmounts the outline of the building in every part. These
generally conceal the roof, which is low, and were origin-
ally intended as a shelter to those engaged in defending the
Waa lial as building against assaults.
= uae Modern buildings in the
castellated style, without
sacrificing almost every-
-~>
a thing to strength, as was
SIGE EP
once necessary, preserve
‘ou.the general character of
=" the ancient castle, while
[Fig. 53. The Castellated Mode. J
they combine with it almost every modern luxury. In
their exteriors, we perceive strong and massive octagonal
or circular towers, rising boldly, with corbelled or project-
ing cornices, above the ordinary level of the building. The
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 397
|
windows are either pointed or square-headed, or perhaps a
mixture of both. The porch rises into a turreted and
embattled gateway, and all the offices and out-buildings
connected with the main edifice, are constructed in a style
corresponding to that exhibited in the main body of the
building. The whole is placed on a distinct and firm
terrace of stone, and the expression of the edifice is that
of strength and security.
This mode of building is evidently of too ambitious and
expensive a kind for a republic, where landed estates are
not secured by entail, but divided, according to the dictates
of nature, among the different members of a family. It is,
perhaps, also rather wanting in appropriateness, castles
never having been used for defence in this country.
Notwithstanding these objections, there is no very weighty
reason why a wealthy proprietor should not erect his
mansion in the castellated style, if that style be in unison
with his scenery and locality. Few instances, however,
of sufficient wealth and taste to produce edifices of this
kind, are to be met with among us; and the castellated
style is therefore one which we cannot fully recommend
for adoption here. Paltry imitations of it, in materials less
durable than brick or stone, would be discreditable to any
person having the least pretension to correct taste.
The Castellated style never appears completely at home
except in wild and romantic scenery, or in situations where
the neighboring mountains, or wild passes, are sufficiently
near to give that character to the landscape. In such
localities the Gothic castle affects us agreeably, because we
know that baronial castles were generally built in similar
spots, and because the battlements, towers, and other bold
features, combine well with the rugged and spirited
398 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
character of the surrounding objects. To place such a
building in this country on a smooth surface in the midst
of fertile plains, would immediately be felt to be bad taste
by every one, as from the style not having been before our
eyes from childhood, as it is in Europe, we immediately
refer to its original purposes,—those of security and
defence.
A mansion in the Tudor Style affords the best example
of the excellence of Gothic architecture for domestic
purposes. The roof often rises boldly here, instead of
being concealed by the parapet wall, and the gables are
either plain or ornamented with crockets. The windows
are divided by mullions, and are generally enriched with
tracery in astyle less florid than that employed in churches,
but still sufficiently elegant to give an appearance of
decoration to these parts of the building. Sometimes the
low, or Tudor arch, is displayed in the window-heads, but
most commonly the square-headed window with the Gothic
label is employed. Great latitude is allowed in this
particular, as well as in the size of the window, provided
the general details of style are attended to. Indeed, in the
domestic architecture of this era, the windows and doors
are often sources of great architectural beauty, instead of
being left mere bare openings filled with glass, as in the
Classic styles. Not only is each individual window
divided by mullions into compartments whose tops are
encircled by tracery ; but in particular apartments, as the
dining-hall, library, etc., these are filled with richly stained
glass, which gives a mellow, pleasing light to the apartment.
Added to this, the windows, in the best Tudor mansions,
affect a great variety of forms and sizes. Among these
stand conspicuous the bay and oriel windows. The bay-
4 Sa ler
eet]
gl
on RN ag
Residence of the Author, near Newburgh, N. Y.
398
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 399
window, which is introduced on the first or principal floor,
in most apartments of much size or importance, is a
window of treble or quadruple the common size, projecting
from the main body of the room in a semi-octagonal or
hexagonal form, thereby affording more space in the
apartment, from the floor to the ceiling, as well as giving
an abundance of light, and a fine prospect in any favorite
direction. This, while it has a grander effect than several
windows of moderate size, gives a variety of form and
outline to the different apartments, that can never be so
well attained when the windows are mere openings cut in
the solid walls. The oriel-window is very similar to the
bay-window, but projecting in a similar manner from the
upper story, supported on corbelled mouldings. These
windows are not only elegant in the interior, but by
standing out from the face of the walls, they prevent any-
thing like too great a formality externally, and bestow a
pleasing variety on the different fronts of the building.
The sky outline of a villa in the Tudor Gothic style, is
highly picturesque. It is made up of many fine features.
The pointed gables, with their finials, are among the most
striking, and the neat parapet wall, either covered with a
moulded coping, or, perhaps, diversified with battlements ;
the latter not so massive as in the castellated style, but
evidently intended for ornament only. The roof line is
often varied by the ornamented gablet of a dormer window,
rising here and there, and adding to the quaintness of the
whole. We must not forget, above all, the highly enriched
chimney shaft, which, in the English examples, is made of
fancifully moulded bricks, and is carried up in clusters
some distance above the roof. How much more pleasing
for a dwelling must be the outline of such a building, than
4100 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
that of a simple square roof whose summit is one unbroken
straight line !*
The inclosed entrance porch, approached by three or
four stone steps, with a seat or two for servants waiting, is
a distinctive mark of all the old English houses. This
"projects, in most cases, from the main body of the edifice,
and opens directly into the hall. The latter apartment is
not merely (as in most of our modern houses) an entry,
narrow and long, running directly through the house, but
has a peculiar character of its own, being rather spacious,
the roof or ceiling ribbed or groined, and the floor often
inlaid with marble tiles. A corresponding and suitable
style of finish, with Gothic details, runs through all the
different apartments, each of which, instead of being
finished and furnished with the formal sameness here so
prevalent, displays, according to its peculiar purposes—
as the dining-room, drawing-room, library, ete.—a marked
and characteristic air.
We have thus particularized the Tudor mansion, because
we believe that for a cold country like England or the
United States, it has strong claims upon the attention of
large landed proprietors, or those who wish to realize in a
country residence the greatest amount of comfort and
enjoyment. With the addition, here, of a veranda, which
the cool summers of England render needless, we believe
the Tudor Gothic to be the most convenient and com-
fortable, and decidedly the most picturesque and striking
* Two miles south of Albany, on a densely wooded hill, is the villa of Joel
Rathbone, Esq., Fig. 54, one of the most complete specimens of the Tudor
style in the United States. It was built from the designs of Davis, and is,
to the amateur, a very instructive example of this mode of domestic archi-
tecture.
—.h CO
Fig. 54. Residence of Joel Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N. =
—
White Flains, N. Y.
400
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Fig. 56. A Mansion in the Elizabethan style.
Fig. 57. The Residence of the Rev. Robert Bolton, near
New Rochelle, N. Y.
— RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 401
style, for country residences of a superior class.* The
materials generally employed in their construction in
England, are stone aud brick; and of late years, brick
and stucco has come into very general use.
The Elizabethan Style, that mode of building so com-
mon in England in the 17th century,—a mixture of
Gothic and Grecian in its details—is usually considered as
a barbarous kind of architecture, wanting in purity of
taste. Be this as it may, it cannot be denied that in the
finer specimens of this style, there is a surprising degree
of richness and picturesqueness for which we may look in
vain elsewhere. In short it seems, in the best examples,
admirably fitted for a bowery, thickly foliaged country,
like England, and for the great variety of domestic
enjoyments of its inhabitants. In the most florid examples
of this style, of which many specimens yet remain, we
often meet with every kind of architectural feature and
ornament, oddly, and often grotesquely combined—pointed
gables, dormer-windows, steep and low roofs, twisted
columns, pierced parapets, and broad windows with small
lights. Sometimes the effect of this fantastic combination
is excellent, but often bad. The florid Elizabethan style
is, therefore, a very dangerous one in the hands of any
one but an architect of profound taste; but we think in
some of its simpler forms (Fig. 56), it may be adopted for
country residences here in picturesque situations with a
quaint and happy effect.t
* The residence of Samuel [E. Lyon, Esq., at White Plains, N. Y., Fig. 55,
is a very pleasing example of the Tudor Cottage.
The seat of Robert Gilmor, Esq., near Baltimore, in the Tudor style, is a
very extensive pile of building.”
+ A highly unique residence in the old English syle, is Pelham Priory, the
seat of the Rev. Robert Bolton, near New Rochelle, N. Y., Fig. 57. The
26
402 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. .
The English cottage style, or what we have denominated
Rural Gothic, contains within itself all the most striking
and peculiar elements of the beautiful and picturesque in
its exterior, while it admits of the greatest possible variety
of accommodation and convenience in internal arrange-
ment.
In its general composition, Rural Gothic really differs
from the Tudor style more in that general simplicity
which serves to distinguish a cottage or villa of moderate
size from a mansion, than in any marked character of its
own. The square-headed windows preserve the same
form, and display the Gothic label and mullions,. though
the more expensive finish of decorative tracery is fre-
quently omitted. Diagonal or latticed lights are also more
commonly seen in the cottage style than in the mansion.
The general form and arrangement of the building, though
of course much reduced, is not unlike that of the latter
edifice. The entrance porch is always preserved, and the
bay-window jutting out from the best apartment, gives
variety, and an agreeable expression of use and enjoyment,
to almost every specimen of the old English cottage.
Perhaps the most striking feature of this charming style
as we see it in the best old English cottages, is the pointed
gable. This feature, which grows out of the high roofs
exterior is massive and picturesque, in the simplest taste of the Elizabethan
age, and being built amidst a fine oak wood, of the dark rough stone of the
neighborhood, it has at once the appearance of considerable antiquity. The
interior is constructed and fitted up throughout in the same-feeling,—with
harmonious wainscoting, quaint carving, massive chimney pieces, and old
furniture and armor. Indeed, we doubt if there is, at the present moment,
any recent private residence, even in England, where the spirit of the antique
is more entirely carried out, and where one may more easily fancy himself in
one of those “ mansions builded curiously ” of our ancestors in the time of
“ good Queen Bess.”
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 403
adopted, not only appears in the two ends of the main
building, but terminates every wing or projection of almost
any size that joins to the principal body of the house. The
gables are either of stone or brick, with a handsome
moulded coping, or they are finished with the widely pro-
jecting roof of wood, and verge boards, carved in a fanciful
and highly decorative shape. In either case, the point or
apex is crowned by a finial, or ornamental octagonal shaft,
rendering the gable one of the greatest sources of interest
in these dwellings. The projecting roof renders the walls
always dry. |
The porch, the labelled windows, the chimney shafts,
and the ornamented gables, being the essential features in
the composition of the English cottage style, it is evident
that this mode of building is highly expressive of purpose,
for country residences of almost every description and size,
from the humblest peasant’s cottage, to the beautiful and
picturesque villa of the retired gentleman of fortune. In
the simple form ef the cottage, the whole may be con-
structed of wood very cheaply, and in the more elaborate
villa residence, stone, or brick and cement, may be preferred,
as being more permanent. No style so readily admits of
enrichment as that of the old English cottage when on a
considerable scale ; and by the addition of pointed verandas,
bay windows, and dormer-windows, by the introduction of
mullions and tracery in the window openings, and indeed,
by a multitude of interior and exterior enrichments gene-
rally applied to the Tudor mansions, a villa in the rural
Gothic style may be made a perfect gem of a country
residence. Of all the styles hitherto enumerated, we con-
sider this one of the most suitable for this country, as,
while it comes within the reach of all persons of moderate
404 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
means, it unites, as we before stated, so much of conve-
nience and rural beauty.*
To the man of taste, there is no style which presents
greater attractions, being at once rich in picturesque
beauty, and harmonious in connexion with the surrounding
forms of vegetation. The Grecian villa, with its simple
forms and horizontal lines,seems to us only in good keeping
when it is in a smooth, highly cultivated, peaceful scene.
But the Rural Gothic, the lines of which point upwards, in
the pyramidal gables, tall clusters of chimneys, finials, and
the several other portions of its varied outline, harmonizes
easily with the tall trees, the tapering masses of foliage, or
the surrounding hills; and while it is seldom or never
misplaced in spirited rural scenery, it gives character and
picturesque expression to many landscapes entirely devoid
of that quality.
What we have already said in speaking of the Italian
style, respecting the facility with which additions may be
made to irregular houses, applies with equal, or even
greater force, to the varieties of the Gothic style, just
described. From the very fact that the highest beauty of
these modes of building arises from their irregularity
(opposed to Grecian architecture, which, in its chaste
simplicity, should be regular), it is evident that additions
* The only objection that can be urged against this mode of building, is that
which applies to all cottages with a low second story, viz. want of coolness in
the sleeping chambers during mid-summer. An evil which may be remedied
by constructing a false inner-roof—leaving a vacuity between the two roofs of
six or eight inches, which being occupied with air and ventilated at the top, will
almost entirely obviate the objection.
In our Cotiage Residences, Design I., we have shown how the comfort of
a full second story, suitable for this climate, may be combined with the expres-
sion of the English cottage style.
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 405
judiciously made will tend to increase this beauty, or afford
more facility for its display ; while it is equally evident
that in the interior arrangement, including apartments of
every description, superior opportunities are afforded for
attaining internal comfort and convenience, as well as
external effect.
The ideas connected in our minds with Gothic
architecture are of a highly romantic and poetical nature,
contrasted with the classical associations which the
Greek and Roman styles suggest. Although our own
country is nearly destitute of ruins and ancient time-
worn edifices, yet the literature of Kurope, and particularly
of what we term the mother country, is so much our own,
that we form a kind of delightful ideal acquaintance with
the venerable castles, abbeys, and strongholds of the
middle ages. Romantic as is the real history of those
times and places, to our minds their charm is greatly
enhanced by distance, by the poetry of legendary
superstition, and the fascination of fictitious narrative.
A castellated residence, therefore, in a wild and pictur-
esque situation, may be interesting, not only from its being
perfectly in keeping with surrounding nature, but from
the delightful manner in which it awakens associations
fraught with the most enticing history of the past.
The older domestic architecture of the English may be
viewed in another pleasing light. Their buildings and
residences have not only the recommendation of beauty
and complete adaptation, but the additional charm of
having been the homes of our ancestors, and the dwellings
of that bright galaxy of. English genius and worth, which
illuminates equally the intellectual firmament of both
hemispheres. He who has extended his researches, con
406 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
amore, into the history of the domestic life and habits of
those illustrious minds, will not, we are sure, forget that
lowly cottage by the side of the Avon, where the great
English bard was wont to dwell; the tasteful residence
of Pope at Twickenham; or the turrets and battlements
of the more picturesque Abbotsford ; and numberless other
examples of the rural buildings of England, once the
abodes of renowned genius. In truth, the cottage and
villa architecture of the English has grown out of the
feelings and habits of a refined and cultivated people,
whose devotion to country life, and fondness for all its
pleasures, are so finely displayed in the beauty of their
dwellings, and the exquisite keeping of their buildings and
grounds.
We must be permitted to quote, in further proof of
English taste and habits, and their results in their country
residences, the testimony of our countryman, Washington
Irving, in one of his most elegant essays. “The taste of
the English in the cultivation of land, and in what is called
Landscape Gardening, is unrivalled. They have studied
nature intently, and discovered an exquisite sense of her
beautiful forms and harmonious combinations. Those
charms which in other countries she lavishes in wild
solitudes, are here assembled around the haunts of
domestic life. They seem to have caught her coy and
furtive graces, and spread them like witchery about their
rural abodes. Nothing can be more imposing than the
magnificence of English park scenery. Vast lawns that
extend like sheets of vivid green, with here and there
clumps of gigantic trees heaping up rich piles of foliage.
The solemn group of groves and woodland glades, with
the deer trooping in silent herds across them; the hare
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 407
bounding away to the covert, or the pheasant bursting
suddenly upon the wing. The brook, taught to wind in
natural meanderings, or to expand into a glassy lake,—the
sequestered pool reflecting the quivering trees, with the
yellow leaf sleeping upon its bosom, and the trout roaming
fearlessly about its limpid waters; while some rustic
temple or sylvan statue, grown green and dark with age,
gives an air of classic sanctity to the seclusion.”
“These are but a few of the features of park scenery ;
but what most delights me, is the creative talent with
which the English decorate the unostentatious abodes of
middle life. The rudest habitation, the most unpromising
and scanty portion of land, in the hands of an Englishman
of taste, becomes a little paradise. With a nicely
discriminating eye he seizes at once upon its capabilities,
and pictures in his mind the future landscape. Thesterile
spot grows into loveliness under his hand; and yet the
operations of art which produce the effect are scarcely to
be perceived ; the cherishing and training of some trees:
the cautious pruning of others; the nice distribution of
flowers and plants of tender and graceful foliage; the
introduction of a green slope of velvet turf; the partial
opening to a peep of blue distance, or silver gleam of
water,—all these are managed with a delicate tact, a per-
vading, yet quiet assiduity, like the magic touchings with
which a painter finishes up a favorite picture.”
“The residence of people of fortune and refinement in
the country, has diffused a degree of taste and elegance
that descends to the lowest class. The very laborer, with
his thatched cottage and narrow slip of ground, attends to
their embellishment. The trim hedge, the grass-plot before
the door, the little flower bed bordered with snug box, the
408 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
woodbine trained up against the wall, and hanging its
blossoms about the lattice; the pot of flowers in the
window ; the holly providentially planted about the house
to cheat winter of its dreariness, and to throw in a
semblance of green summer to cheat the fireside :—all
these bespeak the influence of taste flowing down from
high sources, and pervading the lowest levels of the public
mind. If ever Love, as the poets sing, delights to visit a
cottage, it must be the cottage of an English peasant.”
It is this love of rural life and this nice feeling of the
harmonious union of nature and art, that reflects so much
credit upon the English as a people, and which sooner or
later we hope to see completely naturalized in this country.
Under its enchanting influence, the too great bustle and
excitement of our commercial cities will be happily counter-
balanced by the more elegant and quiet enjoyments of
country life. Our rural residences, evincing that love of
the beautiful and the picturesque, which, combined with
solid comfort, is so attractive to the eye of every beholder,
will not only become sources of the purest enjoyment to
the refined minds of the possessors, but will exert an
influence for the improvement in taste of every class in
our community. The ambition to build “shingle palaces”
in starved and meagre grounds, we are glad to see giving
way to that more refined feeling which prefers a neat villa
or cottage, tastily constructed, and surrounded by its proper
accessories, of greater or less extent, of verdant trees and
beautiful shrubbery.
It is gratifying to see the progressive improvement in
Rural Architecture, which within a few years past has
evinced itself in various parts of the country, and par-
ticularly on the banks of the Hudson and Connecticut
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Rivers, as well as in the suburbs of our largest cities.
Here and there, beautiful villas and cottages in the Italian
or old English styles, are being erected by proprietors who
feel the pre-eminent beauty of these modes for domestic
architecture. And from the rapidity with which improve-
ments having just claims for public favor advance in our
community, we have every reason to hope that our Rural
Architecture will soon exhibit itself in a more attractive
and agreeable form than it has hitherto generally assumed.
We take pleasure in referring to a few of these buildings
more in detail.
The cottage of Thomas W. Ludlow, Esq., near Yonkers,
on the Hudson (Fig. 58), is one of the most complete
examples on this river. The interior is very carefully
and harmoniously finished, the apartments are agreeably
arranged, and the general effect of the exterior is varied
and pleasing.
There is scarcely a building or place more replete with
interest in America, than the cottage of Washington
Irving, near Tarrytown (Fig. 59). The “Legend of
Sleepy Hollow,” so delightfully told in the Sketch-Book,
has made every one acquainted with this neighborhood,
and especially with the site of the present building, there
celebrated as the “Van Tassel House,” one of the most
secluded and delightful nooks on the banks of the Hudson.
With characteristic taste, Mr. Irving has chosen this spot,
the haunt of his early days, since rendered classic ground
by his elegant pen, and made it his permanent residence.
The house of “ Baltus Van Tassel” has been altered and
rebuilt in a quaint .style, partaking somewhat of the
English cottage mode, but retaining strongly marked
symptoms of its Dutch origin. The quaint old weather-
410 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
cocks and finials, the crow-stepped gables, and the hall
paved with Dutch tiles, are among the ancient and
venerable ornaments of the houses of the original
settlers of Manhattan, now almost extinct among us.
There is also a quiet keeping in the cottage and the
grounds around it, that assists in making up the charm
of the whole; the gently swelling slope reaching down
to the water’s edge, bordered by prettily wooded ravines
through which a brook meanders pleasantly ; and thread-
ed by foot-paths ingeniously contrived, so as sometimes
to afford secluded walks, and at others to allow fine
vistas of the broad expanse of river scenery. The
cottage itself is now charmingly covered with ivy and
climbing roses, and embosomed in thickets of shrubbery.
Mr. Sheldon’s residence (Fig. 60), in the same neigh-
borhood, furnishes us with another example of the Rural
Gothic mode, worth the study of the amateur. Captain
Perry’s spirited cottage, near Sing Sing, partakes of the
same features; and we might add numerous other cottages
now building, or in contemplation, which show how fast
the feeling for something more expressive and picturesque
is making progress among us.
Mr. Warren’s residence at Troy, N. Y. (Fig. 61), is
a very pretty example of the English cottage, elegantly
finished internally as well as externally. A situation in
a valley, embosomed with luxuriant trees, would have
given this building a more appropriate and charming
air than its present one, which, however, affords a
magnificent prospect of the surrounding country.
It is the common practice here to place a portion of
what are called the domestic offices, as the kitchen,
pantries, etc., in the basement story of the house,
Fig. 61. Mr. Warren,’s Cottage, near Troy, He
410
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 411
directly beneath the living rooms. This has partly
arisen from the circumstance of the comparative economy
of this method of constructing them under the same
roof; and partly from the difficulty of adding wings to
the main building for those purposes, which will not
mar the simplicity and elegance of a Grecian villa. In
the better class of houses in England, the domestic
offices, which include the kitchen and its appurtenances,
and also the stable, coach-house, harness-room, etc., are
in the majority of cases attached to the main body of
the building on one side. The great advantage of
having all these conveniences on the same floor with
the principal rooms, and communicating in such a way
as to be easily accessible at all times without going into
the open air, is undeniable. It must also be admitted that
these domestic offices, extending out from the main
building, partly visible and partly concealed by trees and
foliage, add much to the extent and importance of a villa
or mansion in the country. In the old English style these
appendages are made to unite happily with the building,
which is in itself irregular. Picturesque effect is certainly
increased by thus extending the pile and increasing the
variety of its outline.
A blind partiality for any one style in building is detri-
mental to the progress of improvement, both in taste and
comfort. The variety of means, habits, and local feelings,
will naturally cause many widely different tastes to arise
among us ; and it is only by the means of a number of
distinct styles, that this diversity of tastes can be accom-
modated. There will always be a large class of individuals
in every country who prefer a plain square house because
it is more economical, and because they have little feeling
~
412 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
for architectural, or, indeed, any other species of beauty.
But besides such, there will always be found some men of
finer natures, who have a sympathetic appreciation of the
beautiful in nature and art. Among these, the classical
scholar and gentleman may, from association and the love
of antiquity, prefer a villa in the Grecian or Roman style.
He who has a passionate love of pictures and especially
fine landscapes, will perhaps, very naturally, prefer the
modern Italian style for a country residence. The wealthy
proprietor, either from the romantic and chivalrous asso-
ciations connected with the baronial castle, or from desire
to display his own resources, may indulge his fancy in
erecting a castellated dwelling. The gentleman who
wishes to realize the beau ideal of a genuine old English
country residence, with its various internal comforts, and
its spirited exterior, may establish himself in a Tudor villa
or mansion; and the lover of nature and rural life, who,
with more limited means, takes equal interest in the beauty
of his grounds or garden (however small) and his house—
who is both an admirer of that kind of beauty called the
picturesque, and has a lively perception of the effect of a
happy adaptation of buildings to the landscape,—such a
person will very naturally make choice of the rural cottage
style.
Entrance Lodges are not only handsome architectural
objects in the scenery of country residences of large size,
but are in many cases exceedingly convenient, both to the
family and the guests or visitors having frequent ingress
and egress. The entrance lodge may further be considered
a matter strictly useful, in serving as the dwelling of the
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 413
gardener or farmer and his family. In this point of view,
arrangements for the comfort and convenience of the
inmates should be regarded as more important than the
fanciful decoration of the exterior—as no exterior, however
charming, can, to a reflective and well regulated mind,
apologize for contracted apartments, and imperfect light
and ventilation, in human habitations.
Among the numerous entrance lodges which we remember
to have seen in the United States, we scarcely recall a single
example where the means, or rather the facility, of opening
and shutting the gate itself, has been sufliciently considered.
Most generally the lodge is at too great a distance from the
gate, consuming too mich time in attendance, and exposing
the persons attending, generally women or children, to the
inclemencies of the weather. Besides this, service of this
kind is less cheerfully performed in this country than in
Europe, from the very simple reason of the greater equality
of conditions here, and therefore everything which tends
to lessen labor, is worthy of being taken into account.
For these reasons we would place the gate very near the
lodge ; it would be preferable if it were part of the same
architectural composition: and if possible adopt the con-
trivance now in use at some places abroad, by which the
gate, being hung nearest the building, may be opened by
the occupant without the latter being seen, or being
scarcely obliged to leave his or her employment.* This
* In Fig. 62, is shown the section of a gate arranged upon this plan. At
the bottom of the hanging post of the gate, is a bevelled iron pinion, that works
into another pinion, 6, at the end of the horizontal shaft, a, which shaft is fixed
in a square box or tunnel under the road. The part to the right of the partition
line, f, is the interior of the gate-keeper’s house ; and by turning the winch, e,
the upright shaft, c, is put in motion, which moves by means of the bevelled
pinions, g, d, the shaft a, and therefore, through d, the back post of the gate,
”
414 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
is certainly the ultimatum of improvements in gate lodges ;
and where it cannot be attained, something may still be
done towards amelioration, by placing the gate within a
convenient distance, instead of half a dozen rods apart
from the lodge, as is frequently done.
That the entrance lodge should correspond in style with
the mansion, is a maxim insisted upon by all writers on
Rural Architecture. Where the latter is built in a mixed
style, there is more latitude allowed in the choice of forms
for the lodge, which may be considered more as a thing by
itself. But where the dwelling is a strictly architectural
composition. the lodge should correspond in style, and bear
evidence of emanating from the same mind. A variation
of the same style may be adopted with pleasing effect, as a
(Fig. 62. Plan for opening the gate from the interior of the Lodge.]
lodge in the form of the old English cottage for a castellated
mansion, or a Doric lodge for a Corinthian villa ; but never
two distinct styles on the same place (a Gothic gate-house
and a Grecian residence) without producing in minds
imbued with correct principles a feeling of incongruity.
A certain correspondence in size is also agreeable; where
the dwelling of the proprietor is simply an ornamental
which is opened and shut by the motion of the winch, without obliging the
inmates to leave the house.
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 415
cottage, the lodge, if introduced, should be more simple and
unostentatious ; and even where the house is magnificent,
ihe lodge should rather be below the general air of the
residence than above it, that the stranger who enters at a
showy and striking lodge may not be disappointed in the
want of correspondence between it and the remaining
portions of the demesne.
=
[Fig. 63. The New Gate Lodge at Blithewood.]
The gate-lodge at Blithewood, on the Hudson, the seat
of R. Donaldson, Esq., is a simple and effective cottage in
the bracketed style—octagonal in its form, and very com-
pactly arranged internally.
Nearly all the fine seats on the North river have entrance
lodges—often simple and but little ornamented, or only
ace = pleasingly embowered in
foliage ; but, occasional-
ly, highly picturesque and
striking in appearance.
A view of the pretty
gate lodge at Nether-
wood, Duchess County
N. Y., the seat of Gardi-
[Fig.64. The Gate Lodge at Netherwood.]}
416 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
ner Howland, Esq., is shown in Fig. 64. Half a mile
north of this seat is an interesting lodge in the Swiss
style, at the entrance to the residence of Mrs. Sheafe.
In Fig. 65, is shown an elevation of a lodge in the Italian
style, with projecting eaves supported by cantilevers or
brackets, round-headed windows with balconies, character-
istic porch, and other leading features of this style.
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[Fig. 65. Gate Lodge in the Italian style.]
Mr. Repton has stated it as a principle in the composition
of residences, that neither the house should be visible from
the entrance nor the entrance from the house, if there be
sufficient distance between them to make the approach
through varied grounds, or a park, and not immediately
into a court-yard.
Entrance lodges, and indeed all small ornamental build-
ings, should be supported, and partially concealed, by trees
and foliage ; naked walls, in the country, hardly admitting
of an apology in any case, but especially when the building
is ornamental, and should be considered part of a whole,
grouping with other objects in rural Jandscape.
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 417
Nore.—To readers who desire to cultivate a taste for rural architecture, we
take pleasure in recommending the following productions of the English press.
Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture, a volume
replete with information on every branch of the subject ; Robinson’s Rural
Architecture and Designs for Ornamental Villas; Lugar’s Villa Archi-
tecture; Goodwin’s Rural Architecture ; Hunt's Picturesque Domestic
Architecture, and Examples of Tudor Architecture ; Pugin’s Examples of
Gothic Architecture, etc. The most successful American architects in this
branch of the art, with whom we are acquainted, are Alexander J. Davis, Esq.,
of New York, and John Notman, Esq., of Philadelphia.
SIS SS eee Soe
(Fig. 66. The Gardener’s House, Blithewood.]}
27
4i38 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
SECTION X.
EMBELLISHMENTS ; ARCHITECTURAL, RUSTIC, AND FLORAL.
Value of a proper connexion between the house and grounds. Beauty of the architectural
terrace, and its application to villas and cottages. Use of vases of different descriptions.
Sun-dials. Architectural flower-garden. Irregular flower-garden. French flower-garden.
English flower-garden. General remarks on this subject. Selection of showy plants,
flowering in succession. Arrangement of the shrubbery, and selection of choice shrubs.
The conservatory or green-house. Open and covered seats. Pavilions. Rustic seats.
Prospect tower. Bridges. Rockwork. Fountains of various descriptions. Judicious
introduction of decorations.
Nature, assuming a more lovely face,
Borrowing a beauty from the works of grace.
Cowrer.
Each odorous bushy shrub
Fenced up the verdant wall ; each beauteous flower ;
Tris all hues, Roses and Jessamine
Rear’d high their flourished heads between,
And wrought Mosaic.
Mirton.
N our finest places, or those
“, country seats where much of
the polish of pleasure ground
or park scenery is kept up, one of the most striking defects
is the want of “union between the house and the grounds.”
“
We are well aware that from the comparative rarity of any-
thing like a highly kept place in this country, the want of
this, which is indeed like the last finish to the residence, is
scarcely felt at all. But this only proves the infant state
EMBELLISHMENTS. 419
of Landscape Gardening here, and the little attention that
has been paid to the highest details of the art.
If our readers will imagine, with us, a pretty villa, con-
veniently arranged and well constructed, in short, complete
in itself as regards its architecture, and at the same time,
properly placed in a smooth well kept lawn, studded with
groups and masses of fine trees, they will have an example
often to be met with, of a place, in the graceful school of
design, about which, however, there is felt to be a certain
incongruity between the house, a highly artificial object,
and the surrounding grounds, where the prevailing ex-
pression in the latter is that of beautiful nature. :
Let us suppose, for further illustration, the same house
and grounds with a few additions. The house now rising
directly out of the green turf which encompasses it, we
will surround by a raised platform or terrace, wide enough
for a dry, firm walk, at all seasons; on the top of the wall
or border of this terrace, we will form a handsome parapet,
or balustrade, some two or three feet high, the details of
which shall be in good keeping with the house, whether
Grecian or Gothic. On the coping of this parapet, if the
house is in the classical style, we will find suitable places,
at proper intervals, fer some handsome urns, vases, etc.
On the drawing-room side of the house, that is, the side
towards which the best room or rooms look, we will place
the flower-garden, into which we descend from the terrace
by a few steps. This flower-garden may be simply what
its name denotes, a place exclusively devoted to the culti-
420 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
vation of flowers, or (if the house is not in a very plain
style, admitting of little enrichment) it may be an archi-
tectural flower-garden. In the latter case, intermingled
with the flowers, are to be seen vases, fountains, and some-
times even statues; the effect of the fine colors and deep
foliage of the former, heightened by contrast with the
sculptured forms of the latter.
If our readers will now step back a few rods with us and
take a second view of our villa residence, with its
supposed harmonizing accessories, we think they can hardly
fail to be impressed at once with the great improvement
of the whole. The eye now, instead of witnessing the
sudden termination of the architecture at the base of the
house, where the lawn commences as suddenly, will be at
once struck with the increased variety and richness
imparted to the whole scene, by the addition of the archi-
tectural and garden decorations. The mind is led
gradually down from the house, with its projecting porch
or piazzas, to the surrounding terrace crowned with its
beautiful vases, and from thence to the architectural
flower-garden, interspersed with similar ornaments. The
various play of light afforded by these sculptured forms on
the terrace ; the projections and recesses of the parapet,
with here and there some climbing plants luxuriantly
enwreathing it, throwing out the mural objects in stronger
relief, and connecting them pleasantly with the verdure of
the turf beneath; the still further rambling off of vases,
etc., into the brilliant flower-garden, which, through these
ornaments, maintains an avowed connexion with the
architecture of the house; all this, we think it cannot be
denied, forms a rich setting to the architecture, and unites
EMBELLISHMENTS. 421
agreeably the forms of surrounding nature with the more
regular and uniform outlines of the building.
The effect will not be less pleasing if viewed from
another point of view, viz. the terrace, or from the apart-
ments of the house itself. From either of these points, the
various objects enumerated, will form a rich foreground
to the pleasure-grounds or park—a matter which painters
well know how to estimate, as a landscape is incomplete
and unsatisfactory to them, however beautiful the middle
or distant points, unless there are some strongly marked
objects in the foreground. In fine, the intervention of
these elegant accompaniments to our houses prevents us,
as Mr. Hope has observed, “from launching at once from
the threshold of the symmetric mansion, in the most abrupt
manner, into a scene wholly composed of the most
unsymmetric and desultory forms of mere nature, which
are totally. out of character with the mansion, whatever
may be its style of architecture and furnishing.’”’*
The highly decorated terrace, as we have here supposed
it, would, it is evident, be in unison with villas of a some-
what superior style; or, in other words, the amount of
enrichment bestowed upon exterior decoration near the
house, should correspond to the style of art evinced in the
exterior of the mansion itself. An humble cottage with
sculptured vases on its terrace and parapet, would be in
bad taste; but any Grecian, Roman, or Italian villa, where
a moderate degree of exterior ornament is visible, or a
Gothic villa of the better class, will allow the additional
enrichment of the architectural terrace and its ornaments.
Indeed the terrace itself, in so far as it denotes a raised dry
* Essay on Ornamental Gardening, by Thomas Hope.
422 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
platform around the house, is a suitable and appropriate
appendage to every dwelling, of whatever class.
The width of a terrace around a house may vary from
five to twenty feet, or more, in proportion as the building
is of greater or less importance. The surrounding wall,
which supports its level, may also vary from one to eight
feet. The terrace, in the better class of English residences,
is paved with smooth flag stones, or in place of this, a sur-
face of firm well-rolled gravel is substituted. In residences
where a parapet or balustrade would be thought too
expensive, a square stone or plinth is placed at the angles
or four corners of the terrace, which serves as the pedestal
for a vase or urn. When a more elegant and finished
appearance is desirable, the parapet formed of open work
of stone, or wood painted in imitation of stone, rises above
the level of the terrace two or three feet with a suitably
bold coping. On this vases may be placed, not only at the
corners, but at regular intervals of ten, twenty, or more
feet. We have alluded to the good effect of climbers, here
and there planted, and suffered to intermingle their rich
foliage with the open work of the parapet and its crowning
ornaments. In the climate of Philadelphia, the Giant Ivy,
with its thick sculpturesque looking masses of foliage,
would be admirably suited to this purpose.’ Or the Vir-
ginia Creeper (the Ivy of America) may take its place in
any other portion of the Union. To these we may add,
the Chinese twining Honeysuckle (Lonicera flexuosa) and
the Sweet-scented Clematis, both deliciously fragrant in
their blossoms, with many other fine’ climbers which will
readily recur to the amateur.
There can be no reason why the smallest cottage, if its
occupant be a person of taste, should not have a terrace
eo
EMBELLISHMENTS. 423
decorated in a suitable manner. This is easily and cheaply
effected by placing neat flower-pots on the parapet, or
border and angles of the terrace, with suitable plants grow-
ing in them. For this purpose, the American or Century
Aloe, a formal architectural-looking plant, is exceedingly
well adapted, as it always preserves nearly the
same appearance. Or in place of this, the
Yuccas, or “Adam’s needle and_ thread,’
which have something of the same character,
while they also produce beautiful heads of
(Fig. 67) flowers, may be chosen. Yucca flaccida is a
fine hardy species, which would look well
in such a situation. An aloe in a common
flower pot is shown in Fig. 67; and a
Yucca in an ornamental flower-pot in
Fig. 68. (Fig. 63]
Where there is a terrace ornamented with urns or vases,
and the proprietor wishes to give a corresponding air of
elegance to his grounds, vases, sundials, etc., may be placed
in various appropriate situations, not only in the architec-
tural flower-garden, but on the lawn, and through the
pleasure-grounds in various different points near the house.
We say near the house, because we think so highly arti-
ficial and architectural an object as a sculptured vase, is
never correctly introduced unless it appear in some way
connected with buildings, or objects of a like architectural
character. To place a beautiful vase in a distant part of
the grounds, where there is no direct allusion to art, and
where it is accompanied only by natural objects, as the
overhanging trees and the sloping turf, is in a measure
doing violence to our reason or taste, by bringing two
objects so strongly contrasted, in direct union. But when
424 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
we see a statue or a vase placed in any part of the grounds
where a near view is obtained of the house (and its accom-
panying statues or vases), the whole is accounted for, and
we feel the distant vase to be only a part of, or rather a
repetition of the same idea,—in other words, that it forms
part of a whole, harmonious and consistent.
Vases of real stone, as marble or granite, are decorations
of too costly a kind ever to come into general use among
us. Vases, however, of equally beautiful forms, are manu-
factured of artificial stone, of fine pottery, or of cast iron,
which have the same effect, and are of nearly equal dura-
bility, as garden decorations.
A vase should never, in the open air, be set down upon
the ground or grass, without being placed upon a firm base
of some description, either a plinth or a pedestal. Without
a base of this kind it has a temporary look, as if it had been
left there by mere accident, and without any intention of
permanence. Placing it upon a pedestal, or square plinth
(block of stone), gives it a character of art, at once more
dignified and expressive of stability. Besides this, the
pedestal in reality serves to preserve the vase in a perpen-
dicular position, as well as to expose it fairly to the eye,
which could not be the case were it put down, without any
preparation, on the bare turf or gravel.
Figure 69 is a Gothic, and Figures 70, 71, are
| Grecian vases, commonly manufactured in plaster
in our cities, but which are also made of Roman
cement. They are here shown upon suitable
pedestals—a being the vase, and b the pedestal.
These with many other elegant vases and urns are
a manufactured in an artificial stone, as durable as
ig. 69.
marble, by Austin of London, and together with a great
>>.
EMBELLISHMENTS. 425
variety of other beautiful sculpturesque decorations, may
be imported at very reasonable prices.
Figures 70, 71, are beautiful vases of pottery ware
manufactured by Peake, of Staffordshire—and which may
be imported cheaply, or will be made to order at the Sala-
mander works, in New York. These vases, when colored
[EGIIO SSS tO imitate marble or other stone, are ex-
tremely durable and very ornamental.
As yet, we are unable to refer our readers
to any manufactory here, where these
articles are made in a manner fully equal
to the English ; but we are satisfied, it is
only necessary that the taste for such
articles should increase, and the conse-
| quent demand, to induce our artisans to
eee) produce them of equal beauty and of
greater cheapness.
At Blithewood, the seat of R. Donaldson, Esq., on the
Hudson, a number of exquisite vases may
be seen in the pleasure-grounds, which are
cut in Maltese stone. These were imported | i
by the proprietor, direct from Malta, at very
moderate rates, and are not only ornamen-
tal, but very durable. Their color is a
warm shade of grey which harmonizes
agreeably with the surround- ;
ing vegetation.
Large vases are sometimes (Fig. 71.]
filled with earth and planted with choice flow-
ering plants, and the effect of the blossoms and
green leaves growing out of these handsome
receptacles, is at least unique and striking
426 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Loudon objects to it in the case of an elegant sculp-
tured vase, “because it is reducing a work of art to the
level of a mere garden flower-pot, and dividing the
attention between the beauty of the form of the vase
and of its sculptured ornaments, and that of the plant
which it contains.” This criticism is a just one in its
general application, especially when vases
are considered as architectural decorations.
Occasional deviations, however, may be per-
mitted, for the sake of producing variety,
especially in the case of vases used as deco-
rations in the flower-garden.
A very pretty and fanciful substitute for
the sculptured vase, and which may take its
place in the picturesque landscape, may be
found in vases or baskets of rustic work, con- [Fig. 73]
structed of the branches and sections of trees with the
bark attached. Figure 74 is a re-
presentation of a pleasing rustic vase
which we have constructed without
oT
forms the pedestal. An octagonal box
serves as the body or frame of the vase ;
3 a
on this, pieces of birch and hazel (small
' (Fig. 74] split limbs covered with the bark) are
nailed closely, so as to forma sort of mosaic covering to the
whole exterior. Ornaments of this kind, which may be
made by the amateur with the assistance of a common
carpenter, are very suitable for the decoration of the
grounds and flower-gardens of cottages or picturesque
villas. An endless variety of forms will occur to an
EMBELLISHMENTS. 427
ingenious artist in rustic work, which he may call in to the
embellishment of rural scenes, without taxing his purse
heavily.
Sundials (Fig. 75) are among the oldest decorations for
the garden and grounds, and there are scarcely any which
we think more suitable. They are not merely
decorative, but have also an useful character, and
may therefore be occasionally placed in distant
parts of the grounds, should a favorite walk ter-
minate there. When we meet daily in our walks
for a number of years, with. one of these silent
monitors of the flight of time, we become in a
degree attached to it, and really look upon it as
gifted with a species of intelligence, beaming out
when the sunbeams smile upon its dial-plate.
(Fig. 75.) The Architectural Flower-garden, as we
have just-remarked, has generally a direct connexion with
the house, at least on one side by the terrace. It may be
of greater or less size, from twenty feet square to half an
acre in extent. The leading characteristics of this species
of flower-garden, are the regular lines and forms employed
in its beds and walks. The flowers are generally planted
in beds in the form of circles, octagons, squares, etc., the
centre of the garden being occupied by an elegant vase, a
sundial, or that still finer ornament, a fountain, or jet d'eau.
In various parts of the garden, along the principal walks,
or in the centre of parterres, pedestals supporting vases,
urns, or handsome flower-pots with plants, are placed.
When a highly marked character of art is intended, a
balustrade or parapet, resembling that of the terrace to
which it is connected, is continued round the whole of
428 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
this garden. Or in other cases the garden is surrounded
by a thicket of shrubs and low trees, partly concealing it
from the eye on all sides but one.
It is evident that the architectural flower-garden is
superior to the general flower-garden, as an appendage
to the house, on two accounts. First, because, as we
have already shown, it serves an admirable purpose
in effecting a harmonious union between the house and the
grounds. And secondly, because we have both the rich
verdure and gay blossoms of the flowering plants, and the
more permanent beauty of sculptured forms; the latter
heightening the effect of the former by contrast, as well as
by the relief they afford the eye in masses of light, amid
surrounding verdure.
There are several varieties of general flower-gardens,
which may be formed near the house. Among these we
will only notice the irregular flower-garden, the old French
flower-garden, and the modern or English flower-garden.
In almost all the different kinds of flower-gardens, two
methods of forming the beds are observed. One is, to cut
the beds out of the green turf, which is ever afterwards
(Fig. 76. The Irregular mites
EMBELLISHMENTS. 429
kept well-mown or cut for the walks, and the edges pared ;
the other, to surround the beds with edgings of verdure, as
box, etc., or some more durable material, as tiles, or cut
stone, the walks between being covered with gravel. The
turf is certainly the most agreeable for walking upon in
the heat of summer, and the dry part of the day ; while
the gravelled flower-garden affords a dry footing at nearly
all hours and seasons.
The irregular flower-garden is surrounded by an irregu-
lar belt of trees and ornamental shrubs of the choicest
species, and the beds are varied in outline, as well as
irregularly disposed, sometimes grouping together, some-
times standing singly, but exhibiting no uniformity of
arrangement. An idea of its general appearance may be
gathered from the accompanying sketch (Fig. 76), which
may be varied at pleasure. In it the irregular boundary
of shrubs is shown at a, the flower-beds b, and the walks e.
This kind of flower-garden would be a suitable accom-
paniment to the house and grounds of an enthusiastic
lover of the picturesque, whose residence is in the Rural
Gothic style, and whose grounds are also eminently varied
and picturesque. Or it might form a pretty termination
to a distant walk in the pleasure-grounds, where it would
be more necessary that the flower-garden should be in
keeping with the surrounding plantations and scenery than
with the house.
Where the flower-garden is a spot set apart, of any
regular outline, not of large size, and especially where it is
attached directly to the house, we think the effect is most
satisfactory when the beds or walks are laid out in sym-
metrical forms. Our reasons for this are these: the
flower-garden, unlike distant portions of the pleasure-
430 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
ground scenery, is an appendage to the house, seen in the
same view or moment with it, and therefore should exhibit
something of the regularity which characterizes, in a
greater or less degree, all architectural compositions ; and
when a given scene is so small as to be embraced in a
single glance of the eye, regular forms are found to be
more satisfactory than irregular ones, which, on so small a
scale, are apt to appear unmeaning.
The French flower-garden is the most fanciful of the
regular modes of laying out the area devoted to this purpose.
The patterns or figures employed are often highly intricate,
and require considerable skill in their formation. The
walks are either of gravel or smoothly shaven turf, and the
beds are filled with choice flowering plants. It is evident
that much of the beauty of this kind of flower-garden, or
indeed any other where the figures are regular and intri-
cate, must depend on the outlines of the beds, or parterres
of embroidery, as they are called, being kept distinct and
clear. To do this effectually, low growing herbaceous
plants or border flowers, perennials and annuals, should be
chosen, such as will not exceed on an average, one or two
feet in height.
In the English flower-garden, the beds are either in
symmetrical forms and figures, or they are characterized
by irregular curved outlines. The peculiarity of these
gardens, at present so fashionable in England, is, that each
separate bed is planted with a single variety, or at most
two varieties of flowers. Only the most striking and
showy varieties are generally chosen, and the effect, when
the selection is judicious, is highly brilliant. Each bed, in
its season, presents a mass of blossoms, and the contrast of
rich colors is much more striking than in any other
EMBELLISHMENTS. 431
arrangement. No plants are admitted that are shy bloom-
ers, or which have ugly habits of growth, meagre or starved
foliage; the aim being brilliant effect, rather than the
display of a great variety of curious or rare plants. To
bring this about more perfectly, and to have an elegant
show during the whole season of growth, hyacinths and
other fine bulbous roots occupy a certain portion of the
beds, the intervals being filled with handsome herbaceous
plants, permanently planted, or with flowering annuals and
green-house plants renewed every season.
To illustrate the mode of arranging the beds and disposing
the plants in an English garden, we copy the plan and
description of the elegant flower-garden, on the lawn at
Dropmore, the beds being cut out of the smooth turf.
“The flower-garden at Dropmore is shown in Fig. 77.
In this the plants are so disposed, that when in flower the
corresponding forms of the figure contain corresponding
colored flowers. The following is a list of the plants which
occupy this figure during summer, with the order in which
they are disposed : and a corresponding enumeration of the
bulbs and other plants which occupy the beds during winter
and spring.
(Fig. 77. The Flower-Garden at Dropmore.]
LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
In Summer.
Beps.
1. Rosa Indica (blush China), bordered with R. Semperflorens flore
pleno, and R. Indica minor.
2. Pelargonium inquinans (Scarlet Geranium).
3. Verbena Lamberti. :
4. Senecio elegans, flore pleno. (Double Jacobea.)
5. 5. Alonsoa incisifolia.
6. 6. Agathea excelsis.
7. Fuchsia coccinea (Lady’s Eardrop), bordered with Double Prim-
rose.
8. Helitropium peruvianum.
9. Ruellia formosa.
10. Ageratum mexicanum. ‘
11. Dianthus chinensis (Indian Pink), and Mignonette.
12. Lobelia splendens.
13. Dianthus satifolius.
14. Lobelia unidentata.
15.
15. 15. Choice herbaceous plants not exceeding one foot six inches
in height.
16. 16. Gladiolus cardinalis.
17. Pelargonium lateripis (pink-flowered variegated Ivy Geranium).
18. Anagallis grandiflora.
19. Anagallis Monelli.
20. Pelargonium coruseans (Fiery-red Geranium.)
21. Prince of Orange Geranium.
22. Cénothera cespitosa.
23. CEnothera missouriensis (Missouri evening Primrose).
24. Scarlet flowered variegated leaved Geranium.
25. Malope trifida.
26. Lobelia fulgens.
27. Petunia Pheenicea. :
28. Commelina celestis.
29. Cistus guttatus.
30. Campanula pentagona.
31. Four seasons Rose, and Mignonette.
32. Bouvardia triphylla.
33. Double Nasturtium.
Iy Winter anv SPRING.
Beps.
1. Anemone Coronaria.
2.2. Malcomia maritima (Mediterranean stock).
i 4.*4
EMBELLISHMENTS. 433
Beps.
3 and 4. Fine varieties of Tulips.
5. 5. Double rocket Larkspur (sown in autumn).
6. 6. Agathea celestis.
7. Scilla nutans (blue harebell).
8. Feathered Hyacinths.
9 and 10. Sweet scented Tulips.
11. Double garden Tulips.
12. Single gesneriana Tulips.
13 and 14. Tritonia crocata, and Tritonia fenestra, kept in frames in
mid-winter.
15. 15. 15. 15. Choice herbaceous plants not exceeding one foot six
inches in height.
16.16. Hyacinths, double blue, plunged in pots.
17. Hyacinths, double red, do.
18 and 19. MHyacinths, single blue variety.
20 and 21. Single white Hyacinths.
22 and 23. Crocus vernus and biflorus.
24. Hyacinths, double red.
25 and 26. Tulips, double yellow.
27. Hyacinths, double white.
28. Muscari botryoides, (Grape Hyacinth).
29. Oxalis caprina (kept in frames in mid-winter).
30. Scilla verna (Spring Harebell).
31. Muscari racemosum, the border of Viola tricolor in sorts.
32. MHyacinths, double white.
33. Double rose Larkspur.
“ As a general principle for regulating the plants in this
figure, the winter and spring flowers ought, as much as
possible, to be of sorts which admit of being in the ground
all the year: and the summer crop should be planted at
intervals between the winter plants. Or the summer crop,
having been brought forward in pots under glass, or by
nightly protection, may be planted out about the middle of
June, after the winter plants in pots are removed. A
number of hardy bulbs ought to be potted and plunged in
the beds in the months of October and November ; and
when out of bloom, in May or June, removed to the reserve
28
434 : LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
garden and plunged there, in order to perfect their foliage
and mature their bulbs for the succeeding season.’’*
There cannot be a question that this method of planting
the flower-garden in groups and masses, is productive of
by far the most splendid effect. In England, where flower- —
gardens are carried to their greatest perfection, the pre-
ference in planting is given to exotics which blossom
constantly throughout the season, and which are kept in
the green-house during winter, and turned out in the
beds in the early part of the season, where they flower in
the greatest profusion until frost; as Fuchsias, Salvias,
eS eo ee
Eo Gia
Gey
[Fig. 78, English Flower-Garden.}
* Eney. of Gardening, 1000.
4 * il eee Se Z whe
Ps 1”, nd .
a Saas i ae : :
e .
EMBELLISHMENTS. 435
Lobelias, Scarlet Geraniums, etc., etc.* This mode can
be adopted here where a small green-house or frame is
kept. In the absence of these, nearly the same effect may
be produced by choosing the most showy herbaceous plants,
perennial and biennial, alternating them with hardy bulbs,
and the finer species of annuals.
In Fig. 78, we give an example of a small cottage or
villa residence of one or two acres, where the flower-beds
are disposed around the lawn in the English style: their —
forms irregular, with curved outlines, affording a great
degree of variety in the appearance as viewed from differ-
ent points on the lawn itself. In this, the central portion
is occupied by the lawn; c, d, are the flower-beds, planted
with showy’ border-flowers, in separate masses; b, the
conservatory. Surrounding the whole is a collection of
choice shrubs and trees, the lowest near the walk, and those
behind increasing in-altitude as they approach the boundary
wall or fence. In this plan, as there is supposed to be no
exterior view worth preserving, the amphitheatre of shrubs
and trees completely shuts out all objects but the lawn and
its decorations, which are rendered as elegant as possible.
Where the proprietor of a country residence, or the
ladies of a family, have a particular taste, it may be indulged
at pleasure in other and different varieties of the flower-
garden. With some families there is a taste for botany,
* In many English residences, the flower-garden is maintained in never-
fading brillianey by almost daily supplies frem what is termed the reserve
garden. This is a small garden out of sight, in which a great number of
duplicates of the species in the flower-garden are grown in pots plunged in
beds. As soon as a vacuum is made in the flower-garden by the fading of any
flowers, the same are immediately removed and their places supplied by fresh
plants just ready to bleom, from the pots in the reserve garden. This, which is
the ultimatum of refinement in flower-gardening, has never, to our knowledge,
been attempted in this country.
436 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
when a small botanic flower-garden may be preferred—the
herbaceous and other plants being grouped or massed in
beds after the Linnean, or the natural method. Some
persons have an enthusiastic fondness for florist flowers, as
Pansies, Carnations, Dahlias, Roses, etc.; others for bulbous
roots, all of which may very properly lead to particular
modes of laying out flower-gardens.
The desideratum, however, with most persons is, to have
a continued display of blossoms in the flower-garden from
the opening of the crocus and snowdrop in the spring,
until the autumnal frosts cut off the last pale asters, or
blacken the stems of the luxuriant dahlias in November.
This may be done with a very.small catalogue of plants if
they are properly selected: such as flower at different
seasons, continue long time in bloom, and present fme
masses of flowers. On the other hand, a very large num-
ber of species may be assembled together; and owing to
their being merely botanical rarities, and not bearing fme
flowers, or to their blossoming chiefly in a certain portion
of the season, or continuing but a short period m bloom,
the flower-garden will often have but an insignificant
appearance. With a group of Pansies and spring bulbs, a
bed of ever-blooming China Roses, including the Isle de
Bourbon varieties, some few Eschscholtzias, the showy
Petunias, Gilias, and other annuals, and a dozen choice
double Dahlias, and some trailing Verbenas, a limited spot,
of a few yards in diameter, may be made productive of
more enjoyment, so far as regards a continued display of
flowers, than ten times that space, planted, as we often see
flower-gardens here, with a heterogeneous mixture of
everything the possesor can lay his hands on, or crowd
within the inclosure.
EMBELLISHMENTS. 437
The mingled flower-garden, as it is termed, is by far the
most common mode of arrangement in this country, though
it is seldom well effected. The object in this is to dispose
the plants in the beds in such a manner, that while there
is no predominance of bloom in any one portion of the beds,
there shall be a general admixture of colors and blossoms
throughout the entire garden during the whole season of
growth.
To promote this, the more showy plants should be often —
repeated in different parts of the garden, or even the same
parterre when large, the less beautiful sorts being suffered
to occupy but moderate space. The smallest plants should
be nearest the walk, those a little taller behind them, and
the largest should be furthest from the eye, at the back of
the border, when the latter is seen from one side only, or
in the centre, if the bed be viewed from both sides. A
neglect of this simple rule will not only give the beds, when
the plants are full grown, a confused look, but the beauty
of the humbler and more delicate plants will be lost amid
the tall thick branches of sturdier plants, or removed so
far from the spectator in the walks, as to be overlooked.
Considerable experience is necessary to arrange even a
moderate number of plants in accordance with these rules.
To perform it successfully, some knowledge of the habits
of the plants is an important requisite ; their height, time
of flowering, and the colors of their blossoms. When a
gardener, or an amateur, is perfectly informed on these
points, he can take a given number of plants of different _
species, make a plan of the bed or all the beds of a flower- .
garden upon paper, and designate the particular situation
of each species.
To facilitate the arrangement of plants in this manner,
438 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
we here subjoin a short list of the more showy perennial
and annual hardy border flowers, such as are easily pro-
cured here for the use of those who are novices in the art.
and who wish to cultivate a taste for the subject.
No. 1, Designates the first class, which grow from six to
twelve inches in height.
No. 2, Those which grow from one to two feet.
No. 3, Those which are over two feet in height.
Harpy PerrenniA,s.
FLOWERING In APRIL.
Anemone thalictroides, pl. Double wood Anemone ; white.
Anemone pulsatilla. Pasque flower ; blue.
Anemone hepatica, pl. Double Hepatieas ; blue.
Viola odorata, pl. Double white and blue European violets.
Omphalodes verna. Blue Venus Navelwort.
Polemonium reptans. Greek Valerian ; blue.
Phlox stolonifera. Creeping Phlox; red.
Phlox divaricata. Early purple Phlox.
Primula veris. The Cowslip ; yellow and red.
Primula polyanthu. 'The Polyanthus ; purple.
Primula auricula. The Auricula ; purple.
Viola tricolor. Heart’s Ease or Pansy ; many colors and sorts.
Viola grandiflora. Purple Pansy.
Sazifraga crassifolia. Thick-leaved Saxifrage ; lilac.
Phlox subulata. Moss pink Phlox.
Phlox nivea. White Moss Pink.
Gentiana acaulis. Dwarf Gentian ; purple.
Adonis vernalis. Spring fl. Adonis; yellow.
Dodecatheon meadia. American Cowslip ; lilac.
Pulmonaria virginica. Virginian Lungwort ; purple.
Alyssum sazxatile. Golden basket ; yellow.
* Trollius europeus. European Globe flower ; yellow.
KB wond nd YH HRP SP RP NOP BP SP RP eee Pe ee
Corydalis cucularia. Breeches-flower ; white.
May.
1. Veronica gentianoides. Gentian leaved Speedwell ; blue.
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EMBELLISHMENTS. 439
Veronica spicata. Blue spiked Speedwell.
Pentstemon ovata. Oval leaved Pentstemon ; blue.
Pentstemon atropurpureus. Dark purple Pentstemon.
Orobus niger. Dark purple Vetch.
Jeffersonia diphylla. Five-leaved Jeffersonia ; white.
Lysimachia nummularia. Trailing Loose-strife ; yellow.
Convallaria majalis. Lily of the Valley ; white.
Saponaria ocymoides. Basil-like Soapwort ; red.
Phlox pilosa. UHairy Phlox ; red.
Anchusa Italica. Italian Bugloss ; blue.
Ranunculus acris, pl. Double Buttereups ; yellow.
Tradescantia virginica. Blue and white Spiderwort.
Lupinus polyphyllus. Purple Lupin.
Tris siberiaca. Siberian Iris; blue.
Iris florentina. Florentine Iris ; white.
Peonia tenuifolia. Smal! leaved Peony ; red.
Paonia albiflora. Single white Peony.
Lupinus nootkaensis. Nootka Sound Lupin ; blue.
Hesperis matronalis, alba, pl. The double white Rocket.
Phlox suaveolens. The white Phlox or Lychnidea.
Phloz maculata. 'The purple spotted Phlox.
Hemerocallis fava. 'The yellow Day-Lily.
Lupinus perennis and rivularis. Perennial Lupins ; blue.
Lychnis flos cuculi, pl. Double ragged-Robin ; red.
Papaver orientalis. Oriental scarlet Poppy.
Aquilegia canadensis. Wild Columbine ; scarlet.
Houstonia cerulea. Blue Houstonia.
June.
Spirea filipendula, pl. Double Pride of the Meadow ; white.
Spirea lobata. Siberian Spirea ; red.
Spirea Ulmaria, pl. Double Meadow-sweet ; white.
Delphinium grandiflorum, pl. Double dark blue Larkspur.
Delphinium chinense, pl. Double Chinese Larkspur ; blue.
Dianthus hortensis. Garden Pinks, many double sorts and colors.
Caltha palustris, pl. Double marsh Marygold ; yellow.
Cypripedium pubescens. Yellow Indian moceasin.
Polemonium ceruleum, and album, Common white and blue Greek
Valerian. ‘
Campanula persicifolia, pl. Double peach-leaved Campanula ;
white.
Antirrhinum majus. Red and white Snapdragons.
440
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SOR PS | is NO SO OL er tte)
LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Geranium sanguineum. Bloody Geranium; red.
Viscaria vulgaris, pl. White and red Viscaria.
GEnothera fruticosa. Shrubby Evening Primrose ; yellow.
Eschscholtzia californica. Golden Eschscholtzia ; yellow.
Lychnis fulgens. Fulgent Lychnis; red.
Dianthus chinensis. Indian Pinks ; variegated.
Dianthus caryophyllus. Carnation ; variegated.
Verbena multifida. Cut-leaved Verbena ; purple.
Verbena Lamberti. Lambert’s Verbena ; purple.
Campanula grandiflora. Large blue Bell-flower.
Aconitum Napellus. Monkshood; purple.
Aconitum Napellus, variegated. Purple and white Monkshood.
Campanula ranunculoides. Nodding Bell-flower ; blue.
Clematis integrifolia. Austrian blue Clematis.
Verbascum pheniceum. Purple Mullein.
Clematis erecta. Upright Clematis ; white.
Linum perenne. Perennial Flax; blue.
Peonia Humei. Double blush Peony.
Peonia fragrans. Double fragrant Peony ; rose.
Peonia whitleji. Double white Peony.
Gaillardia aristata. Bristly Gaillardia ; yellow.
Asphodelus ramosus. Branchy Asphodel ; white.
Pentstemon speciosa. Showy Pentstemon ; blue.
Iris Susana. Chalcedonian Iris ; mottled.
JULY.
Dictamnus Fraxinella. Purple Fraxinella.
Dictamnus alba. White Fraxinella.
Pentstemon Richardsonii. Richardson’s Pentstemon ; purple.
Pentstemon pubescens. Downy Pentstemon ; lilac.
Anchusa officinalis. Common Bugloss ; blue.
Campanula carpathica. Carpathian Bell-flower ; blue.
Monarda didyma. Scarlet Balm.
Gnothera Fraseri. Fraser's Evening Primrose ; yellow.
Cnothera macrocarpa. Large podded Evening Primrose ; yellow.
Sedum populifolium. Poplar leaved Sedum ; white.
Campanula Trachelium, pl. Double white and blue Bell-flowers.
Potentilla Russelliana. Russell’s Cinquefoil ; red.
Dianthus delioides. Mountain Pink; red.
Veronica maritima. Maritime Speedwell ; blue.
Delphinium speciosum. Showy Larkspur ; blue.
Campanula macrantha. large blue Bell-flower.
3.
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EMBELLISHMENTS. 441
Penjstemon Digitalis. Missouri Pentstemon ; white.
Hibiscus palustris. Swamp Hibiscus ; red.
LIychnis Chalcedonica. Single and double scarlet Lychnis.
Chelone Lyoni. Purple Chelone.
Chelone barbata. Bearded Chelone ; orange.
Dracocephalum grandiflorum. Dragon’s Head ; purple.
Lythrum latifolium. Perennial Pea; purple.
Auveust.
Catananche caerulea. Blue Catananche.
Corydalis formosa. Red Fumitory.
Phlox carnea. Flesh colored Phlox.
Asclepias tuberosa. Orange Swallowwort.
Veronica carnea. Flesh colored Speedwell.
Gajllardia bicolor. Orange Gaillardia.
Hemerocallis japonica. Japan Day-Lily ; white.
Dianthus superbus. Superb fringed Pink ; white.
Lobelia cardinalis. Cardinal-flower ; red.
Iychnis coronata. Chinese orange Lychnis.
Lythrum salicaria. Willow Herb ; purple.
Yucca filamentosa. Adam’s Thread ; white.
Yucca flaccida. Flaccid Yucea; white.
Phlox paniculata. Panicled Phlox ; purple and white.
Campanula pyramidalis. Pyramidal Bell-flower ; blue and white
Liatris squarrosa. Blazing Star ; blue.
Epilobium spicatum. Purple spiked Epilobium.
Coreopsis tenuifolia. Fine-leaved Coreopsis ; yellow.
Cassia Marylandica. Maryland Cassia; yellow.
SEPTEMBER AND OcTOBER.
Achillea Ptarmica, pl. Double Milfoil ; white.
Coreopsis grandiflora. Large yellow Coreopsis.
Aster linifolius. Fine-leaved Aster ; white.
Eupatorium celestinum. Azure blue Eupatorium.
Phlox Wheeleriana. Wheeler's Phlox ; red.
‘Aster macrophyllus. Broad-leaved Aster ; white.
Eupatorium aromaticum. Fragrant Eupatorium ; white.
Liatris elegans. Elegant Blazing Star ; purple.
Liatris spicata and scariosa. Blue Blazing Stars.
Gentiana saponaria. Soapwort Gentian ; blue.
Aster nove-anglie. New England Aster ; purple.
442 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
3. Echinops retro. Globe Thistle. .
3. Chrysanthemum indicum. Artemisias, many sorts and colors.
The shrubbery is so generally situated in the neighbor-
hood of the flower-garden and the house, that we, shall
here offer a few remarks on its arrangement and distri-
bution.
A collection of flowering shrubs is so ornamental, that
to a greater or less extent it is to be found in almost every
residence of the most moderate size: the manner in which
the shrubs are disposed, must necessarily depend in a great
degree upon the size of the grounds, the use or enjoyment
to be derived from them, and the prevailing character of
the scenery.
It is evident, on a moment’s reflection, that shrubs being
intrinsically more ornamental than trees, on account of the
beauty and abundance of their flowers, they will generally
be placed near and about the house, in order that their gay
blossoms and fine fragrance may be more constantly
enjoyed, than if they were scattered indiscriminately over
the grounds.
Where a place is limited in size, and the whole lawn and
plantations partake of the pleasure-ground character,
shrubs of all descriptions may be grouped with good effect,
in the same manner as trees, throughout the grounds ; the
finer and rarer specics being disposed about the dwelling,
and the more hardy and common sorts along the walks,
and in groups, in different situations near the eye.
When, however, the residence is of larger size, and the
grounds have a park-like extent and character, the intro-
duction of shrubs might interfere with the noble and
dignified expression of lofty full grown trees, except
perhaps they were planted here and there, among large
EMBELLISHMENTS. 443
groups, as underwood ; or if cattle or sheep were allowed
to graze in the park, it would of course be impossible to
preserve plantations of shrubs there. When this is the
case, however, a portion near the house is divided from the
park (by a wire fence or some inconspicuous barrier) for
the pleasure-ground, where the shrubs are disposed in belts,
groups, etc., as in the first case alluded to.
There are two methods of grouping shrubs upon lawns
which may separately be considered, in combination with
beautiful and with picturesque scenery.
In the first case, where the character of the scene, of
the plantations of trees, etc., is that of polished beauty, the —
belts of shrubs may be arranged similar to herbaceous
flowering plants, in arabesque beds, along the walks, as in
Fig. 76, page 428. In this case, the shrubs alone, arranged
with relation to their height, may occupy the beds; or if
preferred, shrubs and flowers may be intermingled. Those
who have seen the shrubbery at Hyde Park, the residence
of the late Dr. Hosack, which borders the walk leading
from the mansion to the hot-houses, will be able to recall
a fine example of this mode of mingling woody and
herbaceous plants. The belts or borders occupied by the
shrubbery and flower-garden there, are perhaps from 25 to
35 feet in width, completely filled with a collection of
shrubs and herbaceous plants; the smallest of the latter
being quite near the walk ; these succeeded by taller species
receding from the front of the border, then follow shrubs
of moderate size, advancing in height until the back-
ground of the whole is a rich mass of tall shrubs and trees
of moderate size. The effect of this belt on so large a
scale, in high keeping, is remarkably striking and elegant.
Where picturesque effect is the object aimed at in the
444 LANDSCAPE GARDENING,
pleasure-grounds, it may be attained in another way; that
is, by planting irregular groups of the most vigorous and
thrifty growing shrubs in lawn, without placing them in
regular dug beds or belts; but instead of this, keeping the
crass from growing and the soil somewhat loose, for a few
inches round their stems (which will not be apparent at a
short distance). In the case of many of the hardier shrubs,
after they become well established, even this care will not
be requisite, and the grass only will require to be kept short
by clipping it when the lawn is mown.
As in picturesque scenes everything depends upon
grouping well, it will be found that shrubs may be employed
with excellent effect in connecting single trees, or finishing
a group composed of large trees, or giving fulness to groups
of tall trees newly planted on a lawn, or effecting a union
between buildings and ground. It is true that it requires
something of an artist’s feeling and perception of the pic-
turesque to do these successfully, but the result is so much
the more pleasing and satisfactory when it is well executed.
When walks are continued from the house through dis-
tant parts of the pleasure-grounds, groups of shrubs may be
planted along their margins, here and there, with excellent
effect. They do not shut out or obstruct the view like
large trees, while they impart an interest to an otherwise
tame and spiritless walk. Placed in the projecting bay,
round which the walk curves so as to appear to be a reason
for its taking that direction, they conceal also the portion
of the walk in advance, and thus enhance the interest
doubly. The neighborhood of rustic seats, or resting points,
are also fit places for the assemblage of a group or groups
of shrubs.
For the use of those who require some guide in the
EMBELLISHMENTS. y 443
selection of species, we subjoin the accompanying list of
hardy and showy shrubs, which are at the same time easily
procured in the United States. A great number of addi-
tional species and varieties, and many more rare, might be
enumerated, but such will be sufficiently familiar to the
connoisseur already ; and what we have said respecting
botanical rarities in flowering plants may be applied with
equal force to shrubs, viz. that m order to produce a bril-
liant effect, a few well chosen species, often repeated, are
more effective than a great and ill-assorted mélange.
In the following list, the shrubs are divided into two
classes—No. 1 designating those of medium size, or low
growth, and No. 2, those which are of the largest size.
FLowerine In APRIL.
1. Daphne mezereum, the Pink Mezereum, D. M. album, the white
Mezereum. }
Shepherdia argentea, the Buffalo berry ; yellow.
Xanthorhiza apiifolia, the parsley-leaved Yellow-root ; brown.
Cydonia japonica, the Japan Quince ; searlet.
Cydonia japonica alba, the Japan Quince ; white.
Amelanchier Botryapium, the snowy Medlar.
Ribes aureum, the Missouri Currant; yellow.
- Coronilla Emerus, the Scorpion Senna ; yellow.
S Sie Se ees
Magnolia conspicua, the Chinese chandelier Magnolia ; white.
May.
Crategus oxycantha, the scarlet Hawthorm.
Crategus oxycantha, fl. pleno, the double white Hawthorn.
Chionanthus virginica, the white Fringe tree.
Chionanthus latifolius, the broad-leaved Fringe tree ; white.
Azalea, many fine varieties ; red, white, and yellow.
Calycanthus florida, the Sweet-scented-shrub ; brown.
Magnolia purpurea, the Chinese purple Magnolia.
Halesia tetraptera, the silyer Bell tree ; white.
Syringa vulgaris, the common white and red Lilacs.
FAs 82 RS" et et BO a ae
Syringa persica, the Persian Lilac: white and purple.
446
Sw wo eS Se eS et 2
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LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Syringa persica laciniata, the Persian cut-leaved Lilac ; purple. ~
Kerria or Corchorus japonica, the Japan Globe flower ; yellow.
Lonicera tartarica, the Tartarian upright Honeysuckles; red and
white.
Philadelphus coronarius, the common Syringo, and the double
Syringo ; white.
Spirea hypericifolia, the St. Stephen’s wreath ; white.
Spirea corymbosa, the cluster flowering Spirea ; white.
Ribes sanguineum, the scarlet flowering Currant.
Amygdalus pumila, pl., the double dwarf Almond ; pink.
Caragana Chamlagu, the Siberian Pea tree; yellow.
‘ Magnolia soulangeana, the Soulange Magnolia ; purple.
Paonia Moutan banksia,-and rosea, the Chinese tree Peonias;
purple.
Benthamia frugifera, the red berried Benthamia ; yellow.
JUNE.
Amorpha fruticosa, the Indigo Shrub; purple.
Colutea arborescens, the yellow Bladder-senna.
Colutea cruenta, the red Bladder-senna.
Cytisus capitatus, the cluster-flowered Cytisus ; yellow.
Stuartia virginica, the white Stuartia.
Cornus sanguinea, the bloody twig Dogwood ; white.
Hydrangea quercifolia, the oak-leaved Hydrangea ; white.
Philadelphus grandiflorus, the large flowering Syringo ; white.
Viburnum Opulus, the Snow-ball ; white.
Magnolia glauca, the swamp Magnolia; white.
Robinia hispida, the Rose-acacia
JuLY.
Spirea bella, the beautiful Spirea; red.
Sophora japonica, the Japan Sophora ; white.
Sophora japonica pendula, the weeping Sophora ; white.
_ Rhus Cotinus, the Venetian Fringe tree; yellow. (Brown tufts.)
Ligustrum vulgare, the common Privet ; white.
Cytisus Laburnum, the Laburnum ; yellow...
Cytisus l. quercifolia, the oaked-leaved Laburnum ; white.
Cytisus purpureus, the purple Laburnum.
Cytisus argenteus, the silvery Cytisus ; yellow.
Cytisus nigricans, the black rooted Cytisus; yellow.
Kolreuteria paniculata, tie Japan Kolreuteria ; yellow.
“a
EMBELLISHMENTS. 447
AveustT AND SEPTEMBER.
1. Clethra alnifolia, the alder-leaved Clethra ; white.
Symphoria racemosa, the Snowberry ; (in fruit) white.
2. Hibiscus syriacus, the double purple, double white, double striped,
double blue, and variegated leaved Altheas.
1. Spirea tomentosa, the tomentose Spirea ; red.
Magnolia glauba thompsoniana, the late flowering Magnolia ;
white.
Baccharis halimifolia, the Groundsel tree ; white tufts.
Euonymus europeus, the European Strawberry tree (in fruit), red.
2. Euonymus europeus alba, the European Strawberry tree ; the fruit
white.
—
.
po
2. Euonymus latifolius, the broad-leaved Strawberry tree ; red.
1. Daphne mezereum autumnalis, the autumnal Mezereum.
Besides the above, there are a great number of charming
varieties of hardy roses, some of which may be grown in
the common way on their own roots, and others grafted on
stocks, two, three, or four feet high, as standards or tree-
roses. The effect of the latter, if such varieties as George
the Fourth, La Cerisette, Pallagi, or any of the new hybrid
roses are grown as standards, is wonderfully brilliant when
they are in full bloom. Perhaps the situation where they
are displayed to the greatest advantage is, in the centre of
small round, oval, or square beds in the flower-garden,
where the remainder of the plants composing the bed are
of dwarfish growth, so as not to hide the stem and head of
the tree-roses.
There are, unfortunately, but few evergreen shrubs that
will endure the protracted cold of the winters of the north-
ern states. The fine Hollies, Portugal Laurels, Laurusti-
nuses, etc., which are the glory of English gardens in
autumn and winter, are not hardy enough to endure the
depressed temperature of ten degrees below zero. South
of Philadelphia, these beautiful exotic evergreens may be
ai
148 _. LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
acclimated with good success, and will add greatly to the
interest of the shrubbery and grounds in winter.
Besides the Balsam firs and the Spruce firs, the Arbor
Vite, and other evergreen trees which we have described
in the previous pages of this volume, the following hardy
species of evergreen shrubs may be introduced with
advantage in the pleasure-ground groups, viz :—
Rhododendron maximum, the American rose bay or big Laurel ; white
and pink, several varieties (in shaded places).
Kalmia latifolia, the common Laurel ; several colors.
Juniperus suecia, the Swedish Juniper.
Juniperus communis, the Irish Juniper.
Buxus arborescens, the common Tree-box, the Gold striped Tree-box,
and the Silver striped Tree-box.
Ilex opaca, the American Holly.
Crategus pyracantha, the Evergreen Thorn.
Mahonia aquifolium, the Holly leaved Berberry.
The Conservatory or the Green-House is an elegant and
delightful appendage to the villa or mansion, when there is
a taste for plants among the different members of a family.
Those who have not enjoyed it, can hardly imagine the
pleasure afforded by a well-chosen collection of exotic
plants, which, amid the genial warmth of an artificial
climate, continue to put forth their lovely blossoms, and
exhale their delicious perfumes, when all out-of-door nature
is chill and desolate. The many hours of pleasant and
healthy exercise and recreation afforded to the ladies of a
family, where they take an interest themselves in the
growth and vigor of the plants, are certainly no trifling
considerations where the country residence is the place of
habitation throughout the whole year. Often during the
inclemency of our winter and spring months, there are
days when either the excessive cold, or the disagreeable
oS
pen >;
tn aa 3
EMBELLISHMENTS. 449
state of the weather, prevents in a great measure many
persons, and especially females, from taking exercise in
the open air. To such, the conservatory would be an
almost endless source of enjoyment and amusement; and
if they are true amateurs, of active exertion also. The
constant changes which daily growth and development
bring about in vegetable forms, the interest we feel in the
opening of a favorite cluster of buds, or the progress of the
thrifty and luxuriant shoots of a rare plant, are such as
serve most effectually to prevent an occupation of this
nature from ever becoming monotonous or ennuyant.
The difference between the green-house and conserva-
tory is, that in the former, the plants are all kept in pots
and arranged on stages, both to meet the eye agreeably,
and for more convenient growth ; while in the conservatory,
the plants are grown in a bed or border of soil precisely as
in the open air.
When either of these plant habitations is to be attached
to the house, the preference is greatly in favor of the
conservatory. The plants being allowed more room, have
richer and more luxuriant foliage, and grow and flower
in a manner altogether superior to those in pots. The
allusion to nature is also more complete in the case of
plants growing in the ground; and from the objects all
being on the same level, and easily accessible, they are
with more facility kept in that perfect nicety and order
which an elegant plant-house should always exhibit.
On the other hand, the green-house will contain by far
the largest number of plants, and the same may be more
easily changed or renewed at any time; so that for a
particular taste, as that of a botanical amateur, who wishes
to grow a great number of species in a small space, the
29
450 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
green-house will be found preferable. Whenever either
the conservatory or green-house is of moderate size, and
intended solely fer private recreation, we would in every
case, when such a thing is not impossible, have it attached
to the house; communicating by a glass door with the
drawing-room, or one of the living rooms. Nothing can
be more gratifying than a vista in winter through a glass
door down the walk of a conservatory, bordered and
overhung with the fine forms of tropical vegetation,
golden oranges glowing through the dark green foliage,
and gay corollas lighting up the branches of Camellias,
and other floral favorites. Let us add the exulting song of
a few Canaries, and the enchantment is complete. How
much more refined and elevated is the taste which prefers
such accessories to a dwelling, rather than costly furniture,
or an extravagant display of plate!
The best and most economical form for a conservatory
is a parallelogram—the deviation from a square being
greater or less according to circumstances. When it is
joined to the dwelling by one of its sides (in the case of
the parallelogram form), the roof need only slope in one
way, that is from the house. When one of the ends of the
conservatory joins the dwelling, the roof should slope both
ways from the centre. The advantage of the junction in
the former case, is, that less outer surface of the conser-
vatory being exposed to the cold, viz. only a side and two
ends, less fuel will be required ; the advantage in the latter
case is, that the main walk leading down the conserva-
tory will be exactly in the line of the vista from the
drawing-room of the dwelling.
It is, we hope, almost unnecessary to state, that the roof
of a conservatory, or indeed any other house where plants
EMBELLISHMENTS. 451
are to be well-grown, must be glazed. Opake roofs
prevent the admission of perpendicular light, without
which the stems of vegetation are drawn up weak and
feeble, and are attracted in an unsightly manner towards
the glass in front. When the conservatory joins the house
by one of its ends, and extends out from the building to a
considerable length, the effect will be mueh more elegant ;
and the plants will thrive more perfectly, when it is glazed
on all of the three sides, so as to admit light in every
direction.
The best aspect for a conservatory is directly south;
southeast and southwest are scarcely inferior. Even east
and west exposures will do very well, where there is plenty
of glass toe admit light; for though our winters are cold,
yet there is a great abundance of sun, and bright clear
atmosphere, both far more beneficial to plants than the
moist, foggy vapor of an English winter, which, though
mild, is comparatively sunless. When the conservatory
adjoins and leoks into the flower-garden, the effect will be
appropriate and pleasing.
Some few hints respecting the construction of a con-
servatory may not be unacceptable to some of our readers.
In the first place, the roof should have a_sufficient slope to
carry off the rain rapidly, to prevent leakage; from 40 to
45 degrees is found to be the best inclination in our
climate. The roof should by no means be glazed with
large panes, because small ones -have much greater
strength, which is requisite to withstand the heavy
weight of snow that often falls during winter, as well as
to resist breakage -by hail storms in summer. Four or
-eight inches by six, is the best size for roof-glass, and with
this size the lap of the panes need not be greater than one-
jee:
452 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
eighth of an inch, while it would require to be one-fourth
of an inch, were the panes of the usual size. On the front
and sides, the sashes may be handsome, and filled in with
the best glass; even plate glass has been used in many _
cases to our knowledge here.
In the second place, some thorough provision must
be made for warming the cofiservatory ; and it is by far the
best mode to have the apparatus for this purpose entirely
independent of the dwelling house; that is (though the
furnace may be in the basement), the flues and fire should
be intended to heat the conservatory alone; for although
a conservatory may, if small, be heated by the same fire
which heats the kitchen or one of the ving rooms, it is a
much less efficient mode of attaining this object, and
renders the conservatory more or less lable at all times
to be too hot or too cold.
The common square flue, the sides built of bricks, and
the top and bottom of, tiles manufactured for that purpose,
is one of the oldest, most simple, and least expensive
methods of heating in use. Latterly, its place has been
supplied by hot water circulated in large tubes of three
or four inches in diameter from an open boiler, and by
Perkins’s mode as it is called, which employs small pipes
of an inch in diameter, hermetically sealed. Economy
of fuel and in the time requisite in attendance, are the
chief merits of the hot water systems, which, however,
have the great additional advantage of affording a more
moist and genial temperature.
In a green-house, the flues, or hot water pipes, may be
concealed under the stage. In conservatories they should
by all means be placed out of sight also. To effect this,
they are generally conducted into a narrow, hollow
ey rel Won? a
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- 453
EMBELLISHMENTS. 453
chamber, under the walk, which has perforated sides or a
grated top, to permit the escape of heated air.*
[Fig. 79. Villa at Brooklyn, N. Y., with the Conservatory attached.]
One of the most beautiful conservatories attached to
the dwelling, to which we can refer our readers, for an
example, is one built by J. W. Perry, Esq., Brooklyn, near
New York (Fig. 79), forming the left wing of this elegant
villa. Among the most magnificent detached conserva-
tories are those of J. P. Cushing, Esq., at his elegant seat,
Belmont Place, Watertown, near Boston; and that at
Montgomery Place, the seat of Mrs. Edward Livingston,
on the Hudson, Fig. 80.
A conservatory is frequently made an addition to a
rectangular Grecian villa, as one of its wings—the other
being a living or bed-room. The more varied and
irregular outline of Gothic buildings enables them to
receive an appendage of this nature with more facility
in almost any direction, where the aspect is suitable.
* The circulation of warm air is greatly accelerated when an opening
through the outer air is permitted to enter the hot air passage, thus becoming
heated and passing into the conservatory.
454 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Whatever be the style of the architecture of the house,
that of the conservatory should in every case conform
to it, and evince a degree of enrichment according with
that of the main building.
Though a conservatory is often made an expensive
luxury, attached only to the better class of residences, there
is no reason why cottages of more humble character
should not have the same source of enjoyment on a more
moderate scale. A small green-house, or plant cabinet, as
it is sometimes called, eight or ten feet square, communi-
cating with the parlor, and constructed in a simple style,
may be erected and kept up in such a manner, as to be a
source of much pleasure, for a comparatively trifling sum ;
and we hope soon to see in this country, where the com-
forts of life are more equally distributed than in any other,
the taste for enjoyments of this kind extending itself with
the means for realizing them, into every portion of the
northern and middle States.
Open and covered seats, of various descriptions, are
among the most convenient and useful decorations for the
pleasure-grounds of a country residence. Situated in por-
tions of the lawn or park, somewhat distant from the
house, they offer an agreeable place for rest or repose. If
there are certain points from which are obtained agreeable
prospects or extensive views of the surrounding country, a
seat, by designating those points, and by affording us a
convenient mode of enjoying them, has a double recom-
mendation to our minds.
Open and covered. seats are of two distinct kinds; one
architectural, or formed after artist-like designs, of stone
or wood, in Grecian, Gothic, or other forms ; which may,
if they are intended to produce an elegant effect, have
eo Sahl Ss la cami
EMBELLISHMENTS. 455
vases on pedestals as accompaniments ; the other, rustic,
as they are called, which are formed out of trunks and
branches of trees, roots, ete., in their natural forms.
There are particular sites where each of these kinds of
seats, or structures, is, in good taste, alone admissible. In
the proximity of elegant and decorated buildings where all
around has a polished air, it would evidently be doing
violence to our feelings and sense of propriety to admit
many rustic seats and structures of any kind; but archi-
tectural decorations and architectural seats are there
correctly introduced. For the same reason, also, as we
have already suggested, that the sculptured forms of vases,
etc., would be out of keeping in scenes where nature is
predominant (as the distant wooded parts or walks of a
residence), architectural, or, in other words, highly _arti-
ficial seats, would not be in character: but rustic seats
and structures, which, from the nature of the materials
employed and the simple manner of their construction,
appear but one remove from natural forms, are felt at once
to be in unison with the surrounding objects. Again, the
mural and highly artistical vase and statue, most properly
accompany the beautiful landscape. garden ; while rustic
baskets, or vases, are the most fitting decorations of the
Picturesque Landscape Garden.
The simplest variety of covered architectural seat is the
latticed arbor for vines of various descriptions, with the
seat underneath the canopy of foliage; this may with
more propriety be introduced in various parts of the
grounds than any other of its class, as the luxuriance and
natural gracefulness of the foliage which covers the arbor,
in a great measure destroys or overpowers the expression
of its original form. Lattice arbors, however, neatly
456 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
formed of rough poles and posts, are much more pictu-
resque and suitable for wilder portions of the scenery.
The temple and the pavilion are highly
finished forms of covered seats, which are
occasionally introduced in splendid places,
——_—__ —
[Fig. 81.]
where classic architecture prevails. There is
a circular pavilion of this kind at the termination of one
of the walks at Mr. Langdon’s residence, Hyde Park.
Fig. 81.
We consider rustic seats and structures as likely to be
much preferred in the villa and cottage residences of the
country. They have the merit of being tasteful and pic-
turesque in their appearance, and are easily constructed
by the amateur, at comparatively little or no expense.
There is scarcely a prettier or more
pleasant object for the termination of a
[Fig. 82] ra long walk in the pleasure-grounds or park,
than a neatly thatched structure of rustic work, with its
seat for repose, and a view of the landscape beyond. On
finding such an object, we are never tempted to think that
there has been a lavish expenditure to serve a trifling
purpose, but are gratified to see the exercise of taste and
ingenuity, which completely answers the end in view.
Figure 82 is an example of a simple rustic
seat formed of the crooked and curved branches
of the oak, elm, or any other of our forest trees
Fig. 83 is a seat of the same character, made
at the foot of a tree, whose overhanging branches afford a
fine shade.
Figure 84 is a covered seat or rustic arbor, with a
thatched roof of straw. Twelve posts are set securely in
the ground, which make the frame of this structure, the
o
ge
EMBELLISHMENTS. 457
openings between being filled in with branches (about
three inches in diameter) of different trees—the more
irregular the better, so that the perpendicular surface of
the exterior and interior is kept nearly equal. In lieu of
thatch, the roof may be first tightly boarded, and then a
covering of bark or the slabs of trees with the bark on,
overlaid and nailed on. The figure represents the struc-
ture as formed round a tree. For the sake of variety this
might be omitted, the roof formed of an open lattice work
of branches like the sides, and the whole covered by a
grape, bignonia, or some other vine or creeper of luxuriant
growth. The seats are in the interior.
Figure 85 represents a covered seat of another kind.
The central structure, which is circular, is
intended for a collection of minerals, shells,
or any other curious objects for which an
= = on amateur might have a penchant. Geo-
(Fig. 8.) logical or mineralogical specimens of the
adjacent neighborhood, would be very proper for such a
cabinet. The seat surrounds it on the outside, over which
is a thatched roof or veranda, supported on rustic pillars
¥ formed of the trunks of saplings, with the bark attached.
458 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Many of the English country places abound with
admirable specimens of rustic work in their parks and
pleasure-grounds. White Knight’s, in particular, a resi-
dence of the Duke of Marlborough, has a number of
beautiful structures of this kind. Figure 86 is a view of a
i
Ail
=
[Fig. 86. Rustic Covered Seat.]
round seat with thatched roof, in that demesne. Three or
four rustic pillars support the architrave, and the whole of
the exterior and interior (being first formed of frame-
work) is covered with straight branches of the maple and
larch. The seat on the interior looks upon a fine prospect ;
and the seat on the back of the exterior fronts the park.
There is no limit to the variety of forms and patterns in
which these rustic seats, arbors, summer-houses, etc., can
be constructed by an artist of some fancy and ingenuity.
After the frame-work of the structure is formed of posts
and rough boards, if small straight rods about an inch in
diameter, of hazel, white birch, maple, etc., are selected in
sufficient quantity, they may be nailed on in squares,
diamonds, medallions, or other patterns, and have the effect _
of a mosaic of wood. ‘
Among the curious results of this fancy for rustic work,
we may mention the moss-house—erected in several places:
ty
EMBELLISHMENTS. 459
abroad. The skeleton or frame-work of the arbor or house
is formed as we have just stated; over this small rods half
an inch in diameter are nailed, about an inch from centre
to centre ; after the whole surface is covered with this sort
of rustic lathing, a quantity of the softer wood-moss of
different colors is collected; and taking small parcels in
the hand at a time, the tops being evenly arranged, the
bottoms or roots are crowded closely between the rods with
a small wooden wedge. When this is’ done with some
little skill, the tufted ends spread out and cover the rods
entirely, showing a smooth surface of mosses of different
colors, which has. an effect not unlike that of a thick
Brussels carpet.
The mosses retain their color for a great length of time,
and when properly rammed in with the wedge, they cannot
be pulled out again without breaking their tops. The
prettiest example which we have seen of a handsome
moss-house in this country, is at the residence of Wm. H.
Aspinwall, Esq., on Staten Island.
A prospect tower is a most desirable and pleasant
structure in certain residences. Where the view is com-
paratively limited from the grounds, on account of their
surface being level, or nearly so, it ofter’ happens that the
spectator, by being raised some twenty-five or thirty feet
above the surface, finds himself in a totally different
position, whence a charming coup d’@il or bird’s-eye view
of the surrounding country is obtained.
Those of our readers who may have visited the de-
lightful garden and grounds of M. Parmentier, near
Brooklyn, some half.a dozen years since, during the life-
time of that amiable and zealous amateur of horticulture,
will readily remember the rustic prospect-arbor, or tower,
te
460 : LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Fig. 87, which was situated at the extre-
mity of his place. It was one of the
first pieces of rustic work of any size,
and displaying any ingenuity, that we
eer remember to have seen here; and from
its summit, though the garden walks afforded no prospect,
a beautiful reach of the neighborhood for many miles was
enjoyed.
Figure 88 is a design for a rustic prospect tower of three
stories in height, with a double thatched
roof. Itis formed of rustic pillars or columns,
YS; which are well fixed in the ground, and which
“YRS are filled in with a fanciful lattice of rustic
‘3 branches. A spiral staircase winds round
~ the interior of the platform of the second
and upper stories, where there are seats under the open
thatched roof.
On a ferme ornée, where the proprietor desires to give a
picturesque appearance to the different appendages of the
place, rustic work offers an easy and convenient method
of attaining this end. The dairy is sometimes made a
detached building, and in this country it may be built of
logs in a tasteful manner with a thatched roof; the interior
being studded, lathed, and plastered in the usual way. Or
the ice-house, which generally shows but a rough gable and
ridge roof rising out of the ground, might be covered with
a neat structure in rustic work, overgrown with vines,
which would give it a pleasing or picturesque air, instead
of leaving it, as at present, an unsightly object which we
are anxious to conceal.
A species of useful decoration, which is perhaps more
naturally suggested than any other, is the bridge. Where
EMBELLISHMENTS. 461
a constant stream, of greater or less size, runs through the
grounds, and divides the banks on opposite sides, a bridge
of some description, if it is only a narrow plank over a
rivulet, is highly necessary. In pieces of artificial water
that are irregular in outline, a narrow strait is often pur-
posely made, with the view of introducing a bridge for
effect.
When the stream is large and bold, a handsome archi-
tectural bridge of stone or timber is by far the most suitable ;
especially if the stream is near the house, or if it is crossed
on the Approach road to the mansion ; because a character
of permanence and solidity is requisite in such cases. But
when it is only a winding rivulet or crystal brook, which
meanders along beneath the- shadow of tufts of clustering
foliage of the pleasure-ground or park, a rustic bridge may
be brought in with the happiest effect.
: Fig. 89 is a rustic bridge erected under
~~ our direction. The foundation is made
(Fig. 89.) by laying down a few large square
stones beneath the surface on both sides of the stream to
be spanned; upon these are, stretched two round posts or
sleepers with the bark on, about eight or ten inches in
diameter. The rustic hand-rail is framed into these two
sleepers. The floor of the bridge is made by laying down
small posts of equal size, about four or six inches in diame-
ter, crosswise upon the sleepers, and nailing them down
securely. The bark is allowed to remain on in every
piece of wood employed in the construction of this little
bridge; and when the wood is cut at the proper season
(durable kinds being. chosen), such a bridge, well made,
will remain in excellent order for many years.
Rockwork is another kind of decoration sometimes intro-
462 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
duced in particular portions of the scenery of a residence,
Fig. 90. When well executed, that is, so as to have a
natural and harmonious expression, the effect is highly
pleasing. We have seen, however, in places where a high
[Fig. 90. Rockwork.]
keeping and good taste otherwise prevailed, such a barba-
rous mélange, or confused pile of stones mingled with soil,
and planted over with dwarfish plants dignified with the
name of rockwork, that we have been led to believe that it is
much better to attempt nothing of the kind, unless there is
a suitable place for its display, and at the same time, the
person attempting it is sufficiently an artist, imbued with
the spirit of nature in her various compositions and com-
binations, to be able to produce something higher than a
caricature of her works.
The object of rockwork is to produce in scenery or por-
tions of a scene, naturally in a great measure destitute
of groups of rocks and their accompanying drapery of
plants and foliage, something of the picturesque effect which
such natural assemblages confer. To succeed in this, it is
evident that we must not heap up little hillocks of mould
EMBELLISHMENTS. 463
and smooth stones, in the midst of an open lawn, or the
centre of a flower-garden. _ But if we can make choice of
a situation where a rocky bank or knoll already partially
exists, or would be in keeping with the form of the ground
and the character of the scene, then we may introduce
such accompaniments with the best possible hope of
success.
It often happens in a place of considerable extent, that
somewhere in conducting the walks through the grounds,
Wwe meet with a ridge with a small rocky face, or perhaps
with a large rugged single rock, or a bank where rocky
summits just protrude themselves through the surface. The
common feeling against such uncouth objects, would direct
them to be cleared away at once out of sight. But let us
take the case of the large rugged rock, and commence our
picturesque operations upon it. We will begin by collect-
ing from some rocky hill or valley in the neighborhood of
the estate, a sufficient quantity of rugged rocks, in size
from a few pounds to half a ton or more, if necessary, pre-
ferring always such as are already coated with mosses and
lichens. These we will assemble around the base of a large
rock, in an irregular somewhat pyramidal group, bedding
them sometimes partially, sometimes almost entirely in soil
heaped in irregular piles around the rock. The rocks
must be arranged in a natural manner, avoiding all regu-
larity and appearance of formal art, but placing them
sometimes in groups of half a dozen together, overhanging
each other, and sometimes half bedded in the soil, and a
little distance apart. There are no rules to be given for
such operations, but the study of natural groups, of a
character similar to that which we wish to produce, will
afford sufficient hints if the artist is
464 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
« Prodigue de génie,”
and has a perception of the natural beauty which he
desires to imitate.
The rockwork once formed, choice trailing, creeping, and
alpine plants, such as delight naturally in similar situations,
may he planted in the soil which fills the interstices between
the rocks: when these grow to fill their proper places,
partly concealing and adorning the rocks with their neat
green foliage and pretty blossoms, the effect of the whole,
if properly done, will be like some exquisite portion of a
rocky bank in wild scenery, and will be found to give an
air at once striking and picturesque to the little scene
where it is situated.
In small places where the grounds are extremely limited,
and the owner wishes to form a rockwork for the growth
of alpine and other similar plants, if there are no natural
indications of a rocky surface, a rockwork may sometimes
be introduced without violating good taste by preparing
natural indications artificially, if we may use such a term.
If a few of the rocks to be employed in the rockwork are
sunk half or three-fourths their depth in the soil near the
site of the proposed rockwork, so as to have the ap-
pearance of a rocky ridge just cropping out, as the
geologists say, then the rockwork will, tothe eye of a
spectator, seem to be connected with, and growing out of
this rocky spur or ridge below: or, in other words, there
will be an obvious reason for its being situated there,
instead of its presenting a wholly artificial appearance.
In a previous page, when treating of the banks of pieces
of water formed by art, we endeavored to show how the
natural appearance of such banks would be improved by
the judicious introduction of rocks partially imbedded into
EMBELLISHMENTS. 465
and holding them up. Such situations, in the case of a
small lake or pond, or a brook, are admirable sites for rock-
work. Where the materials of a suitable kind are
abundant, and tasteful ingenuity is not wanting, surprising
effects may be produced in a small space. Caves and
grottoes, where ferns and mosses would thrive admirably
with the gentle drip from the roof, might be made of the
overarching rocks arranged so as to appear like small
natural‘caverns. Let the exterior be partially planted with
low shrubs and climbing plants, as the wild Clematis, and
the effect of such bits of landscape could not but be
agreeable in secluded portions of the grounds.
In many parts of the country, the secondary blue
limestone abounds, which, in the small masses found loose
in the woods, covered with mosses and ferns, affords the
very finest material for artificial rockwork.*
After all, much the safest way is never to introduce
rockwork of any description, unless we feel certain that it
will have a good effect. When a place is naturally
picturesque, and abounds here and there with rocky banks,
etc., little should be done but to heighten and aid the
expressions of these, if they are wanting in spirit, by
adding something more ; or softening and giving elegance
to the expression, if too wild, by planting the same with
* Our readers may see an engraving and description of a superb extravaganza
in rockwork in a late number of Loudon’s Gardener's Magazine. Lady
Broughton, of Hoole House, Chester, England, has succeeded in forming,
round a natural valley, an imitation of the hills, glaciers, and scenery of a
passage in Switzerland. The whole is done in rockwork, the snow-covered
summits being represented in white spar. The appropriate plants, trees, and
shrubs on a small scale, are introduced, and the illusion, to a spectator standing
in the valley surrounded by these glaciers, is said to be wonderfully striking
and complete.
30
466 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
beautiful shrubs and climbers. On a tame sandy level,
where rocks of any kind are unknown, their introduction
in rockworks, nine times in ten, is more likely to give rise
to emotions of the ridiculous, than those of the sublime or
picturesque.
Fountains are highly elegant garden decorations, rarely
seen in this country; which is owing, not so much, we
apprehend, to any great cost incurred in putti
or any want of appreciation of their s
enlivening effect in garden scenery, as to the fac tl
are few artisans here, as abroad, whose business it is to
construct and fit up architectural, and other jets deau.
The first requisite, where a fountain is a desideratum, is
a constant supply of water, either from a natural source
or an artificial reservoir, some distance higher than the
level of the surface whence the jet or fountain is to rise.
s°
[Fig. 91. Design fur a Fountain.]
Where there is a pond, or other body of water, on a higher
level than the proposed fountain, it is only necessary to lay
pipes under the surface to conduct the supply of water to
EMBELLISHMENTS. 467
the required spot ; but where there is no such head of water,
the latter must be provided from a reservoir ‘artificially
prepared, and kept constantly full.
There are two very simple and cheap modes of effecting
this, which we shall lay before our readers, and one or the
other of which may be adopted in almost every locality.
The first is to provide a large flat cistern of sufficient size,
which is to be placed under the roof in the upper story of
one of the outbuildings, the carriage-house for example,
and receive its supplies from the water collected on the
roof of the building; the amount of water collected in this
way from a roof of mederate size being much more than
is generally supposed. The second is to sink a well of
capacious size (where such is not already at command)
in some part of the grounds where it will not be con-
spicuous, and over it to erect.a small tower, the top of
which shall contain a cistern and a small horizontal wind-
mill ; which being kept in motion by the wind more or less
almost every day in summer, will raise a sufficient quantity
of water to keep the reservoir supplied from the well
below. In either of these cases, it is only necessary to
carry leaden pipes from the cistern (under the surface,
below the reach of frost) to the place where the jet is to
issue ; the supply in both these cases will, if properly
arranged, be more than enough for the consumption of the
fountain during the hours when it will be necessary for it
to play, viz. from sunrise to evening.
The steam-engine is often employed to force up water
for the supply of fountains in many of the large public and
royal gardens; but there are few cases in this country
where private expenditures of this kind would be justifiable.
But where a small stream, or even the overflow of a
468 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
perpetual spring, can be commanded, the Hydraulic Ram
is the most perfect as well as the simplest and cheapest
of all modes of raising water. A supply pipe of an inch
in diameter is in many cases sufficient to work the Ram
and force water to a great distance; and where sufficient
to fill a “driving pipe’ of two inches diameter can be
commanded, a large reservoir may be kept constantly
filled. As the Hydraulic Ram is now for sale in all our
cities we need not explain its action.
“In conducting the water fron: the cistern or reservoir
to the jet or fountain, the following particulars require to
be attended to: In the first place, all the pipes must be
laid sufficiently deep in the earth, or otherwise placed and
protected so as to prevent the possibility of their being
reached by frost; next, as a general rule, the diameter of
the orifice from which the jet of water proceeds, tech-
nically called the bore of the quill, ought to be four times
less than the bore of the conduit pipe; that is, the quill
and the pipe ought to be in a quadruple proportion to
each other. There are several sorts of quills or spouts,
which throw the water up or down, into a variety of
forms: such as fans, parasols, sheaves, showers, mushrooms,
inverted bells, etc. The larger the conduit pipes are, the
more freely will the jets display their different forms; and
the fewer the holes in the quill or jet (for sometimes this is
pierced like the rose of a watering pot) the greater
certainty there will be of the form continuing the same;
because the risk of any of the holes choking up will be
less. The diameter of a conduit pipe ought in no case
to be less than one inch; but for jets of very large size,
the diameter ought to be two inches. Where the conduit
pipes are of great length, say upwards of 1000 feet, it is
pels Sees
EMBELLISHMENTS. 469
found advantageous to begin, at the reservoir or cistern,
with pipes of a diameter somewhat greater than those
which deliver the water to the quills, because the water, in
a pipe of uniform diameter of so great a length, is found
to lose much of its strength, and become what is tech-
nically called sleepy: while the different sizes quicken it,
and redouble its force. For example, in a conduit pipe of
1800 feet in length, the first six hundred feet may be laid
with pipes of eight inches in diameter, the next 600 feet
with pipes ef six inches in diameter, and the last 600 feet
with pipes of four inches in diameter. In conduits not
exceeding 900 feet, the same diameter may be continued
throughout. When several jets are to play in several
fountains, or in the same, it is net necessary to lay a fresh
pipe from each jet to the reservoir; a main of sufficient
size, with branch pipes to each jet, being all that is required.
Where the conduit pipe enters the reservoir or cistern, it
ought to be of increased diameter, and the grating placed
over it to keep out leaves and other matters which might
choke it up, ought to be semi-globular or conical; so that
the area of the number of holes in it may exceed the
area of the orifice of the conduit pipe. The object is to
prevent any diminution of pressure from the body of
water in the cistern, and to facilitate the flow of the
water. Where the conduit pipe joins the fountain, there,
of course, ought to be a cock for turning the water off and
on; and particular care must be taken that as much water
may pass through the oval hole of this cock as passes
through the circular hole of the pipe. In conduit pipes, all
elbows, bendings, and right angles should be avoided as
much as possible, since they diminish the force of the
water. In very long conduit pipes, air-holes formed by
470 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
soldering on upright pieces of pipe, terminating in inverted
valves or suckers, should be made at convenient distances,
and protected by shafts built of stone or brick, and covered
with movable gratings, in order to let out the air. Where
pipes ascend and descend on very irregular surfaces,
the strain on the lowest parts of the pipe is always the
greatest; unless care is taken to relieve this by the
judicious disposition of cocks and air-holes. Without this
precaution, pipes conducted over irregular surfaces will
not last nearly so long as those conducted over a level.” —
Encycl. of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture,
page 989.
Where the reservoir is but a short distance, as from a
dozen to fifty yards, all that is necessary is to lay the con-
duit pipes on a regular uniform slope, to secure a steady
uninterrupted flow of water. Owing to the friction in the
pipes, and pressure of the atmosphere, the water in the
fountain will of course, in no case, rise quite as high as the
level of the water in the reservoir; but it will nearly as
high. For example, if the reservoir is ten feet four inches
high, the water in the jet will only rise ten feet, and in like
proportion for the different heights. The following table*
Height of the Diameter of the Diameters of the Height the water |
| Reservoir. | Conduit pipes. | Orifices, will rise to.
|_Feet. | Inches. | Inches. | Lines. | Lines. | Parts. | Feet. | Inches.
ne: 1 4 0. 6 ae
[ 10 4 ; = 9) 0 10 0
15 9 Qi 0 6 Oe 1s 0
21 - 4 Qh 0 | 64 0 | 20 0
33 0 3 0 7 0 30 0
45 4 43 0 7 8 | 40 0
58 4 5 a) 8 10 50 0
72 0 53 0 10 12 60 0
86 4 6 0 12 14 70 0
100 pe 0 12 15 80 0
* Switzers Introduction to a General System of Hydrostaties.
EMBELLISHMENTS. 471
shows with a given height of reservoirs and diameter of
conduit pipes and orifices, the height to which the water
will rise in the fountain.
A simple jet (Fig. 92) issuing from a circular basin of
water, or a cluster of perpendicular jets (candelabra jets),
§ is at once the simplest and most pleasing of
fountains. Such are almost the only kinds
of fountains which can be introduced with
propriety in simple scenes where the pre-
(Fig, 2)
dominant objects are sylvan, not architectural.
Weeping, or Tazza Fountains, as they are called, are
yer and highly isis objects, which require only a
REET ee TESS
» very moderate supply of water com-
iH pared with that demanded by a
ie constant and powerful jet. The
it i iit i ii 1 |
f " ie ' Het conduit pipe rises through and fills
(Fig. 93. a } the vase, which is so formed as to
overflow round its entire margin. Figure 93 represents a
beautiful Grecian vase for tazza fountains. The ordinary
jet and the tazza fountain may be combined in one, when
the supply of water is sufficient, by carrying the conduit
pipe to the level of the top of the vase, from which the
water rises perpendicularly, then falls back into the vase
and overflows as before.
We might enumerate and figure a great many other
designs for fountains; but the connoisseur will receive
more ample information on this head than we are able to
afford, from the numerous F rench works devoted to this
branch of Rural Embellishment.
A species of rustic fountain which has a good effect, is
made by introducing the conduit pipe or pipes among the
groups of reckwork alluded to, from whence (the orifice of
472 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
the pipe being concealed or disguised) the water issues
among the rocks either in the form of a cascade, a weep-
ing fountain, or a perpendicular jet. A little basin of
water is formed at the foot or in the midst of the rockwork ;
and the cool moist atmosphere afforded by the trickling
streams, would offer a most congenial site for aquatic
plants, ferns, and mosses.
Fountains of a highly artificial character are happily
situated only when they are placed in the neighborhood of
buildings and architectural forms. When only a single
fountain can be maintained in a residence, the centre of
the flower-garden, or the neighborhood of the piazza or
terrace-walk, is, we think, much the most appropriate
situation for it. There the liquid element, dancing and
sparkling in the sunshine, is an agreeable feature in the
scene, as viewed from the windows of the rooms; and the
falling watery spray diffusing coolness around is no less
delightful in the surrounding stillness of a summer evening.
After all that we have said respecting architectural and
_Tustic decorations of the grounds, we must admit that it
requires a great deal of good taste and judgment, to
introduce and distribute them so as to be in geod keeping
with the scenery of country residences. A country resi-
dence, where the house with a few tasteftl groups of
flowers and shrubs, and a pretty lawn, with clusters and
groups of luxuriant trees, are all in high keeping and
evincing high order, is far more beautiful and pleasing
than the same place, or even one of much larger extent,
where a profusion of statues, vases, and fountains, or
rockwork and rustic seats, are distributed throughout the
garden and grounds, while the latter, in themselves, show
‘a a
EMBELLISHMENTS. 473
slovenly keeping, and a crude and meagre knowledge of
design in Landscape Gardening.
Unity of expression is the maxim and guide in this
department of the art, as in every other. Decorations can
never be introduced with good effect, when they are at
variance with the character of surrounding objects. A
beautiful and highly architectural villa may, with the
greatest propriety, receive the decorative accompaniments
of elegant vases, sundials, or statues, should the proprietor
choose to display his wealth and taste in this manner ; but
these decorations would be totally misapplied in the case
of a plain square edifice, evincing no architectural style in
itself. 3
In addition to this, there is great danger that a mere
lover of fine vases may run into the error of assembling
these objects indiscriminately in different parts of his
grounds, where they have really no place, but interfere
with the quiet character of surrounding nature. He may
overload the grounds with an unmeaning distribution of
sculpturesque or artificial forms, instead of working up
those parts where art predominates in such a manner, by
means of appropriate decorations, as to heighten by con-
trast the beauty of the whole adjacent landscape.
With regard to pavilions, summer-houses, rustic seats,
and garden edifices of like character, they should, if
possible, in all cases be introduced where they are
manifestly appropriate or in harmony with the scene.
Thus a grotto should not be formed in the side of an
open bank, but in a, deep shadowy recess; a classic
temple or pavilion may crown a beautiful and prominent
knoll, and a rustic covered seat may occupy a secluded,
474 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
quiet portion of the grounds, where undisturbed meditation
may be enjoyed. As our favorite Delille says :
« Sachez ce qui convient ou nuit au caracteére.
Un réduit éearté, dans un lieu solitaire,
Peint mieux la solitude encore et l’abandon.
Montrez-vous done fidéle 4 chaque expression ;
N’allez pas au grand jour offrir un ermitage :
Ne cachez point un temple au fond d’un bois sauvage.”
Les JaRpDINs.
Or if certain objects are unavoidably placed in situations
of inimical expression, the artist should labor to alter the
character of the locality. How much this can be done by
the proper choice of trees and shrubs, and the proper
arrangement of plantations, those who have seen the
difference in aspect of certain favorite localities of wild
nature, as covered with wood, or as denuded by the axe,
can well judge. And we hope the amateur, who has
made himself familiar with the habits and _ peculiar
expressions of different trees, as pointed out in this work,
will not find himself at a loss to effect such changes, by
the aid of time, with ease and facility.
APPENDIX.
iy
Notes on transplanting trees. Reasons for frequent failures in removing large trees.
Directions for performing this operation. Selection of subjects. Preparing trees for
removal. Transplanting evergreens.
TaeEre is no subject on which the professional horticulturist is more
frequently consulted in America, than transplanting trees. And, as it
is an essential branch of Landscape Gardening—indeed, perhaps, the
most important and necessary one to be practically understood in the
improvement or embellishment of new country residences—we shall
offer a few remarks here, with the hope of rendering it a more easy
and successful practice in the hands of amateurs.
Although there are great numbers of acres of beautiful woods and
groves, the natural growth of the soil, in most of the older states, yet
a considerable portion of our ordinary country seats are meagrely
clothed with trees, while many beautiful sites for residences have, in
past years, been so denuded that the nakedness of their appearance con-
stitutes a serious objection to them as places of residence. To be able,
therefore, to transplant, from natural copses, trees of ten or twenty
years’ growth, is so universally a desideratum, that great numbers of
experiments are made annually with this view; though few persons
succeed in obtaining what they desire, viz. the immediate effect of
wood ; partly from a want of knowledge of the nature of vegetable
physiology, and partly from malpractice in the operation of removal
itself.
When the admirably written “Planter’s Guide,” by Sir Henry
476 APPENDIX.
Steuart, made its appearance some ten years ago, not only describing
minutely the whole theory of transplanting nearly full grown trees, but —
placing before its readers a report of a committee of the Highland
Society of Edinburgh attesting the complete success of the practice,
as exemplified in the woods, copses, and groups, which, removed by
the transplanting machine, beautified with their verdure and luxuriance
the baronet’s own park, the whole matter of transplanting was appa-
rently cleared up, and numbers of individuals in this country, with san-
guine hopes of success, set about the removal of large forest trees.
Of the numerous trials made upon this method, with trees of extra
size, we have known but a very few instances of even tolerable success.
This is no doubt owing partly to the want of care and skill in the
practical part of the process, but mainly to the ungenial nature of our
climate.
The climate of Scotland during four-fifths of the year is, in some
respects, the exact opposite of that of the United States. An atmo-
sphere which, for full nine months of the twelve, is copiousiy charged
with fogs, mist, and dampness, may undoubtedly be considered as the
most favorable in the world for restoring the weakened or impaired
vital action of large transplanted trees. In this country, on the con-
trary, the dry atmosphere and constant evaporation under the brilliant
sun of our summers, are most important obstacles with which the
transplanter has to contend, and which render complete success so
much more difficult here than in Scotland. And we would therefore
rarely attempt in this country the extensive removal of trees larger than
twenty feet in height. When of the size of fifteen feet they are suf-
ficiently large to produce very considerable immediate effect, while they
are not so large as to be costly or very difficult to remove, or to suffer
greatly by the change of position, like older ones.
The great want of success in transplanting trees of moderate size
in this country arises, as we conceive, mainly from two causes; the
first, a want of skill in performing the operation, arising chiefly from
ignorance of the nature of the vital action of plants, in roots, branches,
ete., and the second, a bad or improper selection of subjects on which
the operation is to be performed. Either of these causes would ac-
count for bad success in removals; and where, as is frequently the
ag dat al
APPENDIX. 477
ease, both are combined, total failure can scarcely be a matter of sur-
prise to those really familiar with the matter.
An uninformed spectator, who should witness for the first time the
removal of a forest tree, as ordinarily performed by many persons,
would scarcely suppose that anything beyond mere physical slrengih
was required. Commencing as near the tree as possible, cutting off
many of the roots, with the very smallest degree of reluctance,
wrenching the remaining mass out of their bed as speedily and almost
as roughly as possible, the operator hastens to complete his destructive
process, by cutting off the best part of the head of the tree, to make
it correspond with the reduced state of the roots. Arrived at the hole
prepared for its reception, his replanting consists in shovelling in, while
the tree is held upright, the surrounding soil, paying little or no regard
to filling up all the small interstices among the roots ; and finally, after
treading the earth as hard as possible, completing the whole by pouring
two or three pails of water upon the top of the ground. How any
reflecting person, who looks upona plant as a delicately organized indi-
vidual, can reasonably expect or hope for success after such treatment
in transplanting, is what we never could fully understand. And it has
always, therefore, appeared pretty evident that all such operators must
have very crude and imperfect notions of vegetable physiology, or the
structure and functions of plants.
The first and most important consideration in transplanting should
be the preservation of the roots. By this we do not mean a certain bulk
of the larger and more important ones only, but as far as possible all
the numerous small fibres and rootlets so indispensably necessary in
assisting the tree to recover from the shock of removal. The coarser
and larger roots serve to secure the tree in its position, and convey the
fluids ; but it is by means of the small fibrous roots, or the delicate and
numerous points of these fibres called spongioles, that the food of
plants is imbibed, and the destruction of such is manifestly in the
highest degree fatal to the success of the transplanted tree. To avoid
this as far as practicable, we should, in removing a tree, commence at
such a distance as to inelude a cireumference large enough to comprise
the great majority of the roots. At that distance from the trunk we
shall find most of the smaller roots, which should be earefully loosened
478 APPENDIX.
from the soil, with as little injury as possible; the earth should be
gently and gradually removed from the larger roots, as we proceed
onward from the extremity of the circle to the centre, and when we
reach the nucleus of roots surrounding the trunk, and fairly undermine
the whole, we shall find ourselves in possession of a tree in such a per-
fect condition, that even when of considerable size, we may confident-
ly hope for a speedy recovery of its former luxuriance after being
replanted.
Now to remove a tree in this manner, requires not only a considera-
ble degree of experience, which is only to be acquired by practice, but
also much patience and perseverance while engaged in the work. It is
not a difficult task to remove, in a careless manner, four or five trees in
a day, of fifteen feet in height, by the assistance of three or four men,
and proper implements of removal, while one or two trees only can be
removed if the roots and branches are preserved entire or nearly so.
Yet in the latter case, if the work be well performed, we shall have the
satisfaction of beholding the subjects, when removed, soon taking fresh
root, and becoming vigorous healthy trees, with fine luxuriant heads,
while three-fourths of the former will most probably perish, and the
remainder struggle for several years, under the loss of so large a por-
tion of their roots and branches, before they entirely recover, and put
on the appearance of handsome trees. :
When a tree is carelessly transplanted, and the roots much mutilated,
the operator feels obliged to reduce the top accordingly; as experience
teaches him, that although the leaves may expand, yet they will soon
perish without a fresh supply of food from the roots. But when the
largest portion of the roots are carefully taken up with the tree,
pruning should be less resorted to, and thus the original symmetry and
beauty of the head retained. When this is the case, the leaves contri-
bute as much, by their peculiar action in elaborating the sap, towards
re-establishing the tree, as the roots; and indeed the two act so re-
ciprocally with each other, that any considerable injury to the one
always affects the other. ‘The functions of respiration, perspiration,
and digestion,” says Professor Lindley, “ which are the particular of-
fices of leaves, are essential to the health of a plant; its healthiness
being in proportion to the degree in which these functions are duly
Boye ¥,
APPENDIX. 479
performed. The leaf is in reality a natural contrivance for exposing a
large surface to the influence of external agents, by whose assistance
the crude sap contained in the stem is altered, and rendered suitable to
the particular wants of the species, and for returning into the general
ciréulation, the fluids in their matured condition, In a word, the leaf
of a plant is its lungs and stomach traversed by a system of veins.”*
All the pruning, therefore, that is necessary, when a tree is properly
transplanted, will be comprised in paring smooth all bruises or acci-
dental injuries, received by the roots or branches during the operation,
or the removal of a few that may interfere with elegance of form in the
head.
Next in importance to the requisite care in performing the operation
of transplanting, is the proper choice of individual trees to be transplanted.
In making selections for removal among our fine forest trees, it should
never be forgotten that there are two distinct kinds of subjects, even
of the same species of every tree, viz. those that grow among and
surrounded by other trees or woods, and those which grow alone, in
free open exposures, where they are acted upon by the winds, storms,
and sunshine, at all times and seasons. The former class it will always
be exceedingly difficult to transplant successfully even with the
greatest care, while the latter may always be removed with compara-
tively little risk of failure.
Any one who is at all familiar with the growth of trees in woods or
groves somewhat dense, is also aware of the great difference in the
external appearance between such trees and those which stand singly
in open spaces. In thick woods, trees are found to have tall, slender
trunks, with comparatively few branches except at the top, smooth and
thin bark, and they are scantily provided with roots, but especially with
the small fibres so essentially necessary to insure the growth of the tree
when transplanted. Those, on the other hand, which stand isolated,
have short thick stems, numerous branches, thick bark, and great
abundance of root and small fibres. The latter, accustomed to the
full influence of the weather, to cold winds as well as open sunshine,
have what Sir Henry Steuart has aptly denominated the “ protecting
properties,” well developed ; being robust and hardy, they are well cal-
* Theory of Horticulture.
480 APPENDIX.
culated to endure the violence of the removal, while trees growing in
the midst of a wood sheltered from the tempests by their fellows, and
scarcely ever receiving the sun and air freely except at their topmost
branches, are too feeble to withstand the change of situation, when re-
moved to an open lawn, even when they are carefully transplanted.
« Of trees in open exposures,” says Sir Henry, “ we find that their
peculiar properties contribute, in a remarkable manner, to their health
and prosperity. In the first place, their shortness and greater girth of
stem, in contradistinction to others in the interior of woods, are ob-
viously intended to give to the former greater strength to resist the
winds, and a shorter lever to act upon the roots. Secondly, their
larger heads, with spreading branches, in consequence of the free ac-
cess of light, are as plainly formed for the nourishment as well as the
balancing of so large a trunk, and also for furnishing a cover to shield
it from the elements. Thirdly, their superior thickness and induration
of bark is, in like manner, bestowed for the protection of the sap-ves-
sels, that lie immediately under it, and which, without such defence
from cold, could not perform their functions. Fourthly, their greater
number and variety of roots are for the double purpose of nourish-
ment and strength; nourishment to support a mass of such magnitude,
and strength to contend with the fury of the blast. Such are the ob-
vious purposes for which the unvarying characteristics of trees in open
exposures are conferred upon them. Nor are they conferred equally
and indiscriminately upon all trees so situated. They seem, by the
economy of nature, to be peculiar aduplations to the circumstances and
wants of each individual, uniformly bestowed in the ratio of exposure,
greater where that is more conspicuous, and uniformly: decreasing, as it
becomes less.”*
Trees in which the protecting properties are well developed are fre-
quently to be met with on the skirts of woods ; but those standing singly
here and there, through the cultivated fields and meadows of our farm
lands, where the roots have extended themselves freely in the mellow
soil, are the finest subjects for removal into the lawn, park, or pleasure
ground.
* The Planter’s Guide, p. 105.
APPENDIX. 481
The machine used in removing trees of moderate size is of simple
construction, consisting of a pair of strong wheels about five feet high,
a stout axle, and a pole about twelve feet long. In transplanting, the
wheels and axle are brought close to the trunk of the tree, the pole is
firmly lashed to the stem, and when the soil is sufficiently removed and
ieosened about the roots, the pole, with the tree attached, is drawn
down to a herizental position by the aid of men and a pair of horses.
When the tree is thus drawn out of the hole, it is well secured and
properly balanced upon the machine, the horses are fastened in front
of the mass of roots by gearings attached to the axle, and the whole
is transported te the destined location.
In order more effectually to insure the growth of large specimens
when transplanted, a mode of preparing beforehand a supply of young
roots, is practised by skilful operators. This consists in removing the
top soil, partially undermining the tree, and shortening back many of
the roots; and afterwards replacing the former soil by rich mould, or
soil well manured. This is suffered to remain at least ene year, and
often three or four years; the tree, stimulated by the fresh supply of
food, threws eut an abundance of small fibres, which render success,
when the time for removal arrives, comparatively certain.
It may be well to remark here, that before large trees are transplant-
ed inte their final situations, the latter should be well prepared by
trenching, or digging the soil two er three feet deep, intermingling
throughout the whole a liberal portion of well decomposed manure, or
rich compost. To those who are in the habit of planting trees of any
size in unprepared grounds, or that merely prepared by digging one
spit deep, and turning in a little surface manure, it is inconceivable how
much more rapid is the growth, and how astonishingly luxuriant the ap-
pearance of trees when removed into ground properly prepared. It is
net too much to affirm, that young trees under favorable circumstances
—in soil so prepared—will advance more rapidly, and attain a larger
stature in eight years, than those planted in the ordinary way, without
deepening the soil, will in twenty—and trees of larger size in propor-
tion; a gain of growth surely worth the trifling expense incurred in
the first instance. And the same observation will apply to all plant-
31
482 APPENDIX.
ing. A little extra labor and cost expended in preparing the soil will,
for a long time, secure a surprising rapidity of growth.
In the actual planting of the tree, the chief point lies in bringing
every small fibre in contaet with the soil, so that no hollows or inter-
stices are left, which may produce mouldiness and decay of the roots.
To avoid this, the soil must be pulverized with the spade before filling
in, and one of the workmen, with his hands and a flat dibble of wood,
should fill up all cavities, and lay out the small roots before covering
them in their natural position. When watering is thought advisable
(and we practise it almost invariably), it should always be done while
the planting is going forward. Poured in the hole when the roots are
just covered with the soil, it serves to settle the loose earth compactly
around the various roots, and thus both furnishes a supply of moisture,
and brings the pulverized mould in proper contaet for growth. Trees
well watered when planted in this way, will rarely require it after-
wards; and should they do so, the better way is to remove two or
three inches of the top soil, and give the lower stratum a copious sup-
ply; when the water having been absorbed, the surface should again
be replaced. There is no practice more mischievous to newly moved
trees, than that of pouring water, during hot weather, upon the surface
of the ground above the roots. Acted upon by the sun and wind, this
surface becomes baked, and but little water reaches the roots; or just
sufficient, perhaps, to afford a momentary stimulus, to be followed by
increased sensibility to the parching drought.
With respect to the proper seasons for transplanting, we may remark
that, except in extreme northern latitude, autumn planting is generally
preferred for large, hardy, deciduous trees. It may commence as soon
as the leaves fall, and may be continued until winter. In planting large
trees in spring, we should commence as early as possible, to give them
the benefit of the April rains; if it should be deferred to a later period,
the trees will be likely to suffer greatly by the hot summer sun before
they are well established.
The transplanting of evergreens is generally considered so much more
difficult than that of deciduous trees, and so many persons who have
tolerable success in the latter, fail in the former, that we may perhaps
be expected to point out the reason of these frequent failures.
APPENDIX. 483
Most of our horticultural maxims are derived from English authors
and among them, that of always planting evergreens either in August
or late in autumn. At both these seasons, it is nearly impossible to
succeed in the temperate portions of the United States, from the dif-
ferent character of our climate at these seasons. The genial moisture
of the English climate renders transplanting comparatively easy at all
seasons, but especially in winter, while in this country, our Augusts
are dry and hot, and our winters generally dry and cold. If planted in
the latter part of summer, evergreens become parched * their foliage,
and soon perish. If planted in autumn or early winter, the severe cold
that ensues, to which the newly disturbed plant is peculiarly alive,
paralyses vital action, and the tree is so much enfeebled that, when
spring arrives, it survives but a short period. The only period, there-
fore, that remains for the successful removal of evergreens here, is the
spring. When planted as early as practicable in the spring, so as to
have the full benefit of the abundant rains so beneficial to vegetation
at that season, they will almost immediately protrude new shoots, and
regain their former vigor.
Evergreens are, in their roots, much more delicate and impatient of
dryness than deciduous trees; and this should be borne in mind while
transplanting them. For this reason, experienced planters always
choose a wet or misty day for their removal ; and, in dry weather, we
would always recommend the roots to be kept watered and covered
from the air by mats during transportation. When proper regard is
paid to this point, and to judicious selection of the season, evergreens
will not be found more difficult of removal than other trees,
Another mode of transplanting large evergreens, which is very suc-
eessfully practised among us, is that of removing them with frozen
balls of earth in mid-winter. When skilfully performed, it is perhaps
the most complete of all modes, and is so different from the common
method, that the objection we have just made to winter planting does
not apply to this case. The trees to be removed are selected, the situa-
tions chosen, and the holes dug, while the ground is yet open in autumn.
When the ground is somewhat frozen, the operator proceeds to dig a
trench around the tree at some distance, gradually undermining it, and
leaving all the principal mass of roots embodied in the ball of earth.
484 APPENDIX.
The whole ball is then left to freeze pretty thoroughly (generally till
snow covers the ground), when a large sled drawn by oxen is brought
as near as possible, the ball of earth containing the tree rolled upon it,
and the whole is easily transported to the hole previously prepared,
where it is placed in the proper position, and as soon as the weather
becomes mild, the earth is properly filled in around the ball. A tree,
either evergreen or deciduous, may be transplanted in this way, so as
searcely to show, at the return of growth, any ill effects from its
change of location.
II.
Description of an English Suburban residence, Cuzsuunt Corrace. With views and
plans showing the arrangement of the house and grounds. And the mode of managing :
the whole premises.
[The following description of an interesting suburban residence
near London, with the numerous engravings illustrating it, has been
kindly furnished us for this work, by J. C. Loudon, Esq. It was
originally published in his “ Gardener’s Magazine,” and affords an ad-
mirable illustration of this class of residences, showing what may be
done, and how much beauty and enjoyment realized, on a comparative-
ly limited space of ground.]
CuesHunt CoTtTace, THE ReEsIDENcCE oF Wm. Harrison, Esq.,
PyeLJS.,. £7.
“ All that can render a country seat delightful, and a well furnished library in the house.”
(Evelyn’s Memoirs, by Bray, vol, i., p. 432.)
Tue sides of the road from London to Cheshunt, by Stoke Newing-
ton, Edmonton, and Enfield Wash, are thickly studded with suburban
houses and gardens the whole distance; but, by going straight on
through the Ball’s Pond Turnpike, and taking the country road leading
out of Newington Green, called the Green Lanes, between the Totten-
ham and Edmonton road, and the Barnet Road, and threading our way
through numerous interesting lanes, we may pass through very rural
and umbrageous scenery, with the appearance of but few houses of
any kind. Indeed, it may be mentioned as one of the most remarka-
APPENDIX. 485
ble cireumstances in the state of the country in the neighborhood of
London, that, while all the main roads are bordered by houses for some
miles from town, so as almost to resemble streets; there are tracts
which lie between the main roads, and quite near town, which have
undergone little or no change in the nature of their occupation for
(Fig. 1. Cheshunt Cottage, from the Road.]
several, and apparently many, generations; at all events, not since the
days of Queen Elizabeth. The tracts of country to which we allude
are in pasture or meadow, with crooked irregular hedges, numerous
stiles and footpaths, and occasional houses by the roadsides ; the farms
characterized by large hay barns. Scenery of this kind is never seen’
by the citizen who goes to his country seat along the publie road, in
his family carriage, or in a stage-coach ; and it is accordingly only known
to pedestrians, and such as are not afraid of driving their horses over
rough roads, or meeting wagons or hay-carts in narrow lanes. The
road through the Green Lanes to Enfield is an excellent turnpike road,
always ina good state, with occasional villas near Bour Farm and
Palmer’s Green; and near Enfield, at Forty Hill, there is a handsome
church, built and endowed by Mr. Myers, opposite to his park, which
is filled with large and handsome trees. Afterwards it passes the cele-
brated park of Theobalds, near where formerly stood a royal palace,
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486 APPENDIX.
the favorite residence of James I., and winds in the most agreeable
and picturesque manner, under the shade of overhanging trees.
Having made several turns, it leads to a lane with a brook which runs
parallel to the road, a foot-bridge across which forms the entrance to
Mr. Harrison’s cottage, as exhibited in the view Fig. 1.
The ground occupied by Mr. Harrison’s cottage and gardens is
about seven acres, exclusive of two adjoining grass fields. The
grounds lie entirely on one side of the house, as shown in the plan,
Fig. 13, in pp. 510,511. The surface of the whole is flat, and nothing
is seen in the horizon in any direction but distant trees. The beauties
of the place, to a stranger at his first glance, appear of the quiet and
melancholy kind, as shown in the Figs. 2,3; the one looking to the
yight from the drawing-room window and the other to the left: but,
upon a nearer examination by a person conversant with the subjects of
botany and gardening, and knowing in what rural comfort consists,
these views will be found to be full of intense interest, and to afford
many instructive hints to the possessors of suburban villas or cottages.
In building the house and laying out the grounds, Mr. Harrison was
his own arehiteet and Landseape Gardener; not only devising the
genera} design, but furnishing working-drawings of all the details of
the interior of the cottage. His reason for fixing on the present situa-
tion for the house was, the vieinity (the grounds joining) of a house
and walk belonging to a relation of his late wife. The cireumstanee
is mentioned as aceounting in one so fond of a garden, for fixing on a
spot which had neither tree nor shrub in it when he first inhabited it.
Mr. Harrison informs us, and we record it for the use of amateurs
commencing, or extending, or improving gardens, that he-eommenced
his operations about thirty years ago, by purehasing, at a large nursery
sale, large lots of evergreens, not six inehes high, in beds of one
hundred each, sueh as laurels, Portuga} laurels, laurustinuses, bays,
hollies, &e.; with many lots of deciduous trees, in smaller numbers,
which he planted in a nursery on his own ground; and at intervals, as
he from time to time extended his garden, he took out every second
plant, which, with oecasional particular trees and shrubs from nursery
grounds, constituted a continual supply for improvement and extension,
This, with the hospital ground mentioned hereafter, furnished the
487
APPENDIX.
488 : APPENDIX.
means of extensions and improvements at no other expense than .abor,
which, when completed, gave the place the appearanee of an old
garden ; the plants being larger than could be obtained, or, if obtained,
safely transplanted, from nurseries. This is an important considera-
tion, in addition to that of economy, well worth the attention of
amateur improvers of grounds or gardens.
By inspecting the plan, Fig. 4, it will be found that the house con-
tains, on the ground floor, three good living rooms, and two other
rocms (n and ¢) particularly appropriate to the residence of an ama-
teur fond of botany and gardening ; and that it is replete with every
description of accommodation and convenience requisite for the enjoy-
ment of all the comforts and luxuries that a man of taste ean desire for
himself or his friends.
In laying out the grounds, the first object was to insure agricultural
and gardening comforts; and hence the completeness of the farm-yard,
and of the hot-house and frame departments, as exhibited in the plan,
Fig. 6. On the side of the grounds opposite to the hot-houses and
flower-garden are the kitchen-garden and orchard; and though in most
situations it would have been more convenient to have had the farm
buildings, and kitehen garden, and hot-houses en the same side as the
kitchen offices, yet in this case no inconvenience results from their
separation ; because the public road, as will be seen by the plan, Fig.
13, forms a ready medium of communication between them, in eases in
which the communication through the ornamented ground would be
unsightly or inconvenient. In arranging the pleasure-ground, the
great object, as in all similar cases, was to introduce as much variety
as could be conveniently done in a comparatively limited-space. This
has been effeeted chiefly by distributing over the lawn a collection of
trees and shrubs; by forming a small piece of water, and disposing of
the earth excayated into hilly inequalities; and by walks leading to
different points of view, indicated by different kinds of covered seats or
garden structures. In conducting the walks, and distributing the trees
und shrubs, considerable skill and taste have been displayed in conceal-
ing the distant walks, and those which cross the lawn in-different
directions, from the windows of the living-rooms; and also in never
showing any walk but the one which is being walked on, to a spectator
making the circuit of the grounds,
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Before we enter into further details, we shall describe, first, the plan
of the house ; secondly, that of the farm and garden offices and the hot-
houses ; and, thirdly, the general plan of the grounds,
The house, in its external form and interior arrangement, is to be
considered as a cottage, or rather as a villa assuming a cottage charac-
ter. Hence, the centre part of the house, over the dining and drawing-
rooms, appears from the elevation of the entrance front to be only two
stories high. There is, however, a concealed story over part of the
offices, for servants’ bedrooms.
The house, of which Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan, consists of:
a, The poreh, entered from a bridge thrown across the brook, 4, as
shown in Fig. 4.
b b, Passage from which are seen the stairs to the bedrooms; and in
which, at ii, there is a jib-door and a ventilating window, to prevent
the possibility of the smell from the kitchen or offices, or water-
closet, penetrating to the other parts of the passage.
c, Recess for coats, hats, &c., fitted up with a hat and umbrella-stand,
tables, &e.
d, Drawing-room, with a recess at the further end, fitted up with a sofa
and a writing-table.
eé, Dining-room, with a recess for the largest sideboard, and another for
a smaller sideboard and cellarets.
¥, Library, chiefly lighted from the roof, but having one window to the
garden, and a glass door to the porch, h, also looking into the garden,
and from which the view, Fig. 5, is obtained. This room is fitted up
with book-cases all round; those on each side of the fire-place being
over large cabinets, about 4 ft. 6 in. high, filled with a collection of
shells, minerals, and organic remains, &ec.; and, to save the space
that would otherwise be lost at the angles, pentagonal closets are
formed there, in which maps, and various articles that cannot be
conveniently put on the regular book-shelves, are kept. The doors
to these corner closets are not more than 9 in. in width, and they are
of panelled wainscot. The shelves are fitted in front with mahogany
double reeds, fixing the cloth which protects the tops of the books,
thus giving the appearance of mahogany.
g, Museum for specimens of minerals and other curiosities, entered
492 APPENDIX.
{Fig.5 View from the Library Porch.]
from the porch, h, and lighted from that porch and from a window in
the roof.
h, Porch leading to the garden from the library and museum.
i, Ladies’ water-closet kept warm by the heat from the back of the
servants’ hall fire; the back of the fire-place being a cast iron plate.
ii, Jib-door. k, Plate-closet.
1, Butler’s pantry, lighted from the roof.
m, China-closet, lighted from the roof.
n, Room serving as a passage between the dining-room and the garden
and also between the dining-room and the water-closet 7, containing
a turning-lathe, a carpenter’s work bench, a complete set of
carpenters’ tools, garden tools for pruning, &c., of all sorts; spuds
with handles, graduated with feet and inches, fishing tackle, archery
articles, &e.
o, Inner wine-cellar, where the principal stock of wine is kept. There
is a ventilating opening from this cellar into the passage b.
p; Servants’ hall. :
g, Outer wine-cellar, where the wine given out weekly for use is placed,
and entered in the butler’s book. Between q and the passage 4, are
seen the stairs leading to the servants’ bedrooms. 1, Beer-cellar.
| (eae
X '
APPENDIX. 493
s, Kitchen, lighted from the roof, and from a window on one side.
ss, Scullery, lighted from one side. ¢, Housekeeper’s closet. u, Coal-
cellar. v,Larder, w, Bottle rack. x, Safe forcold meat. y, Wash-
house.
z, Knife-house. d-, Filtering apparatus. 1, Ash-pit. 2, Coal-house.
3, Fire-place to the vinery at 10, in the kitchen-garden 9.
44, Brook. 55, Public road. 6, Kitchen-court.
7, Concealed path to gentlemen’s water-closet.
8, Plantation of evergreens. 9, Kitchen-garden.
10, Vinery. 11, House servants’ water-closet.
12, Servants’ entrance.
Though it cannot be said that the arrangement of the offices of this
house is so good as it would be if they were placed on each side of a
straight passage; yet it will not be denied that these offices include
everything that is desirable for comfort and even Juxury. The chief
difficulty which occurs to a stranger, in looking at the plan, is, to dis-
cover how several of the rooms which compose the offices are lighted ;
and this, it may be necessary to state, is chiefly effected from the roof;
a mode which, in the case of some rooms, such as a butler’s pantry,
china-closet, plate-room, &c., is to be preferred; but which in most
eases it is desirable to avoid.
The three windows to the three principal rooms being on the same
side of the house, and adjoining each other, must necessarily have a
sameness of view; but the quiet character intended to be produced by
the idea of a cottage by a road side, may be supposed to account for
circumstances of this kind, and for various others.
The following are the details of the farmyard, garden offices, and
hot-houses, as exhibited in Fig. 6 :—
1, Rustic alcove, forming a recess under a thatched roof, which covers
the space from the green-house, 3, to the houses or yards, 70, 71, and
72. This rustic aleove has the floor paved with small pebbles, and
- the sides and ceiling lined with young fir-wood, with the bark on.
There is a disguised door on the right, which leads to 69 :
for grinding-mills and other machines; and on the left, Ma a
to 2, the ship-room. In the upper part of the central compartment,
in a square recess fronting the entrance, is a white marble statue of
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APPENDI
496 APPENDIX.
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the Indian god Gaudama, or Gaudmia. Three Elizabethan benches,
each as long as one of the sides of the alcove, are placed so as to
disguise the doors. The external appearance of this alcove is
shown in Fig. 7.
Ship-room, paved with slate, and with the walls finished in stucco,
and ceiling with beams painted like oak, to which are hung Indian
spears, and other curiosities, and serving to contain models of ships
and vessels of various sorts during winter. These are placed on
the pond in the summer season; square-rigged vessels at fixed
"anchorage, and the fore-and-aft-rigged ones, whose sails traverse,
such as schooners, cutters, and coasting vessels, with cables of
lengths to allow of their sailing without touching the edge of the
pond; and these continue constantly traversing the pond when there
is any wind. This room also contains a variety of the warlike
instruments of the savages of different countries, a bust of Lord
Nelson, one of the Duke of Wellington, some pictures in mosaic,
and a number of East Indian curiosities. “It serves also as a lobby
to the orangery.
The orangery. The paths are of slate, and the centre bed, or pit,
for the orange trees, is covered with an open wooden grating, on
which are placed the smaller pots; while the larger ones, and the
boxes and tubs, are let down through openings made in the grating,
as deep as it may be necessary for the proper effect of the heads
of the trees. This house, and that for Orchidacez, are heated from
the boiler indicated at 61.
Orchidaceous and fern house, in which a is the stage for Orchida-
cee, and b a cone of rockwork, chiefly of vitrified bricks, for ferns.
These ferns, amounting to above two dozen species, all sprang up
accidentally from the soil attached to some plants which were sent
to Mr. Harrison from Rio Janeiro and other parts of South America.
The shelves round the house are also occupied with Orchidacez, all
of which are in pots, in order that, when they come into flower,
they may be removed to the green-house; as, when thus treated, as
practised by the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth, they continue
much longer in bloom than when kept in the degree of heat
necessary for their growth.
APPENDIX. 497
4 c, Lobby between the orangery (3) and the conservatory (5).
4 d, An aviary for canaries, separated from the conservatory and the
lobby by a wire grating, and from the orchidaceous house by a wall.
Both the aviary and the lobby have a glass roof in the same plane
as that of the conservatory, as may be seen in Fig. 8, in p. 499. In
the winter season the temperature of the aviary being the same as
that of the conservatory, the birds require little or no care, except
giving them food ; while they sing freely at that season, and greatly
enliven this part of the garden scenery.
5, Conservatory, with vines under the rafters. The walks are slate,
the shrubs are planted in a bed of free soil edged with slate, and the
back wall is covered with different species of Passiflora, and with
the Tacsénia pinnatistipula,
6, Camellia-house. The camellias kept in pots; the rafters covered
with vines, and the back wall with passifloras and other climbers.
This house, and also 5, are heated from one boiler, as indicated
at 64. ty,
7, Geranium-house. The roof is in the ridge and furrow manner of
Mr. Paxton. This house, and also 8, 9, and 10, are heated from the
boiler indicated at 89.
8, Botanic stove. The roof is in the ridge and furrow manner of
Paxten. The sides of the pit are formed of slabs of slate; and
there is a slate box at e, containing a plant of Misa Cavendishié
with a spike of fruit, two or three of which ripen off weekly. F. is
a cistern for stove aquatics. There is a plant of Brugmansia .
suavélens (Dattra arborea L.) 15 ft. high, with a head 13 ft. in
diameter. When we saw it, Aug. 10th, 277 blossoms were expanded
at once, producing an effect upon the spectator under the tree, when
looking up, which no language can describe. Last year it produced
successions of blossoms, in one of which 600 were fully expanded
at one time. This year it has had five successions of blossoms, and
another is now coming out as the plant expands in growth. There
is a large Brugmansia coccineain thishouse. Both these plants are
in the free soil.
9, House for Cape heaths.
10, Pinery. The roof of this house is in the ridge and furrow manner,
32
498 APPENDIX.
in imitation of Mr. Paxton’s mode; from which it differs, in having
the ridge about one-third higher in proportion to the breadth, in
having the sash-bar deeper, and placed at right angles to the crown
of the ridge and to the furrow, and in having the panes of twice the
size which they are in Mr. Paxton’s roof. " This house was built by
Mr. Harrison’s carpenter, from the general idea given to him; and
before he had been to Chatsworth to examine the original house
with this kind of roof, built there by Mr. Paxton.
(Fig. 7. Rustic Alcove.]
11, Cucumber-pit, on M’Phail’s plan.
12, Succession pine-pit, also on M’Phail’s plan, in order to be heated
with dung linings.
13, Melon-pit.
14, Dutch cold-pit, for preserving lettuces, cauliflowers, ete., during
winter.
15, Tool-house and potting-shed; the tools regularly hung on irons
fixed to the ceiling, or set against the wal!, or laid on shelves,
the place for each sort of took or implement, ropes, etc., being
painted in large white letters on blaek boards. The following rules -
are painted on a board which is hung up in the tool-house :—
499
APPENDIX.
(Fig. 8. General View of the Hot-houses, as seen across the American Garden.]
500 APPENDIX.
“ Rules to be observed by all persons working on these Premises, Master
and Man.
“J. For every tool or implement of any description not returned to
the usual place at night, or returned to a wrong place not appointed
for it, or returned or hung up in a dirty or unfit state for work, the
forfeit is 3d.
“JJ. For every heap of sweepings or rakings left at night uncleared,
forfeit 3d.
“TIT. Every person making use of bad language to any person on
these premises shall forfeit, for each and every such offence, 6d.
“TV. Every person found drunk on these premises shall forfeit one
shilling ; and, if he be in regular employment on the premises, he shall
be suspended from his employment one day for every hour he loses
through drunkenness.
“V. Every person who shall knowingly conceal or screen any
person offending, shall be fined double the amount of the fine for the
offence he so conceals, in addition to the fine of the offending party.
“VI. All forfeits to be paid to the gardener, on or before the
Saturday night following. If any person working regularly on the
premises fail to cohform to the above rules and regulations, the
gardener shall be at liberty to stop his fines from his wages. Further,
should any foreman or journeyman fail to comply with the above rules
and regulations (with a knowledge of them), the gardener shall be at
liberty to seize and sell his tools or part of them, to pay such fines, in
one month from the time the offence was committed.
“VII. All fines to be expended in a supper, yearly, to all the parties
who have been fined.”
When these rules were first adopted, the fines were sufficient to
afford an annual supper with beer, &c.; but of late the amount has
been so small, that Mr. Harrison has found it necessary to add to it to
supply beer, &c., for the supper; a proof of the excellent working of
the rules. Mr. Harrison remarks that these rules were established
about eleven years ago, and that they have been most effective in
preventing all slovenly practices ; an advantage which he considers as
: thus purchased at a very cheap rate.
APPENDIX. 501
16, Mushroom-shed, in which the mushrooms are grown in Oldacre’s
manner.
17, Wood-yard, shaded by three elm trees.
18 18, Calf-pens. 19, Cow-house. 20, Tool-house.
21, Piggeries.
22, 23, 24, places for fattening poultry, on Mowbray’s plan, not, as
usual, in coops, Between this and 25, is a privy for the head
gardener.
25, Place for meat for the pigs, which is passed through a shoot to 26.
26, Two tanks sunk in the ground, covered with hinged flaps, the upper
edges of which lap under the plate above, so as to shoot off the rain,
for souring the food intended for the pigs. One tank, which is
much smaller than the other, is used chiefly for milk and meal for
the fattening pigs, and sows with pigs; and the other for the wash
and other refuse from the house, for the store pigs, which, with the
refuse from the garden, apple-loft, &c., amply supplies the store
pigs and sows, without any purchased food, except when they have
pigs sucking. The good effect of the fermentation or souring is
accounted for by chemists, who have found that it ruptures the
ultimate particles of the meal or other food; a subject treated in
detail in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, vol. vii. p. 445. Ac-
cording to the doctrine there laid down, the globules of meal, or
farinaceous matter of the roots and seeds of plants, lie closely
compacted together, within membranes so exquisitely thin and
transparent that their texture is scarcely to be discerned with the
most powerful microscope. Each farinaceous particle is, therefore,
considered as enveloped in a vesicle, which it is necessary to burst,
in order to allow the soluble or nutritious part to escape. This
bursting is effected by boiling, or other modes of cookery ; and also,
to a certain extent, by the stomach, when too much food is not
taken at a time; but it is also effected by the heat and decomposi-
tion produced by fermentation; and hence, fermented food, like
food which has been cooked, is more easily digested than uncooked
or unfermented food. Plants are nourished by the ultimate particles
of manure in the same way that animals are nourished by the
ultimate particles of food; and hence fermentation is as essential
502 APPENDIX.
to the dunghill as cookery is to food. The young gardener, as
well as the young farmer, may Jearn from this the vast importance
of fermentation, in preparing the food both for plants and animals.
27, Furnace and boiler, for boiling dogs’ meat, heating pitch, &e. ;
placed in this distant and concealed spot, to prevent risk from fire
when pitch or tar is boiled; and, when meat is boiled for dogs, to
prevent the smell from reaching the garden. The reason why it is
found necessary to have a boiler for tar is, that, most of the farm-
buildings and garden-offices being of wood, it is found conducive to
their preservation occasionally to coat. them with tar heated to its
boiling point.
28, Open shed for lumber.
29, Dog-kennel; adjoining which is a privy for the under gardeners.
30, Hay-barn. 31, Lean-to for straw.
32 32, Places for loaded hay-carts to unload, or to remain in when
loaded during the night, in order to be ready to cart to town or to
market early in the morning.
33, House for lumber, wood, &c. 34, Duck-house.
35 35, Houses for geese and turkeys.
36, Open shed for carts and farm implements.
37, Pond surrounded by rockwork and quince trees.
38, House for a spring-cart. 39, Coal-house for Mr. Pratt.
40 40, Places for young chickens. 41, Yard to chicken-houses.
42, Hatching-house for hens, containing boxes, each 1 ft. square within,
with an opening in front 7 in. wide and 7 in. high, the top being
arched, so that the sides of the opening are only 5 in. high.
43, Lobby to Mr. Pratt’s house. 44, His kitchen.
45, Living-room.
46, Oven opening to 47.
47, Brewhouse, bakehouse, and scullery, containing a eopper for brew-
ing, another for the dairy utensils, and a third for washing, besides
the oven already mentioned.
48, Dairy. The milk dishes are of white earthenware; zine having
been tried, but having been found not to throw up the cream so
speedily and effectively as had been promised. One zine dish, with
handles, is used for clotted cream, which is regularly made during
APPENDIX. 503
the whole of the fruit season, and occasionally for dinner parties, for
preserved tarts, &c. We observed here small tin cases for sending
eggs and butter to town. The butter, wrapped in leaves, or a butter
cloth, is placed in the bottom of a tin box about a foot square,
so as to fill the box completely ; and another tin box is placed over
it, the inner box resting on a rebate, to prevent its crushing the
butter below it. In this latter box, the eggs are packed in bran,
after which the cover of the outer one is put on, and the whole may
then be sent to any distance by coach. The dairy is supplied with
water from a pump in the scullery; the water being conveniently
distributed in both places by open tubes and pipes.
49, Coachman’s living-room.
50, Ceachman’s kitehen, and stairs to two bedrooms over.
51, Court for inclosing the coachman’s children.
52, Lebby to the dairy. 53, Lobby to Mr. Pratt’s brew-house.
54, Cellar, 55, Chicken-yard.
56, Farmer's yard.
57, A gravelled court separating the court-yard, 59, from the stable-
yard, 56.
58, Place for slaughtering in. 59, Stable-yard.
60, Shed for compost, and various ether garden materials; such asa tub
for liquid manure, in which it ferments and forms a scum on the top,
while the liquid is drawn off below by a faucet with a screw spigot,
such as is common in Derbyshire and other parts of the north, which
admits the water te come out through the under side of the faucet.
Here are also kept paint pots, oil cans, boxes, baskets, and a variety
of other matters. The whole of this shed is kept warm by the heat
which eseapes from the fire-place in 61, and from the baek of the
orchidaceous house, 4.
61, Fire-place and boiler for heating the orchidaceous house.
62, Place for arranging garden pots.
63, Shed, with roof of patent slates, which becomes a cheap mode of
roofing in consequence of requiring so few rafters, amply lighted from
the roof, and kept warm in the winter time by the heat proceeding
from the boilers at 61 and 64. This shed contains a potting-bench,
cistern of water, and compartments for mould; and, being lofty, it
504 APPENDIX.
contains in the upper part two apartments inclosed by wirework, for
curious foreign pigeons or other birds. On the ground are set,
during the winter season, the large agaves and other succulent plants
which are then in a dormant state, and which are kept in the open
garden during summer. On the whole, this is an exceedingly con-
venient working shed; being central to the houses 3, 4, 5, and 6;
being kept comfortably warm by the boilers; being well lighted from
the roof; and having the two windows indieated at 62, before which
is the potting-bench.
64, Fire-place to the conservatory and camellia-house.
65, Place for keeping food for the rabbits and pigeons, with stairs to
the pigeon-house, whieh is placed over it.
[Fig. 9. View from the Chinese Temple.]
66, Rabbit-house containing twenty-one hutches, each of which is a
cubic box of 20 in. on the side. Each box is in two divisions, an
eating-place and a sleeping-place; the sleeping-place is 8 in. wide,
and is entered by an opening in the back part of the partition. Both
APPENDIX. 505.
divisions have an outer door in front; and, in order that the door of
the sleeping-place may not be opened by any stranger, it is fastened
by an iron pin, which cannot be seen or touched till the door of the
eating-place is opened. Mr. Pratt pointed this out to us as an
improvement in the construction of rabbit-hutches, well deserving
of imitation wherever there is any chance of boys or idle persons
getting into the rabbit-house. The rabbits are fed on garden
vegetables and bran, barley, oatmeal, and hay, making frequent
changes; the vegetables being gathered three or four days before
being used, and laid in a heap to sweat, in order to deprive them of
a portion of their moisture. Salt is also given occasionally with the
bran. Cleanliness, and frequent change of food, have now, for five
years, kept the rabbits in constant health. It ought never to be
forgotten, that attention to the above rules, in partially drying green
succulent vegetables, is essential to the thriving of rabbits kept in
hutches ; and, hence, in London and other large towns, instead of
fresh vegetables, they are fed with clover hay. One of the kinds
of rabbit bred at Mr. Harrison’s is the hare rabbit, mentioned in the
Encyclopedia of Agriculture, §7355, the flesh of which resembles
that of the hare in quantity and flavor. Mr. Pratt has fed rabbits
here, which, when killed, weighed 11 lbs. We can testify to their .
excellence when cooked.
67, Coach-house, with stairs to hay-loft. 68, Stable.
69, Mill-house, containing mills for bruising corn for poultry, a portable
flour mill, a lathe, and grinding-machine for sharpening garden
instruments and similar articles. In the Angel Inn in Oxford, some
years ago,a lathe of this sort was used for cleaning shoes, the
brushes being fixed to the circumference of the wheel, and the shoes
applied to them, while the wheel was turned round by a tread lever,
or treadle.
70, Root-house, containing binns for keeping different kinds of potatoes,
carrots, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, and yellow, French,
and white turnips, with shelves for onions; and a loft over, which is
used as a fruit room, The fruit is kept partly on shelves, and
partly on cupboard trays.
71, Store place for beer or ale, which is brewed by Mr. Pratt for the
“ay
506 APPENDIX.
use of the family in London, as well as Cheshunt; here is also a
regular staircase to the fruit-room.
72, Harness-room, properly fitted up with every convenience, and
warmed by a stove.
73, A lobby or court to a door which opens to the brook, for the
purpose of clearing out an excavation made in the bottom of the
channel, in order to intercept mud, and thus render the water quite
clear where it passes along the pleasure-ground, and is seen from
the library window and the grand walk (Fig. 5, p. 492). The whole
of any mud which may collect in the brook may be wheeled up a
plank through this door without dirtying the walk.
4 74, The brook.
75, Foot entrance to Mr. Pratt’s house, the coachman’s house, the
dairy, ete. 3
76, Carriage entrance to the stable-court, garden offices, farm-yard, ete.
77, Private entrance to the garden, over the rustic bridge shown in
Fig. 5.
78, Masses of vitrified bricks and blocks of stone, distributed among
lawn and shrubs; among which, large plants of agave, and other
rock exotics, are placed in the summer season, the pots and tubs
being concealed by covering them with the stones forming the
masses of rock-work. Here the semicircular space surrounded by
rock contains a collection of Himalayan rhododendrons, ete., in pots,
many of them seedlings which have not yet flowered.
79 79, American shrubbery, consisting chiefly of rhododendrons,
azaleas, magnolias, etc., growing in the peat earth kept moist by the
brook.
80, American garden consisting of choice American shrubs, and
American herbaceous plants. In the centre of the circle a handsome
tazza vase on a bold pedestal.
81, Two semicircles for dahlias; the surrounding compartments
containing a collection of roses.
82. Garden of florist’s flowers.
83 83, Garden of herbaceous plants, chiefly annuals. The walks in all
these gardens are edged with slate. The bed 83} contains a collec-
tion of choice standard roses. 84, Dablias.
APPENDIX. 507
85, Double ascent of the steps to a mound formed of the earth
removed in excavating for the pond. From the platform to which
these steps lead, there is a circuitous path to the Chinese temple ;
and the steps are ornamented with Chinese vases, thus affording a
note of preparation for the Chinese temple: The outer sides of the
steps are formed of rockwork, and between the two stairs is a
pedestal with Chinese ornaments.
86, The Chinese temple, on the highest part of the mount formed of
the soil taken from the excavation now constituting the pond. The
view from the interior of this temple is shown in Fig. 9, p. 504.
87, Rustic steps descending from the Chinese temple to the walk
which borders the pond. 88, The pond.
89, Open tent, with sheet-iron roof supported by iron rods, This
structure may be seen in the view Fig. 10.
[Fig. 10. Distant view of the House aud Tent across the Pond.)
90 90, Masses of evergreens and deciduous trees and shrubs.
91, Grotto, made late last year, not yet completed. It was formerly
an outer ice-house, but it failed as such. The entrance is surround-
ed by rockwork, and the interior in the form of a horseshoe,
furnished with a wooden bench as a seat. Over this grotto, is an
umbrella tent, as shown in the view Fig. 11. 92, Dahlias.
508 APPENDIX.
[Fig. 11. Grotto, with Umbrella Tent over.]
93, Slip of ground for compost, and various other materials requisite
for the garden and farm-yard; communicating with the frame-
ground by the door 94, with the farm-yard by the gate 95, and with
the farm by the gate 96.
94, Door from the frame-ground to the slip behind.
95, Gate from the slip to the farmyard.
96, A gate from the slip to the fields of the farm.
97, Grass field, forming part of the farm.
Fig. 13, in pp. 510, 511, is a vertical profile of the gardens and
pleasure ground, with the farmyard, and asmall portion of the farm.
This view shows :—
1, The house. 2, The domestic offices and yard. 3, Vinery in a small
garden.
4, Back entrance to the domestie offices, and the smaller kitchen gar-
den. On one side of this walk is placed one of Fuller’s portable
ice-boxes.
5, The smaller kitchen-garden.
6, Broad border for pits; and in which there is a cold pit for protecting
vegetables during winter.
7, Boundary plantation.
8, Angular brick wall, for the sake of having different aspects for the
APPENDIX. 509
fruit trees which are trained against it; and for strength, being only
one brick in thickness for lessening the expense.
9, Pond in the largest kitchen garden, supplied from the brook by pipes
with waste pipe to the pond on the lawn.
10, Filbert plantation.
11, Orchard and boundary plantation.
[Fig. 12. Covered Seat, of grotesque and rustic Masonry.]
12, Covered seat, of which a view is shown in Fig. 12. In front of this
seat there is a mulberry tree of large dimensions, which was trans-
planted by Mr. Harrison, when it was upwards of 80 years of age.
The instruments with which a number of large plants, particularly
shrubs, were transplanted under Mr. Harrison’s direction, when the
grounds were being altered and enlarged, were described for us by
Mr. Pratt. (See Gardener’s Magazine, vol. xi. p. 134.) Mr. Pratt
kept for many years large plants which had suffered from many
causes, or which were not immediately wanted, in what he called an
hospital for these purposes.
13, A flower garden, in which for several years a large Araucaria brasi-
liénsis stood out in the centre bed; but it was killed to the ground
in the winter of 1837-8.
14, The rustic covered seat, shown in Fig 14, in p. 513, and of which
Fig. 15 is an elevation of the back, showing the manner in which
the barked poles are arranged,
510 APPENDIX.
2
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(Fig. 13.]
| APPENDIX. 511
i ‘ i i
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il
(Fig. 13.]
~_
ore APPENDIX.
15, Basins of water for aquatics. \
16, Rustic building, of which a view is shown in Fig. 16. In the in-
terior is an alto-relievo of statuary marble, representing a female
over a funeral vase, surrounded by a sort of broad frame of corals,
cornua Ammonis, and large mineral specimens of different kinds,
17, Groups of roses, dahlias, and other ornamental flowers.
18, ‘Two semicircular beds of roses.
19, A covered double seat, one half looking towards the roses and the
other in the opposite direction. In the latter are kept the instru-
ments for playing at what is called lawn billiards, which is said to
be a game intermediate between bowls and common billiards. This
game is little known, but materials for playing at it are sold by
Messrs. Cato & Son, wire-workers, Holborn Hill, London, who sent
out with them the following printed rules :—
“This game, which differs from all others, should be played on a
lawn about twelve yards square ; the socket with the ring being fixed
in the centre by a block of wood fixed into the earth. It may be
played by two or four persons, either separately, or as partners, each
player having a ball with a cue pointed to correspond. Care must
be taken to fix the ring at the end of the cue close to the ball before
striking.”
20, The pond. On the margin of which, at k, is the boat-house seen
in Fig. 1'7, in p. 517.
21, Descending steps through evergreens, from which is seen the dis-
tant view of the house and the tent, as in Fig. 10, in p. 507.
22, Dahlia plantation.
23, Chinese temple, from the interior of which is obtained the view
shown in Fig. 9, in p. 504. Behind the temple, a little to one side,
is the grotto shown at 91 in the plan, Fig. 6,in pp. 494, 495, and also
in the view, Fig. 11, in p. 508.
24, The situation of the tent shown in Fig. 10.
25, The different flower and shrub gardens described in detail in the
plan, Fig. 6, pp. 494, 495.
26, The hot-houses, pits, frames, farm buildings, &c., shown in Fig. 6.
27, Grass fields, forming part of the farm.
28, Point from which the view of the hot-houses, Fig. 8, in p. 499, is
APPENDIX. 513
taken, and also, turning round, the view of the house, Fig. 18, in p.
519. .
29, Secret entrance to the grounds. 30, Principal entrance to the:
house.
31, Entrance to the stable-court and farmyard.
fFig. 14. Rustic Covered Seat, of Woodwork.]
Remarks.—In pointing out the principal sources of the professional
instruction which a young gardener may derive from examining this
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(Fig. 15. Elevation of the Buck.)
33
514 ' APPENDIX.
place, we shall first direct attention to the garden structures. These,
whether of the ornamental or useful kind, are executed substantially,
and with great care and neatness ; while the farm buildings, being
chiefly of wood, show how great an extent of accommodation may be
obtained without regularity of plan, and without ineurring much ex-
pense. A good exercise for the young designer would be to distribute
the same accommodation, properly classed, along the sides of a square
ae RA
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aa
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HET | Za)
[Fig. 16. Hermit’s Seat, and Classical Vase.]
or squares, or along the sides of a parallelogram or polygon, and either
detached from or connected with the horticultural buildings.
The manner in which the working-sheds are heated by the waste
heat from the furnaces, in consequence of which, in severe weather,
much more work will be done in them, and in a better manner, and in
which they are lighted, so as to serve for protecting certain kinds of
plants during winter, is worthy of imitation ; as is the mode of heating
so many different houses from only three boilers. In no garden
structures have we seen a more judicious use of the Penrhyn slate;
APPENDIX. 515
paths, edgings, shelves, cisterns, boxes for plants, copings, kerbs,
partitions, and substitutes for dwarf walls, being all made of it. The
order and neatness with which all the different tools, utensils, &c., are
kept in the horticultural and farm buildings, are most exemplary, and
greatly facilitate the despatch of business.
In the farm buildings, the fittings up of the Aes eens the
rabbit-house, and the dairy and scullery, well deserve attention; and
also the arrangement for fermenting the food of the pigs in under-
ground cisterns, not too warm for summer, nor so cold as to check
fermentation in winter. The manure of the horses, of the cows, of
the pigs, of the rabbits, of the pigeons, and of the poultry, is kept in
separate pits, that it may be used, if desirable, in making up different
composts,
There are three liquid-manure tanks, in which the liquid matter,
which in most farmyards is wasted, is fermented, and afterwards mixed
up with soil for use in the kitchen-garden, or used in forming composts
for particular plants: The liquid-manure from the stables is kept
apart from that from the cow-heuse ; and the general drainings of the
yard, and of the frame-ground in the kitchen-garden, are fermented by
themselves. The liquid manure with which Mr. Pratt waters his plants
is formed chiefly of the sweepings of the pigeon, rabbit, and cow
houses, with lime; and is kept in a eask in a close shed (60 in the
plan Fig. 6, in p. 494, 495), so that the temperature admits of its
fermenting in winter, as well as in summer: a thick scum rises to the
top of the cask, and the liquid is drawn out from the bottom as clear
as old ale. The plants which Mr. Pratt waters with this liquid are
chiefly those of rapid growth, such as the Dat#ra, Brugmansia, and
other soft-wooded tree plants, which, like these, are cut in every year,
and appear to profit by the stimulating effect of this manure. He
gives it also, occasionally, to various other plants which appear to want
vigor; but has not yet had sufficient experience of its effects, to give
alist of plants to which it ought to be applied.
In order to produce as much manure as possible, as well for the
farm as for the garden, all leaves, haulm, and waste vegetable matters,
are carefully collected, and fermented by the addition of fresh stable
dung; and heaps of different kinds of soils, procured from different
516 APPENDIX.
parts of the country, are constantly kept in the slip adjoining the
frame-ground, ready for use. _ ra
The grounds being nearly level are readily supplied with water from
the ponds and from the brook; and there are concealed wells, com-
municating with these sources by pipes from the brook, in different
parts of the grounds, and more especially in the kitehen-garden, from
which the plants can be abundantly watered in the growing season
with comparatively little labor; there being six different places,
including the ponds and brook, from which the gardeners take water,
and all the strawberries are planted close to the wells in the inner and
outer walled gardens.
The kitchen-gardens, the hot-houses, and the store-houses and
some other structures, can be locked up at pleasure, Mr. Harrison and
Mr. Pratt being the only persons having complete master keys. Part .
of the outer kitchen-garden is inclosed with an open iron spike fence,
5 ft. 6 in. high, within which and the inner walled garden are the
strawberries and choicest gooseberries, figs, ete., and these inelosures
are opened only by the master keys. The whole, therefore, of the
wall and best fruit is secured from plunder. -
The beauties of this place, as has been already mentioned, depend
chiefly on the taste and judgment displayed in laying out the walks,
and distributing the trees and shrubs ; though the choice of a situation
for the pond, and the mount adjoining it, is also a matter of some
consequence.
The trees. and shrubs, being comparatively limited in number,
consist of one of almost every kind that is to be procured in British
nurseries, exclusive of those which are common, or not considered
ornamental. In selecting these, the more rare kinds have been
procured, and planted quite young; Mr. Harrison and Mr. Pratt
having found, by experience, that the pines and firs should be planted
out when not more than of three or four years’ growth. When the
plants have been in pots, the balls should be gently broken with the
hand, and afterwards all the earth washed away from the roots by the
application of water. The plant may then be placed on a hill of
prepared mould, and the roots stretched out, so as to radiate from the
plant in every direction, and afterwards covered with mould.
APPENDIX. 517
(Fig. 17. Boat House and Agave Mount.|]
The masses of trees and shrubs are chiefly on the mount near the
lake, and along the margin which shuts out the kitchen-garden; and
in these places they are planted in the gardenesque manner, so as to
produce irregular groups of trees, with masses of evergreen and
deciduous shrubs as undergrowth, intersected by glades of turf. They
are seattered over the general surface of the lawn, so as to produce a
continually Varying effect, as viewed from the walks; and so as to
disguise the boundary, and prevent the eye from seeing from one
extremity of the grounds to the other, and thus ascertain their extent.
The only points at which the lawn is seen directly across from the
drawing-room window are in the direction of / and m, Fig. 13, in pp.
510, 511; but, through these openings, the grass field beyond appears
nnited with the lawn; so that the extent thus given to the views from
the drawing-room windows is of the greatest assistance to the
character of the place, with reference to extent. From every other
part of the grounds, the views across the lawn are interrupted
by some tree, bush, or object which conceals the boundary ; or, if the
boundary is seen on one side, as in passing along the walk from 16 by
18 to 22, there is ample space on the lawn side to keep up the idea
of extent.
518 APPENDIX.
In many situations, this walk, as seen on paper, would be considered
to be too near the boundary; but in the grounds the narrow plantation
from 22 to 18 is of evergreens, chiefly hollies, which already partially
shut out all view of the boundary or the field, and which are ultimate-
ly intended to spread their upper branches over the walk, so as to give
it a character of shade and gloom, different from any other in these
grounds. )
In general, it may be Jaid down as a rule, that the boundary between
a lawn and the park or field beyond should not be such as to cut the
landscape, as it were, in two; and another rule is, that the walks
should never be so near this fence, or should not be so conducted
when near it,as to admit of the spectator looking directly across.
Indeed, in scenery, no rule is generally more applicable than this, viz.
that all straight lines, whether fences, roads, canals, or rivers, and all
regular symmetrical objects, such as buildings, should: be looked at
obliquely. Applying this rule, therefore, to the scenery between the
walk and the fence, from 18 to 16, we should say that either the
direction of the walk ought to be altered, so as to remove it further
from the boundary, or the boundary extended further into the field ;
and instead of being bordered by a hedge-like fringe of shrubs, it
should only be broken here and there by oecasional bushes and trees,
connected and harmonizing in position with other trees beyond the
fence. If it were desirable to avoid altering the boundary, then we
should recommend continuing the walk which commences at d near
19, by n andoo, to pnear 16. If there were nothing to see or be
seen beyond the boundary, then, unless the boundary fenee were a
conservative wall, that is, a wall covered with half-hardy ornamental
plants, we should still prefer changing the direction of the walk, so as
to take away from the monotonous appearance of continually skirting
the boundary. In every place, however small, there ought to be some
part left which the visitor has not seen, and which may leave the
impression on his mind, that, however much he has been shown, he
has not seen everything. We make these observations with great
deference to Mr. Harrison, who has paid much attention to the subject
of Landscape Gardening, and shown much practical taste and good
sense both in that art and in architecture.
APPENDIX. 519
It is, however, right to state that Mr. Harrison accords with our
general view of the subject, but “defends the walk in question as an
exception founded on his objects in making it; which were, Ist, to have
a waik different from any other in the garden; and 2d, a walk shelter-
tered from the winter southerly gales, and ornamented by the bloom of
the laurustinus at that season. It is, therefore, so slightly curved as
merely to avoid a straight line, and permits an extent of length, not
found in any other part, to be seen on descending the elevation at the
east end, or on emerging from wood at the west end, where, when the
improvements connected with it are finished, it will enter a dense plan-
tation, the walk going round at the back of the building in that corner.
The fence would have been entirely excluded from either near or dis-
tant view, and the eye carried so as not to catch a view of the grounds
of the field nearer than one hundred yards or more at the least, if the
laurustinuses had not suffered so severely in 1837-38; but these will
by next year, and by trees already planted along the border, and others
to be planted irregularly, at intervals, in the field near the fence in a
= = - Em SR er Oe
(Fig. 18. Garden Front of Cheshunt Cottage.]
great measure, Mr. Harrison thinks, obviate the objection made, or at
least lessen the foree of it, as future appearances will, he thinks,
» prove.—W. H.”
520 APPENDIX.
The trees and shrubs on the lawn are almost all disposed in the gar-
denesque manner; that is,so that each individual plant may assume its
natural shape and habit of growth. The masses are also chiefly plant- ©
ed in the same style ; and, as the trees and shrubs advance in growth,
they are cut in, or thinned out, so that each individual, if separated
from the mass to which it belongs, and considered by itself alone, shall
be a handsome plant. At the same time, in order to produee as much
variety as possible, the picturesque style of planting, in which trees
and shrubs are so closely grouped together as partially to injure each
other’s growth, occasionally occurs, for the sake of producing variety.
With the exception of the pines and firs, the other trees have been
selected more for their picturesque effect and variety of foliage, than
for their botanical interest. Among these are the Scoteh pine for its
darkness; the P pulus angulata for its large leaves, and for its proper-
ty of preserving these till destroyed by severe frost, long before which
all the other poplars have become naked ;, the A’cer macrophyllum, for
its large leaves; the Montpelier maple, for its small ones; the Negéndo
fraxinifolium, for its green-barked shoots; the American oaks, for the
singular variety in form and color of their foliage; the catalpa, for its
broad rich yellowish leaves, and its showy blossoms, which appear late
in the season; the deciduous cypress; the bondue, or Kentueky coffee
tree; the cut-leaved alder, the tulip tree, the purple beech, the purple
hazel, the Oriental plane, of which there are several fine specimens, the
variegated sycamore, and other variegated trees and shrubs, which are
always so beautiful in spring; those thorns and crabs which are beau-
tiful or remarkable for their blossoms in the spring, and for their fruit
in autumn; the Nepal sorbus, so interesting for its’ large woolly
leaves, which die off ofa fine straw color; the magnolias; the rhodo-
dendrons, the heaths, the brooms, and the double-blossomed furze, be-
sides various striking or popular plants, such as the variegated hollies,
the scarlet arbutus, ete. Among the detached trees and small groups,
there is scarcely to be met with a single bush or tree that a general
observer will not find noticeable for something in its foliage, general
form, flowers, or fruit. The Magnolia grandiflora var. exoniénsis
flowers freely as a standard without any protection, and was not even
injured by the winter of 1837-8; nor was A’rbutus procéra, also uns
Par. .
, - .
‘s ia ; s
: ; -
_
APPENDIX. 521
protected. A number of the more rare trees and shrubs, such as
Arauearia brasiliénsis, which had stood out eight years, A Cunning-
hami, Pinus insignis, P. palastris, P. Girardiana, P. canariénsis, ete.,
were killed during the winter of 1837-8, and a number of others,
which were severely injured, are now recovering. Mr. Pratt, the head
gardener, did not begin to prune the trees which were injured till the
rising of the sap showed the extent of the injury that they had re-
ceived. After waiting till the middle of summer, it was found that the
laurustinus, sweet bay, Chinese privet, and various other shrubs, were
alive to the height of from 3 ft. to 5 ft., and after the dead wood was
cut out, the plants soon became covered with young shoots and
foliage.
The Walks are so laid out and planted as to be sheltered or border-
ed by evergreens, for the sake of their lively appearance during winter.
They are also so contrived as to be shaded from the sun by deciduous
trees during summer; while these trees being naked during winter, ad-
mit the sun at that season to dry the grounds. The walksare laid out
in different directions, in order that, from whatever point the wind may
blow, at least one walk will be sheltered from it. The greater num-
ber are in the direction of nerth and south, because walks in that di-
rection are best exposed to the sun in the winter season, which is the
period of the year in which the proprietor chiefly resides here. It is
always desirable, in a small place, that all the walks should be conceal-
ed from the windows, except that immediately under the eye, and that,
in walking through the grounds, no path should be seen except the one
walked on, and that (except in the case of a straight avenue) only for
a moderate distance. These rules (derived from the principle of va-
riety and intrigacy) have been carefully attended to by Mr. Harrison,
and hence the walk from a to 4, in the plan, Fig. 13, in pp. 510, 511, is
concealed by raising the turf on the side next the house higher than on
the opposite side, while that from c to d is concealed by the bushes and
trees at c, and more especially by a large rhododendron at ee. The
walk fg h is concealed from the walk i, partly by aswell in the surface
of the turf on the side next.i, but chiefly by the bushes which are
scattered along its margin. At g, there is a clump which prevents any
one on the walk 7 from seeing the line g f, and any one on the walk g
o22..- APPENDIX.
Ff from seeing the line i. In walking along from f to h, it is clear that
the trees and shrubs on the left hand will always prevent the eye from
seeing the walk to any great distance. All the other walks through
the lawn are concealed in a similar manner, so that a person walking
in the grounds never sees any other walk than that which lies imme-
diately before him, and, therefore, in looking across the lawn, he never
can discover the extent either of what he has seen, or of what he has
yet to see. To form a great number of walks of this sort, and lead
the spectator over them without showing him more than one walk ata
time, but taking care, at the same time, to let him have frequent and
extensive views across the lawn, and these views always different,
constitute the grand secret of making a small place look large.
The walks are filled to the brim with gravel, kept firmly rolled, and
their grass margins are clipt, but never cut, because the gravel, being
almost as high as the turf, the latter can never sink down, and swell
NOS
SS) oe SaN —
Fea); SS,
( ZENE ES 7
3) (Pn ES DPA a=
ysl A Ia eee
[Fig. 19. View across the Water, looking towards the House.]
APPENDIX. 523
out over the former. This it invariably does when the turf is a few
inches higher than the gravel, and, hence, paring off the part of the
turf which had projected was originally, no doubt, adopted only as a
remedy for the evil, though it is now erroneously practised by gar-
deners as an evidence of care and good keeping. As much of the
beauty of the walk depends upon the beauty of its boundary, the
feeling that this boundary is likely to be disturbed every time the walk
is cleaned, or the adjoining turf mown, is extremely disagreeable.
The freshly pared turf becomes a spot or scar in the scene, withdraw-
ing the attention from the walk itself, and from the adjoining grounds,
to a point, or rather a line, which is in itself of little consequence, but
which, by the paring, is obtruded on the eye, so as to destroy all
allusion to stability. We are displeased with the paring of the edges,
because it conveys the idea that the walks are not finished, or that they
are liable to be disturbed in this way from time to time, and nothing,
either in grounds or in buildings, is more unsatisfactory than an
apparent want of stability or fixedness. It is as much the nature of
the ground to be fixed and immovable, as it is of trees and shrubs to
inerease in growth, and hence, any operation, such as clipping, which
seems to stop the growth of the one, is as unsatisfactory to the eye as
paring, which seems to derange the fixed state of the other. Would
that we could impress this on the minds of all gardeners and their
employers !
The Pond is of an irregular shape, so arranged as with the assist-
ance of the island to prevent the whole of it, and consequently its
limited extent, from being seen from any one point in the garden. For
the same reason, the walk only goes along one side, there being but
one point on the western side, viz. where the iron seats are close to
the agaves, from which any part of the pond can be seen. The pond
is so situated as to form the main feature in the right hand view from .
the drawing-room window, as shown in Fig. 3, in p. 487; the wooded
island (which is shown rather too much in the middle in the plan,
though, perhaps, not so in reality) disguising the boundary from that
and every other point of view. The bank of the pond on one side is
rocky, and nearly perpendicular, while on the other it is sloping, and
partly covered with shrubs. At x, in Fig. 13, in p. 511, there is a boat
524 APPENDIX.
.
house, on the top of which are several large agaves, the common, the
variegated, and Agave plicatilis ; the tubs containing which are so dis-
guised by rockwork, as to create an allusion to the appearance of these
plants in their native habitats. The appearance of these agaves, and
also of a large erassula, is indicated in a view of the boat house, Fig.
17, in p. 517, and it is only from a seat among these agaves that any
part of the pond can be seen from this side of it. Had a walk been
conducted completely round the pond, and near its margin, the charm
of partial concealment would have been entirely lost. The high banks
have been formed with earth taken out of the pond, and these have
given occasion to a considerable variety in the inclination, as well as in
the direction, of the walks. The banks are‘planted on the same
principle as the open lawn, that is, with trees and shrubs having
striking foliage or showy flowers, and with a judicious mixture of
evergreens to give the effect of cheerfulness in winter. In the water are
two large plants of Calla ethiopica, Lin., which cover a space of nearly
5 ft. in diameter; they have lived there through ten winters without
any protection, the water being 5 ft. deep, and they flower luxuriantly
every year. The views across the water, to the house and to the
other parts of the grounds, are singularly varied, owing to the winding
direction of the walk, and the consequently changing position of the
island, and of the trees in the foreground and middle distance. One
of these views may be seen in Fig. 19, and others have been already
given in pp. 487, 504, 507, 517.
The Flower-Garden (25, in Fig. 13, in pp.510, 511), is laid out, as the
ground plan indicates, in beds, everywhere bordered with slate; a
flower-garden of this kind, with the walks gravelled, having the advan-
tage of rendering the flowers accessible to ladies immediately after
rain, when they are often in their greatest beauty, and, at all events, in
their greatest freshness and vigor, an advantage which is not obtained
when the beds are on turf. There are also flower-beds on turf in
other parts of the grounds, but these are filled with roses, dahlias, and
other large-growing plants in masses, the beauties of which do not
require to be closely examined.
io) Doel ‘
: ie
APPENDIX. 525
ul.
Note on the treatment of Lawns
As a lawn is the ground-work of a landscape garden, and as the
management of a dressed grass surface is still a somewhat ill-under-
stood subject with us, some of our readers will, perhaps, be glad to
receive a very few hints on this subject. _
_ The unrivalled beauty of the “velvet lawns” of England has passed
into a proverb. This is undoubtedly owing, in some measure, to their
superior care and keeping, but mainly to the highly favorable climate
of that moist and sea-girt land. In a very dry climate it is nearly
impossible to preserve that emerald freshness in a grass surface, that
belongs only to a country of “ weeping skies.” During all the present
season, on the Hudson, where we write, the constant succession of
showers has given us, even in the heat of midsummer, a softness and
verdure of lawn that can scarcely be surpassed in any climate or
country.
Our climate, however, is in the middle states one of too much heat
and brilliancy of sun, to allow us to keep our lawns in the best condi-
tion without considerable care. Beautifully verdant in spring and
autumn, they are often liable to suffer from drought in midsummer.
On sandy soils, this is especially the case, while on strong loamy soils,
a considerable drought will be endured without injury to the good
appearance of the grass. It therefore is a suggestion worthy of the
attention of the lover of a fine lawn, who is looking about for a
country residence, to carefully avoid one where the soil is sandy. The
only remedy in such a soil is a tedious and expensive one, that of con-
"stant and plentiful topdressing with a compost of manure and heavy
soil—marsh mud—swamp muck, or the like. Should it fortunately be
the case (which is very rare) that the sub-stratum is loamy, deep
ploughing, or trenching, by bringing up and mixing with the light sur-
face soil some of the heavier earth from below, will speedily tend to
remedy the evil.
In almost all cases where the soil is of good strength, a permanent
lawn may be secured by preparing the soil deeply before finally laying
it down. This may be done readily, at but little outlay, by deep
526 : APPENDIX.
ploughing—a good and cheap substitute for trenching—that is to say,
making the plough follow three times in the same furrow. This, with
manure, if necessary, will secure a depth of soil sufficient to allow the
roots of plants to strike below the effects of a surface drought.
In sowing a lawn, the best mixture of grasses that we can recom-
mend for this climate, is a mixture of Red-top and white Clover—two
natural grasses found by almost every roadside—in the proportion of
three fourths of the former, to one of the latter.
There is a common and very absurd notion current (which we have
several times practically disproved), that, in order to lay down a lawn i
well, it is better to sow the seed along with that of some grain; thus,
starving the growth of a small plant by forcing it to grow with a
larger and coarser one. A whole year is always lost by this proeess—
indeed more frequently two. Many trials have convinced us that the
proper mode is to sow a heavy crop of grass at once, and we advise
him who desires to have speedily a handsome turf, to follow the
English practice, and sow three to four bushels of seed to the acre. If
this is done early in the spring, he will have a lawn-like surface by
mid-summer, and a fine close turf the next season.
After this, the whole beauty of a lawn depends on frequent mowing.
Once a fortnight at the furthest, is the rule for all portions of the lawn
in the neighborhood of the house, or near the principal walks. A
longer growth than this will only leave yellow and coarser stubble
after mowing, instead of a soft velvet surface. A broad-bladed English
scythe (to be had at the shops of the seedsman), set nearly parallel to
the surface, is the instrument for the purpose, and with it a clever
mower will be able to shave within half an inch of the ground, with-
out leaving any marks. To free the surface from worm casts, ete., it
is a common practice to roll the previous evening as much as may be
mown the next day.
As the neatness of a well kept lawn depends mainly upon the man-
ner in which it is mown, and as this again can only be well done where
there are no inequalities in the ground, it follows that the surface
should be kept as smooth as possible. Before sowing a lawn, too
much pains cannot be taken to render its surface smooth and even.
After this, in the spring, before the grass starts, it should be examined,
: APPENDIX. i 527 7
and all little holes and irregularities filled up, and the same should be
looked over at any annual top-dressing that may take place. The
occasional use of a heavy roller, after rain, will also greatly tend to
remedy all defects of this nature.
Where a piece of land is long kept in lawn, it must have an ocea-
sional top-dressing every two or three years, if the soil is rich, or every
season, if it is poor. As early as possible ‘in the spring is the best
time to apply such a top-dressing, which may be a compost of any
deeayed vegetable or animal matter—heavier and more abounding with
marsh mud, ete., just in proportion to the natural lightness of the soil.
Indeed almost every season the lawn should be looked over, all weeds
taken out, and any poor or impoverished spots plentifully top-dressed,
and, if necessary, sprinkled with a little fresh seed. Wood ashes,
either fresh or leached, is also one of the most efficient fertilizers of a
lawn.
We can already, especially in the finer places on the Hudson, and
about Boston, boast of many finely kept lawns, and we hope every
day, as the better class of country residences increases; to see this
indispensable feature in tasteful grounds becoming better understood
and more universal. *
IV.
Note on professional quackery.
Landseape Gardening, like all other arts, is not free from ignorant
pretenders to knowledge, who, without a spark of appreciation for the
beautiful in nature, boldly undertake to remodel, in. what they consider
a tasteful and fashionable style, every piece of natural landscape,
whether of a simple or highly picturesque character. They succeed in
leaving behind them, on the places they attempt to improve, indubita-
ble marks of their footsteps, in a sort of labored ease, and stiff —
striving after grace; but they are pretty certain, also, to mar or
obliterate in a great degree, the natural charm of any fine situation.
We have seen one or two examples lately where a foreign soi-disant
landseape gardener has completely spoiled the simple grand beauty of *
' §28 APPENDIX.
-
a fine river residence, by cutting up the breadth of a fine lawn with a |
ridiculous effort at what he considered a very charming arrangement of
walks and groups of trees. In this case he only followed a mode-
sufficiently common and appropriate in a level inland country, like that
of Germany, from whence he introduced it, but entirely out of keeping
with the bold and lake-like features of the landscape which he thus
_made discordant. :
One of this kind of improvers was, some years ago, very cleverly
satirized by Mr. Peacock, an English reviewer of celebrity, in a comic
work entitled “ Headlong Hall.” The latter is the name of the sup-
posed seat of Lord Littlebrain, who has assembled around him during
the Christmas feastings an odd party, among whom is Mr. Milestone,
the landscape gardener, evidently a portrait of “Capability Brown.”
Mr. Milestone has been examining the estate, and, full of his projected
park, is exhibiting his portfolio of drawings of the proposed improve-
ments to his host and some of the guests. '
“ Mr. Miresronz.—This, you perceive, is the natural state of one
part of the grounds. Here is a wood, never yet touched by the finger
of taste; thick, intrivate, and gloomy. Here is a little stream, dash-
ing from stone to stone, and overshadowed with these untrimmed
boughs.
Miss Tenorina.—The sweet romantic spot! How beautifully the
birds must sing there on a summer evening.
Miss Graziosa.——Dear sister! how can you endure the horrid
thicket ?
Mr. Mitestone.—You are right, Miss Graziosa ; your taste is correct,
perfectly en régle. Now, here is the same place corrected—trimmed—
polished—decorated—adorned, Here sweeps a plantation,-in that
beautiful regular curve; there winds a gravel walk; here are parts of
tle old wood, left in these majestic circular clumps disposed at equal
distances with wonderful symmetry; there are some single shrubs
scattered in elegant profusion; here a Portugal laurel, there a juniper;
here a laurustinus, there a spruce fir; here a Jarch, there a lilac; here a
rhododendron, there an arbutus. The stream, you see, is become a
canal; the banks are perfectly smooth and green, sloping to the water’s
edge, and there is Lord Littlebrain, rowing in an elegant boat.
APPENDIX. 529
Me ,
Squire Heapione.—Magieal, faith !
Mr. Muvestoxe.—Here is another part of the ground in its natural
state. Here is a large rock, with the mountain-ash rooted in its fissures,
. overgrown, as you see, with ivy and moss, and from this part of it
bursts a little fountain, that runs bubbling down its rugged sides.
Miss Trnor1va.—O how beautiful! How I should love the melody
of that miniature cascade !
Mr. Mizestone.—Beautiful, Miss Tenorina! Hideous. Base, com-
mon, and popular. Such a thing as you may see anywhere, in wild
and mountainous districts. Now, observe the metamorphosis. Here
is the same rock, cut into the shape of a giant. In one hand he holds
a horn, through which the little fountain is thrown to a prodigious
elevation. In the other is a ponderous stone, so exactly balanced as
to be apparently ready to fall on the head of any person who may
happen to be beneath,* and there is Lord Littlebrain walking under it.
Squire Heapitone.—Miraculous, by Mahomet!
Mr. Mirestone.—This is the summit of a hill, covered, as you
perceive, with wood, and with those mossy stones scattered at random
under the trees.
Miss Tenorrna.—What a delightful spot to read in, on a summer’s
day! The air must be so pure, and the wind must sound so divinely
in the tops of those old pines!
Mr. Mitestrone.—Bad taste, Miss Tenorina. Bad taste, I assure
you. Here is the spot improved. The trees are cut down; the stones
are cleared away ; this is an octagonal pavilion, exactly on the centre
of the summit, and there you see Lord Littlebrain, on the top of the
pavilion, enjoying the prospect with a telescope.
Squire Heaptone.—Glorious, egad !
Mr. Mivestone.—Here is a rugged, mountainous road, leading
through impervious shades ; the ass and the four goats characterize a
wild uncultured scene. Here, as you perceive, it is totally changed
into a beautiful gravel road, gracefully curving through a belt of limes,
and there is Lord Littlebrain driving four-in-hand.
‘Squire Heapitone.—Egregious, by Jupiter!
Mr. Mitrstone.—Here is Littlebrain Castle, a Gothic, moss-grown
* See Knight on Taste.
530 APPENDIX.
structure, half-bosomed in trees. Near the casement of that turret
is an owl peeping from the ivy.
SQumiRE Heaptonc.—And devilish wise he looks.
Mr. Mirrestone.—Here is the new house, without a tree near it,
standing in the midst of an undulating lawn; a white, polished
angular building, reflected to a nicety in this waveless lake, and there
you see Lord Littlebrain looking out of the window.”
a's
Note on Walks and Roads.’
In our remarks on walks and roads, we omitted to say anything of
the best manner of making gravel walks. We may here state that,
where it can easily be procured, pure pit gravel is preferable to all
other materials for this purpose, as it binds almost at once, and becomes
a firm and solid mass nearly as hard as a stone floor. Beach gravel,
not having any mixture of loamy particles, does not become hard
until after a good deal of rolling, and a little loam is often mixed with
it to secure its tenacity and firmness. A very thin coat of gravel will
render a walk superior to a path which consists only of the natural
soil, and such surfacing, in our dry climate (though it frequently re-
quires renewing), is often sufficient for distant walks, or those little
used except in fine weather. But the approach road, and all walks imme-
diately about the dwelling, should be laid at least a foot thick with
gravel, to insure dryness, and a firm footing at all times and seasons.
The lower six inches is better executed when filled with small stones
—-placing the six inches of gravel on the top of these; and there are
few new places where this is not a convenient mode of getting rid of the
small stones that require to be taken out of the gardens, and various
parts of the premises undergoing improvement.
A word may be said here with regard to the color of gravel. Un-
doubtedly in almost all examples in the natural style of landscape
gardening slate-colored gravel, the kind common in nearly all parts of
the country, is much the most agreeable to the eye, being unobtrusive,
just differing sufficiently with the soil to be readily recognised as
a
APPENDIX. 531
artistical in its effect, while it harmonizes with the color of the ground,
and the soft tints of vegetation. A thirst after something new has
induced some persons, even in the interior, to substitute, at considera-
ble cost, the white gravel of the sea-shore for the common pit or
beach gravel. The change, we think, is, in point of taste, not a happy
one. The strong white of this gravel, as the painters would say,
disturbs the tone of a simply beautiful landscape, whose prevailing tints
are those of the broad lawn and rich overshadowing trees; and the
glare of these snowy white pebbles is not, we confess, so pleasing in
our eyes as the cooler and more quiet color of the slate or grey
gravel. When we add to this, that these sea-side pebbles seldom or
_ never pack or become firm, it would appear very evident that they are
far less suitable for walks than the common material. The only situa-
tion where this brilliant gravel seems to us perfectly in keeping, is in
the highly artificial garden of the ancient or geometric style, or in the
symmetrical terrace flower garden adjoining the house. In these
instances its striking appearance is in excellent keeping with the
expression of all the surrounding objects, and it renders more forcible
and striking the highly artiicial and artistical character of the scene;
and to such situations we would gladly see its use limited.
The labor and expense of keeping the roads and walks clean, and
free from weeds, in a place of large extent (and some of our seats
have now several miles of private roads and walks within their own
limits), is a very considerable item of the annual outlay of a country
residence. At a recent visit to Blithewood, we saw in operation there
a very simple implement, invented by R. Donaldson, Esq., the intelli-
gent proprietor of that beautiful place, which promises to be of im-
portant serviee as a labor-saving machine in cleaning roads and walks.
In Fig. 20 is shown a sketch of this implement, in use. In general
appearance it is not unlike the frame of a wheelbarrow, except that
instead of the two legs it has two iron bars, reaching down to the
earth, and connecting with a transverse blade, about three inches
wide, which is set nearly parallel with the ground. The handles of
the implement are held by a workman, like those of the common
double-tailed plough, while the horse which draws it is led or ridden
by a boy. With this implement, which is three and a half feet wide,
532 APPENDIX. |
4
all the weeds in the space it covers are cleared from a road or walk as "
rapidly as a horse ean walk forward, and it is only necessary to follow
with a rake and remove the weeds, and the whole is in good order.
On the lower portion of the upright bars, where they rise from the
blade, there is an edge for cutting the turf on the sides of the walk,
which performs its work very well and rapidly—the horse being care-
fully led; and it will, no doubt, answer perfectly for this purpose, in
all those walks and roads not directly around the house, or where the
» greatest nicety is not required.
The simplicity of
this machine, the very
small eost at which
it is made, and the
great saving of ex-
Vee pense and labor
; Wf , which it secures will, .
ZZ we think, render it a
valuable acquisition
to all owners of large
——S= ee = = places, or to those
({Fig. 20. Implement in use at Blithewood for cleaning
gravel roads.] wishing to keep upa °
long series of private roads and walks in the picturesque manner. For
smaller gardens and grounds, where the most scrupulous nicety is
observed, there is, of course, nothing that will supersede the common
hoe, rake, and roller.
THE END.
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