Downing TheoryandPractice

T^
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDaaDDDDDnDDDDaaDDag
V
i-ê- v-'îJ^/l?^^^ — ' -^^^
TREATISE
ON
THE THEORY AND PRACTICE

OF
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 FOR LAYING OUT GROUNDS AND ARRANGING PLANTATIONS,
THE DESCRIPTION AND CULTIVATION OF HARDT TREES,
DECORATIVE ACCOMPANIMENTS TO THE HOUSE AND GROUNDS,
THE FORMATION OF PIECES OF ARTIFICIAL WATER, FLOWER GARDENS, ETC.
WITH REMARKS ON
RURAL ARCHITECTURE.
ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS.
By a. J. DOWNING.
*' Insult 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 & LONDON
WILEY AND PUTNAM.

BOSTON:— C. C. LITTLE & Co.
1841.
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF
MA SSACHUSETTS
AMHERST, MASS.
Entered according to tlie Act of Cougress, by

A. J. Downing,
In tlie Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New- York,
in tlie year 1841.
NEW. YORK:
Hopkins & Jennings, Printers,
111 FultOQ-streel.
JOHN aUINCY ADAMS, LL.D.
EX-PRESIDENT OF THE DNITED STATES ;
THE LOVER OF RURAL PURSUITS,
A3 WELL AS
THE DISTINGUISHED PATRIOT, STATESMAN,

AND SAGE ;
THIS VOLUME,
BY PERMISSION,
IS RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATED,
BY HIS FRIEND,
THE AUTHOR.
o
CM
Ok
CO
CM
PREFACE.
A TASTE 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 sur-
rounded 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, throughout 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 innnense sum, professional
talent is seldom employed, in Architecture or Landscape Gar-
dening, but almost every man fancies himself an amateur, and
endeavours 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 incon-
gruity and great waste of time and money. Even those who
are familiar with foreign works on the subject in question,
labour under many obstacles in practice, which grow out of
the difference in our soil and climate, or our social and polit-
ical position.
These views have so often presented themselves to me of
1
11 PREFACE.
late, and have been so frequently urged by persons desiring

advice, that I have ventured to prepare the present volume,
in the some degree, the desideratum so
hope of supplying, in
much While we have treatises in abun-
required at present.
dance on the various departments of the arts and sciences,
there has not appeared even a single essay on the elegant art
of Landscape Gardening. Hundreds of individuals who wish
to ornament their grounds and embelhsh their places, are at
a loss how to proceed, from the want of some leading prin-
ciples, with the knowledge of which they would find it com-
paratively 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 commensurate to the views
and means of our proprietors. While 1 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 endeavoured to adapt my sug-
gestions 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 ener-
gy to subdue and improve its vast territory, has, until lately,
left but little time to cultivate a taste for Rural Embellish-
ment. But in the older states, as wealth has accumulated,

the country become populous, and society more fixed in its
character, a return to, and fondness for, those simple and
fascinating enjoyments to be found in country life and rural
pursuits, is witnessed on every side. And to this innate feel-
ing, 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 hap-
PREFACE. Ill
piness. " In the midst of the continual movement which

agitates a democraticcommunity," says the most philosophi-
cal writer who has yet discussed our institutions, " the tie
which unites one generation to another, is relaxed or broken
every man readily loses the trace of the ideas of his forefath-
ers, 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 enjoy-
ment, but strengthening his patriotism and making him a
better citizen. And no employment or recreation
there is
which affords the mind more permanent satisfac-

greater or
tion, than that of cultivating the earth and adorning our own
property. " God Almighty first planted a garden and, in- ;
deed, 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 prac-
tice by him, who
" Plueks 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 contributes
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 collection of pictures, for example, is compara-
tively shutup from the world, in the private gallery. But
the sylvan and floral collections, —
the groves and gardens,
IV PREFACE.
which surround the country residence of the man of taste,

are confined by no barriers narrower than the blue heaven
above and around them. The taste and the treasures, grad-
ually, but certainly, creep beyond the nominal boundaries of
the estate, and reappear in the pot of flowers in the window,
or the luxuriant, blossoming vines which clamber over the
porch of the humblest cottage by the way side.
In the present volume I have sought, by rendering famil-
iar to the readermost of the beautiful sylvan materials of the
art, and by describing their peculiar effects in Landscape
Gardening, to encourage a taste among general readers.
And I have also endeavoured to place before the amateur
such directions and guiding principles as, it is hoped, will
assist him materially in laying out his grounds and arrang-
ing the general scenery of his residence.

The
lively interest of late manifested in Rural Architec-
ture,and its close connection with Landscape Gardening,
have induced me to devote a portion of this work to the con-
sideration of buildings in rural scenery.
I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations and re-
turning thanks to my valued correspondent, J. C. Loudon,
Esq. F. L. S., etc. of London, the most distinguished garden-
ing author of the age, for the illustrations and description of
the English Suburban Cottage in the Appendix ; to the sev-
eral gentlemen in this country who have kindly furnished

me with plans or drawings of their residences and to A. J.
:
Davis, Esq. of New- York, and Notman, Esq. of Philadel-

J.
phia, architects, for architectural drawings and descriptions.
A. J. D.
Botanic Garden and Nurseries, )
Newburgh, N. Y. April, 1841. \

CONTENTS.
SECTION I.
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
Objects of the art, page 10. The ancient and modern styles, p. 11. Their
peculiarities, p. 12. Origin of the modern and natural style, p. 13. Influ-
ence of the English poets and writers, p. 1.5. Examples of the art abroad, p.
18. Landscape Gardening in North America, and examples now existing,
p. 19.
SECTION II.
BEAUTIES OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Capacities of the art, p. 28. The aim of the modern style, p. 29. General
beauty, and picturesque beauty : their distinctive characteristics : with illus-
trationsdrawn from nature and painting, p. 30. Nature and principles of

Landscape Gardening as an imitative art, p. 33. Fac-simile imitations of na-
ture, —artistical imitations, p. 34. Gardenesque imitations, p. 35. The
principle of unity, p. 39. The principle of variety, p. 41.
SECTION m.
"WOOD AND PLANTATIONS.
The beauty of trees in rural embellishments, p. 44. Pleasure resulting

from their cultivation, p. 47. Character of country seats in the United
States, p. 48. Mansion, villa, embellished farm, and cottage residences, p.
49. Aim of plantations in the ancient style, p. 50 — and in the modern style,
Vi CONTENTS.
p. 53. Directions for the arrangement of plantations in the modern style,

with illustrations, p. 56. Formation of groups and masses, p. 58. Ground
plan of a villa residence, p. 69 : — Of a —
mansion residence, p. 71 : Of a
suburban villa, p. 73 :— Of an embellished farm, General p. 76. classifica-
tion of trees as to forms, with leading characteristics of each — Round- ;
headed trees, p. 78 : — Spiry-topped 80 — Oblong-headed

trees, p. : trees, p.
83 : — Drooping trees, p. 85.
SECTION IV.
DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES.
The history and description of all the finest hardy deciduous trees. Re-
marks on their effects in Landscape Gardening, individually, and in composi-
tion : their cultivation, etc. The elm, p. 104. The plane
The oak, p. 93.
or buttonwood, p. 109. The lime or linden, p. 117. The
The ash, p. 113.
beech, p. 121. The poplar, p. 124. The horse chestnut, p. 129. The
birch, p. 132. The alder, p. 137. The maple, p. 138. The locust, p. 143.
The three-thorned acacia, p. 146. The Judas tree, p. 148. The chestnut,
p. 149. The Osage orange, p. 154. The mulberry, p. 156. The paper-
mulberry, p. 159. The sweet gum, p. 160. The walnut, p. 163. The
hickory, p. 166. The mountain ash, p. 170. The ailantus, p. 174. The
Kentucky coffee, p. 175. The willow, p. 178. The sassafras, p. 184. The
catalpa, p. 185. The persimmon, p. 187. The peperidge, p. 188. The
thorn, p. 190. The magnolia, p. 192. The tulip-tree, p. 197. The dog-
wood, p. 200. The ginko, p. 202. The American cypress, p. 205. The
larch, p. 209.
SECTION V.
EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES.
The history and description of all the finest hardy evergreen trees. Re-
marks on their effects in Landscape Gardening, individually and in com-
position. Their cultivation, The pines, p. 216. The
etc. firs, p. 22-5.
The cedar of Lebanon, p. 230. The red cedar, p. 233. The arbor vitEe,
p. 234. The holly, p. 236. The yew, p. 238.
SECTION VI.
VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS.
Value of this kind of vegetation ;

— fine natural effects, p. 244. The
European ivy, p. 245. The Virginia creeper, p. 248. The wild grape-
CONTENTS. Vll
vine, p. 249. The bittersweet, — the trumpet creeper, 249. The pipe p.
vine, p. 250. The clematis, — the 251. The honeysuckles and

wistaria, p.
woodbines, p, 2.52. The jasmine and periploca, p. 254. Remarks on the
proper mode of introducing vines, p. 2.55. Beautiful effects of climbing
plants in coimection with buildings, p. 256.
SECTION VII.
TREATMENT OF GROUND. — FORMATION OF WALKS.
Nature of operations on ground, p. 257. Treatment ot flowing and of

irregular surfaces to heighten their expression, p. 259, — of flats or level
surfaces, p. 261. Rocks, as materials in landscape, p. 264. Laying out
roads and walks : the approach, p. 265. Rules by Repton, p. 268. The
drive, p. 270 : and minor walks, p. 271. The introduction of fences, p. 272.
Verdant hedges, p. 273.
SECTION VIIL
TREATMENT OF WATER.
Beautiful effects of this element in nature, p. 276. In what cases it is
desirable to attempt the formation of artificial pieces of water, p. 277. Regu-

lar forms unpleasing, p. 278. Directions for the formation of ponds or lakes
in the irregular manner, p. 279. Study of natural lakes, 281. Islands, p.
287. Planting the margin, p. 289. Treatment of natural brooks and rivu-
lets, p. 291. Cascades and water-falls, 292. Legitimate sphere of the art
in this department, 294.
SECTION IX.
LANDSCAPE OR RURAL ARCHITECTURE.
Difference between a city and country house, p. 297. The characteristic

features of a country house, p. 298. Examination of the leading principles
in Rural Architecture, p. 300. The different styles, p. 305. The Grecian
style, its merits and associations, p. 306 ; — its defects for domestic pur-
poses, p. 308. The Roman style. The Italian style, p. 311 its peculiar ; —
features, p. 312. The New-Haven villa, p. 313. Residence of Bishop
Doane, Burlington, N. J., p. 314. Associations of the Italian style, 316.
The pointed or Gothic style, — leading features, p. 317. Castellated build-
ings, p. 320. The Tudor mansion, p. .321. Description of the residence of
P. R. Paulding, Esq., p. 323. Residence of the author, p. 326. The old
Enghsh cottage, — its features, p. 327. Associations of the pointed style,
Vlll CONTENTS.
p. 330. Cottage of N. B. Warren, Esq., p. 329. Of Washington Irving,

Esq., p. 335. Of H. Sheldon, Esq., p. 337. These styles considered in
relation to scenery, p. 338. Individual tastes, p. 340. Entrance lodges, p.
341. Residence of Nathan Dunn, Esq., p. 345.
SECTION X.
EMBELLISHMENTS ; ARCHITECTURAL, RUSTIC, AND FLORAL.'
Value of a proper connection between the house and grounds, p. 348.

Beauty of the architectural terrace, and its application to villas and cot-
tages, p. 349. Use of vases of different descriptions, p. 352. Sundials, p-
356. Architectural flower-garden, p. 357. Irregular flower-garden, p. 359-

French flower-garden, p. 360. English flower-garden, p. 364. Mingled
flower-garden, p. 366. General remarks on this subject, p. 367. Selection
of showy plants, flowering in succession, p. 368. Arrangement of the
shrubbery, and selection of choice shrubs, p. 374. The conservatory and
green-house, p. 377. Open and covered seats, p. 383. Pavilions, p. 385-
Rustic seats, p. 387. Prospect towers, p. 389. Bridges, p. 390. Rock-

work, p. 391. Fountains of various de.scriptions, p. 394. Judicious intro-
duction of decorations, p. 396.
APPENDIX.
I. Notes on transplanting trees, p. 405. Reasons for frequent failures
in removing large trees, p. 407. Directions for performing this operation,
p. 408. Selection of subjects, p. 409. Preparing trees for removal, p. 410.

Transplanting evergreens, p. 412.
II. Description of an English suburban residence, Cheshunt Cottage, p.
413. With views and plans showing the arrangement of the house and
grounds, p. 419. And mode of managing the whole premises, p. 420.
ESSAY ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING, &c.
SECTION I.
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
Objects of the Art. The ancient and modern styles. Their peculiarities. Origin of the mod-
ern and natural styles. Influence of the English poets and writers. Examples oftlie art
abroad. Landscape Gardening in North America, and examples now existing.
" L'un k nos yeux piesente

D'un dessin r6ûlier I'ordonnancc imposante,
Prete aii.x champs des beautes qii'ils ne connaissaient pas,
D'une pompe etransêre embellit leur appas,
Donne aux arbres des lois, aux ondes des entraves,
Et, despofe orgueilleux, brille entour^ d'esclaves;
Son air est moins riant et plus majesteux,
L'antre, de la nature amant respecteux,
L'orne sans la farder, traite avec indulgence
Ses caprices charmants, sa noble negligence,
Sa marche irreûliere, ef fait nairre avec art
Des beautesdu dejordre, et me.ne du hasard.''
Dehlle.
UR first, most
endearing, and
most sacred associations," says the amiable Mrs. Hofland,
" are connected with gardens ; our most simple and most re-
2
10 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
fined perceptions of beauty are combined with them." And

although music, poetry, and painting, sister fine arts, have in
all enlightened countries sooner arrived at perfection than
Landscape Gardening, yet the latter offers to the cultivated
mind in its more perfect examples, in a considerable degree
a union of all these sources of enjoyment ; a species of /m/*-

mony, in a pleasing combination of the most fascinating ma-
terials of beauty in natural scenery: 'poetic expression in the
babbling brook, the picturesque wood, or the peaceful sun-lit
turf: and the lovely effects of landscape âm/m^, realized
in the rich, varied, and skilfully arranged whole.
The object of this charming art, is to create in the grounds
of a country residence a kind of polished scenery, producing
a delightful effect, either by a species of studied and elegant

desig?i, in symmetrical or regular plantations : or by a com-
bination of beautiful or picturesque forms, such as we behold

in the most captivating passages of general nature.
The practice of Landscape Gardening has grown out of*

that love of country life, and the desire to render our own pro-
perty attractive, which naturally exists to a greater or less
degree in the minds of all men. In the case of large landed

estates, the capabilities of Landscape Gardening may be
displayed to their full extent, as from five to five hundred
acres may be devoted to a park or pleasure-grounds. But
the principles of the art may be applied, and its beauties re-
alized to a certain degree, in the space of half an acre of

ground — wherever grass will grow, and trees thrive luxu-
riantly.
Two distinct modes of the art widely differing in them-

selves, have divided, for some time, the admiration of the
world. One is the Ancient, formal or Geometric Style : the
other the Modern, Natural, or Irregular Style. The first, cha-

HISTORICAL NOTICES. 11
racterized by regular forms and right lines, the last by varied

forms and flowing lines.
A recurrence to the history of Gardening as well as to the

history of the fine arts, will afford abundant proof that in the
first stage, or infancy of these arts, while the perception of

their ultimate capabilities is yet crude and imperfect, man-
kind has in every instance been completely satisfied with the
mere exhibition of design or art. Thus in Sculpture, the
first statues were only attempts to imitate rudely the form of

a human figure, or in painting, to represent that of a tree :
the skill of the artist in effecting an imitation successfully,
Was sufficient to excite the astonishment and admiration of

those who had not yet made such advances as to enable them
to appreciate the superior beauty of expression.
In laying out gardens, the practice from all antiquity, (un-
til in late times the superiority of natural beauty was dis.
covered,) has been to display the skill of the designer in ar-
ranging all the materials of nature, in artificial, regular, or

symmetrical forms. Walks and roads straight, beds square
and round, trees smoothly clipped and shorn into different
figures, these were the predominant characteristics of the
Ancient or Geometric Style. That person who possessed in
his grounds a luxuriant and graceful elm, its branches ele-
gantly sweeping the earth, and forming a varied outline

against the sky, saw no more than nature everywhere afford-
ed : but he, whose garden exhibited a cypress or a yew cut

by the shears into a four-sided pyramid of verdure, had at
least achieved something which nature has not been able to

do, and commanded a sort of respect for the excellence or
novelty of his art. This taste rendered more or less elegant,
continued throughout all Europe until about the year 1700.
The lavish expenditure in the royal and princely gardens of

the courts of Europe, in the decoration and embellishment of
their gardens, gave a new impulse as well as a sublime orran-
deur, to the art. The finest example of this style is perhaps

that of Versailles, the garden of the extravagant Louis XIV.,
and the most distinguished artist its designer, Le Notre. Its
water works, jets-deau, etc., alone, are stated to have been

played off seven or eight times a year at an expense of more
than two thousand dollars per hour. Sculpture of every de-
scription, mural and verdant, was scattered in profusion
through the superb gardens of this period ; statues and busts
of celebrated heroes and statesmen, fountains of all descrip-
tions, urns and vases almost without number : and the whole,
especially on so grand a scale, had a most imposing and
magnificent effect.
Any person who will analyze the kind of beauty aimed at
in the ancient style, will we think, at once perceive its cha-

racteristics to be uniformity and the display of symmetric art.
Almost any one may succeed in laying out and planting a gar-
den in right lines, and may give it an air of stateliness and
grandeur, by costly decorations ; and even now, there are per-
haps thousands who would express greater delight in walking
through such a garden, than in surveying one where the
finest natural beauties are combined. The reason of this is
indeed sufficiently obvious.

Every one, though possessed of the least possible portion
of taste, readily appreciates the cost and labour incurred in
the first case, and bestows his admiration accordingly; but we

must infer the presence of a cultivated and refined mind, to
realize and enjoy the more exquisite beauty of natural forms.

As however cultivation progressed in Europe, the taste for
this style began to be weakened by several causes. In the

first place, a large portion of the lands coming under the
plough, fine natural woods were gradually cut off, and wild
landscape beauties, once so common as to be unheeded, be-
came sufficiently rare to be more prized and admired. The

increased admiration of landscape painting, poetry, and other
fine arts, by imbuing many minds with a love of beautiful

and picturesque nature, also tended to create a change in the
taste. Gradually, men of refined sensibilities perceived that
besides mere beauty of form, natural objects have another

and a much higher kind of beauty — namely, the beauty of
EXPRESSION.*
With the recognition of this principle commenced a new
era in Ornamental Gardening. The defects of the Geometric
School, were freely pointed out and discussed, by writers of
cultivated susceptibility and taste, and an entire revolution
suddenly took place in the public mind. With a higher per-
ception of the capacities of Landscape Gardening, gradually

grew up another class of artists, who, laying aside the pre-
judice which allowed men to see beauty in Gardens, only
through the manifestation of design, derived from the study
of nature, new elements to interest the mind as well as elevate
the art. One of these, looking around him for materials, ob-
serves the spirit and expression of natural objects, the varied

forms of ground and water, and the character of trees indi-
vidually and in composition. He perceives that there is an
expression of dignity and majesty in an old oak, of graceful-
ness and luxuriance in a fine sweeping elm, or of the spirited
" When the arts have made this progress, circumstances arise which alter in
a great measure, the taste of mankind, and introduce a different opinion with re-
gard to the beauty of design. Two cause?, more especially, conspire to this:
1st. The discovery, gradually made, that other and much more affecting qualities
are capable of being expressed by forms than that of mere design ; and 2d, the pro-
gress of the arts themselves, which naturally, render comparatively easy, what at
first was difficult — and consequently render the production of regularity or uni-
formity less forcibly the sign of tkill than at first." — îlkon on Tasle,
and picturesque in the larch, which confer or create a charac-
ter in scenes in which they are happily introduced: and, lay-
ing down the shears of the old gardeners, he feels that there
is a grace and beauty in their free and unshorn luxuriance,

infinitely above that of the tree, clipped according to the rules
of a formal art. Undulating surfaces of ground have an ex-

pression superior to the tame level ;
and there is a more de-
lightful variety in a walk of half a mile in length, which winds
naturally here and there, over a diversified surface, bordered
occasionally with luxuriant groups of trees, open spaces of

fine lawn, and dense thickets of shrubbery, or underwood,
than in a straight level avenue over the same distance, whose
sides present but one continuous line of trees seen at the same
moment, and presenting but one single and monotonous view.
Losing by degrees his reverence for avowed and uniform art,
he learns to appreciate those flowing, smooth, and continuous

lines, which characterize objects the most graceful and deli-
cate around us; in short that, instead of endeavouring to dis-
tort Nature, we should rather strive to heighten her beauties
and remove all her defects.

" Although," as Loudon remarks, '-it is impossible to doubt
that beautiful scenery was admired, by minds of refinement,

in all times and places, and that the wealthy would frequently
endeavour to create it," yet it is no less true that to England
belongs the honour of having first established the principles
of modern Landscape Gardening. Lord Bacon in his Essay

on Gardens, attempted during the reign of James I. to effect
some change in the method of laying out places. "As for the
making of knots," says he, "or figures with divers coloured
earth ; they be but toys ;

I do not like images cut out in ju-
niper or other garden stufi"; they are for children."
Some of the English writers on this subject assert, that

Milton's beautiful descriptions in Paradise Lost had much

influence in awakening a taste for natural beauty. His con-
ception of the garden was not only totally at variance with
the generally entertained notions of such a spot, but it evinced
a mind full of exquisite natural beauty, as well as the most
sublime poetry.
"Southward through Eden went a river large,

Nor changed his course, but through the shaggy hill
Pass'd underneath ingulPd ; for God had thrown

That mountain as his garden mould high raised
Upon the rapid current, which through veins
Of porous earth with kindly thirst updrawn,
Rose a fresh fountain, and with many a rill
Water'd the garden : thence united fell
Down and met the nether flood,

the steep glade,
Which from his darksome passage now appears,
And now divided into four main streams.
Runs diverse, wand'ring many a famous realm
And country, whereof here needs no account:
But rather to tell how, if Art could tell.
How from that sapphire fount the crisped brooks.

Rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold,
With mazy error under pendent shades
Ran nectar, visiting each plant, and fed
Flowers, worthy of Paradise, which not nice Art
In beds and curious knots, but Nature boon
Pour'd forth profuse on hill and dale and plain,
Both where the morning sun first warmly smote

The open field, and where the unpierced shade
Imbrown'd the noon-tide bowers Thus was : this place
A happy rural seat of various view;
Groves whose rich trees wept odorous gums and balm.
Others whose fruit burnished with golden rind
Hung amiable, Hesperian fables true.
If true, here only, and of delicious taste:
Betwixt them lawns, or level downs, and flocks
Grazing the tender herb, were interpos'd
Or palmy hillock; or the flow'ry lap
Of someirriguous valley spread her store,
Flowers of all hue, and without thorn the rose :
Another side, umbrageous grots and caves

Of cool recess, o'er which the mantling vine
Lays forth her purple grape, and gently creeps
Luxuriant ; meanwhile murmuring waters fall
Down the slope hills, dispers'd, or in a lake,

That to the fringed bank with myrtle crown'd
Her crystal mirror holds, unite their streams.
The birds their choir apply : airs, vernal airs,
Breathing the smell of field and grove, attune
The trembhng leaves, while universal Pan
Knit with the Graces and the hours in dance
Led on th' eternal spring."
Addison and Pope, however, undoubtedly have the merit

of completely overthrowing the formal, and substituting in
the minds of the British public a taste for the natural style.
The celebrated essay by Addison, "On the Causes of the
Pleasures of the Imagination arising from the works of Na-

ture, and their superiority over those of Art," was written in
1712. And the widely-read article " or> Verdant Sculpture,"

by Pope, appeared in the " Guardian^^ in the succeeding
year. In the former, the superiority of the beauty of natural

expression is most effectively shown, and the philosophical
principles of Landscape Gardening suggested, in the latter, the
absurdities of the ancient style are pointed out in a masterly
manner.*
Kent was the first artist who, fully entering into the spirit
of these reformers in taste, fairly put in execution on a large

scale what they suggested in theory. "Painter enough,"
says Horace Walpole, "to taste the charms of landscape,
bold and opinionative enough to dare and dictate, and born
with a genius to strike out a great system ; from the twilight
* "Among the first examples of modern

Landscape Gardening were those given
by Pope and Addison. In so far as was more than
practicable, on a spot of little
two acres. Pope practised what he wrote and his well known garden at Twick-
:
enham contained, so early as 1716, some highly picturesque and natural looking
scenery ; accurately described by contemporary writers. Addison had a small
retirement at Bilton, near Rugby, laid out in what ma}' be called a rural style,
which still exists with very little alteration besides that of time." — Encyclopadia
of Gardening.
of imperfect essays, he realized the compositions of the great-
est masters in painting."* The effect of these practical illus-
trations of the beauties of the new style, was astonishing,

and the taste soon spread in a most rapid manner throughout
England.
It has been asserted by continental authors, that the English
borrowed their ideas of the natural style from the Chinese.
But the assertion is destitute of foundation. The gardens of
the Chinese, as illustrated by Sir William Templef in a work
about that period, though characterized by great irregularity,
are full of littlenesses and puerile conceits, far below the
standard of natural beauty aimed at by the English.

Among other authors whose works were devoted to the
improvement of Landscape Gardening in the modern or na-
tural style, we shall mention the following principal ones in

addition to those already quoted, for the benefit of the reader
who wishes to pursue the subject further than we are able to

lead him. Mason^s Essay on Design in Gardenings first
published in 1768. Whately^s Observations on Modern

Gardening, 1770. The English Garden, a poem, by W.
Mason, in 1782. Prices Essays on the Picturesque, and
on the use of studying pictures with a view to the improve-
ment of real Landscape, 1794. Horace Walpole^s History of
Modern Gardening, published in 1782. Repton's Obser-
vations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gar-
dening, in 1795. Among French authors we will only
refer to whose work De la Composition des
Girardin,
Paysages, was published in 1783, and the Abbe De Lille,
the author of an exquisite poem on this subject, " Les Jar-
dins," in 1820.
* History of Modern Gardening.

t See also Sir William Chambers' Designs for Chinese Building?, he,
3
As the modern style owes its origin mainly to the English,

so it has also been developed and carried to its greatest per-
fection in the British Islands. The law of primogeniture,

which has there so long existed, in itself, contributes greatly
to the continual improvement and embellishment of those
vast landed estates which remain perpetually in the hands
of the same family. Magnificent buildings added to by each
succeeding generation, who often preserve also the older
portions with the most scrupulous care, wide spread parks,
clothed with a thick velvet turf, which amid their moist
atmosphere preserves during great part of the year an eme-

rald greenness — studded with noble oaks and other forest
trees which number centuries of growth and maturity — these
advantages in the hands of the most intellio-ent and the
wealthiest aristocracy in the world, have indeed made, as it
were, an entire landscape garden of "merry England."

Among a multitude of splendid examples of these noble resi-
dences, we will only refer the reader to the celebrated
Blenheim, the seat of the Duke of Marlborough, where the

lake alone (probably the largest piece of artificial water in
the world) covers a surface of two hundred acres : Warwick

Castle, a venerable pile, (portions of which have been built
a thousand years,) standing on a hill from whence the eye,

though ranging over a wide-spread landscape, only beholds
the park and wooded demesne of one proprietor : and Woburn
Abbey, the grounds of which are full of the choicest speci-
mens of trees and plants, and where the park, like that of
Ashbridge, Chatsworth, and several other private residences
in England, is only embraced within a circumference of
from ten to twenty miles.
On the continent of Europe, though there are a multitude
of examples of the modern style of landscape gardening,
which is there called the English or natural style, yet in
the neighbourhood of many of the capitals, especially those
of the south of Europe, the taste for the geometric or ancient

style of gardening still prevails to a considerable extent —
partially no doubt because that style admits, with more
facility, of those classical and architectural accompaniments
of vases, statues, busts, etc. — the passion for which per-
vades a people rich in ancient and modern sculptural works

of art. Indeed many of the Italian gardens are more striking
from their profusion of statues, busts, and other mural orna-
ments, interspersed with fountains and jets-d'eau, than from
the beauty or rarity of their vegetation or from their ar-
rangement.
In tlie United States, it is highly improbable that we shall
ever witness such splendid examples of landscape gardens

as those abroad, to which we have alluded. Here the rights
of man are held to be equal ; and if there are no enormous
parks and no class of men whose wealth is hereditary, there
is, at least, what is more gratifying to the feelings of the
philanthropist, the almost entire absence of a very poor class
in the country ;
while we have, on the other hand, a larger
class of independent landholders, who, in many respects, are
intelligent and well educated, than any other country in the
civilized world can at present boast.
The number of individuals amono: us who possess wealth
and refinement sufficient to enable them to enjoy the plea-

sures of a country life, and who desire in their private resi-
dences so much of the beauties of landscape gardening and
rural embellishment, as may be realized without any enor-
mous expenditure of means, is every day increasing. And

although, until lately, a very meagre plan of laying out the
grounds about a residence, was all that we could lav claim
to, yet the taste for elegant rural improvements is advancing

now so rapidly, that we have no hesitation in affirming that
in half a century more, there will exist a greater number of

beautiful villas and country seats of moderate extent in the
Atlantic States, than in any country in Europe, England

alone excepted. With us, a feeling, a taste, or an improve-
ment, is contagious ; and once fairly appreciated and esta-
blished in one portion of the country, it is disseminated with
a celerity that is indeed wonderful, to every other portion.

Although, as is necessarily the case where amateurs of any
art are more numerous than its professors, there will be, in
devising and carrying plans into execution, an abundance of
specimens of bad taste, and perhaps a sufficient number of

efforts to improve without any real taste whatever, still we
are convinced the effect of the whole will in the end be
highly agreeable, as a false taste is not likely to be a perma-
nent one, in a community where every thing is so much the
subject of criticism.
In so far as regards the literature and practice of Landscape

Gardening as an art, in North America, almost every thing is
yet before us, but little that we can refer to, having yet been
done. Almost all the improvements in the grounds of our
finest country residences, have been carried on under the

direction of the proprietors themselves, suggested by their
natural good taste, in many instances improved by the study

of European authors or by a personal inspection of the finest
places abroad. The only American work yet published
which treats directly of Landscape Gardening, is the Ameri-
can Gardener^s Calendar^ by Bernard McMahon of Phila-
delphia. The only practitioner of the art, of any note, was
the late M, Parmentier of Brooklyn, Long Island.
M. Andre Parmentier was the brother of the celebrated

Horticulturist, the Chevalier Parmentier, Mayor of Enghien,

Holland. He emigrated to this country about the year
1824 — and in the Horticultural Nurseries which he esta-
blished at Brooklyn, he gave a specimen of the natural style
of laying out grounds, combined with a scientific arrange-

ment of plants, which excited public curiosity, and contri-
buted not a little to the dissemination of a taste for the na-

tural mode of landscape gardening.
During M. Parmentier's residence on Long Island, he was
almost constantly applied to for plans for laying oct the
grounds of country seats, by persons in various parts of the
union, as well as in the immediate proximity of New- York.

In many cases he not only surveyed the demesne to be im-
proved, but furnished the plants and trees necessary to carry
out his plans. Several plans were prepared by him for re-
sidences of note in the Southern States ; and two or three

places in Upper Canada, especially near Montreal, were, we
believe, laid out by his own hands and stocked from his
nursery grounds. In his periodical catalogue, he arranged
the hardy trees and shrubs that flourish in this latitude in
classes, according to their height, &c., and published a short
treatise on the superior claims of the natural, over the formal
or geometric style of laying out grounds. In short, we con-
sider M. Parmentier's labours and example as having effected,
directly, far more for Landscape Gardening in America, than

those of any other individual whatever. «-
To the novice in Landscape Gardening and Rural Em-

bellishment, nothing is more instructive than a personal in-
spection of country seats, where the grounds are laid out in
a tasteful manner. In examining such, the mind is at a
single view more fully impressed with the beauties of the art
and its capabilities, than by ten times the amount of time

spent in investigating the theory without any such practical

illustrations. And although we have but iew such as might
be termed " show places," yet we shall venture to refer the
reader to several examples which have considerable reputa-
tion among us as elegant country residences.
Hyde Park, on the Hudson, the seat of the late Dr. Hosack,
has been justly celebrated as one of the finest specimens of the
modern style of Landscape Gardening in America. Nature has
indeed done much for this place, as the grounds are finely
Varied, beautifully watered by a lively stream, and the views
from the neighbourhood of the house itself, including as they
do the noble Hudson, and the superb wooded valley which
stretches away until bounded at the horizon by the distant
summits of the blue Cattskills, are unrivalled in picturesque
beauty. But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a lo-
cality ;
and while the native woods and beautifully undulating
grounds are preserved in their original state, the pleasure
grounds, roads, walks, drives, and new plantations, have been

laid out in so tasteful a manner as to heighten the charms of
nature. Large and costly hot-houses were erected, and elegant
entrance lodges at two points on the estate, a fine bridge over the
stream, and numerous pavilions and seats commanding exten-
sive prospects ; in short, nothing was spared to render this seat
one of the very finest in America. The park, which at one

time contained some fine deer, afforded a delightful drive
within itself^ as the whole estate numbered about seven hun-
dred acres. The plans for laying out the grounds, were fur-
nished by Parmentier, and architects from New- York were
employed in designing and erecting the buildings. Since
the death of Dr. Hosack, the place has lost something of the
high keeping which it formerly evinced, but we still consider

it one of the most instructive seats in this country.
BlitheiDood, the seat of R. Donaldson, Esq. near Barrytown
on the Hudson river, is one of the most tasteful villa residen-
ces in the Union. The lawn or park, which commands a

view of surpassing beauty, is studded with groups of fine fo-
rest trees, beneath which are delightful walks leading in easy

curves to rustic seats, summer houses, etc. disposed in seclu-
ded spots, or to openings affording the most lovely pros-
pects. (See Frontispiece.) In various situations near the
house and upon the lawn, Maltese vases exquisitely sculptured
in stone, are disposed in such a manner as to give a classic
air to the grounds. The entrance lodge, built in the English
cottage style, is exceedingly neat and appropriate, and the

whole place may be considered quite a model of elegant ar-
rangement ;
such indeed as may fairly come within the reach
of numbers of our wealthy proprietors, did they possess the
taste, as well as the means, for this species of refined enjoy-
ment.
There are one or two old and celebrated country residences
on the Hudson, in the possession of the Livingston family, in
the neighbourhood of Barrytown. The magnificent single

trees, groups, masses, and rolling woods, which seem as if
tastefully disposed in the modern style over an extensive un-

dulating park, covered with the finest turf, give these seats
very much the air of an old European residence ; which per-
haps they resemble, more than any mansion residences that
we have in the United States. These places owe almost their
entire beauty to nature, as nearly all the fine trees, groves,
and woods, are the natural growth of the soil ; such as indeed
once covered many of our fine river valleys, but which have
fallen a prey to the licentious axe of the woodman in so many
thousand instances. Here, just so much of the natural growth
of timber has been retained, as to clothe the estate with a truly
noble garniture, and the proportions of meadow, or lawn and

wood, as well as the arrangement and situation of the latter,
have been so judiciously managed, that, as we before mention-

ed, much of the effect of the finest park, carefully laid out, and
planted in the modern style of landscape gardening is pro-
duced, mainly by retaining and preserving the materials of

which nature has here been so extremely prodigal.
The gardens and grounds of Lemon Hill, once the resi-
dence of H. Pratt, Esq. near Philadelphia, are familiar exam-

ples tomany of our readers, of the geometric style. These
gardens, when in their perfection, some ten years ago, were
filled with a collection of the rarest and most costly exotics'
as well as a great variety of fine native trees and shrubs,
which interspersed with statues and busts, ponds, jets d'eau^
and waterworks of various descriptions, produced certainly,

a very brilliant, though decidedly artificial effect. An ex-
tensive range of hot-houses, curious grottoes and spring-
houses, as well as every other gardenesque structure, gave
variety and interest to this celebrated spot, which we regret

the rapidly extending growth and the mania for improvement,
there as in some of our other cities, has now nearly destroyed
and obliterated.
The garden of the Van Rensselaer Manor, near Albany,

may be given as another specimen, on a large scale, of the
geometric mode of gardening.
In the suburbs of Boston, a far greater number of elegant
country seats of moderate extent are to be found, than in any
other equally small neighbourhood in the Union. Many of
these are no doubt familiar to our readers. Among the most
celebrated are those of J. P. Gushing, Esq. at Watertown, the
Hon. John Lowell at Roxbury, and Col. Perkins at Brookline.
These, with many other beautiful villa residences of less ex-

tent, are remarkable for elegant arrangement and for the high
keeping of the grounds, as well as the perfection to which the
art of gardening is carried within their precints.* In short,
we consider these places as fine models of a species of country
residence, which will undoubtedly become the most popular

in this country. While the extent of ground embraced in these
country seats, is rarely greater than is easily obtained every-
where in situations most desirable in the country, it includes

every thing which can render a country seat delightful ;
beautiful pleasure grounds large enough to admit of a park-

like character, varied with trees in irregular groups, smooth
lawns, and firm gravel roads, and walks ; flower and kitchen
gardens well stocked with floral beauties, and the most
excellent culinary productions ; and hot houses and forcing
houses, filled with all that can minister to the eye or the pa-
late. In short, this class of residences, while it comes within
the reach of such moderate fortunes as are not very rare in a
* We Americans are, proverbially, impatient of delay, and a few years in

prospect, appears 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 aê " 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,
conceive that it requires more than an ordinary lifetime, to rear a tine wood of
planted trees. About two years since, we had the pleasure of visiting the seat
of the late iMr. 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 information 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,) near half a mile in
I'^nsth, consistine of almost ail 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
hiis estate. Wecan 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 um-
brageous woods and groves planted by our own hands, and whose growth Las
become almost identified with our own progress and existence.
republic, yields to the possessor all that is really gratifying
or delightful in the overorown estates of a titled aristocracv.

There are several other country residences, which have
been quite celebrated as specimens of Landscape Gardening,
and we regret that the limits of a single volume will not
permit us to refer to them in detail. Waltham House, about

nine miles from Boston, the seat of Theodore Lyman, Esq.,
has an extensive park, and fine grounds. The seat of Mr.

Wadsworth, in the beautiful Genesee Valley, is remarkable
for the tasteful design exhibited in the house and grounds.
Monte Viedo, the residence of Daniel Wordsworth, Esq., is
one of the prettiest residences in Connecticut. The grounds

of the Count de Survilliers, at Bordentown, N. J., are remark-
able for their extent; and although the surface is extremely

flat, it has been well varied by extensive plantations.
Of smaller villa^ residences, suburban chiefly, there are
great numbers springing up, almost by magic, in the borders
of our towns and cities. Though the possessors of these can
scarcely hope to introduce any thing approaching to a Land-

scape Garden style, in laying out their limited grounds, still
they may be greatly benefited by an acquaintance with the

beauties, and the pleasures of this species of rural embellish-
ment. 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, or with the most limited means.
While we shall endeavour, 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 princi-
ples of the art, we would desire the novice, after making him-
self 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. A natural 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.
SECTION II.
BEAUTIES OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
Capacities of thp art. The aim of the modern style. General beauty and Picturesque beauty
their distinctive characteristics. Illustrations drawn from Nature and Painting. Nature
and principles of Landscape Gardening as an Imitative art. The Gardenesque style. The
principles of Unity and Variety.
" Here Nature in h§r unaffected dresse,

Plaited with vallies and imbost with hills,
Enchast with silver streams, and fringed with woods.

Sits lovely."
Chambkrlayne.
" II est des soina plus doux, un art plus enchanteur

C'est peu de charmer I'csil, il faut parler au cceur.
Avez-vons done connu ces rapports invisibles
Des corps inanimfes et des etres sensibles?

Avez-vous entendu des eaux, des pres, des bois,
La muette Eloquence et la secrete voix?

Rendez-nous ces effets. " Les Jardins, Book I.
EFORE we proceed to a detailed and more

practical consideration of the subject, let us oc-
cupy ourselves for a moment upon the con.
of the different results which are

"'
sideration
to be sought after, or in other words, what

^^""^ be realized in
kinds of beauty are generally to
Landscape Gardening:. To attempt a great work in any art,
without knowing either the capacities of that art, ortlie great

BEAUTIES OF THE ART. 29
schools or modes by which it has previously been character-

ized, is but to be groping about in a dim twilight without
the power of knowing, even should we be successful in our
eftbrts, the real excellence of our production, or of judging of
its merit comparatively, as a work of taste and imagination.

From the remarks which we have already made on the
geometric style of gardening, it will be seen that the ends in
view were to be attained in a merely mechanical manner, with

but little study or theory upon the subject. Nothing is more
easy than to level ground naturally uneven, or to make an
avenue by planting two rows of trees on either side of a broad
walk. Even in the more intricate and laboured specimens
of the ancient style, the results evince a fertility of invention
and odd conceits, rather than the exercise of the faculty of
taste, or imagination. Indeed, the ancient style, as commonly

practised, scarcely lays claim to be more than a mechanical
art, and the professors of the modern schools, conjointly with
men of genius and intellect, who have been its amateurs,

have raised Landscape Gardening to the rank it now occu-
pies as an art of taste.
The earliest professors of modern Landscape Gardening,

^have generally agreed upon two species of beauty, of which
the art is capable — variations no less certainly distinct on
the one hand than they are capable of intermingling and
combining on the other. These are general or natural, and
picturesque beauty : or to speak more definitely, the beauty
characterized by simple and flowing forms, and the beauty ex-
pressed by striking, irregular, spirited forms.

The admirer of nature, as well as the lover of pictures and
engravings, will at once recall to mind examples of scenes
distinctly expressive of each of these kinds of beauty. In
nature, perhaps, some gently undulating plain covered Avith
emerald turf, partially or entirely encompassed by rich, roll-
ing outlines of forest canopy, its widest expanse here broken

occasionally by noble groups of round-headed trees, or there
interspersed with single specimens, whose elegant trunks sup-
port masses of foliage flowing in outline, or gracefully droop-
ing to the very turf beneath them. In such a scene we be-
hold the azure of heaven, and its silvery clouds as well as
the deep verdure of the luxuriant and shadowy branches, re-
flected in the placid bosom of a sylvan lake : the shores of
the latter jutting out, and receding back, in gently curved
lines ;
the banks, sometimes covered with soft verdure and
enamelled with flowers, and in other portions clothed with
luxuriant masses of verdant shrubs. Here are all the ele-
ments of what is termed natural beauty, — or a landscape

characterized by natural, easy, and flowing lines.
For an example of the opposite character, let us take a stroll

to the nearest woody glen in your neighbourhood : perhaps
a romantic valley, half shut in on two or more sides by steep
rocky banks partially concealed and overhung by clustering
vines and tangled thickets of deep foliage. Against the sky
outline, breaks the wild and irregular 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 ver-
dure opposed to dark masses of shadowy foliage, form
prominent objects in the foreground. If water enliven the
scene, we shall hear the murmur of the noisy brook, or the
cool dashing 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 illus-
tration of picturesque beauty, 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 its purest
and most elegant forms. In those inimitable landscapes
which are the works of this great master, we see portrayed
all those graceful and flowing forms, and all that harmonious
colouring, which delight so much the mind of genuine taste
and sensibility, and which, based upon a study of beautiful

nature and art, in the finest portion of the globe, have never
since, and may perhaps never again be equalled.
On the other hand, where shall we find all the elements of
the picturesque, more graphically combined, than in the vig-
orous landscapes of Salvator Rosa ! In those rugged scenes,

even the lawless aspects of his favourite robbers and ban-
ditti, 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

vioôrous imagination, nursed amid scenes teemina; with the
grand as well as the picturesque — both of which he em-
bodied in the most striking manner.
In giving these illustrations of general or natural, and of pic-
turesque beauty, we have not intended them to be understood
in the light of exact models for imitation in Landscape Gard-

ening — only as striking examples of expression in natural
scenery. Although in nature, many landscapes partake in

a certain degree of both these kinds of beauty, yet it is no
doubt true that the effect is more satisfactory, where either
the one or the other character predominates. The accom-

plished amateur, should be able to seize at once upon the
characteristics of these two species of beauty in all scenery.
To assist the reader in this kind of discrimination, we shall

keep these expressions constantly in view, and we hope we

shall be able fully to illustrate the difference in the expression
of even single trees, in this respect. A few strongly marked ob-

jects, 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 picturesque, completely insipid.

A question that may not be unlikely to occur to the novice
in these matters is, which is the superior character of Land-
scape, considered in reference to the art now before us ? To
answer this question directly, would be to side with one or the
other of the two schools or parties in Landscape Gardening

which waged battle so fiercely in England during the last
century, viz : the Picturesque School, at the head of which

were Price and Knight, and the more formal school, whose
champions were Brown and Repton ;
the former, desiring to
see all country residences highly picturesque, and the latter,
perhaps, verging too much into the rules of an unvarying art.
There can, however, be little doubt that it is requisite
to possess a greater degree of imagination, and perhaps more

of that vigour of mind, termed genius, fully to appreciate the
beauty of the more picturesque forms of nature. Even

among artists, while there are many who are able to feel and
portray nature in her ordinary developements, how few can
make the canvass glow with the expression of her grander
and more picturesque beauties ! And among mere admirers,
it is the multitude, that see and feel the power of beauty in

her graceful and flowing forms — but only the imaginative
and cultivated few, who appreciate her more free and spirited
charms. So also, there are perhaps, a thousand who admire

the elegant forms and the undulating outlines which pre-
dominate in the park or pleasure grounds, as we generally

see them, where there is one who would prefer a cottage ia
a highly irregular and picturesque valley, or a castle on a

rocky crag ; though the latter may, to certain minds, be a
thousand times more enchanting.

After having: familiarized ourselves with the leading ex-
pressions of beauty in wild scenery, the question arises in
what manner is nature to be imitated in Landscape Garden-

ing ? To produce an actual fac-simile of nature, in the grounds
of a country residence, appears to have been the sole idea of
some of the early writers on the natural style. These, tired
of the formalities of Geometric Gardening, almost ran into
the opposite extreme, of rendering the pleasure grounds like
a wild dingle, forgetting that the principles of imitation com-

mon to the other fine arts, are, to a certain extent, equally
applicable to this. And that, although fac-simile imitations
of nature are really capable of affording much rational pleas-
ure, yet they have no claim to be considered as the production

of an imitative fine art. The pleasure they give rise to, being
precisely that afibrded by natural scenery.
M. Q,uatremere de Cluincy, has defined the end of imita-
tion to be, " to present to the senses and the mind, through
the intervention of the fine arts, images which, in all the
different forms of iniitatioti, shall fur7iish an aggregate

of perfection and ideal beauty to which particular models
afford no eqiialP* In this sentence may be found the true
nature of imitation in Landscape Gardening, only partially
known and acted upon by its earlier professors.
The most elevated kind of beauty in landscapes, of what-

ever description, is undoubtedly that of expression. And
the highest imitative effects of the art, therefore, consist in
arranging the materials, so as to create emotions of grace,
* Essay on Imitation in the Fine Arts, p. 150.
5
elegance, picturesqueness, or grandeur, joined with unity,

harmony, and variety, more distinct and more forcible than
are suggested by natural scenery ;

producing by this means
intellectual gratification, separate and distinct from that
arising from the mere admiration of forms or materials em-
ployed.
The bemi ideal in Landscape Gardening as a fine art, ap-
pears to us to be embraced in the creation of scenery expres-

sive of a peculiar kind of beauty, as the elegant or pictur-
esque, 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 character-
ized 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.
A fac-simile imitation of nature in gardening, that is, a

scene like wild nature, in which only wild trees, shrubs, and
plants, are employed, and which is precisely like wild nature,
produces pleasure only as it deceives us, and appears to be

nature itself An artistical imitation, affords pleasure to the
mind, not only by the expressions of natural beauty which
we discover in it, but by the more novel and choicer forms in
which they are displayed, and by the tasteful art apparent in
the arrangement. The relative merit of the two may be

illustrated, by comparing the first, to the counterfeit of the hu-
man figure in wax, which at a short distance maybe thought
real, and the last, to the painted landscape or the marble
statue. The two latter are no less imitations of nature, than
the former, but they are expressive and elegant imitations
only, which are never to be mistaken for the originals, as in

the case of the wax figure.*
One of the chief elements of artistical imitation in Land-

scape Gardening, being a difference in the materials employed
in the imitation of nature from those in nature herself, nothing
can be more apparent, than the necessity of introducing large-
ly, exotic ornamental trees, shrubs and plants, instead of those
of indigenous growth. Thus, to take the simplest example,

if we suppose a lawn of an acre, arranged with groups of
trees, the •
groups composed of lindens, horse-chestnuts and
magnolias, where the native forests are only filled with oak
and ash trees, the variety of the foliage and blossoms alone, will
at once suggest the recognition of art. Borders of rare flow-

ers, and climbing plants, — gravel walks, in the place of com-
mon paths or roads, — smooth turf, instead of wild meadow,
— elegant vases and architectural ornaments, with many
other accessories, bespeaking the presence of tasteful and en-
lightened mind : all these are the essential characteristics of
Landscape Gardening, considered as an art of imitation.
Besides picturesque and beautiful imitations of nature,
another mode has recently arisen in England, which Mr.

Loudon has very appropriately named the Gardenesque
style. The style is evidently founded rather upon a culti-
* " 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 The beautiful in art depends
requisite for this.
on ideas, and the true must possess, together with the talent
artist, therefore,
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 properly esti-
;
mated among those barren copyists which we find so many of our flower, land-
scape, and portrait painters to be. But the artist stands much higher in the
scale, who, though a copyistof visible nature, is capable of seizing it with poetic
fooling, and representing it in its more dignified sense : such for example as
Rapliael, Poussin, Claude, &ic." — Weinuueuner.
vated taste for Botany and Horticulture, and a desire to ex-

hibit every variety of rare ornamental tree and plant, than
upon any new element of desian. As its characteristic fea-
tures are little known here, we shall place them before the
reader as they have been delineated by Mr. Loudon.
'Where the ârcêne^^îe style of imitating nature is to be
employed, the trees and herbaceous plants must be separated ;
and instead of being grouped together as in forest scenery,
where two trees, or a tree and a shrub often appear to spring

from the same root, every gardenesque group mu.st consist of
trees which do not touch each other, and which only become
groups by being as near together as is practicable without
touching, and by being apart from large masses, or from sin-

gle trees or rows of trees. It is not meant by this, that in the
gardenesque, the trees composing a group should all be equal-
ly distant from one another: for in that case they would not
form a whole, which the word group always implies. On
the contrary, though all the trees in a gardenesque group
ought to be so far separated from each other as not to touch,

yet the degrees of separation may be as different as the de-
signer chooses, provided the idea of a group is never lost
sight of.
In laying out grounds, it is necessary always to bear in

mind the difference between the gardenesque and the pictur-
esque, that is, between a plantation made merely for pictur-
esque effect, and another made for gardenesque effect. In

planting, thinning, and pruning, in order to produce the lat-
ter effect, the beauty of every individual tree and shrub, as

a single object is to be taken into consideration, as well as
the beauty of the mass ; while in planting, thinning, and
pruning for picturesque effect, the beauty of individual trees
or shrubs is of little consequence, because no tree or shrub in
a picturesque plantation or scene should stand isolated —

each should be considered as merely forming^ part of a group
or mass.
When planted, the trees and shrubs should be scattered
over the ground in the most irregular manner, both in their
disposition with reference to their immediate effect as plants,
and with reference to their future effect as trees and shrubs.

In some places trees should prevail, in others shrubs. In
some parts the plantation should be thick, in others thin —
two or three trees or a tree and shrub ought often to be
planted together, and this more especially on lawns over

which trees and shrubs are to be scattered in the picturesque
manner.
Where, on the contrary, they are to be scattered in the
gardenesque manner, every tree and shrub should stand
singly, as in the geometrical manner they should stand in
regular lines or in some geometrical figure. In the garden-

esque there may be single trees and single shrubs ; but there
can be no such thing as a single tree in the picturesque.
Every tree in the picturesque style of laying out grounds

must be grouped with something else, if it should be merely
a shrub, a twiningplant, a tuft of grass, or other plants at its root.
In the gardenesque, the beauty of the isolated tree consists in
the manner in which it is grown ; in the picturesque the
beauty of a tree or shrub, as of every other object in the land-

scape, consists in its fitness to group with other objects. Now
the fitness of one object to group with another evidently does
not consist in the perfection of the form of that object, but

rather in that imperfection which requires another object to
render it complete.'
In this description of the gardenesque mode of imitating

nature, we perceive that the exhibition of a highly developed
State of cultivation is the predominant characteristic. The

trees and shrubs are grown to the highest possible perfection,
and every angle is, as it were, rounded with a species of ele-
gant art. The object is, therefore, mainly to produce highly

elegant and polished forms.
The gardenesque imitation, and what we have termed a
simply beautiful imitation of nature, may at first sight appear
to be the same. But there is a strongly marked difference.
In an imitation of beautiful and of picturesque nature, the

expression of the whole scene is the object never to be lost
sight of. It is characterized no less by the form of the

ground and by the individual character of the trees them-
selves, than by the mere arrangement of the trees singly or
in groups, and the cultivation to which they are afterwards
subjected. Thus, as we shall hereafter point out, the expres-
sion of the larch is different from that of the willow, the

oak from that of the elm, and so in numerous other trees
both native and exotic. Now the gardenesque mode of im-

itation, readily admits in the same scenes every species of
tree, provided it is planted separately and afterwards grown
in the manner required by that mode, — because it depends
for its character mainly on the beauty of form as developed
by culture. But in beautiful or picturesque imitations of
nature, a predominance of such trees and other objects is
requisite, as in themselves are intrinsically expressive of either

graceful beauty, or picturesque beauty. The art of culture,
as in thinning, pruning, etc., is directed rather to heighten

those peculiar expressions, whether in the single tree or in
the group, than to endeavour to produce luxuriance, or the

beauty of culture.
In the imitative scale, viewing the different modes of Land-
scape Gardening as works of art, fac-simile imitations of na-
tare rank the lowest; nature in them being imitated in her

own forms and materials, in such a manner as to produce
none of the pleasure experienced in the contemplation of art.
Next to these, we should place imitations in the geometric

and in the gardenesque manner, as these depend upon choice
materials arranged in regular and systematic, or in elegant and
artistical forms, for the admiration which they elicit. And
highest in the scale, we rank picturesque and beautiful imi-
tations of nature, which join to fine forms, and elegance in
arrangement, the higher beauty of sentiment or expression.
In practice, however, the entire new arrangement, or in
other words, the creation of a landscape garden on a large
scale, will seldom be attempted in this country. In a multi-
tude of examples in the United States, the grounds of places
to be improved as country residences, have already a conside-
rable degree of natural beauty, in scattered groups and thick-
ets of trees, etc., for the destruction of which no theory of
art will apologize ! The art of Landscape Gardening, in these
instances, will be displayed in adding, to the natural beauties
already existing, all those graces and elegancies which are

its characteristics. Smoothing all harshnesses inconsistent
with refined habitation, introducing groups of rare and beau-
tiful trees, shrubs, and plants, and heightening the whole by a
polish and keeping, corresponding to the style and character of
the place and mansion, or the wealth and means of its occupant.
Besides these beauties of form and expression in the diffe-
rent modes of laying out grounds, there are certain universal
and inherent beauties, common to all the styles, and indeed

to every composition in the fine arts. Of these we shall es-
pecially point out those growing out of the principles of
UNITY and VARIETY.

Uniti/, 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 plea-
sure and satisfaction to one object or one composite sensation

at the same time. If two distinct objects or class of objects
present themselves at once to us, we can only attend satisfac-
torily to one, by withdrawing 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, one

half of which is constructed of wood, with square windows,
and the remaining half of brick or stone, with long and nar-
row windows. However well such a building may be con-
structed, or however nicely the different proportions of the edi-
fice may be adjusted, it is evident it can never form a satis-
factory whole. The mind can only account for such an ab-
surdity, by supposing it to have been built by two individuals,
or at two different times, as there is nothing indicating a 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 indicative 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 as a satisfactory whole, because we experience a con-
fusion of sensations in contemplating 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 exam-
ple the avenue taken by itself may be a beautiful object, and
the groups and connected masses may in themselves be ele-
gant, yet the two portions will not form a whole when seen
together, because they cannot form a composite idea. For
the same reason there is something unpleasing in the intro-
duction of fruit trees among elegant ornamental trees on a

lawn, or even in assembling together in the same beds flower-
ing plants and culinary vegetables. One class of vegetation
suggesting the useful alone to the mind, and the other only the
elegant and ornamental — the two sensations not readily
uniting together.
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 they were all equal in breadth and presented the same
appearance to the eye in passing.
In all works of art which command universal admiration,
we discover a unity of conception and composition, a 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 conceits. The production
of an accordant whole, is, on the contrary, capable of aflbrding
the most permanent enjoyment to educated minds, every-
where and at all periods of time.
After unity, the principle of Variety is worthy of con- y

6
sideration, as a fertile source of beauty in Landscape Garden-

ing. The former principle might be carried so far by some
minds, as to produce monotony, as it may be so totally neg-
lected by others, as to lead to compositions only characterized
by discordant assemblages of objects. Variety must be con-
sidered as belonging more to the details, than to the produc-
tion of a whole. By producing certain contrasts, it creates
in scenery a thousand points of interest, and thus elicits new

beauties, by different arrangements and combinations of forms
and colours, light and shades. Variety in plantations, may be
attained by a combination of qualities opposite in some re-
spects, as in the colour of the foliage, and similar in others,

as the form, which we shall hereafter more fully elucidate.
In the views from a dwelling, we produce it by contrasts not

so powerful as to be absolutely dissimilar, for this would de-
feat the purpose and produce discord, but by retaining the

unity of design, and varying partially only the materials em-
ployed, as in the case of substituting elegant flowering shrubs
and climbers, in the place of trees, — or, sometimes, by in-
troducing new elements of beauty, as sculptured vases, sun-
dials, fountains, etc. In pleasure grounds, while the whole
should exhibit unity of conception and plan, the different
scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should pos-
sess sufficient variety in the detail, to keep alive the interest
of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity.
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 endeavoured to elu-
cidate its leading principles clearly to the reader. These

grand principles we shall here succinctly recapitulate,
premising that a familiarity with them is of the very first
importance in the successful practice of this elegant art; viz.

1. The Recognition of Art, founded on the immutability

of the true as well as the beautiful : 2. The Production
OF A Whole, springing from the necessity in the mind of a
unity of sensation: 3. The Imitation of the Beauty
OP Expression, derived from a refined perception of the sen-
timent of nature : 4. The Production of Variety, in-
cluding under this term intricacy and harmony, founded on

the ever active desire for new objects of interest.
Neither the professional Landscape Gardener nor the ama-

teur, 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 im-
proved. 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 by the improver, who,

to use the words of Horace Walpole, "is proud of no other
art than that of softening nature's harshness, and copying her
graceful touch." When we discover the picturesque^ indi-
cated in the grounds of the residence to be treated, let us
take advantage of it ; and while all harshness incompatible
with scenery near the house is removed, the original expres-
sion may in most cases be heightened, in all, rendered more
elegant and appropriate, without lowering it in force or spirit.
In like manner good taste will direct us to embellish scenery

expressive of simple or natural beauty by the addition of ^
forms, whether in trees, buildings, or other objects, harmoni-
ous in character, as well as in colour and outline.

SECTION III.
ON WOOD.
The beauty of Trees in Rural Embellishments. Pleasure resulting from their cultivation.
Character of Country Seats in the United States. Mansion, Villa, Embellished Farm and
Cottage residences. Aim of Plantations in the Ancient and Modern Styles; superior e.xpres-
sion of the latter. Directions for the arrangement of Plantations in the Modern Style, with
illustrations. General classification of trees as to forms, with leading characteristics of each
class.
" He gains all points, wiio 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."

Pope.
MONG all the materials at our disposal
for the embellishment of country residences,

••^^^sî^^^^g^^ none are at once so highly ornamental, so
indispensable, and so easily managed, as trees or wood. We
introduce them in every part of the landscape, — in the fore-
ground as well as in the distance, on the tops of the hills and

in the depths of the valleys. They are, indeed, like the dra-
pery which covers a somewhat ungainly figure, and while

concealina: 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
ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 45
in its prime, venerable and picturesque in its old age, it con-

stitutes in its varied forms, sizes, and developements, the
greatest charm and beauty of the earth in all countries. The

most varied outline of surface, the finest combination of pic-
turesque materials, the noblest edifice, would be compara-
tively tame and spiritless, without the inimitable accompani-
ment of foliage. Let those who have passed their whole lives
in a richly wooded country, transport themselves for a mo-

ment 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 will perhaps realize, by con-
trast, their beauty and value.
We are not now to enumerate the great usefulness of trees,
— their value in the construction of our habitations, our na-
vies, the various improvements in machinery, — in short, the
thousand associations which they suggest as ministering to
our daily wants; but let us imagine the loveliest scene, the
wildest pai/sage, or the most enchanting valley, despoiled of
trees, and we shall find nature shorn of her fair proportions,
and the character and expression of these favourite 'spots al-
most entirely destroyed.

Wood, in its many shapes, is then one of the great sources
of interest and character in Landscapes. Variety, which we
need scarcely allude to as a source of the highest kind of
beauty, is created in a wonderful degree by a natural arrange-
ment 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 conceal-
ing some portions, and throwing others into stronger light,
contribute greatly to produce intricacy and variety, and con-

fer an expression which, without these latter qualities, might

in a great measure be wanting. By shutting out some parts,
and enclosing 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 con-
nected 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 summer they

offer to us a grrateful shelter under their umbrageous arms
and leafy branches : in autumn we feel a melancholy thought-
fulness, as
" We stand among the fallen leaves,"
and gaze upon their dying glories. And in winter their bare
spray rocking in the winds, has a pleasing diversity ;

while
it reminds us forcibly by contrast of the loss of their rich sum-
mer drapery of foliage, and awakens a hope of returning
spring, when the imprisoned buds shall again burst into ver-
dure and beauty.

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 Gardening.

Buildings which are tame, insipid, or even mean in appear-
ance, may be made interesting and often picturesque, by a

proper disposition of trees. Edifices, or parts of them that are
unsightly, or which it is desirable partly or wholly to con-
ceal, can readily be hidden or improved by wood; and walks

and roads, which otherwise would be but simple ways of ap-
proach from one point to another, are, by an elegant arrange-
ment 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, ex-
hibit as strongly art or design in the contriver, as regular
architectural edifices, while in a more elevated and enlight-
ened taste, we are able to dispose them in our pleasure-grounds
and parks, around our houses, in all the variety of groups,
masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival
the most beautiful scenery of general nature, and produce
around us a portion of landscape, whicî, while it comprises

all the comforts and elegancies of life, shall combine with
these, those beauties of expression that give rise to emotions in
the mind of the most agreeable character.
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 we all derive from their cultivation.
Unlike the pleasure arising from the gratification of our taste
in architecture, or any 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 returns of gratitude, raise a
most deliofhful train of sensations in the mmd : so innocent
and rational, that they may justly rank with the most exqui-
site 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 mon-
archs, planted by his boyish hands, and nursed by him in his
youthful years, which have grown aged and venerable along

with him
"A wood coeval with himself he sees,

And loves his own contemporary trees."
In proceeding to arrange plantations for the improvement

and embellishment of a residence, we should, of course, be
guided by the extent of the grounds to be operated upon, and
the general character and appearance of the place itself.
In the United States, all country residences which may be

considered as coming within the scope of our remarks, are in-
cluded under the four following denominations : mansions,
villas, ornamented farms, and cottage residences.
The Qnansion, is the highest style of residence seen in this
country. It is distinguished by the extent of its grounds,

which include, not only large farm tracts, (with their appro-
priate buildings,) gardens and pleasure-grounds, but also a
wide and extensive park, covered with grass, and beautified

with numerous scattered groves, groups, and masses of trees,
in the midst of which stands the dwelling, a large and archi-
tectural edifice.
The villa, which is by far the most common and generally

the most elegant of our country seats, contains less extent of
ground than the mansion : numbering in acres from twenty

to eighty or one hundred, of which a large portion, and often
the whole is devoted to ornament, in the case of small villa
residences ;
or a portion, where there is considerable land,
is appropriated to amateur farming, under the immediate su-
perintendence of the proprietor. The ornamental plantations
are more limited than in the mansion residence, the pleas-
ure-grounds being substituted for the park, which often con-
sist only of a wide and handsome lawn, well varied and em-
bellished by groups of trees and shrubbery. The house is
generally built in a tasteful style, and frequently displays

more elegance and variety, though less magnitude than the
mansion.
The Ferine ornee^ or embellished farm, differs from a com-
mon farm, in the taste displayed throughout its more fre-
quented and conspicuous portions. Sometimes it receives
its character from a few groups of fine trees interspersed

through the pasture fields, in the near view. In most cases
there is an approach road, skirted by plantations ; but in-
stead of a professed park, lawn, or pleasure-ground, the mea-
dows near the line of the approach, and around the house,
are kept in neater order than common tillage requires, —

planted with single trees and scattered groups, with other
embellishments, to a moderate extent, in portions nearest the
eye, when they do not interfere largely with the value and
profit of the farm.
The Cottage ornee is characterized by the smallest extent

of ground, which however is well kept. The building is
low, and has a neat, decorated, or fanciful air, to which

the grounds correspond, being filled with fine shrubs and
climbing plants. Here there are neither pleasure-grounds
nor meadows, but the pretty garden, or the neat, or pictur-
esque orchard immediately surrounds the house ; and the
sylvan embellishments are comprised in a few single orna-
mental trees, or at most in a few groups of the same.
7
In the arrangement and culture of trees and plants in the

ancient style of Landscape Gardening, we discover the evi-
dences of the formal taste, though abounding with every pos-

sible variety of quaint conceits, and rife with whimsical ex-
pedients, so much in fashion during the days of the Henry's
and Elizabeth, 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 those kinds
of vegetation which bore the shears most patiently, and which,
when carefully trimmed, assumed gradually the appearance
of verdant statues, pyramids, crowing cocks, and rampant
lions, were the especial favourites of the gardeners of the old
school.* The stately etiquette, and courtly precision of the
manners of our English ancestors extended into their gardens,
and was reflected back by the very trees which lined their
avenues, and the shrubs which surrounded their houses.

"Nonsuch, Theobalds, Greenwich, Hampton Court, Hatfield,
Moor-Park, Chatsworth, Beaconsfield, 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, Essexesj the splendid nobles
of the Tudor dynasty, the gay ladies and gallants of Charles

n.'s court, had walked and talked, fluttering in glittering pro-
cessions, 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 pas-

sers under, stately terraces with gilded balustrades, and cu-
* The well known picture of the " Garden of Eden," by one of the old Dutch
artists, with sheared hedges, formal alleys, and geometric plots of flowers, for
the entertainment of our first parents, is doubtless familiar to our readers.
rious quincunx, obelisks, and pyramids, — fitting objects of
admiration of those who wallced in high heeled shoes, ruffs
and fardingales, with fan in hand, or in trunk hose and laced

•
doublet."
Regularity, uniformity, and symmetry, were the leading

and indispensable principles of the ancient style. Even in
the most simple country residences, the plantations were al-
ways 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 always opposed by an-
other vis a vis, and a row of trees at the right of the man-
sion, was always accompanied by one on the left : or, as Pope
in his Satire has more rythmically expressed it —
Grove nods at srove, 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 favourite fancies of the geometric gardener, was the La-
byrinth, (fig. 1,) 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 some-

times 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 re-
turn 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."
fFig. 1. A Labyrinth.]
Since the days when these gardens were in their glory, the
taste for Landscape Gardening has undergone a great change.
The graceful and the picturesque in nature are the new ele-
ments of beauty, which, entering into the composition of our

gardens and home landscapes, have, to refined minds, in-
creased a hundred fold the enjoyment derived from this spe-
cies of rural scenery. Still, there is much to admire in the

ancient style. Its lengthy 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 cu-
riously knotted gardens, are interesting from the pleasing as-
sociations which they suggest to the mind, as having been
the favourite haunts of Shakspeare, Bacon, Spenser, and

Milton. They are so inseparably connected, too, in our im-
aginations, with the quaint architecture of that era, that

wherever that style of building is adopted, (and we observe
two or three examples already among us,) this style of gar-
dening may be considered as highly appropriate, and in ex-

cellent keeping with such a country house.
The modern, irregular, or natural style of Landscape
Gardening, which we shall endeavour to elucidate in the fol-

lowing pages, aims at the production of beauty in its most

graceful or picturesque forms, in the grounds of a country-
residence. Although to effect this art is everywhere as ne-

cessary as in the geometric style, yet it is always evinced as
the means, and not exclusively the end in view. Thus, in
the natural style, the gravel walks are kept as smooth, and
the turf is as closely mown, as in the ancient ; as these ap-
pearances evince cultivation, and are necessary to refined
comfort and enjoyment, circumstances of which we are never
to lose sight. For thorough keeping does not disturb the

expression of nature, but serves to give a polish and elegance
to her forms and colours which indicates a tasteful and re-
fined art, and mark the presence of cultivation and habitation,

as opposed to wild or savage nature.
The highest aim of the natural style is, to produce an ele-
gant imitation of beautiful or picturesque portions of general

nature. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to ar-
range the plantations of trees and shrubs in such groups as
shall be natural, graceful, and beautiful ; or natural, highly
irregular, and picturesque. As these characters exist often
fully developed in wild scenery, we must study such mor-

ceaiix, and the delineations of these in painted landscapes,
to familiarize ourselves with their leading and characteristic

peculiarities. We must lay out the walks and roads which
these plantations border, in easy flowing lines, following nat-
ural indications, or producing them by irregularities in the
ground, breaks, and recesses, in the groups and masses of

trees, etc. We should prefer undulating surfaces to level
ones, (especially in preference to levelling any surface artifi-
cially,) on account of the greater variety and beauty the for-
mer afford, compared with the latter.
It has been remarked, that the geometric style would al-

ways 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 gardens and pleasure-
grounds in regular forms, because the distinct exhibition of
art alone would give more pleasure by contrast, than the ele-
gant 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 lower perception of beauty in the
individual who employs the geometrical style in such cases.
A person, whose place was surrounded by inimitably grand,

or sublime scenery, would undoubtedly fail to excite our ad-
miration, by attempting to imitate 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 both be 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 ornamental 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 tangled 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 spe-
cies of pleasure would result from the imitation 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, the
oak, etc. — his walks would lead through varied scenes,

sometimes bordered with groups of rocks overrun with flow-
ering creepers and vines ; sometimes with thickets or little
copses of shrubs and flowering plants ; sometimes through

wild and comparatively neglected portions ;
the whole inter-
spersed with open glades of turf
In the majority of instances in the United States, the mo-

dern style of Landscape Gardening, wherever it is appreci-
ated, will in practice consist in arranging a demesne of from

fifty to three 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, surroundinsf 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 dictate the
assemblage of groups and masses of the rarer or more beau-

tiful trees and shrubs ; commoner native forest trees occupy-
ing the more distant portions of the grounds.

Whatever be the extent of the place to be arranged and
planted, whether it partake of the character of the mansion
or villa residence, and include either a park or pleasure-
grounds, or merely ornamental meadows for pasturage, there
will of course be various combinations of trees from the

smallest group composed only of two trees, or a tree and a
shrub, to the tnass, formed by a large number, or even the
grove or icood, comprising many hundred individuals. Were

the whole surface filled up with scattered single trees at reg-
ular or irregular intervals, or even with uniform groups

alone, all variety, grandeur, and beauty, would be lost ; and
nothing would be presented but a sameness of dots, or spots
of verdure, without tasteful or artistical effect, or any features
to arrest the eye, or fix the attention.
In order, therefore, to produce that diversity, and that

breadth of light and shadow, so agreeable in real landscape,
and so enchanting in fine pictures, the whole must be thrown
into groups, single trees, and large masses. To do this prop-
erly, will require the greatest skill of the landscape gardener
in the arrangement of wood.

To succeed in arranging the plantations so as to produce
the most satisfactory effects in the modern style, we con-
ceive that the artist or operator will be greatly aided by
keeping the two following principles constantly in view:
the production of a whole ; and the proper connection 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 plantations in
the modern style. What would be precisely adapted to a hilly,
rolling park, would often be found entirely unfit for adoption
in a smooth, level surface, and vice versa. Indeed, the chief

beauty of the modern style is the infinite variety produced
by following a few leading principles, and applying them to
different and varied localities ; unlike 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 mathematical demonstration.

In all grounds to be laid out, however, which are of a lawn
or park-like extent, and call for the exercise of judgment and
taste, the mansion or dwelling-house itself being the chief or

leading object in the scene, should form, as it were, the cen-
tral point, to which it should be the object of the planter to

give importance. In order to do this effectually, 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 neighbourhood, they should also

be embraced. We do not mean by this to convey the idea,
that a thick wood should be planted around and in the close

neighbourhood 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 near-
est 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 effectually
screen the approach to the farm buildings, and other objects

which require to be kept out of view.
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 con-

siderable magnitude ; if of moderate size, in groups made up of
a number of trees. In the lawn — front of the house, appro-
priate places will be found for a number of the most elegant
single trees, or small groups of trees, remarkable for the beau-
ty of their forms, foliage, or blossoms. 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 inter-
rupt 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 tlie sides, or in the
interior of the whole ;

and the various groups which are dis-
tributed 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 several small groups will
be almost joined together ; at others the effect may be kept
up by a small group, aided by a few neighbouring, single
trees.
The grand object in all this, should be to open to the eye
from the windows or front of the house, a wide surface, par-

tially broken up and divided by groups and masses of trees,
into a rmmber of pleasing lawns or openings, differing in size

and appearance, and producing a charming variety in the
scene, either when seen from a given point, or when exam-
ined in detail. It must not be forgotten that, as a general
rule, the grass or surface of the lawn answers as the princi-
pal light, and the woods or plantations as the shadows, in
the same manner in nature as in paintings, 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 corres-
pond 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 want-
ing ;
if left too bare, there will be felt, on the other hand,
ar^ absence of the noble effect of deep and broad shadows.
Nothing would appear to be easier, in theory, than to arrange
a few forest trees in the form of a natural and beautiful group.
Yet experience has taught us that this is not the case, and
that the generality of persons, in commencing their first essays
in ornamental planting, will almost invariably crowd their
trees into a close regular clumv. which has a most formal

and unsightly appearance, as different as possible from the

easy flowing- outline of the group.*
" Were it made the object of study," says Price, " how
to invent something, which, under the name of ornament,
<^ should disfigure a whole park, nothing could

'^53 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 out-
lines ; and from the same causes, no two groups are exactly
alike. But clumps, from the trees being generally 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 neighbour, are as like each other, as so many
puddings turned out of one common mould. Natural groups
are full of openings and hollows, of trees advancing before, or
retiring behind each other ; all productive of intricacy, of va-
riety, of deep shadows and brilliant lights : in walking about
them the form changes at every step; •
new combinations, new
lights and shades, new inlets present themselves in succession.
But clumps, like compact bodies of soldiers, resist attacks from
all quarters; examine them in every point of view; walk
* 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 entrust the planting of the groups
to some common garden whose ideas he could not raise to a point suffi-
labourers,
ciently high to appreciate any beauty in plantations, unless made in regular forms
and straight hnes. "Being well aware," says our friend, " that if left to them-
selves I my trees on my return in hollow squares or circular
should find all
clumps, up a peck of potatoes into the air, one by one, and directed
I hastily tlireto
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."
round and round them ;

no opening, no vacancy, no strag-
glers ; but in the true military character. Us sont face far-
tout !*
The chief care, then, which is necessary in the formation
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, connection, 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 consider-
able, 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. 2), or a tree and shrub, which is the
smallest group, (a), may be placed in three diflferent 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 in two groups, according to the position of
the spectator. In like manner, three trees may be placed in

four different positions ; may be placed in eight
four trees
difierent positions [h) ;

may be grouped in ten
five trees
dilferent ways, as to ground plan six may be placed in

;
* Those who have perused, Price's " Essay on the Picturesque," can not
fail to be entertained with the vigour with which he advocates the picturesque,
and attacks the dumping method of laying out grounds, much practised in Eng-
land, on the first introduction of the modern style. Brwon, was the great prac-
titioner at that time, and his favourite and undeviating plan seems to have been
to cover the whole surface of the grounds with an unmeaning assemblage of

round, bunchy clumps.
twelve different ways (c), and so on. (Eiicyclopcedia of
Gard.)
^-..-^ %.^
[Fig. 2. Grouping of Ti-»es.]
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 occasionally low trees should be
planted on the outer edge of the mass, to connect it with the
humble verdure of the surroundinsf sward.
[Fig. 3- View of a Country Residence, as frequently seen.]
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 ofwood, either previously planted?

or preserved from the woodman's axe. How easily one 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, the happiest effects may

often be elicited in a magical manner ! In the accompanying
sketch, (fig. 3), the reader will recognise 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 stiff approach leading to it,
bordered with a formal belt of trees. The succeeding sketch,

(fig. 4), exhibits this place as improved agreeably to the
principles of modern Landscape Gardening, not only in the
plantations, but in the house, which appears tastefully alter-
ed from a plain unmeaning parallelogram, to a simple old

English cottage, and in the more graceful approach. Effects
like these, 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.
[ Fig. 4. View of the same Residence improved.]
Where there are large masses of wood to regulate and ar-

range, 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 superfluous. Most of
our native woods too, have grown so closely, and the trees
are consequently so much drawn up, that if 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 re-
main in groups of considerable size at first, and to thin them

out as is finally desired, when they have made strono-er roots
and become more inured to the influence of the sun and air.*
One of the loveliest charms of a fine park is, undoubtedly,

variation or undulation of surface. Every thing accordingly
which tends to preserve and strengthen this pleasing charac-
ter, 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 repressions. By planting the elevated portions of
* When, in thinning woods in this manner, those left standing have a meagre
appearance, a luxuriant growth may be promoted by the application of ma-
nure plentifully dug in about the roots. This will also, by causing an abund-
ant growth of new roots, strengthen the trees in their position.
the grounds, their apparent height is increased ;

but by plant-
ing the hollows, all distinction is lessened and broken up. In-
deed, where there is but a very trilling and scarcely perceptible
undulation, the importance of the swells of surface already ex-
isting 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 the most
striking part or parts of the prospect, near the house for ex-
ample, 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 poi7its,
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 efiected, 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 connec-
tion may be kept up by advancing a few groups, or even
scattered trees, into the neighbouring 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 hand-
some cluster of saplings or a few full grown trees ; of if not

these, at least some tall growing bushes along the fences, all
of which, by a little exercise of this leading principle of cow-
nectio?i, 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, con-
nection is still easier, and where it bounds upon one of our

noble rivers, lakes, or other large sheets of water, of course
connection is not expected ; for 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 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 neigh-

bourhood of the residence, the whole evinces less polish ;
and
gradually, towards the farthest extremities, grows ruder, until
it assimilates 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.
Such are the principal rules to be observed in arranging
the plantations, and improving the grounds of a residence in
the modern style. A scene, thus arranged, well grown, and

afterwards well kept, would undoubtedly be considered beau-
tiful. Whether the expression or character would be that of
natural beaut j/ or picturesque beauti/, would not only depend

upon the original features and character of the place, but also
upon the manner in which the plantations were arranged and

kept. If the object aimed at be simply the production of gen-
eral or natural beauty, it will be eflfected by choosing, in the
first place, trees, which, as we shall hereafter point out, are
expressive of that kind of beauty. They must not only be

'
arranged as we have here suggested, but they should be
kept growing in the most luxuriant and healthy manner.
They should mostly exhibit clean smooth stems, fresh and
tender barks, and handsome well balanced heads. To height-
en their elegance, they might, in frequented parts of the scene,
occasionally be entwined with the most showy and graceful
climbing plants, or intermixed with tall growing, flowering

shrubs ;
and to correspond with them, the ground should slope
gently, or roll away in easy undulations, and the turf should
be close fed, or well rnown.
If, on the contrary, the planter desire to improve or plant

grounds already somewhat picturesque, or to which he aims
to impart that character, he must choose such trees as have
in themselves that expression, and intermix them in much
larger proportion in his plantations. There should be more
of the wildness of the finest and most forcible portions of nat-
ural woods or forests, in the disposition of the trees ;
some-
times 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 similar char-
acter, as the hazel, hawthorn, etc., and formed into such pic-
turesque and striking groups, as painters love to study and
introduce into their pictures. Luxuriant vines, or such as
are themselves picturesque in their festoons and hangings,
should be allowed to clamber over occasional trees in a neg-

ligent manner; and the surface and grass, in parts of the scene
not immediately in the neighbourhood of the mansion, may

ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS, 67
be kept short by the cropping of animals, or allowed to grow

in a more careless and loose state, like the surface of tangled
dells and natural woods.

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 graceful or picturesque beauty, etc., the efforts
of the improver will be most successful, if he contribute by

his art to aid and strengthen that expression. This should
ever be borne in mind, when we are commencing any im-
provements in planting that will affect the general expression
of the scene ; as there are but few country residences in the
United States, of any importance, which have not naturally

some distinct landscape character, and the labours of the im-
prover 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 im-
portant point. This will be felt almost intuitively, as it
were, by persons who, perhaps, would themselves be inca-

pable of describing the cause of their gratification, but who
would perceive the contrary at once ;
as many are unable to
analyze 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 close-
ly, that grounds naturally picturesque, must have nothing of

the softening touches of general beauty, or that a demesne
characterized by the latter expression should not be occasion-
ally 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, Pictur-

esque trees give new spirit to groups of merely 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 some-

thing of zest or elegance may be borrowed from the opposite
character, to suit the wishes, or gratify the taste of the pro-
prietor.
[Fig. 5. Plan of a common Farm, before any impmvements.
To illustrate partially our ideas on the arrangement of

plantations, we place before the reader the two accompany-
ing examples. The first, (fig. 5,) represents a portion, say

one-third or one-half, of a piece of property selected for a
country seat, and which has hitherto only been kept in til-
lage as ordinary farm land. The public road, a, is the boun-
dary on one side : dd are prettily wooded dells or ravines
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 embellishments of the lo-
cality.
In the next figure, (fig. 6,) a ground plan of the place is
given, as it would appear, after having been judiciously laid
,'m!
mmN','i'|!!i''ii,'!ii!'!lil!
iM.Jiiiiiiiii;'
-villi
^'
«!|
•
1 1
W'l|
'
1
1
'
' I
I
"
I
1
I
'
I
[Fig- 6. Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Counuy Seal afler ten years improvement J
out and planted, with several years growth. At a, the ap-
proach 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 ad-
vantage of the wooded dells, o?, originally existing, which

offer some scope for varied walks, concealed from each other
by the intervening masses of thicket. It will be seen here,
that one of the largest masses of wood forms a back ground
to the house, concealing also the out-buildings ; 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 dis-
tant views are had througfh the vistas in the lines ee. In
this manner, the park or lawn appears divided into four dis-
tinct lawns or areas, bounded by groups of trees, instead of

beins: dotted over with an unmeaning: confusion of irregular
masses of foliage. The form of these areas varies, also, with
every change of position in the spectator, as seen from differ-
ent portions of the grounds, or different points in the walks ;
and they can be still further varied at pleasure, by adding
more single trees, or small groups, which should always, to
produce variety of outline, be 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/;
the barn, g; and the kitchen garden adjacent at h ; the or-
chard at i ; and a small portion of the farm lands at k; 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 adjoining farm lands.

Figure 7, is the plan of an American mansion residence
of considerable extent, only part of the farm lands, /, being
here delineated. In this residence, as there is no extensive
view worth preserving, beyond the bounds of the estate, the
park or pleasure-grounds, are surrounded by an irregular

and picturesque belt of wood. A fine natural stream or rivu-
[Fig- 7. Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid oul in ihe natural style.]
let, which ran through the estate, has been formed into a hand-
some pond, or small lake,/, which adds much to the interest
of the arounds. The approach road breaks off from the high-
way at the entrance lodge, a, and proceeds in easy curves to
the mansion, h ; and the groups of trees on the side of this
approach nearest the house, are so arranged that the visiter
scarcely obtains more than a glimpse of the latter, until he

arrives at the most favourable position for a first impression.
From the windows of the mansion, al either end, the eye

ranges over groups of flowers and shrubs; while on the en-

trance front, the trees are arranged so as to heighten the na-
tural expression of graceful beauty originally existing there.
On the other front, the broad mass of light reflected from the
green turf at /i, is balanced by the dark shadows of the pictur-
esque plantations which surround the lake and skirt the whole
boundary. At i, 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 fo-
liage, though easily accessible by a short curved road, re-
turning fro?}i the house, so as not to present any road lead-
ing 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 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 enjoyments 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, etc. must be judiciously portioned out, and so charac-

terized and divided by plantations, that the whole shall ap-
pear 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 af-
forded the reader, in the accompanying plan, (fig. 8), of the

grounds of Riverside Villa. This admirable villa at Bur-
[Fig. 8. Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence. 1
10
lington, New- Jersey, (which we shall again refer to,) was

built, and the grounds, about six or eight acres in extent, laid
out, from the designs of John Notman, Esq. architect, of Phi-
ladelphia; and while the latter give a large amount of beauty

and enjoyment, scarcely any thing 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,
while one front commands fine water views, and the other
looks into the lawn or pleasure-grounds, h. 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,/; and at §-, 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 i, is situated the ice-house ;
d, hot-beds ; k^ bleaching green ; j, gardener's house, etc. In

the rear of the latter are the stables, which are not shown on
the plan.
The embellished farm, [ferme ornee,) is a species of coun-

try residence, likely to become very general in this country.
Men of considerable means, here, often retire from the cities,
and devote their attention to agriculture ;

and while they de-
sire not to lose sight of profit in culture, their taste leads them
to give to their farms something of the elegant effects of Land-
scape Gardening. A few acres, or even an acre, will be set
apart mainly for the purposes of ornament ; and on this area,
the plantations, though less extensive, should be arranged
with a view to produce something of the same beauty, as in

the residence of a park-like character. This area, planted
with the finer forest trees, and laid down in grass, may be
mown by the scythe ; or if trees only are employed, and
shrubs excluded, it may be used as a pasture-ground for sheep
or cattle. The divisions of the adjoining fields should be
broken, and concealed from the eye, by irregular hedges of

the thorn, crab, or mulberry, and the embellished space
around the dwelling should be connected with the fields, by

introducing a few groups and scattered trees in the latter, of
the same kinds as are prevalent in the former. In the accom-
panying plan, a bird's-eye view of a simple embellished farm
is given, to exemplify these remarks. In this view, only a
small portion of the farm lands are shown in the fields, a.
The orchard, 6, the kitchen garden, c, and the farm and

stable, c?, are also shown : e, is that portion devoted princi-
pally to ornament, in which the trees are arranged in the nat-

ural style. This embraces two or three acres of land, imme-
diately adjoining the approach or private road, /, and would
convey to the stranger, entering the place by this road, an idea
of considerable taste in the occupant of such a farm. If we
suppose the area or lawn to be kept short by the cropping of an-
imals, it may be considered an useful,- as well as an ornamental
disposition of this part of the farm. Many persons, however,
may desire something more : and in this case, animals might
be excluded, the grass kept short by the scythe, and the beauty
increased by the introduction of showy shrubs, and groups of
flowering plants. In arranging these, even in the small area

of an acre of ground, let them study the same principles, and
endeavour to produce as satisfactory effects, as though they
were improving a mansion residence of the first class. The
extent of the operations, and the sums lavished, are not by any
means necessarily connected with successful and pleasing
[Fig. 9. Plan of aa embelliabed F
results. The man of correct taste will, by the aid of very lim-
ited means, and upon a small surface, be able to afford the
mind more true pleasure, than the improver who lavishes thou-
sands without it, creating no other emotion than surprise or
pity at the useless expenditure incurred; and the Abbe Delille

says nothing more true than that,
"Ce noble emploi demand un artiste qui pense,
Prodigue de genie, et non pas de depense."

Les Jardiiis.
From the inspection of plans like these, the tyro may learn
something of the manner of arranging the plantations, and
of the general effect of the natural style in particular cases
and situations. But the knowledge they afford, is so far be-
low that obtained by an inspection of the effects in reality,

ON "WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 77
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 appli-
cation to different sites, situations, and surfaces ; developing

the latent capacities of one place and heightening the charms
of another.
But the leading principles, as regards the formation of
plantations, which we have here endeavoured slightly to de-
velope, 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 again to the beautiful
compositions and combination of nature, displayed in her

majestic groups, masses, and single trees, as well as open
glades and deep thickets ;
of which, fortunately, in most parts
of our country, checkered here and there, as it everywhere
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 transfer them to his
own estate ; for nature is truly inexhaustible in her re-
sources of the beautiful.

To the man of taste, there is also another mine of wealth
in the productions of the pencil ; and the knowledge derived

from a critical contemplation of the best pictures, and en-
gravings, will be found of no mean or trifling importance.
Mason in his poem, the English Garden, thus alludes to
this subject
" If yet thy art be dubious how to treat
Nature's neglected features, turn thy eye

To those, the masters of correct design,
Who, from her vast variety, have cull'd

The loveliest, boldest parts, and new^ arranged :
Yet, as herself approv'd, herself inspir'd

In their immortal works, thou ne'er shall find
Dull uniformity, contrivance quaint,
Or laboured littleness ; but contrast broad,
And careless lines, whose undulating forms
Play thro' the varied canvass ; these transplant
Again on nature ; take the plastic spade,
It is thy pencil ; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours : and by these repay
"With interest, every charm she lent thy art."
Page 13.
The amateur, who wishes to dispose his plantations in the

natural style of Landscape Gardening, so as to produce beau-
tiful or picturesque scenery, will be greatly aided by a study
of the peculiar expression of trees individually, and in com-
position. The effect of a given tree singly, is often exceed-
ingly 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 farther aid to this most desirable species of informa-
tion, we shall offer a few remarks on the principal varieties
of character afforded by trees in composition.

Almost all trees, with relation to forms, may be divi-
ded into three kinds, viz : round-headed trees, oblong or py-

ramidal trees, and spiry-topped trees ; and so far as the
expressions of the different species comprised in these distinct

divisions 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 less
varied in outline, but exhibiting in the whole

(Pig. 10 R^ndheaded a top Or hcad comparatively round ; as the
. oak, ash, beech, and walnut. They are generally beau-
tiful when young, from their smoothness, and the elegance

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 different round-headed
trees may be considered as the most appropriate for introduc-
tion in peaceful, or cultivated scenery, or landscapes where
the character is that of natural or polished beauty ; as they
harmonize with almost all scenes, 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 more agreeable than the unbroken line exhi-
bited 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 disposition
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 of figure, than two Lombardy poplars.
"In a tree," says Uvedale Price, "of which the foliage is
everywhere full and unbroken, there can be but little variety

oiform ; then, as the sun strikes only on the surface, neither
can there be much variety of light and shade ; and as the
apparent colour 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
those 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 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, sur-

passes 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 tirees of the ordi-
nary loose and varied manner of growth, common in the ma-
jority of forest growth, 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 sub-
limity ; and when they stand alone, or in fine groups in the
cultivated demesne, they still are grand 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. 11), are distinguished by straight
leading stems and horizontal branches, which are compara-

lively smallj and taper gradually to a point.

The foliage is generally evergreen, and in most
trees of this class, hangs in parallel or droop-
'""'^
%-!l^T""'''' itig 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 similari-
ty, or 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 plea-
sure 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 appear-
ance ;
to say nothing of the effect of the uniform dark colour,
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-headed 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 pe-
culiar, and, we may add, extremely valuable to the Land-
scape Gardener. Their general expression, when single or
scattered, is extremely spirited, wild, and picturesque ; and
when judiciously introduced into artificial scenery, they pro-
duce the most charming and unique effects. " The situa-
tions where they have most effect, is among rocks, and in

very irregular surfaces ; and especially on the steep sides
11
of high mountains, where their forms and the direction of

their growth, seem to harmonize with the pointed rocky sum-
mits." Fir and pine forests are extremely dull and monoto-
nous in sandy plains, and smooth surfaces, (as in the pine
barrens of the southern states) ; but among broken rocks,
craggy precipices, 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 quan-

tities in wild, broken, and picturesque scenes, where they will
appear perfectly in keeping, and add wonderfully to the pecu-

liar 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 prevail-
ing 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 neg-
lected 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 new life and spirit, and add greatly, both by contrast
of form and colour, to the force of round-headed trees. A
stately and regular white pine, or hemlock, or a few thin
groups of the same trees, peeping out from amidst, or border-
ing a large mass of deciduous trees, have great power in ad-
ding to the interest which the same may create in the mind
of the spectator. Care must be taken, however, that the very
spirited effect which is here aimed at, is not itself defeated by
the over anxiety of the planter, who, in scattering too profuse-
ly these very strongly marked trees, makes them at last so

plentiful as to give the whole a mingled and confused look

in which neither the beautiful and sweeping outlines of the
round-headed, or the picturesque summits of the spiry-topped
trees predominate : as the former decidedly should in all
scenes where the expression is not stronger than that of mere

graceful beauty.
The larch, to which we shall hereafter recur at some
length, may be considered one of the most picturesque trees

of this division ;
and being more rapid in its growth than
most evergreens, it may be used as a substitute for, or in con-
junction with them, where effect is speedily desired.
Oblong-headed trees, show heads of foliage more length-

ened out, more formal, and generally more tapering, than
round-headed ones. They differ from spiry-top-
ped trees in having upright branches, instead of
horizontal ones, and in forming a conical or pyra-
'ifefdedTr«'°f
niidal mass of foliage, instead of a spiry, tufted
one. They are mostly deciduous ; and approaching more

nearly to round-headed trees, than sj)iry-topped ones do, they
may perhaps be more frequently introduced. The Lombardy
poplar may be considered the representative of this division ;
as the oak is of the first, and the larch and fir of the second.
Abroad, the oriental cypress, an evergreen, is used to produce
similar effects in scenery.
The great use of the Lombardy poplar, and other similar

trees in composition, is to relieve, or break into groups, large
masses of wood. This it does very effectually, when its tall
summit rises at intervals from among round-headed trees,
forming pyramidal centres to groups, where there was only

a swelling and flowing outline. Formal rows, or groups of
oblong-headed trees, however, are tiresome and monotonous
to the last degree ; a straight line of them being scarcely bet-
ter in appearance than a tall, stiff, gigantic hedge. Examples

of this can be easily found in many parts of the Union, where
the crude and formal taste of proprietors, by leading them to
plant long lines of Lombardy poplars, has had the effect of
destroying the beauty of many a fine prospect and building.

Conical, or oblong-headed trees, when carefully employed,
have a highly pleasing and agreeable effect in conjunction

with horizontal lines of buildings, and particularly with the
Grecian architecture, now so fashionable in this country.
Near such edifices, sparingly introduced, and tningled i7i
small proportion ivith round-headed trees, they contrast ad-

vantageously with the long cornices, flat roofs, and horizontal
lines, that predominate in their exterior. Lombardy pop-
lars are often thus introduced in pictures of Italian scenery,
where they sometimes break the formality of a long line of wall
in the happiest manner. Nevertheless, if they should be indis-
[Fig. 13. Poplttrs in excess.
criminately employed, or even used in any considerable propor-

tion in the decoration of the ground immediately adjoining a
building of any pretensions, they would inevitably defeat this
[Fig. 14. Poplars jlld

purpose, and by their tall and formal growth, diminish the

apparent magnitude, as well as the elegance of the house.
Fig. 13 is a miniature sketch of a building completely over-
powered in this way by tall poplars. Fig. 14, shows a build-
ing around which they are more judiciously introduced.
Drooping trees, though often classed with oblong-headed
trees, evidently differ from them in so many particulars,
that they deserve to be ranked under a separate head. To

this class belong the weeping willow, the weeping birch,
the drooping elm, etc. Their prominent characteristics are
gracefulness, and elegance ; and we consider them as un-
fit therefore, to be employed to any extent in scenes where

it is desirable to keep up the expression of a wild or highly
picturesque character. As single objects, or mingled spar-
ingly in beautiful or elegant scenes, they are in excellent

keeping, and contribute much to give value to the leading
expression.
When drooping trees are mixed indiscriminately with other

round-headed trees, in the composition of groups or masses,
much of their individual character is lost, as it depends, not
so much on the top, (as in oblong and spiry trees,) as upon the
side branches, which are of course concealed by those of the

adjoining trees. Drooping trees, therefore, as elms, birches,
etc., are shown to the best advantage on the Sorcêrs of groups,

or the boundaries of plantations. It must not be forgotten, but
constantly kept in mind, that all strongly marked trees, like
bright colours in pictures, only admit of occasional employ-
ment; and that the very object aimed at in introducing them'
'
will be defeated if they are brought into the lawn and park
in masses, and distributed heedlessly on every side. An
English author very justly remarks, therefore, that the pop-
lar, the willow, and the drooping birch, are ''
most dangerous
trees in the hands of a planter who has not considerable

knowledge and good taste in the composition of a landscape."
Some of them, as the native elm, from their abounding in
our own woods, may appear oftener ; while others, which

have a peculiar and exotic look, as the weeping willow,
should only be seen in situations where they either do not
disturb the prevailing expression, or, (which is better,) where
they are evidently in good keeping. " The weeping willow,"
says Gilpin, with his usual good taste, " is not adapted to
sublime objects. We wish it not to screen the broken but-
tress and Gothic windows of an abbey, or to overshadow the
battlements of a ruined castle. These offices it resigns to the
oak, whose dignity can support them. The weeping willow

seeks an humble scene, — some romantic footpath bridge,
which it half conceals, or some glassy pool over which it
hangs its streaming foliage,
'
And dips
Its pendant boughs as if to drink.' "*
The manner in which a picturesque bit of landscape can

be supported by picturesque spiry-topped trees, and its ex-
pression degraded by the injudicious employment of grace-
ful drooping trees, will be apparent to the reader in the two
little accompanying sketches. In the first, (fig. 15), the ab-
rupt hill, the rapid mountain torrent,
and the distant Alpine summits are

in fine keeping with the tall spiry
larches and firs, which, shooting up

[Fig. 15 rTeesi,, keeping] ou cithcr sldc of thc old bridge, oc-
cupy the foreground. In the second, (fig. 16), there is evi-
dently something discordant in the scene, which strikes the
* Foiest Scenery, p. 133.

spectator at first sight, this is the misplaced introduction of the
two large willows, which belong to a scene very different in

character. Imagine a removal of the
^^3ir'^^!d^îirf^^% surrounding hills, and let the rapid
I
stream spread out into a smooth
peaceful lake, with gradually retiring
(Fig. 16. TrleTTiôJ^cHiMs.] shorcs, and the blue summits in the
distance, and then the willows will harmonize admirably.
Having now described the peculiar characteristics of these
different classes, of round-headed, spiry-topped, oblong, and

drooping trees, we should consider the proper method by
which a harmonious combination of the different forms com-
posing them may be made, so as not to violate correct princi-
ples of taste. An indiscriminate mixture of their different
forms would, it is evident, produce anything but an agree-
able effect. For example, let a person plant together in a
group three trees of totally opposite forms and expressions,

viz : a weeping willow, an oak, and a poplar ;
and the expres-
sion of the whole would be destroyed by this confusion re-
sultinsr from their discordant forms. On the other hand, the
mixture of trees that exactly correspond in their forms, if
these forms, as in oblong or drooping trees, are similar, will
infallibly create sameness. In order then to produce beauti-

ful variety, which shall neither on the one side run into con-
fusion, nor on the other, verge into monotony, it is re-
quisite to give some little attention to the harmony of form

and colour in the composition of trees in artificial planta-
tions.
The only rules which we can suggest to govern the planter

are these : First, if a certain leading expression is desired in
a group of trees, together with as great a variety as possible,

such species must be chosen as harmonize with each other in

certain leading points. And, secondly, in intermingling trees
of opposite characters, discordance may be prevented and

harmonious expression promoted, by interposing other trees
of an intermediate character.
In the first case, suppose it is desired to form a group of
trees, in which gracefulness or elegance must be the leading
expression. The willow alone, would have the effect ; but in

groups, willows alone produce sameness : in order therefore
to give variety, we must choose other trees which, while they
diflfer from the willow in some particulars, agree in others.
The elm has much larger and darker foliage, while it has
also a drooping spray ;
the weeping birch differs in its leaves,
but agrees in the pensile flow of its branches ; the common

birch has few pendant boughs, but resembles in the airy
lightness of its leaves; and the three-thorned acacia, though
its branches are horizontal, as delicate foliage of nearly the
same hue and floating lightness as the willow. Here we
have a group of five trees, which is in the whole full of grace-
fulness and variety, while there is nothing in the composition
inharmonious to the practised eye.
To illustrate the second rule, let us suppose a long sweeping

outline of maples, birches, and other light, mellow-coloured
trees, which the improver wishes to vary, and break into
groups, by spiry-topped, evergreen trees. It is evident, that
if these trees were planted in such a manner as to peer ab-
ruptly out of the light-coloured foliage of the former trees,

in dark, or almost black masses of tapering verdure, the effect
would be by no means so satisfactory and pleasing, as if there
were a partial transition, from the mellow, pale-green of the

maples, etc., to the darker hues of the oak, ash, or beech, and
finally the sombre tint of the evergreens. Thus much for

the colouring ; and if, in addition to this, oblong-headed trees,
or pyramidal trees, were also placed near and partly inter-
mingled with the spiry-topped ones, the unity of the whole

composition would be still more complete.*
Contrasts, again, are often admissible in woody scenery, and
we would not wish to lose many of our most superb trees,
because they could not be introduced in particular portions of
landscape. Contrasts in trees may be so violent as to be dis-
pleasing ;
as in the example of the groups of the three trees,
the willow, poplar, and oak : or they may be such as to pro-

duce spirited and pleasing effects. This must be effected by
planting the different divisions of trees, first, in small leading
groups, and then by effecting a union between the groups of

different character, by intermingling those of the nearest sim-
ilarity into and near the groups : in this way, by easy trans-
itions from the drooping to the round-headed, and from these

to the tapering trees, the whole of the foliage and forms, har-
monize well.
[Fig. 17, Example in grouping
* We are persuaded that very few persons are aware of the infinite beauty, va-
ried and endless, that may be produced by arranging trees with regard to their
colouring. It requires the eye and genius of a Claude, or a Poussin, to devel-

ope all these hidden beauties of harmonious combination. Gilpin rightly says,
in speaking of the dark Scotch fir, " with regard to colour in general, I think I
speak the language of painting, when I assert that the picturesque eye
makes little distinction in this matter. It has no attachment to one colour in
preference to another, but considers the beauty of all colouring as resulting, not
from the colours themselves, but almost entirely from their harmony with other
colours in their neighbourhood. So that as the Scotch fir tree is combined or
stationed, it forms a beautiful umbrage or a murky spot."
12
" Trees," observes Mr. Whately in his elegant treatise on

this subject, " which differ in but one of these circumstances,
of shape, green, or growth, though they agree in every other,

are sufficiently distinguished for the purpose of variety : if
they differ in two or three, they become contrasts : if in all,
they are opposite, and seldom group well together. Those

on the contrary which are of one character, and are distin-
guished only as the characteristic mark is strongly or faintly
impressed upon them, form a beautiful mass, and unity is pre-
served without sameness."*

There is another circumstance connected with the colour
of trees, that will doubtless suggest itself to the improver of
taste, the knowledge of which may sometimes be turned to
valuable account. We mean the effects produced in the ap-
parent colouring of a landscape by distance, which painters

term aerial perspective. Standing at a certain position in a
scene, the colouring is deep, rich, and full in the foreground,
more tender and mellow in the middle-ground, and softening

to a pale tint in the distance.
" Where to the eye three well marked distances

Spread their peculiar colouring, vivid green,
Warm brown, and black opake the foreground bears

Conspicuous: sober olive coldly marks
The second distance : thence the third declines
In softer blue, or lessening still, is lost
In fainted purple. When thy taste is cali'd
To deck a scene where nature's self presents
All these distinct gradations, then rejoice
As does the Painter, and like him apply
Thy colours plant thou on each separate
: part
Its proper foliage,"
Advantage may occasionally be taken of this peculiarity in
the gradation of colour, in Landscape Gardening, by the crea-
* Observations on Modern Gardening.

tion, as it were, of an artificial distance. In grounds and
scenes of limited extent, the apparent size and breadth may

be increased, by planting a majority of the trees in the fore-
ground, of dark tints, and the boundary with foliage of a much
lighter hue. In the same way, the apparent breadth of a piece
of water will be greatly added to, by placing the paler col-
oured trees on the shore opposite to the spectator. These

hints will suggest other ideas and examples of a similar na-
ture, to the minds of those who are alive to the more minute
and exquisite beauties of the landscape.
An acquaintance, individually, with the different species of
trees of indigenous and foreign growth, which may be culti-
vated with success in this climate, is absolutely essential to
the amateur, or the professor of Landscape Gardening. The

tardiness or rapidity of their growth, the periods at which
their leaves and flowers expand, the soils they love best, and
their various habits and characters, are all subjects of the high-
est interest to him. In short, as a love of the country almost

commences with a knowledge of its peculiar characteristics,
the pure air, the fresh enamelled turf, and the luxuriance and
beauty of the whole landscape ;

so the taste for the embel-
lishment of Rural Residences, must grow out of an admiration

for beautiful trees, and the delightful effects they are capable
of producing in the hands of persons of taste, and lovers of

nature.
Admitting this, we think, in the comparatively meagre state
of general information on this subject among us, we shall
render an acceptable service to the novice, by giving a some-

what detailed description of the character and habits of most
of the finest hardy forest and ornamental trees. Among those
living in the country, there are many who care little for the
beauties of Landscape Gardening, who are yet interested in

those trees which are remarkable for the beauty of their forms,
their foliage, their blossoms, or their useful purposes. This

we hope will be a sufficient explanation for the apparently-
disproportionate number of pages which we shall devote to
this part of our subject.

DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 93
SECTION IV.
DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES.
The History and Description of all the finest hardy Deciduous Trees. Remarks on their
EFFECTS INLANDSCAPE GARDKNING, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN COMPOSITION. Their Cultivation,
etc. The Oak. The Elm. The Ash. The Linden. The Beech. The Poplar. The Horse-
chestnut. The Birch. The Alder. The Maple. The Locust. The Three-thorned Acacia.
The Judas-tree. The Chestnut. The Osage Orange. The Mulberry. The Paper Mulberry.
The Sweet Gum. The Walnut. The Hickory. The xMountain Ash. The Ailantus.
The Kentucky Coffee. The Willow. The Sassafras. TheCatalpa. The Persimonen. The
Pepperidge. The Thorn. The Magnolia. The Tulip. The Dogwood. The Sa isburia.
The Cypress. The Larch, etc.
Ogloriosi spirit! de gli boschi,

O Eco, o antri fosclii, o chiare linfe,
O faretrate ninfe, o agresti Pani,
O Satlii e Silvani, o Fauni e Driadi,
Naiadi ed Amadriadi, o Semidee
Oreadi e Napee. —
Sannazzaro.
" O spirits of the woods,

Echoes and sohtudes, and lakes of light;
O quivered virgins bright, Pan's rustical
Satyrs and sylvans all, dryads and ye
That up the mountains be; and ye beneath
In meadow or in flowery heath.''
The Oak. Quercus.
Nat. Ord. CorylaceaB. Lin. Syst. Monoecia, Polyandria.
HE Arcadians believed the oak to have been

the first created of all trees ; and when we
consider its great and surpassing utility and
beauty, we are fully disposed to concede it
the first rank among the denizens of the forest. Springing

up with a noble trunk, and stretching out its broad limbs over
the soil,
" These monarchs of the wood,

Dark, gnarled, centennial oaks,"
seem proudly to bid defiance to time ;

and while generations
of man appear and disappear, they withstand the storms of a
thousand winters, and seem only to grow more venerable and
majestic. They are mentioned in the oldest histories ; we
are told that Absalom was caught by his hair in " the thick
boughs of a great oak ;" and Herodotus informs us that the

first oracle was that of Dodona, set up in the celebrated oak
grove of that name. There, at first the oracles were delivered
by the priestesses, but, as was afterwards believed, by the in-
spired oaks themselves —

"Which in Dodona did enshrine,
So faith too fondly deemed a voice divine."
Acorns, the fruit of the oak, appear to have been held in

considerable estimation as an article of food among the an-
cients. Not only were the swine fattened upon them, as in
our own forests, but they were ground into flour, with which
bread was made by the poorer classes. Lucretius mentions,
that before grain was known, they were the common food of
man ;
but we suppose the fruit of the chestnut may also have
been included under that term.
" That oake whose acornes were our foode before

The Cerese seede of mortal man was knowne.'*
Spenser.
The civic crown given in the palmy days of Rome to the
most celebrated men, was also composed of oak leaves.

It should not be forgotten that the oak was worshipped by
the ancient Britons, Baal or Yiaoul, (whence Yule,) was the
god of fire, whose symbol was an oak. Hence at his festival,
which was at Christinas, the ceremony of kindling- the Yule

log, was performed among the ancient Druids. This fire
was kept perpetual throughout the year, and the hearths of all
the people were annually lighted from these sacred fires every
Christmas. We believe the curious custom is still extant in
some remote parts of England, where the " Yule log " is ush-
ered in with much glee and rejoicing once a year.
As an ornamental object, we consider the oak the most

majestic and picturesque of all deciduous trees. The enor-
mous size, and extreme old age to which it attains in a fa-
vourable situation, the great space of ground that it covers

with its branches, and the strength and hardihood of the tree,
all contribute to stamp it with the character of dignity and

grandeur beyond any other compeer of the forest. When
young, its fine foliage, (singularly varied in many of our na-
tive species,) and its thrifty form, render it a beautiful tree.
But it is not until the oak has attained considerable size, that
it displays its true character, and only when at an age that

would terminate the existence of most other trees^ that it ex-
hibits all its magnificence. Then its deeply furrowed trunk

is covered with mosses, its huge branches, each a tree, spread-
ing out horizontally from the trunk with great boldness, its
trunk of huge dimension, and its " high top, bald with dry
antiquity ;" all these, its true characteristics, stamp the oak
as Virgil has expressed it in his Georgics, —

" Jove's own tree,
That holdsthe woods in awful sovereignty :
For length of ages lasts his happy reign.

And lives of mortal man contend in vain.
Full in the midst of his own strength he stands,
Stretching his brawny arms and Ifâfy hands.
His shade protects the plains, his liead the hills commands."
Dryden's Trans.
" The oakj" says Gilpin, " is confessedly the most pictur-
esque tree in itself, and the most accommodating in compo-
sition. It refuses no subject, either in natural or in artificial
landscape. It is suited to the grandest, and may with pro-

priety be introduced into the most pastoral. It adds new-
dignity to the ruined tower, and the Gothic arch ; and by
stretching its wild, moss-grown branches athwart their ivied
walls, it gives them a kind of majesty coeval with itself; at
the same time, its propriety is still preserved if it throws its
arms over the purling brook or the mantling pool, where it
beholds
'*
Its reverend image in the expanse below."
Milton introduces it happily even in the lowest scene —

" Hard by a cottage chimney smokes,
From between two aged oaks."
The oak is not only one of the grandest and most pictur-
esque objects as a single tree upon a lawn, but it is equally
unrivalled for groups and masses. There is a breadth about
the lights and shadows reflected and embosomed in its foliage,
a singular freedom and boldness in its outline, and a pleasing

richness and intricacy in its huge ramification of branch and
limb, that render it highly adapted to these purposes. Some
trees, as the willow, or the spiry poplar, though pleasing sin-
gly, are monotonous to the last degree when planted in quan-

tities. Not so however with the oak, as there is no tree when
forming a wood entirely by itself, which aifords so great a va-
riety of form and disposition, light and shade, symmetry and

irregularity, as this king of the forests.
To arrive at its highest perfection, ample space on every
side must be allowed the oak. A free exposure to the sun

DECIDUOUS ornai\il:ntal trees. 97
and air, and a deep mellow soil are highly necessary to its
fullest amplitude. For this reason, the oaks of our forests,
being thickly crowded, are seldom of extraordinary size ;

and
there are more truly majestic oaks in the parks of England
than are to be found in the whole cultivated portion of the
United States. Here and there, however, throughout our
country, may be seen a solitary oak of great age and immense
size, which attest the fitness of the soil and climate, and dis-
play the grandeur of our native species. The Wadsworth

Oak near Genesseo, N. Y. of extraordinary dimensions, the
product of one of our most fertile valleys, has attracted the
[Fig. IS. The Charier Oak, Hartford.
admiration of hundreds of travellers, on the route to Niagara.
The celebrated Charter Oak at Hartford, which has figured

so conspicuously in the history of New-England, is still ex-
isting in a green old age, one of the most interesting monu-

ments of the past to be found in the country.*
Near the village of Flushing, Long Island, on the farm of
Judge Lawrence, is growing one of the noblest oaks in the
countrJ^ It is truly park-like in its dimensions, the circum-
ference of the trunk being nearly thirty feet, and its majestic
head of corresponding dignity. In the deep alluvial soil of
the western valleys, the oak often assumes a grand aspect,
and bears witness to the wonderful fertility of the soil in

that region.
* The house seen in the engraving represents the " old Wyllis House." This
family, its former occupants, furnished the Secretary of State for Connecticut for
more than a century. Near the Charter Oak are some of the apple trees planted
by the Pilgrims, evidently Pearmains. Some of these, lately felled, have been
examined, and are found to be more than 200 hundred years old.
f The following well authenticated description of a famous English oak, is
worth a record here. "Close by the gate of the water walk of Magdalen Col-
lege, Oxford, grew an oak which perhaps stood there a sapling when Alfred the
Great founded the University. This period only includes a space of 900 years,
which is no great age for an oak. About 500 years after the time of Alfred, Dr.
Stukely tells us, William of Waynefleet expressly. ordered his college (Magda-
len College), to be founded near the Great Oak ; and an oak could not I think
be less than 500 years of age to merit that title, together with the honour of fix-
ing the site of a college. When the magnificence of Cardinal Woolsey erected
that handsome tower which is so ornamental to the whole building, this tree
might probably be in the meridian of its glory. It was afterwards much injured
in the reign of Charles II, when the present walks were laid out. Its roots were
disturbed, and from that time it declined fast, and became a mere trunk. The
oldest members of the University can hardly recollect it in better plight ; but the
faithful records of history have handed down its ancient dimensions. Through
a space of 16 yards on every side it once flung its branches ; and under its mag-
nificent pavilion could have sheltered with ease 3000 men. In the summer of
1778, this magnificent ruin fell to the ground. From a part of its ruins, a chair
has been made for the President of the College, which will long continue its
memory." —
Gilpin'i Forest Scenery.
The King Oak, Windsor Forest, once the favourite tree of William the Con-
queror, is now more than 1000 years old, and the interior of the trunk is quite
hollow. Professor Burnet, who described it, lunched inside this tree with a party,
and says it is capable of accommodating 10 or 12 persons comfortably at dinner,
sitting.
The Beggars Oak, in Bagot's Park, is twenty feet in girth five feet from the
As beauty is often closely connected with utility in our minds,
we must be allowed a word on the great value of this tree. For

its useful properties the oak has scarcely any superior. " To
enumerate," says old Evelyn in his quaint Sylva, " the in-
comparable uses of this wood were needless ;
but so precious
was the esteem of it of old, there was an express law among-
the Twelve Tables concerning the very gathering of the
acorns, though they should be found fallen on another man's

ground. The land and the sea do sufficiently speak for the
improvement of this excellent material, for houses and ships
cities and navies, are builded with it." In almost all the
finest buildings of Europe, particularly the vast Gothic edi-
fices of the middle ages, oak was the chief material for the
interior. The rich old wainscott, the innumerable carvings
and decorations of those days were executed in this material.
In America, the vast pine forests produce a wood easily
wrought, which has in a great measure superseded the use

of this fine timber, and the exportation of immense quantities
of the former to the eastern continent, has even in some de-

gree lessened its consumption abroad. But for certain pur-
poses, where great strength and durability are required, the
oak will always take the precedence claimed for it by Eve-

lyn.* The English oak is probably rather superior in these
ground. The roots rise above the surface in a very extraordinary manner, so as
to furnish a natural seat for the beggars chancing to pass along the pathway near
it ; and the circumference taken there is 68 feet. The branches extend from
the tree 48 feet in every direction.
Tlie Wallace Oak, at Edenslee, near where Wallace was born, is a noble tree
21 feet in circumference. It is 67 feet high, and its branches extend 45 feet east
36 west, 30 south, and 25 north. Wallace and 300 of his men are said to have
hid themselves from the English among the branches of this tree, which was
then in full leaf
^ The doors of the inner chapels of Westminster, it is stated, are of the same
age as the original building ;
and as the original ancient edifice was founded in
611, they must consequently be more than 1200 years old. Professor Burnet,
qualities to most of our American species ; but for ship-build-

ing-, the Live oak of the southern states is not exceeded by any
timber in the world.
Different species of Oak. This country is peculiarly rich

in various kinds of oak Michaux enumerating no less than
;
forty species, indigenous to North America. Of these, the

most useful are the Live oak, ( Quercus viretis,) of such ines-
timable value for ship-building ; the Spanish oak, (
Q. fal-
cata) ; the Red
Q. rubra), etc., the bark of which is ex-
oak, (
tensively used in tanning; the Quercitron or Black oak, which

is highly valuable, as affording a fine yellow or brown dye
for wool, silks, paper-hangings, etc. ; and the White oak, which
is chiefly used for timber. We shall here describe only a few
of those which are most entitled to the consideration of the
planter, either for their valuable properties, or as ornamental

trees, and calculated for planting in woods or single masses.
The White oak. [Quercus alba.) This is one of the most
common of the American oaks, being very generally distri-
buted over the country, from Canada to the southern states.
In good strong soils, it forms a tree 70 or 80 feet high, with

wide extending branches: but growth depends much upon
its
this circumstance. It may readily

be known, even in winter,
by its whitish bark, and by the dry and withered leaves which
often hang upon this species through the whole of that season.
The leaves are about four inches wide, and six in length,
divided uniformly into rounded lobes without points these ;
lobes are deeper in damp soils. When the leaves first unfold
in the spring, they are downy beneath, but when fully grown,
they are quite smooth, and pale green on the upper surface,
and whitish or glaucous below. The acorn is oval, and the
cup somewhat flattened at the base. This is the most valua-
ble of all our native oaks ;
immense quantities of the timber
in his curious Amenitales Qwemnea observes, that many of the stakes driven into
the Thames, by the ancient Britons, to impede the process of Julius Caesar, are
in a good slate of preservation, " having withstood the destroyer time, nearly
2000 years.
being used for various purposes in building ; and staves of

the white oak, for barrels, are in universal use throughout the
Union. The great occasional size and fine form of this tree,
in some natural situations, prove how noble an object it would
become when allowed to expand in full vigour and majesty,
in the open air and light of the park. It more nearly ap-
proaches the English oak in appearance, than any other

American species.
Rock Chestnut oak. ( Q. Prinus tnonticola.) This is one of
the most ornamental of our oaks, and is found in considerable
abundance in the middle states. It has the peculiar advan-
tage of growing well on the most barren and rocky soils, and
can therefore be advantageously employed by the landscape
gardener, when a steep, dry, rocky bank is to be covered
with trees. In deep mellow soil, its growth is wonderfully
vigorous, and it rapidly attains a height of 50 or 60 feet,
with a corresponding diameter. The head is rather more

symmetrical in form and outline, than most trees of this ge-
nus, and the stem in free open places shoots up into a lofty
trunk. The leaves are five or six inches long, three or four
broad, oval, and uniformly denticulated, with the teeth more
regular but less acute than the Chestnut white oak. When
beginning to open in the spring, they are covered with a thick
down ; but when fully expanded, they are perfectly smooth,
and of a delicate texture. Michmix.
Chestnut White oak. Prinus pahistris.)
{Qiierciis This
species much resembles the last, but differs in having longer
leaves, which and deeply toothed. It is sparingly
are obovate,
found in the northern and attains its greatest altitude
states,
in the south, where it is often seen 90 feet in height. Though

generally found in the neighbourhood of swamps and low
grounds, it grows with wonderful rapidity in a good, moder-
ately dry soil, and from the beauty of its fine spreading head,
and the quickness of its growth, is highly deserving of intro-
duction into our plantations.
The Yellow oak. Q. Prinus acuminata.) The Yellow
(
oak may be found scattered through our woods over nearly

the whole of the Union. Its leaves are lanceolate, and re-
gularly toothed, light green above, and whitish beneath ;
the acorns small. It forms a stately tree, 70 feet and

high ;
the branches are more upright in their growth, and more

clustering, as it were, round the central trunk, than other
species. The beauty of its long pointed leaves, and their pe-
culiar mode of growth, recommend it to mingle with other
trees, to which it will add variety.
The Pin oak. (

Q.pahistris.) The Pin oak forms a tree in
moist situations, varying in height from GO to SO feet. The
great number of small branches intermingled with the large
ones, have given rise to the name of this variety. It is a
hardy, free growing species, particularly upon moist soils.
Loudon considers it, from its " far-extending, drooping
branches, and light and elegant foliage," among the most
graceful of oaks. It is well adapted to small groups, and is
one of the most thrifty growing and easily obtained of all our
northern oaks.
The Willow oak. {Q. Phellos.) This remarkable species of
oak may be recognised at once by its narrow entire leaves,
shaped almost like those of the willow, and about the same
size, though thicker in texture. It is not found wild north of
the barrens of New-Jersey, where it grows plentifully, but

thrives well in cultivation much farther north. The stem of
this tree is remarkably smooth in every stasfe of its growth.
It is so different in appearance and character from the other
species of this genus, that in plantations it would never be
recognised by a person not conversant with oaks, as one of the
family. It deserves to be introduced into landscapes for its
singularity as an oak, and its lightness and elegance of foliage

individually.
The Mossy-cup oak. (Q. olivceformis.) This is so called
because the scales of the cups terminate in a long, moss-like
fringe, nearly covering the acorn. It is quite a rare species,
beino- only found on the upper banks of the Hudson, and on
the Genesee river. The foliage is fine, large, and deeply cut,
and the lower branches of the tree droop in a beautiful man-
ner when it has attained some considerable size. Quercus

macrocarpa, the Over-cup White oak, is another beautiful
kind found in the western states, which a good deal resembles
the Mossy-cup oak in the acorn. The foliage however is
uncommonly fine, being the largest in size of any American
species ;
fifteen inches long, and eight broad. It is a noble
tree, and the growth of a spe-
with fine deep green foliage ;
cimen planted in our grounds has been remarkably vigorous.

Scarlet oak. {Quercus cocc'mea.) A native of the middle
states ;
a noble tree, often eighty feet high. The leaves, borne
on long petioles, are a bright lively green on both surfaces,

with four deep cuts on each side, widest at the bottom. The
great and peculiar beauty of this tree, we conceive to be its
property of assuming a deep scarlet tint in autumn.

At that
period, it may at a great distance be distinguished from all
other oaks, and indeed from every other forest tree. It is
highly worthy of a place in every plantation.

The English Royal oak.
(Q. robur.) This is the great
representative of the family in Europe, and is one of the most
magnificent of the genus, growing often in the fine old woods
and parks of England, to eighty and one hundred feet in
height. The branches spread over a great surface. " The

leaves are petiolated, smooth, and of a uniform colour on both
sides, enlarged towards the summit, and very coarsely tooth-
ed." As a single tree for park scenery, this probably equals,
if not surpasses, any American species in majesty of form,
though it is deficient in individual beauty of foliage to some
of our oaks. It is to be found for sale in our nurseries, and
we hope become well known among us. The timber is
will
closer grained, and more durable, though less elastic than the
best American oak and Michaux, in his Sylva, recommends
;
its introduction into this country largely, on these accounts.

The Turkey oak. (
Q. Cerris.) There are two beautiful
hybrid varieties of this species, which have been raised in
England by Messrs. Lucombe and Fulham, which we hope
will yet be found in our ornamental plantations. They are
partially evergreen in winter, remarkably luxuriant in their
growth, attaining a height of seventy or eighty feet, and ele-
gant in foliage and outline. The Lucombe and Fulham

oaks grow from one to five feet in a season ;
the trees assume
a beautiful pyramidal shape, and as they retain their fine
glossy leaves till May, they would form a fine contrast to other
deciduous trees.
We might here enumerate a great number of other fine

foreign oaks among which, the most interesting are the Holly
;
or Holm oak, (
Qjiercus Ilex) ; and the Cork oak, ( Q. Subei^), of
the south of France, which produces the cork of commerce ;
the Kermes oak, (

from which a scarlet dye is
Q. coccifei'a),
obtained ;
and the Italian Esculent oak, ( Q. Esculus), with
sweet nutritious acorns. Those, however, who wish to in-
vestigate them, will pursue this subject farther in European

works while that splendid treatise on our forest trees, the
;
North American Sylva of Michaux, will be found to give full

and accurate descriptions of all our numerous indigenous va-
rieties, of which many are peculiar to the southern states.
The oak flourishes best on a strong loamy soil, rather

moist than dry. Here at least the growth is most rapid, al-
though, for timber, the wood is generally not so sound on a
moist soil as a dry one, and the tree goes to decay more
rapidly. Among the American kinds, however, some may
be found adapted to every soil and situation, though those
species which grow on upland soils, in stony, clayey, or
loamy bottoms, attain the greatest size and longevity. When
immense trees are desired, the oak should either be trans-
planted very young, or, which is preferable, raised from the
acorn sown where it is finally to remain. This is necessary
on account of the very large taj) roots of this genus of trees,
which are either entirely destroyed or greatly injured by
removal.
The Elm. XJlmus.
Nat. Ord. UlmaceEe. Lin. Syst, Pentandria, Digynia.
We have ascribed to the oak the character of pre-eminent

dignity and majesty among the trees of the forest. Let us now
claim for the elm, the epithets, the elegant and the graceful.
This tree is one of the noblest in the size of its trunk, while
the branches are comparatively tapering and slender, forming
themselves, in most of the species, into long and graceful

curves. The flowers are of a chocolate or purple colour, and
appear in the month of April, before the leaves. The latter
are light and airy, of a pleasing light green in the spring,

growing darker, however, as the season advances. The elm
is one of the most common trees in both continents, and has
been well known for its beauty and usefulness since a remote
period. In the south of Europe, particularly in Lombardy,
elm trees are planted in vineyards, and the vines are trained
in festoons from tree to tree, in the most picturesque manner.
Tasso alludes to this in the following stanzas :
" Come olino, a cui la pampinosa pianta

Cupida s'avviticchi e si marite ;
Se ferro il tronca, o fulmine lo scliiania

Trae seco a terra la coinpagna cite."
GerusaUmme Liberdla. 2. 326.
It is one of the most common trees for public walks and

avenues, along the highways in France and Germany, grow-
ing with great rapidity, and soon forming a wide extended
shade. In Europe, the elm is much used for keels in ship-
building, and is remarkably durable in water ; more exten-

sive use is made of it there than of the American kinds in
this country, though the wood of the Red American elm is
more valuable than any other in the United States, for the
blocks used in ship rigging.

For its graceful beauty, the elm is entitled to high regard.
Standing alone as a single tree, or in a group of at most three
or four in number, it developes itself in all its perfection.
The White American elm we consider the most beautiful of

14
the family, and to this we more particularly allude. In such

situations as we have just mentioned, this tree developes its
fine ample form in the most picturesque manner. Its branches

first spring up embracing the centre, then bend off in finely
diverging lines, until, in old trees, they often sweep the

ground with their loose pendant foliage. With all this light-
ness and peculiar gracefulness of form, it is by no means a

meagre looking tree in the body of its foliage, as its thick
tufted masses of leaves reflect the sun, and embosom the

shadows as finely as almost any other tree, the oak excepted.
We consider it peculiarly adapted for planting, in scenes
where the expression of elegant or classical beauty is desired.
In autumn the foliage assumes a lively yellow tint, contrast-
ing well with the richer and more glowing colours of our
native woods. Even in winter it is a pleasing object, from
the minute division of its spray, and the graceful droop of its
branches. It is one of the most generally esteemed of our

native trees for ornamental purposes, and is as great a fa-
vourite here as in Europe, for planting in public squares,
and along the highways. Beautiful specimens may be seen

in Cambridge, Mass., of enormous size, and very fine ave-
nues of this tree are growing with great luxuriance in and

about New Haven.* The charming villages of New-Eng-
land, among which Northampton and Springfield are pre-
eminent, borrow from the superb and wonderfully luxuriant

elms, which decorate their fine streets and avenues, the
greater portion of their peculiar loveliness. The elm should
not be chosen where large groups and masses are required, as
the similitude of its form in different individuals, might then
create a monotony ; but, as we have before observed, it is
peculiarly well calculated for small groups, or as a single
* The £reat elm of Boston Common is 22 feet in circumference.

object. The roughness of the bark, contrasting with the

lightness of its foliage, and the easy sweep of its branches,
adds much also to its picturesque effect as a whole.

We shall briefly describe the principal species of the elm.
The American White elm. ( Ulmus Americana.) This is

the best known, and most generally distributed of our native
species, growing in greater or less profusion, over the whole
of the country included between Lower Canada and the
Gulf of Mexico. It often reaches SO feet in height in tine
soils, with a diameter of 4 or 5 feet. The leaves are alter-
nate, 3 or 4 inches long, unequal in size at the base, borne on
petioles half an inch to an inch in length, oval, accuminate,
and doubly denticulated. The seeds are contained in a flat,
oval, winged seed-vessel, fringed with small hairs on the
margin. The flowers, of a dull purple colour, are borne in
small bunches on short footstalks, at the end of the branches,
and appear very early in the spring. This tree prefers a
good rich soil, and grows with greater luxuriance if it be rather
moist, often reaching, in such situations, an altitude of nearly
100 feet. It is found in the greatest perfection in the alluvial
soils of the fertile valleys of the Connecticut, the Mississippi,
and Ohio Rivers.
The Red or Slippery elm.
( U. fulva.) A tree of lower
size than the White elm, attaining generally only 40 or 50 feet.
Accordins: to Michaux, it maybe distinguished from the lat-
ter even in winter, by its buds, which are larger and rounder,
and which are covered a fortnight before their developement,
with a russet down. The and
leaves are larger, rougher,
thicker than those of the White elm; the seed-vessels larger,
destitute of fringe the stamens short, and of a pale rose col-
;
our. This tree bears a strong likeness to the Dutch elm, and
the bark abounds in mucilage, whence the name of Slippery
elm. The branches are less drooping than those of the
White elm.
The Wahoo elm, U. alata,) is noi found north of Virginia.
(
It may at once be known in every stage of its growth, by the

fungous cork-like substance, which lines the branches on both

sides. It is a very singular and curious tree, of moderate
stature, and grows well when cultivated in the northern states*

The common European elm. ( U. cainpestris) This is
the most commonly cultivated forest tree in Europe, next to

the oak. It is a more upright growing tree than the White
elm, though resembling it in the easy disposition and delica-
cy of its branches. The flowers, of a purple colour, are pro-
duced in round bunches, close to the stem. The leaves are
rough, doubly serrated, and much more finely cut than those
of our elms. It is a fine tree, 60 or 70 feel high, growing
with rapidity, and is easily cultivated. The timber is more

valuable than the American sort, though we consider it infe-
rior to the White elm in beauty. There are some dozen or
more fine varieties of this species, cultivated in the English
nurseries; among which the most remarkable are the Twisted
elm, ( U. c. tortuosa.) the trunk of which is singularly mark-
ed with hollows and protuberances, and the grain of the wood
curiously twisted together the Kidbrook elm. {U. c. virens,)
:
which is a sub-evergreen : the Gold and Silver striped elms,

with variegated leaves, and the Narrow-leaved elm, ( U. c. vi-
minalis,) which resembles the birch the Cork-barked elm, :
(
U. c. suberosa,) the young branches of which are covered
with cork, etc.
The Scotch or Wych elm. (

U. montana.) This is a tree
of lower stature than the common European elm, its average
height being about 40 feet. The leaves are broad, rough,
pointed, and the branches extend more horizontally, droop-
ing The bark on the branches is com-
at the extremities.
paratively smooth. It is a grand tree, " the head is so finely
massed, and yet so well broken, as to render it one of the

noblest of park trees and when it grows wild amid the rocky
;
scenery of its native Scotland, there is no tree which assumes

so great or so pleasing a variety of character."* In general
appearance, the Scotch elm considerably resembles our White
elm. Its most ornamental varieties are the Spiry-topped elm,
* SirThos. Lander in Gilpin, 1. 91.

( U. ni. fastigiata,) with singularly twisted leaves, and a very

upright growth : tiie weeping Scotch elm, ( U. m. jpendulu.)
a very remarkable variety, the branches of which droop in''
a fan-like manner and the Smooth-leaved Scotch elm, ( U.
:
m. glabra.)
There is scarcely any soil to which some of the different
elms are not adapted. The European species prefer a deep-
dry soil, the Scotch or Wych elm, will thrive well even in
very rocky places ;
and the White elm will grow luxuriantly
in moist places. All the species attain their maximum size
when planted in a deep loam, rather moist than dry. They
bear transplanting remarkably well, suffering butlittle, even
from the mistaken practice of many persons, who reduce them

when transplanting to the condition of bare poles, as they
shoot out a new crop of branches, and soon become beauti-
ful young trees, in spite of the mal-treatment. As the elm
scarcely produces a tap-root, even large trees may be remov-
ed, when the operation is skilfully performed. In such cases,
the recently-moved tree should be carefully and plentifully
supplied with water, until it is well established in its new sit-
uation. The elm is also easily propagated by seed, layers,

or, in some species, by suckers from the root.
The Plane or Buttonwood Tree. Platanus.
Nat. Ord. Platanacese. Lin. Syst. Monoecia, Polyandria.
The plane, Platanus, derives its name from *XaTLig, broad,

on account of the broad, umbrageous nature of its branches.
It is a well known tree, of the very largest size, common to
both hemispheres, and greatly prized for the fine shade

afforded by its spreading head, in the warmer parts of Europe
and Asia. No tree was in greater esteem with the ancients
for this purpose ; and we are told that the Academic groves,
the neighbourhood of the public schools, and all those favour-
ite avenues where the Grecian philosophers were accustomed

1o resort, were planted with these trees; and beneath their
shade Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, delivered the choicest

wisdom and eloquence of those classic days. The Eastern
plane, [Platanus orientalis,) was first brought Roman
to the
provinces from Persia, and so highly was it esteemed, that,

according to Pliny, the Morini paid a tribute to Rome for the
privilege of enjoying its shade. To that author we are also
indebted for the history of the great plane tree which grew
in the province of Lycia, which was of so huge a size, that
the governor of the province, Licinius Mutianus, together
with eighteen of his retinue, feasted in the hollow of its
trunk.
In the United States, the plane is not generally found

growing in great quantities in any one place, but is more or
less scattered over the whole country. In deep, moist, allu-
vial soils, it attains a size, scarcely if at all inferior to that of
the huge trees of the eastern continent ; forming at least, in
the body of its trunk, a larger circumference than any other
of our native trees. The younger Michaux [Sylva, 1, 325.

measured a tree near Marietta, Ohio, which at four feet
from the ground was found to be forty-seven feet in cir-
cumference ;
and a specimen has lately been cut on the
banks of the Genesee river, of such enormous size, that a
section of the trunk was hollowed out, and furnished as a

small room, capable of containing fourteen persons.* On the
margins of the great western rivers, it sometimes rises up
seventy feet, and then expands into a fine lofty head, surpas-
sing in grandeur all its neighbours of the forest. The large
* A buttonwood on the Montezuma estate, Jefferson, Cayusa Co., N. Y,, is

forty-seven and a half feet in circumference; and the diameter of the hollow two
feet from the ground, is fifteen feet. {K. Y. Med. Repository, IV, 427.)
DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. Ill
branches of the plane shoot out in a horizontal direction ;

the
trunk generally ascending in a regular, stately, and uninter-

rupted manner. The blossoms are small greenish balls, ap-
pearing in spring, and the fertile ones grow to an inch in

diameter, assuming a deep brownish colour, and hang upon
the tree during the whole winter. A striking and peculiar
characteristic of the plane, is its property of throwing off or
shedding continually the outer coating of bark here and there
in patches. Professor Lindley [Litroduction to the Natural
System, 2d ed. 187,) says this is owing to its deficiency in the
expansive power of the fibre common to the bark of other

trees, or, in other words, to the rigidity of its tissue : being
therefore incapable of stretching with the growth of the tree,
it bursts open on different parts of the trunk, and is cast off.
This gives the trunk quite a lively and picturesque look

extending more or less even to the extremity of the branches,
which makes this tree quite conspicuous in winter. Bryant,
in his address to Green River, says :
" Clear are the depths where its eddies play,

And dimples deepen and whirl away,
And the plane tree's speckled arms o'ershoot
The swifter current that mines its root."
The great merit of the plane or button wood, is its extreme

vigour and luxuriance of growth. In a good soil, it will rea-
dily reach a height of thirty-five or forty feet in ten years. It
is easily transplanted ; and in new residences, bare of trees,
where an effect is desired speedily, we know of nothing better

adapted quickly to produce abundance of foliage, shelter, and
shade. "When the requisite foliage is obtained, and other
trees of slower growth have reached a proper size, the former
may be thinned out. As the plane tree grows to the largest
size, it is only proper for situations where there is consider-

able ground, and where it can, without inconvenience to its
fellows, have ample room for its fall developement. Then

soaring up, and extending its wide-spread branches on
every side, it is certainly a very majestic tree. The colour
of the foliage is of a paler green than is usual in forest trees ;
and although of large size, is easily wafted to and fro by

the wind, thereby producing an agreeable diversity of light,
pleasing to the eye in summer. In winter, the branches are

beautifully hung, even to their farthest ends, with the nu-
merous round russet-balls, or seed-vessels, each suspended

by a slender cord, and swinging about in the air. The out-
line of the head is pleasingly irregular, and its foliage against
a sky outline, is bold and picturesque. It is not a tree to be
planted in thick groves by itself, but to stand alone and de-

tached, or in a group with two or three. In avenues it is often
happily employed, and produces a grand effect. It also grows

with great vigour in close cities, as some superb specimens
in the square of the State-house, and other places in Philadel-
phia, fully attest.
There is but a trifling difference in general effect between

our plane or buttonwood, and the Oriental plane. For the
purposes of shade and shelter, the American is the finest, as
its foliage is the longest and broadest. The Oriental plane,
(Platatius orientalis,) has the leaves lobed like our native
kind, (P. occidentalis.) but the segments are much more
deeply cut ; the footstalks of its leaves are green, while those
of the American are of a reddish hue, and the fruit or ball is
much smaller and rougher on the outer surface when fully

grown. Both species are common in the nurseries, and are
worthy the attention of the planter the Oriental, as well for:
the interesting associations connected with it, being the fa-

vourite shade-tree of the east, etc., as for its intrinsic merits
as a lofty and majestic tree.
Two of the varieties of P. occidentalis are sometimes culti-

vated, the chief of which is the Maple-leaved plane, (P. O.
acerifolia.)
The Ash Tree. Fraxinus.
Nat. Ord. Oleacese. Lin. Syst. Polygamia, Dicscia.
The name of the ash, one of the finest and most useful
of forest trees, is probably derived from the Celtic asc, a

pike, — as its wood was formerly in common use for spears
and other weapons. Homer informs us that Achilles was
slain with an ashen spear. In modern times, the wood is in
universal use for the various implements of husbandry, for

the different purposes of the wheelright and carriage-maker,
and in short, for all purposes where great strength and elas-
ticity are required ;

for in these qualities the ash is second to
no tree in the forest, the hickory alone excepted. The ash

is a large and lofty tree, growing, when surrounded by other
trees, sixty or seventy feet high, and three or more in diame-
ter. When exposed on all sides, it forms a fine, round, com-
pact head of loose, pinnated, light green foliage, and is one
of the most vigorous growers among the hard-wooded trees.
The American species of ash are found in the greatest luxu-
riance and beauty on the banks and margins of rivers, where

the soil is partially dry, yet where the roots can easily pene-
trate down to the moisture. The European ash is remarka-

ble for its hardy nature, being often found in great vigour
on steep rocky hills, and amid crevices where most other
trees flourish badly. Southey alludes to this in the following
lines
"Gray as the stone to which it clung, half root,

Half trunk, the young ash rises from the rock."
15
As the ash grows strongly, and the roots, which extend to
a great distance, ramify near the surface, it exhausts the soil
underneath and around it to an astonishing degree. For this
reason, the grass is generally seen in a very meagre and starved

condition in a lawn where the ash tree abounds. Here and
there a single tree of the ash will have an excellent effect,
seen from the windows of the house ; but we would chiefly
employ it for the grand masses, and to intermingle with other

large groups of trees in an extensive plantation. When the
ash is young, it forms a well-rounded head ;

but when older,
the lower branches bend towards the ground, and then slightly
turn up in a very graceful manner. We take pleasure in
quoting what that great lover, and accurate delineator of for-
est beauties, Mr. Gilpin, says of the ash. "The ash gener-
ally carries its principal stem higher than the oak, and rises
in an easy flowing line. But its chief beauty consists in the
lightness of its whole appearance. Its branches at first keep

close to the trunk, and form acute angles with it ; but as
they begin to lengthen, they generally take an easy sweep,
and the looseness of the leaves corresponding with the light-
ness of the spray, the whole forms an elegant, depending
foliaofe. Nothingf can have a better effect than an old

ash hanging from the corner of a wood, and bringing off
the heaviness of the other foliage with its loose pendant
branches." — (Fore,s^ Scenery, p. 82.)
The highest and most characteristic beauty of the Ameri-
can White ash, (and we consider it the finest of all the species,)
is the colouring which its leaves put on in autumn. Gilpin

complains that the leaf of the European ash "decays in a
dark, muddy, unpleasing tint." Not so the White ash. In an
American wood, such as often lines and overhangs the banks

of the Hudson, the Connecticut, and many of our noble north-
ern streams, the ash assumes peculiar beauty in autumn, when

it can often be distinguished from the surrounding trees
for four or five miles, by the peculiar and beautiful deep
brownish-purple of its fine mass of foliage. This colour,
though not lively, is so full and rich as to produce the most
pleasing harmony with the bright yellows and reds of the
other deciduous trees, and the deep green of the pines and
cedars.
The ash, unlike the elm, starts into vegetation late in the
spring, which is an objection to planting it in the immediate

vicinity of the house. In winter the long grayish-white, or
ash-coloured branches, are pleasing in tint, compared with
those of other deciduous trees.
The White ash. [Fraxiniis Americana.) This species,

according to Michaux, is common to the colder parts of the
Union, and is most abundant north of the Hudson. It owes
its name to the light colour of the bark, which on large stocks
is deeply furrowed, and divided into squares of one to three
inches in diameter. The trunk is perfectly straight, and in
close woods is often undivided to the height of more than 40
feet. The leaves are composed of three or four pairs of leaf-
lets, terminated by an odd one the whole twelve or fourteen
;
inches long. Early in spring they are covered with a light

down, which disappears as summer advances, when they
become quite smooth, of a light green colour above, and whi-
tish beneath. The foliage, as well as the timber of our White
ash, is finer than that of the common European ash, and the
tree is much prized in France and Germany.
The Black ash, [F. sambncifolia,) sometimes called the
Water ash, requires a moist soil to thrive well, and is seen in
the greatest perfection on the borders of swamps. Its buds
are of a deep blue ; the young shoots of a bright green, sprink-
led with dots of the same colour, which disappear as the sea-
son advances. It may readily be distinguishedfrom the White
ash by its bark, which is of a duller hue, and less deeply

furrowed. The Black ash is altogether a tree of less stature
than the preceding.
The other native sorts are the Red ash, {F. tomentosa,)
with the bark of a deep brown found in Pennsylvania
tint,
the Green ash, (F. viridis,) which also grows in Pennsyl-

vania, and is remarkable for the brilliant green of both sides
of the leaves : the Blue ash, (F. qiiadrangulata,) a beau-
tiful tree of Kentucky, 70 feet high, distinguished by the four
opposite colour, found on the young
membranes of a greenish
shoots and the Carolina ash, [F. platycarpa) a small tree,
:
the leaves of which are covered with a thick down in spring.

The common European ash, [F. excelsior^) strongly resem-
bles the White ash. It may however easily be known by its
very black buds, and longer, more serrated leaflets, which

are sessile, instead of being furnished with petioles like the
White ash. This fine tree, as well as the White ash, grows
to 80 or 90 feet in height, with a very handsome head.
The Weeping ash, fig. 19, is a very remarkable variety of

the European ash, with pendulous or weeping branches ;
and is worthy a place in every lawn, for its curious ramifica-

tion, as well as for its general beauty. It is generally
propagated by grafting on any common stock, as the White

ash, 7 or 8 feet high, when the branches immediately begin to
turn down in a very striking and peculiar manner. The
droop of the branches is hardly a graceful one, yet it is so
unique, either when leafless, or in full foliage, that it has long-
been one of our greatest favourites.
The Flowering ash, {Fraxinus Ormis,*) is a small tree, of
about 20 feet, growing plentifully in the south of Europe, and
is also found sparingly in this country. Its chief beauty lies
in the beautiful clusters of pale or greenish-white flowers,

borne on the terminal branches in May and June. The fo-
liage and general appearance of the tree, are much like those
of the common ash; but when in blossom, it resembles a good
deal the Carolina Fringe tree. In Italy, a gummy substance
called manna, exudes from the bark, which is used in medi-
cine.
The Lime or Linden Tree. Tilia.
Nat. Ord. Tiliacese. Lin. Sysi. Polyandria, Monogynia.
This tree, or rather the American sort, is well known

among us by the name of hasswood. It is a rapidly growing,
handsome, upright, and regularly shaped tree ; and all the

species are much esteemed, both in Europe and this country,
for planting in avenues and straight lines, wherever the taste
is in favour of geometric plantations. In Germany and Hol-

land, this tree is a great favourite for bordering their wide
and handsome streets, and lining their long and straight
canals. "In Berlin," Granville says in his travels, '•
there is a
celebrated street called ^
imter der Lindeti,^ (under the lime
trees,) a gay and splendid avenue, planted with double rows
of this tree, which presented to my view a scene far more
* Ornus Europceus of Persoon, and the European botanists. Beck remarks

that the American kind is so known, that it is difficult to determine whether
little
it is a different species, or only a mere variety of the European.

beautiful than I had hitherto witnessed in any town, either in
France, Flanders, or Germany." In this country, the Euro-
pean lime is also much planted in our cities ; and some ave-
nues of it may be seen in Philadelphia, particularly before
the State-house in Chestnut-street. The bass wood is a very
abundant tree in some parts of the middle states, and is seen
growing in great profusion, forming thick woods by itself, in
the interior of this state. In this country, the wood is consid-
ered too soft to be of much value, but in England it was for-
merly in high repute as an excellent material for the use of
carvers. Some very beautiful specimens of old carving in

lime wood, may be seen, it is said, in Windsor Castle and
Trinity College.* The Russian bass mats, which find their
way to every commercial country, are prepared from the
inner bark of this tree. The sap affords a sugar like the ma-
ple, although in less quantities; and it is stated in the Ency-

clop5edia of Plants, (p. 467,) " that the honey made from the
flowers of the lime tree is reckoned the finest in the world.
Near Knowno, in Lithuania, there are large forests chiefly of
this tree, and probably a distinct variety. The honey pro-
duced in these forests sells at more than double the price of
any other, and is used extensively in medicine and for li-
queurs."
The leaves of the lime are large and handsome, heart-
* "The art of carving in wood, brought to such perfection byGibbons, isnow,

we believe, much given up ; therefore, the Hme has lost a most important branch
of its usefulness. Perhaps the finest specimens of the works of Gibbons are to be
seen at Chatsworth, the seat of t'lo duke of Devonshire, in Derbyshire. The
execution of the flowers, game, nets, etc, on the panelling of the walls, is
fish,
quite wonderful. It was of him that Walpole justly said, that he was the first '
artist who gave to wood the loose and airy lightness of flowers, and chained
together the various productions of the elements, with a free disorder natural to
each species.' The lime tree is still however used by the carver, and we hope
that the art of wood carving may gradually be restored." Sir T.D.Lander.
shaped in form, and pleasing in colour. The flowers, which

open in June, hang in loose, pale yellow cymes or clusters,
are quite ornamental, and very fragrant.
Sometimes
A scent of violets, and blossoming limes
Loitered around us ;
then of honey cells,
Made delicate from all white flower bells.
Keats.
When left to itself, and allowed to grow freely, the head soon
forms a regular rounded pyramid of foliage, highly pleasing
as a symmetrical object. It was a favourite tree in the an-
cient style of gardening, as it bore the shears well, and was

readily clipped into all manner of curious and fantastic
shapes. It is beautiful as a single object ; but is deficient in
those recesses and breaks of foliage, which are the leading
features of a picturesque tree. We can recommend it as well
adapted for planting near Grecian buildings of very regular

forms, as it will harmonize admirably with such structures ;
but, from its want of character and irregularity, it is not suit-

able for the neighbourhood of a varied or picturesque house.
The pleasant odour of its flowers, is also an additional
recommendation, as well as its free growth and handsome

leaves. After all, however, the linden is a true town tree,
and we cannot say too much in its praise as a fine ornament

for streets and public parks. There, its regular form cor-
responds well with the formality of the architecture ; its
shade affords cool and pleasant walks, and the delightful
odour of its blossoms is doubly grateful in the confined air
of the city. Our basswood has rather less of uniformity in
its outline than the European lindens, but the general form
is the same.
The American lime, or basswood, [Tilia Americana,) is

the most robust tree of the genus, and produces much more
vigorous shoots than the European species. It prefers a deep
and fertile soil, where the trunk grows remarkably straight,

and the branches form a handsome, well-rounded summit.
The flowers are borne on long stalks, and are pendulous
from the branches. The leaves are large, heart-shaped, finely
cut on the margin, and terminated by a point at the extremity.
The fruits, which ripen in autumn, are like small peas, round
and grayish.
The White lime, ( T. alba,) is rare in the eastern states, but
common in Pennsylvania and the states south of it. It is
not a tree of the largest size, but its flowers are the finest of
our native sorts. The leaves are also very large, deep green
on the upper surface, and white below ;
they are more ob-
liquely heart-shaped than those of the common basswood.
The young branches are covered with a smooth silvery bark.
This species is very common on the Susquehannah River.
The Downy lime tree. (T. jmhescens.) The under side
of the leaves, and the fruits of this species, are, as its name
denotes, covered with a short down. Its flowers are nearly
white; the serratures of the leaves wider apart, and the base
of the leaf obliquely truncated. It is a handsome large tree,
a native of Florida, though hardy enough, as experience
proves, to bear our northern winters.
The European lime, ( T. Europma,) is distinguished from
the American sorts, by its smaller and more regularly cordate
and rounded leaves. Unlike our native species, the flowers
are not furnished with inner scale-like petals. The foliage
is hue than the native sorts, and the branches
rather deeper in
of the head rather more regular in form and disposition.
There are two pretty varieties of the English lime which are
well known in this country, viz: the Red-barked or corallina,
[var. rubra,) with red branches and the Golden-barked, [var.
;
aiirea,) with handsome yellow branches. These trees are

peculiarly beautiful in winter, when a few of them mingled
with other deciduous trees make a pleasing variety of colour-
ing, in the absence of foliage. The broad-leaved European

lime, is the finest for shade and ornament. The whitish
foliage of Tilia which probably
alba, is also a variety, has
a beautiful appearance, somewhat like the Abele tree, in a
gentle breeze.
These trees grow well on any good friable soil, and readily
endure transplantation. They bear trimming remarkably
well ;
and when but little root is obtained the head may be
shortened in proportion, and the tree will soon make vigor-
ous shoots again. All the species are easily increased by
layers.
The Beech Tree. Fagus.
Nat. Ord. Corylaces. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Polyandria*
The beech is a large, compact, and lofty tree, with a gray-

ish bark and finely divided spray, and is a common inhabi--
tant of the forest in all temperate climates. In the United

States, this tree is generally found congregated in very great
quantities, wherever the soil is most favourable; hundreds
of acres being sometimes covered with this single kind of tim-
ber. Such tracts are familiarly known as " beech woods."

The leaves of the beach are remarkably thin in texture,
glazed and shining on the upper surface, and so thickly set
upon the numerous branches, that it forms the darkest and

densest shade of any of our deciduous forest trees. It ap-
pears to have been highly valued by the ancients as a shade
tree ; and Virgil says in its praise, in a well-known Eclogue :
"Tityre, tu, patulae recubans sub tegmine/agfi,

Sylvestrem tenui musam meditaris avena."
It bears a small compressed nut or mast, oily and sweet,

which once was much valued as an article of food. The
most useful purpose to which we have heard of their being
16
applied, is in the manufacture of an oil, scarcely inferior to

olive oil. This is produced from the mast of the beech for-
ests in the department of Oise, France, in immense quantities ;
more than a million of sacks of the nuts having been col-
lected in that department in a single season. They are re-
duced, when perfectly ripe, to a fine paste, and the oil is ex-
tracted by a gradual pressure. The product of oil, compared
with the crushed nuts, is about sixteen per cent. {Michaux,
N. American Sylva.)
In Europe, the wood of the beech is much used in the man-
ufacture of various utensils ; but here, where our forests abound
in woods vastly superior in strength, durability, and firm-
ness, that of the beech is but little esteemed.
For ornamental purposes, the beech, from its comparative-
ly slow growth, and its abundance in various parts of the
country, does not command the admiration here which it
does in Europe. Campbell, the poet, has produced so elo-

quent and beautiful an appeal in favour of an old denizen of
the forest, entitled the " Beech tree's Petition," that we gladly
quote it, Roping itmay perchance stay the hand of some soi-
disaiit improver, who would despoil our native woods of their
proudest glories
" Oh, leave this barren spot to me !
Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree !
Though bud and floweret never grow

My dark, unwarning shade below ;
Nor summer bud perfume the dew

Of rosy blush or yellow hue.
Nor fruits of autumn, blossom born,
My green and glossy leaves adorn ;
Nor murmuring tribes from me derive

The ambrosial amber of the hive;
Yet leave this barren spot to me —
Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree
DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES, 123
" Thrice twenty summers I have seen

The sky grow bright, the forest green
And many a wintry wind have stood
In blooniless, fruitless solitude,
Since childhood in my pleasant bower
First spent its sweet and sportive hour ;
Since youthful lovers in my shade,

Their vows of youth and rapture made,
And on my trunk's surviving frame.
Carved many a long forgotten name.
Oh ! by the sighs of gentle sound
First breathed upon this sacred ground,
By all that love has whispered there",
Or beauty heard with ravished ear
As love's own altar, honour me —
Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree!"
The beech is quite handsome when young, but when large
it has too much heaviness to be agreeable for a park tree.
From this very quality, however, it is excellently adapted to
mingle with other trees when a thick an impenetrable mass
of foliage is desired : and, on account of its density, it is also
well suited to shut out unsightly buildings, or other objects.

The leaves of many beech trees hang on the tree, in a dry
and withered state, during the whole winter. This is chiefly
the case with young trees ;

but we consider it as greatly di-
minishing its beauty at that season, as the tree is otherwise

very pleasing to the eye, with its smooth, round, gray stem,
and small twisted spray. A deciduous tree, we think, should
as certainly drop its leaves at the approach of cold weather,
as an evergreen should retain them ;

more especially if its
leaves have a dead and withered appearance, as is the case
with those of the beech in this climate.
The White beech, (Fagus sylvatica.) is the common

beech tree of the middle and western states. It is found in
the greatest perfection in a cool situation, and a moist soil.
The bark is smooth and gray, even upon the oldest stocks.
The leaves oval, smooth and shining, coarsely cut on the
edges, and margined with a soft down in the spring.
The Red beech, [F. ferriiginea^) so called on account of
the colour of its wood, loves a still colder climate than the
other, and is found in the greatest perfection in British Amer-
ica. The leaves are divided into coarser teeth on the mar-
gin than the foregoing species. The nuts are much smaller,
and the whole tree forms a lower and more spreading head-
The European beech, [F. sylvatica,) is thought by many
botanists to be the same species as our white beech, or at
most only a variety. Its average height in Europe is
about fifty feet ; the buds are shorter, and the leaves not so
coarsely toothed as our native sorts. The Purple beech is a
very ornamental variety of the European beech, common in
the gardens. Both surfaces of the leaves, and even the
young and although the growth is
shoots, are deep purple ;
slow, yet it is in every stage of its progress, and more partic-

ularly when it reaches a good size, one of the strangest ano-
malies among trees, in the hue of its foliage. There is also a
variety called the Copper-coloured beech, with paler purple
leaves ; and a very rare English variety, {F. s. pendula,) the
Weeping beech, with graceful pendant branches.
The Hornbeam, {Carpinus Americana,) and the Iron-

wood, (
Ostrya Virginica,) are both well known small trees,
belonging to the same natural family as the beech. They

are of little value in ornamental plantations ; but from their
thick foliage, they might perhaps be employed to advantage
in making thick verdant screens for shelter or concealment.
The Poplar Tree. Populus.
Nat. Ord. Salicaceae. Lin. Syst. Dioecia, Octandria.
Arbor populi, or the people's tree, was the name given in
the ancient days of Rome to this tree, as being peculiarly

appropriated to those public places most frequented by the
people : some ingenious authors have still further justified
the propriety of the name, by adding, that its trembling leaves

are like the populace, always in motion.
The poplars are light-wooded, rapid-growing trees ;

many
of them of huge size, and all with pointed, heart-shaped
leaves. The tassel-like catkins, or male blossoms, of a red or
brownish hue, appear early in the spring. Some of the
American kinds, as the Balsam and Balm of Gilead poplars,
have their buds enveloped in a fragrant gum ;

others, as the
Silver poplar, or Abele, are remarkable for the snowy white-

ness of the under side of the foliage ; and the Lombardy
poplar, which
" Shoots up its spire, and shakes its leaves in the sun,"
'
Proctor.
for its remarkably conical or spire-like manner of growth.

The leaves of all the species, being suspended upon long and
slender footstalks, are easily put in motion by the wind.
This, however, is peculiarly the case with the aspen, the
leaves of which may often be seen trembling in the slightest
breeze, when the foliage of the surrounding trees is motion-

less. There is a popular legend in Scotland respecting this
tree, which runs thus :
" Far oiTinthe Hig-hland wilds 'lis said,
(But truth now laughs at fancy's lore,)

That of this tree the cross was made,
Which erst the Lord of Glory bore ;
And of that deed its leaves confess,

E'er since, a troubled consciousness.""
In Landscape Gardening the poplar is not highly esteem-

ed; but it is a valuable tree when judiciously employed, and
produces a given quantity of foliage and shade sooner perhaps
than any other. Some of the Annerican kinds, are majestic
and superb trees when old, particularly the Cottonwood

and Balsam poplars.* One of the handsomest sorts is
the Silver poplar, which is much valued in our ornamental

plantations ;
the more so, perhaps, because it is an exotic.
At some distance, the downy under surfaces of the leaves,
[Fi-. ao. The Conohwod.j
* There is a noble specimen of the Cottonwood, or, as it is here called, the
Balm of Gilead poplar, about two miles north of Newburgh, on the Hudson,
which gives its name to the small village (Balmville,) near it. The branches
cover a surface of one hundred feet in diameter, the trunk girths twenty feet,
and
the branches stretch over the public road in a most majestic manner.
(See
Fig. 20.)
turned up by the wind, give it very much the aspect of a tree
covered with white blossoms. This effect is the more stri-
king, when it is situated in front of a group or mass of the

darker foliage of other trees. It is valuable for retaining its
leaves in full beauty to the latest possible period in the au-
tumn, even when all the other deciduous trees are eitherbrown,
or have entirely lost their leafy honours. Its growth is ex-
tremely rapid, forming a fine rounded head of thirty feet, in
six or eight years. The Lombardy poplar is a beautiful tree,
and in certain situations, produces a very elegant effect ; but

it has been planted so indiscriminately in some parts of this
country, in close monotonous lines before the very doors of our
houses, and in some places in straight rows along the highways
for miles together, to the neglect of our fine native trees,
that it has been tiresome and disgusting. This tree may often
be employed with singular advantage in giving life, spirit,
and variety to a scene composed entirely of round-headed

trees, as the oak, ash, etc., — when a tall poplar, emerging,
here and there from the back or centre of the group, often im-
parts an air of elegance and animation to the whole. It may,
also, from its marked and striking contrast to other trees, be
employed to fix or direct the attention to some particular
point in the landscape. When large poplars of this kind
are growing near a house of but moderate dimensions,

they have a very bad effect, by completely overpowering the
building, without imparting any of that grandeur of char-
acter conferred by an old oak, or other spreading tree. It
should be introduced but sparingly in landscape composition,

as the moment it is made common in any scene, it gives an
air of sameness and incongruity, and all the spirited effect is
lost which its sparing introduction among other trees pro-
duces. The Lombardy poplar is also well adapted to con-

fined situations, as its branches require less lateral room than

almost any other large deciduous tree. It is an objection
to some of the poplars, that in any cultivated soil they pro-
duce an abundance of suckers. For this reason, they should
be planted only in grass ground, or in situations where the soil
will not be disturbed, or where the suckers will not be injuri-
ous. And, upon the whole, we conceive them to be chiefly

worthy of introduction in grounds of large extent, to give
variety to plantations of other and more valuable trees.
They grow well in alhiost every soil, moist or dry, and some
species prefer quite wet and springy places.
The Tacamahaca or Balsam

chief American poplars are the
{Populus halsamifera,) chiefly found in Northern
poplar,
America a large tree, 80 feet high, with fragrant gummy buds,
;
and lanceolate-oval leaves ;

the Balm of Gilead poplar, resem-
bling the foregoing, but with larger.flner, and more heart-shap-
ed foliage. From these a gum is sometimes collected, and used
medicinally for the cure of scurvy. The American aspen, [P.
trenmloides,) about 30 feet high, a common tree with very
tremulous leaves and greenish bark ; the large American as-
pen, {P. grandidejitata,) 4:0 feet high, with large leaves bor-
dered with coarse teeth or denticulations ;
the Cotton tree, (P.
argentea,) 60or70 feet, with leaves downy young state
in a ;
the American Black poplar, of smaller size, having the young

shoots covered with short hair ; the Cottonwood, (P. Cana-
densis^) found chiefly in the western part of this state, a fine
tree, with smooth, unequally-toothed, wide cordate leaves
and the Carolina poplar, (P. angidata,) an enormous tree, of
the swamps of the south and west, considerably resembling
the Cotton tree, but without the resinous buds of that species.
Among the European kinds, the most ornamental, as we
have already remarked, is the Silver aspen, White poplar, or
Abele tree, (P. alba,) which grows to a great size on a deep
loamy soil, in a very short time. The leaves are divided into
lobes, and toothed on the margin, smooth and very deep

green above, and densely covered with a soft, close, white
down beneath. There are some varieties of this species
known abroad, with leaves more or less downy, etc. Sir J. E.
Smith remarks in his English Flora, that the wood, though
but little used, is much firmer than that of any other British
poplar; making as handsome floors as the best Norway fir,
with the additional advantage that they will not readily take
fire, like any resinous wood.
The English aspen, (P. tremula,) considerably resembles
our native aspen but the buds are somewhat gummy. The
;
Athenian poplar, (P. Grceca^) is a tree about 40 feet high,

with smaller, more rounded, and equally serrated foliage.
The common Black European poplar, (P. nigra,) is also
a large, rapidly growing tree, with pale-green leaves slightly
notched : the buds expand later than most other poplars, and
theyoung leaves are at first somewhat reddish in colour.
The Necklace-bearing poplar, (P. 7?ionilifera,) so called from
the circumstance of the catkins being arranged somewhat
like beads in a neclilace, is supposed to have been derived
from Canada, but there ares ome doubts respecting its origin :
in the south it is generally called the Virginia poplar.

The Lombardy poplar, (P. dUatata,) a native of the banks
of the Po, where it is sometimes called the Cypress poplar,
from its resemblance to that tree, is too well known among us
to need any description. Only one sex, the female, has
hitherto been introduced into this country and it has con-
;
sequently produced no seeds here, but has been entirely pro-

pagated by suckers from the root.
The Horse-chestnut Tree. JEscuhis.
Nat. Ord. TEsculacese. Lin. Syst. Heptandria, Monogynia.
A large, showy, much admired ornamental tree, bearing

ample leaves composed of seven leaflets, and, in the month
of May, beautiful clusters of white flowers, delicately mottled
17
with red and yellow. It is a native of Middle Asia, but
flourishes well in the temperate climates of both hemispheres.
It was introduced into England, probably from Turkey,

about the year 1575 : in that country the nuts are often
ground into a coarse flour, which is mixed with other food
and given to horses that are broken-winded ; and from this
use the English name of the tree was derived,

A starch has been extracted in considerable quantity from
the nuts. The wood is considered valueless in the United
States.
The Horse-chestnut is by no means a picturesque tree, be-
ing too regularly rounded in its outlines, and too compact

and close in its surface, to produce an agreeable effect in
light and shade. But it is nevertheless one of the most heau-
tifiil exotic trees which will bear the open air in this climate.
The leaves, each made of clusters of six or seven leaflets,
are of a fine dark green colour; the whole head of foliage
has much grandeur and richness in its depth of hue, and

massiness of outline ;
and the regular rounded pyramidal
shape, is something so different from that of most of our in-
digenous trees, as to strike the spectator with an air of nov-

elty and distinctness. The great beauty of the Horse-chest-
nut is the splendour of its inflorescence, surpassing that of
almost all our native forest trees: the huge clusters of gay
blossoms which every spring are distributed with such luxu-
riance and profusion over the surface of the fohage, and at the
extremity of the branches, give the whole tree the aspect ra-
ther of some monstrous flowering shrub, than of an ordinary
tree of the largest size. At that season, there can be no more
beautiful object to stand singly upon the lawn, particularly
if its branches are permitted to grow low down the trunk,
and (as they naturally will, as the tree advances.) sweep the
green sward with their drooping foHage. Like the lime

tree, however, care must be taken, in the modern style, to in-
troduce it but sparingly, and then only as a single tree, or
upon the margin of large groups, masses, or plantations ;

as
the abundant use of a tree with so little variety in its out-
line, would inevitably produce sameness and monotony.

When handsome avenues or straight lines are wanted, the
Horse-chestnut is again admirably suited, from its uniformity
and regularity, the very qualities that render it unfit for
grouping. It is therefore, much, and justly valued for these
purposes in our towns and cities, where its deep shade and
beauty of blossom are peculiarly desirable. The Horse-
chestnut is very interesting in its mode of growth. The
large buds are thickly covered in winter with a resinous gum,
to protect them from the cold and moisture ; in the spring,
these burst open, and the whole growth of the young shoots,
leaves, flowers and all, is completed in about three or four

weeks. When the leaves first unfold, they are clothed with
a copious cotton-like down, which falls ofi" when they have

attained their full size and development.
The growth of the Horse-chestnut is slow, for a soft-wooded
tree, when the trees are young : after five or six years, how-
ever, it advances with more rapidity, and in twenty years
forms a beautiful and massy tree. It prefers a strong, rich,
loamy soil, and is easily raised from the large nuts, which
are poduced in great abundance.
There are several species of Horse-chesnut, but the common

one [A^sculus Hippocastanum,) is incomparably the finest.
The American sorts are the following (JEsculus Ohioensis,) :
or Ohio Buckeye, as it is called in the western states ;

a small
sized tree, with palmated leaves, consisting of Jive leaflets,
and pretty bright yellow flowers, with red stamens. The fruit
is about half the size of the exotic species. The Red-flow-

ered Horse-chestnut, (yEsculus ruhicunda^) is a small tree
with scarlet flowers and the Smooth-leaved (^\ glabra^)
;
has pale yellow flowers. Besides these, are two small Horse-
chestnuts with smooth fruit, which thence properly belong
to the genus Pavia, viz the Yellow-flowered Pavia, (P.
:
lutea,) of Virginia and the southern states and the Red ;
flowered, (P. rubra,) with pretty clusters of reddish flowers ;
both these have leaves resembling those of the Horse-chestnut,

except in being divided into five leaflets, instead of seven.
There are some other species, which are however rather
shrubs than trees.
The Birch Tree. Betula.
Nat. Ord. Betulacese. Lin. Syst. Monoecia, Polyandria.
The Birch trees are common inhabitants of the forests of
all cold and elevated countries. They are remarkable for
their smooth, silvery white, or reddish coloured stems, deli-
cate and pliant spray, and small, light foliage. There is no

deciduous tree which will endure a more rigorous climate,
or grow at a greater elevation above the level of the sea. It
is found growing in Greenland and Kamtschatka as far north

as the 58th and 60th degree of latitude, and on the Alps in
iSwitzerland, according to that learned botanist, M. DeCan-

doUe, at the elevation of 4,400 feet. It is undoubtedly the
most useful tree of northern climates. Not only are cattle
and sheep sometimes fed upon the leaves, but the Laplander
constructs his hut of the branches ;
the Russian forms the
bark into shoes, baskets, and cordage for harnessing his rein-
deer ;
and the inhabitants of Northern Siberia, in times of
scarcity, grind it to mix with their oatmeal for food. In this

country the birch is no less useful. The North American
Indian, and all who are obliged to travel the wild unfre-
quented portions of British America, —

whohave to pass over
rapids, and make their way through the wilderness from river
to river, — find the canoe made of the birch bark, the lightest,
the most durable, and convenient vessel for these purposes in
the world.*
The wood of our Black birch is by far the finest; and as

it assumes a beautiful rosy colour when polished, and is next
in texture to the wild Cherry tree, it is considerably esteemed
among cabinet-makers in the eastern states, for chairs, tables
and bedsteads.
In Europe, the sap of the birch is collected in the spring in
the same manner as that of the maple in this country, boiled
with sugar, and hops, and fermented with the aid of yeast.
The product of the fermentation is called hirch wine, and is
described as being a remarkably pleasant and healthy bever-

age.
Though perhaps too common in some districts of our coun-

try to be regarded as an ornamental tree, yet in others where it
is less so, the birch will doubtless be esteeemed as it deserves.
With us it is a great favourite ; and we regard it as a very
* The following interesting description of their manufacture, we copy from Mi-

chaux. "The most important purpose to which the Canoe birch is applied, and
one in which its place is supplied by no other tree, is the construction of ca-
noes. To procure proper pieces, the largest and smoothest trunks are selected;
in the spring two circular incisions are made several feet apart, and two longi-
tudinal ones, on opposite sides of the tree ; after which, by introducing a wedge,
the bark is easily detached. These plates are usually ten or twelve feet long,
and two feet nine inches broad. To form the canoes, they are stitched together
with fibrous roots of the white spruce, about the size of a quill, which are de-
prived of the bark, split, and suppled in water. The seams are coated with resin
of the Balm of Gilead. Great use is made of these canoes by the savages, and
the French Canadian in their long journies through the interior of the country;
they are light, and are very easily transported on the shoulders from one lake to
another, which is called the portage. A canoe calculated for four persons, with
their baggage, weighs from forty to fifty pounds ; and some of them are made
to carry fifteen passengers.
elegant and beautiful tree, not less on account of the silvery

white bark of several species, than from the extreme delicacy
of the spray, and the pleasing lightness and airiness of the
foliage. In all the species, the branches have a tendency to
form those graceful curves, which contribute so much to the
beauty of trees ;
but the European Weeping birch is pecu-
liarly pleasing as it grows old, on that account. It is this
variety which Coleridge pronounces,
" Most beautiful

Of forest trees — the Lady of the woods."
And Bernard Barton, speaking of our native species, says,
•" See the beautiful Birch tree flincr
Its shade on the grass beneath —

Its glossy leaf, and its silvery stem
Dost Ihou not love to look on them?''
The American sorts, and particularly the Black birch, start
into leaf very early in the spring, and their tender green is
agreeable to the eye at that season ; while the swelling buds,

and young foliage in many kinds, give out a delicious though
faint perfume. Even the blossoms, which hang like little
brown tassels from the drooping branches, are interesting to
the lover of nature.
" The fragrant birch above him hung

Her tassels in the sky,
And many a vernal blossom sprung,
And nodded careless by."
Bryant.
Nothing can well be prettier, seen from the windows of the

drawing-room, than a large group of trees, whose depth and
distance is made up by the heavy and deep masses of the ash,
oak, and maple, and with the portions nearest the eye or the
lawn terminated by a few birches, with their sparkling white
Stems, and delicate, airy, drooping foliage. Our White birch,
being a small tree, is very handsome in such situations, and

offers the most pleasing variety to the eye, when seen in con-
nexion with other foliage. Several kinds, as the Yellow and

the Black birches, are really stately trees, and form fine groups
by themselves. Indeed, a most beautiful and varied mass

might be formed by collecting together all the different kinds,
with their characteristic barks, branches, and foliage.
As an additional recommendation, many of these trees
grow on the thinnest and most indifferent soils, whether

moist or dry ; and in cold, bleak, and exposed situations, as
well as in warm and sheltered places.
We shall enumerate the different kinds, as follows :

—
The Canoe birch, Boleau a. Canot, of the French Cana-
dians, (5. papyracea,) sometimes also called the Paper birch,
is according to Michaux, most common in the forests of the
eastern states, north of latitude 43°, and in the Canadas.
There it attains its largest size, sometimes seventy feet in
height, and three in diameter. Its branches are slender,
flexible, covered with a shining brown bark, dotted with
white ; and on trees of moderate size, the bark of the trunk
is of a brilliant white : it is often used for roofing houses,
for the manufacture of baskets, boxes, etc., besides its most im-
portant use for canoes, as already mentioned. The leaves,
borne on petioles four or five lines long, are of a middling
size, oval, unequally denticulated, smooth, and of a dark
green colour.
The White birch, [B. populifolia,) is a tree of much
smaller size, generally from twenty to thirty-five feet in
height : it is found in New-York and the other middle states,
as well as at the north. The trunk, like the foregoing, is cov-
ered with silvery bark; the branches are slender, and generally
drooping when the tree attains considerable size. The leaves
are smooth on both surfaces, heart-shaped at the base, very
acuminate, and doubly and irregularly toothed. The peti-
oles are slightly twisted, and the leaves are almost as tremu-
lous as those of the aspen. It is a beautiful small tree for

ornamental plantations.
The common Black or Sweet birch. {B. lenta.) This is
the sort most generally known by the name of the birch, and
is widely diffused over the middle and southern states.
In colour and appearance the bark much resembles that of

the cherry tree ;
on old trees, at the close of winter, it is fre-
quently detatched in transverse portions, in the form of hard

ligneous plates, six or eight inches broad. The leaves, for a
fortnight after their appearance, are covered with a thick sil-
very down, which disappears soon after. They are about two
inches long, serrate, heart-shaped at the base, acuminate at
the summit, and are of a pleasing tint and fine texture. The
wood is of excellent quality, and Michaux recommends its
introduction largely into the forests of the north of Europe.

The Yellow birch, [B. lutea,) grows most plentifully in.
Nova Scotia, Maine, and New-Brunswick, on cool, rich soils,
where it is a tree of the largest size. It is remarkable for the
colour and arrangement of its outer bark, which is of a bril-
liant golden yellow, and is frequently seen divided into fine

strips, rolled backwards at the end, but attached in the middle.
The leaves are about three and a half inches long, two and a
half broad, ovate, acuminate, and bordered with sharp and
irregular teeth. It is a beautiful tree, with a trunk of nearly
uniform diameter, straight, and destitute of branches for thirty
or forty feet.
The Red birch, (B. rubra,) belongs chiefly to the south,

being scarcely ever seen north of Virginia. It prefers the
moist soil of river banks, where it reaches a noble height.
It takes its name from the cinnamon or reddish colour of the
outer bark on the young trees ; when old, it becomes rough,
furrowed, and greenish. The leaves are light green on the
upper surface, whitish beneath, very pointed at the end, and
terminated at the base in an acute angle. The twigs are
long, flexible, and pendulous ; and the limbs of a brown col-
our, spotted with white.
The European White birch. [B. alba.) This species.
the common Birch tree of Europe, is intermediate in appear-

ance and between our Canoe birch and White birch.
qualities,
The latter it resembles in its foliage, the former in its large

size, and the excellence of its wood. There is a distinct
variety of this, to which we have alluded, called the Weeping
birch, (
Var. jêndiila,) which is very rapid in its growth, and
beautiful and graceful in its form. From the great beauty
of our native species, this is probably the only European
sort, which it is very desirable to introduce into our col-
lections.
The Alder Tree. Alnus.
Nat. Ord. Betulacese. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Tetrandria.
The alder tree is a native of the whole of Europe, where

it grows to the altitude of from thirty to sixty feet. Our
common Black alder, [A. glauca,) and Hazle-leaved alder, {A.
serrulata^) are low shrubs of little value or interest. This,

however, is a neat tree, remarkable for its love of moist situa-
tions, and thriving best in places even too wet for the willows ;
although it will also flourish on dry and elevated soils. The

leaves are roundish in form, wavy, and serrated in their mar-
gins, and dark green in colour. The tree rapidly forms an
agreeable pyramidal head of foliage, when growing in damp
situations. As it is a foreign tree, we shall quote from Gilpin
its character in scenery. " The alder," says he, " loves a
low, moist soil, and frequents the banks of rivers, and will
flourish in the poorest forest swamps, where nothing else
will grow. It is perhaps the most picturesque of any of the

aquatic tribe, except the weeping willow. He who would see
the alder in perfection, must follow the banks of the Mole
in survey, through the sweet vales of Dorking and Mickle-

ham, into the groves of Esher. The Mole indeed is far from
18
being a beautiful river ;

it is a silent and sluggish stream, but
what beauty it has, it owes greatly to the alder, which every-
where fringes its meadows, and in many places forms very
pleasing scenes. It is always associated in out minds with
river scenery, both of that tranquil description most frequently
to be met with in the vales of England, and with that wilder
and more stirring cast which is to be found amidst the deep
glens and ravines of Scotland ;
and nowhere is this tree found
in greater perfection than on the wild banks of the river Find-
horn, and its tributary streams, where scenery of the most ro-
mantic description everywhere prevails."*

It may therefore, although the beauty of the alder is of an
inferior description, be worth occasional introduction into
landscapes where there is much water planted round, or low
running streams to cover with foliage. In these damp places,
like the willow, it grows very well from truncheons or large

limbs stuck in the ground, which take root and become trees
speedily. There are two principal varieties, the common
alder, [A. glutinosa,) and the cut-leaved alder, {A. glutinosa
laciniata.) The latter is much the handsomest tree, and is
also the rarest in our nurseries.
The Maple Tree. Acer.
Nat. Ord. Aceracese. Lin. Syst. Polygamia, Monoecia.
The great esteem in which the maples are held in the mid-
dle states, as ornamental trees, although they are by no means

uncommon in every piece of woods of any extent, is a high
proof of their superior merits for such purposes. These con-
sist in the rapidity of their growth, the beauty of their form,
the fine verdure of their foliage, and in some sorts, the ele-
" Lander's Gilpin, 1. p. 136.

gance of their blossoms. Among" all the species, both native
and foreign, we consider the Scarlet-flowering maple as de-
cidedly the most beautiful tree. In the spring, this species
bursts out in gay tufts of red blossoms; which enliven both

its own branches and the surrounding scene, long before
a leaf is seen on other deciduous trees, and when the only
other appearances of vegetation are a few catkins of some wil-
lows or poplars, swelling into bloom. At that season of the

year, the Scarlet maple is certainly the most beautiful tree of
our forests. Besides this, it grows well either in the very moist
soil of swamps, or the dry one of upland ridges, forms a fine

clustering head of foliage, and produces an ample and delight-
ful shade ; while it is also as little infected by insects of any
description as any other tree. The latter advantage, the
Sugar maple and our other varieties, equally possess.
As a handsome spreading tree, perhaps the White maple de-

serves most praise, its outline and surface being in many
cases quite picturesque. There is no quality, however, for
which the American maples are entitled to higher considera-
tion as desirable objects in scenery, than for the exquisite
beauty which their foliage assumes in autumn, as it fades and

gradually dies ofi". At the first approach of cold, we can just
perceive a bright yellow stealing over the leaves, then a deeper

golden tint, then a few faint blushes, until at length the whole
mass of foliage becomes one blaze of crimson or orange.
*' Tints that the maple woods disclose

Like opening buds or fading rose,
Or various as those hues, that dye

The clouds that deck a sunset sky."
The contrast of colouring exhibited on many of our fine
river shores in a warm dry autumn, is perhaps superior to
any thing of the kind in the world : and the chief and most
brilliant colours, viz : orange and scarlet, are produced by

maples. Even in Europe they are highly valued for this
autumnal appearance, so different from that of most of the

trees of the old world. Very beautiful effects can be produced
by planting the Scarlet and Sugar maples in the near neigh-
bourhood of the ash, which, as we have already noticed, as-

sumes a fine brownish purple ; and of the sycamore, which is
yellow, and some of the oaks, which remain green for a long
time : if to these we add a few evergreens, as the White pine
and hemlock, to produce depth, we shall have a kind of fairy
group, harmonious and beautiful as the rainbow.

When the maple is planted to grow singly on the lawn, or
in small groups, it should never be trimmed up ten or twenty
feet high, a very common practice in some places, as
this destroys half its beauty ; but if it be suffered to branch

out quite low down, it will form a very elegant head. The
maple is well suited to those scenes expressive of milder beau-
ty, as they unite to a considerable variation of surface, a

pleasing softness and roundness of outline. In bold or pic-
turesque scenes, they can be employed to advantage by inter-
mingling them with the more striking and majestic forms of
the oak, etc., where variety and contrast is desired. The
European sycamore, which is also a maple, has a coarser
foliage, and more of strength in its growth and appearance:

it perhaps approaches nearer in general expression and effect
to the plane tree, than to our native maples.

It is unnecessary for us to recommend this tree for avenues,
or for bordering the streets of cities, as its general prevalence

in such places sufficiently indicates its claims for beauty
shade, and shelter. It bears pruning remarkably well, and
is easily transplanted, even when of large size, from its na-
•
tive woods or swamps. The finest trees, however, are pro-

duced from seed.
The Sugar maple, [Acer saccharinum,) is a very abun-

dant tree in the northern states and the Canadas, where it
sometimes forms immense forests. The bark is white ;

the
leaves four or five inches broad, and five-lobed ;
varying
however in size according to the age of the tree. Tlie flow-
ers are small, yellowish, and suspended by slender drooping
peduncles. The seed is contained in two capsules united at
the base, and terminated in a membranous wing ; they are ripe
in October. From certain parts of the trunks of old Sugar
maples, the fine wood called bird's-eye maple is taken, which
is by the cabinet-makers and the sap,
so highly prized ; which
flows in abundance from holes bored in the stem of the tree
early in March, produces the well-known maple sugar.
This can be clarified, so as to equal that of the cane in fla-
vour and appearance ;

and it has been demonstrated that the
planting of maple orchards, for the production of sugar, would
be a profitable investment.
The Scarlet-flowering maple, (A. rubrum,) is found chiefly
on the borders of rivers, or in swamps ; the latter place ap-
pears bpst suited to this tree, for it there often attains a very
large size : it is frequently called the Soft maple or Swamp
maple. The blossoms come out about the middle of April,
while the branches are yet bare of leaves, and their numerous
little pendulous stamens appear like small tufts of scarlet or
purple threads. The leaves somewhat resemble those of the
Sugar maple, but are rather smaller, and only three or four
lobed, glaucous or whitish underneath, and irregularly toothed
on the margin. This tree may easily be distinguished when
young from the former, by the bark of the trunk, which is
gray, with large whitish spots. Its trunk, in the choicest

parts, furnishes the beautiful wood known as the curled ma-
ple.
The White maple. {A. eriocarpum.) This species so much
resembles the Scarlet-flowering maple, that they are often
confounded together in the eastern and middle states, where

it grows but sparingly. West of the Alleghany mountains
it is seen in perfection, and is well known as the White ma-
ple. Its flowers are very pale in colour, and much smaller
than those of the foregoing sorts. The leaves are divided
into four lobes, and have a beautiful white under surface.
Michaux, speaking of this tree, says " In no part of the
:
United States is it more multiplied than in the western coun-

try, and nowhere is its vegetation more luxuriant than on the
banks of the Ohio. There, sometimes alone and sometimes
mingled with the willow, which is found along these waters,
it contributes singularly by its magnificent foliage to the em-
bellishment of the scene. The brilliant white of the leaves
beneath, forms a striking contrast with the bright green above,
and the alternate reflection of the two surfaces in the water,
heightening the beauty of this wonderful moving mirror,
aids in forming an enchanting picture, which, during my
long excursions in a canoe in these regions of solitude and
silence, I contemplated with unwearied admiration."* There,
on those fine deep alluvial soils, the White maple often
attains twelve or fifteen feet in circumference.
The Moose wood, or Striped maple, {A. striatum,) is a
small tree with beautifully striped bark. It is often seen on
the mountains which border the Hudson, but abounds most
profusely in the north of the continent. Acer nigrum, is the
Black sugar tree of Genesee. A. Negiindo,-\ the Ash-leaved
maple, has handsome pinnated foliage of a light green hue ;
it forms a pleasing tree of medium size. These are our

principal native species. J
The finest foreign sorts are the Norway maple, [A. plata-
noideSj) with leaves intermediate in appearance between those
of the plane tree and Sugar maple. The bark of the trunk is
brown, and rougher in appearance than our maples, and the tree
is more loose and spreading in its growth it also grows more;
*
N. A. Sylva, 1. 214. Jfegundo fraxinijolium.
-f
Mr. Douglas has discovered a very superb maple, (.4. macrophyllum,) on

\
the Columbia river, with very large leaves, and fine fragrant yellow blossoms.
rapidly, and strongly resembles at a little distance, the button-

wood inits young state, and the sycamore tree or Great ma-
ple, {A. pseudo-plat anus.) The latter also considerably re-

sembles the plane but the leaves, like those of the common
;
maple, are smoother. They are five-lobed, acute in the divis-

ions, and are placed on much longer petioles than those of
most of the species. The flowers, strung in clusters like those

of the common currant, are greenish in colour. It is much
esteemed as a shade-tree in Scotland, and some parts of the
Continent, and grows with vigour, producing a large head,
and widely spreading branches.
The Locust Tree. Robiiiia.
Nat. Ord. Leguminosse. Lin. Syst. Diadelphia, Decandria.
This is a well-known American tree, found growing wild

in all of the states west of the Delaware River. It is a tree
of secondary size, attaining generally the height of forty or
fifty feet. The leaves are pinnated, bluish-green in colour,
and are thinly scattered over the branches. The white blos-
soms appear in June, and are highly fragrant and beautiful
and from them the Paris perfumers distil an extrait which
greatly resembles orange-flower water, and is used for the
same purposes.
As an ornamental tree, we do not esteem the locust highly.
The objections to it are, 1st, its meagreness and lightness of

foliage, producing but little shade ;
secondly, the extreme
brittleness of its branches, which are liable to be broken and
disfigured by every gale of wind ; and lastly, the abundance
of suckers which it produces. Notwithstanding these defects,

we would not entirely banish the locust from our pleasure-
grounds ; for its light foliage may often be used to advantage
in- producing a variety with other trees; and its very fra-
grant blossoms, are beautiful, when in the beginning of sum-

mer they hang in loose pendulous clusters from among its
light foliage. These will always speak sufficiently in its
favour to cause it to be planted more or less, where a variety

of trees is desired. It should, however, be remembered that
the foliao-e comes out at a late period in spring, and falls
early in autumn, which we consider objections to any tree
that is to be planted in the close vicinity of the mansion.
It is valuable for its extremely rapid growth when young;

as during the first ten or fifteen years of its life, it exceeds
in thrifty shoots almost all other forest trees : but it is com-
paratively short-lived, and in twenty years time, many would
completely overtop and outstrip it. It is easily propagated
by seed, which is by far the best mode of raising it, and pre-
fers a deep, rich, sandy loam.*
As a timber tree of the very first class, the locust has but
few rivals. It is found to be stronger and more durable than

the best oak or Red cedar; while it is lighter, and equally
durable with the Live oak of the south. Its excellency for
ship-building is therefore unsurpassed ;
and as much of the
timber as can be procured of sufficient size, commands a

high price for that purpose. Great use is also made of it in
trunnels, (the wooden pins which fasten the side planks to the
ship frame,) and it is now extensively substituted for the iron
ones formerly used for that purpose ;

and a considerable
quantity of the wood is now exported to England for this use.
* There is a great difference in the growth of this tree. In cold or indifferent

soil?, it presents a rough and rugged aspect ; but in deep, warm, sandy soils, it
becomes quite another tree in appearance. The finest specimens we have ever
seen, are now growing in such soil on the estate of J. P. Derwint, Esq. at Fishkill
Landing, on the banks of the Hudson, New- York. Some specimens there, meas-
ure 90 feet, which is higher than Michaux saw on the deepalluvials in Kentucky,
where they are natives.
For posts it is more durable than the Red cedar, and is there-
fore in high estimation for fencing. In France, where the
tree was introduced by Jean Robin, herbalist to Henri IV.j
(whence the name Robmia,) it is much cultivated for poles
used in supporting the grapes in vineyards. It has the re-
markable property, says Michaux, of beginning from the third

year to convert its sap into perfect wood; which is not done
by the elm, oak, beech, or chestnut, until after the tenth or fif-
teenth year. Hence excellent and durable timber can be ob-

tained from this tree, in a shorter period than from any other.*
The locust can be cultivated to advantage as a timber tree
only upon deep, mellow, and rather rich, sandy soils ;

there
its growth is wonderfully vigorous, and an immense number
can be grown upon a small area of ground. In clayey, heavy,
or strong loamy soils, the tree never attains much size, and is
*Cobbet, who, en passant, though a most remarkable man, was as great a quack
in gardening as the famous pill-dealers now are in medicine, carried over from
this country when he returned to England, a great quantity of seeds of the lo-
cust, which he reared and sold in immense quantities. In his "Woodlands,"
which appeared about that time, he praised its value and utility in the most ex-
aggerated terms, affirming " that no man in America will pretend to say he ever
saw a bit of it in a decayed state." And that " its wood is absolutely indestructible
hy the powers of earth, air, and water." "The time will come," he continues, "and
it will not be very distant, when the locust tree will be more common in Encfland
than the oak when a man would be thought mad if he used anything but lo-
;
cust in the construction of sills, posts, gates, joists, feet for rick stands, stocks and
axletrees for wheels, hop-poles, pales, or for anything where there is liability to
rot. This time will not be distant, seeing that the locust tree grows so fast.
The next race of children but one, that is to say, those who will be born 60 years
hence, will think the locust trees have always been the most numerous trees in
England ;
and some curious writer of a century or two hence will tell his read-
ers, that wonderful as it may seem, the locust was hardly known in England
'
until about the year 1823, when the nation was introduced to a knowledge of it by
William Cobbett.' What he will say of me besides, I do not know ; but I
know he will say this of me. upon account, therefore, knowing

I enter this
that I am writing for centuries to come." For a fuller account of his locust
! !
frenzy, we refer our readers to the very complete article on Robinia, in that
truly splendid work, the" Arboretum Britannicum."
19
extremely liable to the attacks of the borer, which renders

its wood in a great measure valueless. In particularly fa-
vourable situations, its culture may be made extremely prof-
itable.*
There are but two distinct species of locust which attain

the size of trees in this country, viz: the Yellow locust, {R.
Pseud-acacia,) so called from the colour of its wood and the ;
Honey locust, [R. viscosa,) a smaller tree, with reddish flow-

ers, and branches covered with a viscid, honey-like gum.
Some pretty varieties of the former have been originated in
gardens abroad, among which the Parasol locust, [var. um-
hraculifera,) is decidedly the most interesting. We recollect
some handsome specimens which were imported by the late
M. Parmentier, and grew in his garden at Brooklyn, Long
Island. They were remarkable for their unique, rounded,
umbrella-like heads, when grafted ten or twelve feet high on
the common locust.
The sorts called the White and Black locusts, from the
colour of the wood, are mere varieties of the Yellow locust,
much less valuable for timber than that species, and of no ac-
count in ornamental plantations.
The Three-thorned Acacia Tree. Gleditschia.
Nat. Ord. Leguminosae. Lin. Syst. Polygamia, Dicecia.
This tree is often called the Three-thorned locust, from

some resemblance to the latter tree. Its delicate, doubly pin-
* There isknown instance of the profit of this tree, which we perceive
a well
has found way into the memoirs of the Agricultural Society of Paris. A
its
farmer on Long Island, some sixty years ago, on the year of his marriage,
planted fourteen acres of his farm with the Yellow locust. When his eldest son
married at twenty-two, he cut twelve hundred dollars worth of timber from the
field, as a marriage portion, which he gave his son to buy a settlement in Lan-
caster County, Pennsylvania, then considered a part of the " western country."
Three years after, the locust grove yielded as much for a daughter; and in this
way his whole family were provided for ; as the rapidity with which the young
suckers grew up, fully repaired the breaches made in the fourteen acres.
nate leaves, however, are much more like those of the Aca-
cia's, a family of plants not hardy enough to bear our climate.
It is a much finer tree in appearance than the common locust,
although the flowers are greenish and inconspicuous, in-
stead of possessing the beauty and fragrance of the latter.

There is, however, a peculiar elegance about its light green
and beautiful foliage, which wafts so gracefully in the summer

breeze, and folds up on the slightest shower, that it stands far
above that tree in our estimation, for the embellishment of
scenery. The branches spread out rather horizontally,
in a fine, broad, and lofty head ; there are none of the dead
and unsightly branches so common on the locust ;

and the
light feathery foliage, lit up in the sunshine, has an airy
and transparent look, rarely seen in so large a tree, which

sometimes produces very happy effects in composition with
other trees. The bark is of a pleasing brown, smooth in
surface ;
the branches are studded over with curious, long,
triply-pointed thorns, which also often jut out in clusters, in
every direction from the trunk of the tree, to the length of
four or five inches, giving it a most singular and forbidding

look. In winter, these and the long seed-pods, five or six
inches in length, which hang upon the boughs at that season,
give the whole tree a very distinct character. These pods

contain a sweetish substance, somewhat resembling honey ;
whence the tree has in some places obtained the name of
Honey locust, which properly belongs to Robinia viscosa.

Another recommendation of this tree^ is the variety of pic-
turesque shapes which it assumes in growing up; sometimes

forming a tall pyramidal head of 50 or 60 feet, sometimes a
low horizontally branched tree, and at others it expands into a
wide irregular head, quite flattened at the summit. It does
not produces suckers like the locust, and may therefore be in-
troduced into any part of the grounds. When but a limited

extent is devoted to a lawn or garden, this tree should be
among the first to obtain a place ; as one or two Three-thorned

Acacias, mingled with other larger and heavier foliage, will at
once produce a charming variety.

The Three-thorned Acacia has been strongly recommended
for hedores. It is too liable to become thin at the bottom, to
serve well for an outer enclosure, but if kept well trimmed,
it forms a capital farm fence and protection against the larger

animals, growing up in much less time than the hawthorn.
Like the locust, it has the disadvantage of expanding its fo-
liage late in the spring. In the strong rich soils, which it
prefers, it grows very vigorously, and is easily propagated
from seeds.
The Three-thorned Acacia, (G. triacanthos^) is the prin-

cipal species, and is indigenous to the states west of the
Alleghanies. G. monos'perina is another kind, which is
scarcely distinguishable from the Three-thorned, except in
having one-seeded pods. The seedlings raised from G. tri-
acanlhos, are often entirely destitue of thorns.
There is a fine species called the Chinese, [G. horrida,)
with larger and finer foliage, and immense triple thorns, which
is interesting from its~ great singularity, A tree of this kind
which we imported, has stood the three last winters perfectly
uninjured, and promises to be beautiful and very hardy.
Some noble specimens of the common Three-thorned Acacia,
may be seen upon the lawn at Hyde Park, the fine seat of
the late Dr. Hosack.
The Judas Tree. Cercis.
Jât. Ord. Leguminosse. Lin. Syst. Decandria, Monogynia.
A handsome low tree, about 20 feet in height, which is
found scattered sparsely through warm sheltered valleys,
alono; the Hudson and other rivers of the northern sections of

the United States. It is valuable as an ornamental tree, no

less on account of its exceedingly neat foliage, which is ex-
actly heart shaped or cordiform, and of a pleasing green tint,
than for its pretty pink blossoms. These, which are pea-
shaped, are produced in little clusters close to the branches,
often in great profusion, early in the spring, before the

leaves have expanded. From the appearance of the limbs at
that period, it has in some places obtained the name of Red-

bud. It is then one of the most ornamental of trees, and in
company with the Scarlet-flowering maple, serves greatly to
enliven the scene, and pleasingly heralds the approach of the
floral season. These blossoms, according to Loudon, [En-

cycl. of Pla?its,) having an agreeable poignancy, are frequent-
ly eaten in salads abroad, and pickled by the French families
in Canada. The name of Judas tree appears to have been
whimsically bestowed by Gerard, an old English gardener,
who described it in 1596, and relates that "this is the tree
whereon Judas did hange himselfe ;

and not upon the elder
tree, as it is said,"
There are two species in common cultivation the Ameri- ;
can, (C. Canadensis,) and the European. The latter much

resembles our native tree. The flowers, however, are deeper
in colour; the leaves darker, and less pointed at the extremi-
ty. It also produces blossoms rather more profusely than
the American tree. Both species are highly worthy of a

place in the garden, or near the house, where their pleasing
vernal inflorescence may be observed.
The Chestnut Tree. Castanea.

Nat. Ord. Corylacese. Liju Syst. Moncecia, Polyandria.
The chestnut, for its qualities in Landscape Gardening,

ranks with that king of the forest, the oak. Like that tree,
it attains an enormous size, and its longevity in some cases
is almost equally remarkable. Its fine massy foliage, and

sweet nuts, have rendered it a favourite tree since a very re-
mote period. Among the ancients, the latter were a com-
mon article of food.
" Sunt nobis mitia poma

Castanea moUes, et pressi copia lactis.''
ViRG. ECL. 1.
They appear to have been in general use, both in a raw and

cooked state. In times of scarcity, they probably supplied
in some measure the place of bread-stuffs, and were thence
highly valued
" As for the thrice three angled beech-nut shell,

Or chestnut's armed huske and hid kernell,
No squire durst touch, the law would not afford.
Kept for the court, and for the king's own board."
Bp. Hall, Sat. B. III. 1.
Even to this day, in those parts of France and Italy near-

est the great chestnut forests of the Appenines, these nuts
form a large portion of the food which sustains the peasantry,
where grain is but little cultivated, and potatoes almost un-
known. There a sweet and highly nutritious flour is pre-
pared from them, which makes a delicious bread. Large

quantities of the fruit are therefore annually collected in those
countries, and dried and stored away for the winter's con-
sumption. Old Evelyn says, " the bread of the flour is ex-
ceedingly nutritive : it is a robust food, and makes women
well complexioned, as I have read in a good author. They
also make fritters of chestnut flour, which they wet with
rose-water, and sprinkle with grated parmigans, and so fry
them in fresh butter for a delicate." The fruit of the chest-
nut abounds in saccharine matter ; and we learn from a

French periodical, that experiments have been made, by

which it is ascertained that the kernel yields nearly sixteen
per cent, of good sugar.
As a timber tree, this is greatly inferior to the oak, being
looser grained, and more liable to decay ; and the American
wood is more open to this objection than that produced on
the opposite side of the Atlantic. It is however in general
use among us, for posts and rails in fencing ; and when the
former are charred, they are found to be quite durable.
The finest natural situations for this tree, appear to be the
mountainous slopes of mild climates, where it attains the
greatest possible perfection. Michaux informs us, that the
most superb and lofty chestnuts in America are to be found

in such situations, in the forests of the Carolinas. Abroad,
every one will call to mind the far-famed chestnuts of Mount
Etna, of wonderful age and extraordinary size. The great
chestnut there has excited the surprise of numerous travellers ;
at present, however, it appears to be scarcely more than

a mere shell, the wreck of former greatness. When visited
by M. Houel, {Aboretzwi Brit.) it was in a state of decay,
having lost the greater part of its branches, and its trunk was
quite hollow. A house was erected in the interior, and
some country people resided in it, with an oven, in which, ac-
cording to the custom of the country, they dried chestnuts,
filberts, and other fruits, which they wished to preserve for
winter use ; using as fuel, when they could find no other,

pieces cut with a hatchet from the interior of the tree. In
Brydone's time, in 1770, this tree measured two hundred and
four feet in circumference. He says it had the appearance
of five distinct tirees ;
but that he was assured that the space
was once filled with solid timber, and that there was no bark
on the inside. This circumstance of an old trunk, hollow in
the interior, becoming separated so as to have the appearance

of being the remains of several distinct trees, is frequently met
with in the case of very old mulberry trees in Great Britain, and
olive trees in Italy, Kircher, about a century before Brydone,
affirms that an entire flock of sheep might be enclosed within
the Etna chestnut, as in a fold.* {Arboretum Brit. p. 1988.)
In considering the chestnut as highly adapted to ornament
the grounds of extensive country residences, much that we
have already said of the oak will apply to this tree. When
young, its smooth stem, clean and bright foliage, and lively
aspect, when adorned with the numerous light greenish yel-
low blossoms which project beyond the mass of leaves, render

it a pleasing and beautiful tree. It has long been a favourite
with the poets, for its grateful shade ; and as the roots run
deep, the soil beneath it is sufficiently rich and sheltered to
aflford an asylum for the minutest beauties of the woods.

Tennyson sweetly says :
—
" That slope beneath the chestnut tall
Iswooed with choicest breaths of air,

Methinks that I could tell you all
The cowslips and the king cups there."
When old, its huge trunk, wide-spread branches, lofty head,
and irregular outline, all contribute to render it a picturesque
tree of the very first class. In that state, when standing

alone, with free room to develope itself on every side, like
* One of the most celebrated Chestnut trees on record, is that called the
Tortworth Chestnut, in In 1772, Lord Ducie, the owner, had a por-
England.
trait of it taken, which was accompanied by the following description " The :
east view of the ancient Chestnut tree at Tortworth, in the county of Glouces-
ter, which measures nineteen yards in circumference, and is mentioned by Sir
Robert Aikins in his history of that county, as a famous tree in King John's
reign ; and by Mr. Evelyn in his Sylva, to have been so remarkable in the
reign of King Stephen, 1135, as then to be called the great Chestnut of Tort-
worth ;
from which, it may reasonably be presumed to have been standing before
the conquest, 1066." This tree is still standing.
the oak, it gives a character of dignity, majesty, and grandeur,
to the scene, beyond the power of most trees to confer. It is
well known that the favourite tree of Salvator Rosa, and one
which was most frequently introduced with a singularly hap-
py effect into his wild and picturesque compositions, was the
chestnut ; sometimes a massy and bold group of its verdure,
but oftener an old and storm-rifted giant, half leafless, or
a barren trunk coated with a rich verdure of mosses and

lichens.
The chestnut in maturity, like the oak, has a great variety of
outline ;
and no trees are better fitted than these for the forma-
tion of grand groups, heavy masses, or wide outlines of foliage.
A higher kind of beauty, less tame, and possessing more per-
manent interest to the picturesque eye, can be formed of these
two genera of trees when disposed in grand masses, than
with any other forest trees of temperate climates ;
perhaps
we may say of any climate.
There is so little difference in the common Sweet chestnut

[Castanea vesca,) of both hemispheres, that they are gener-
ally considered the same species, Yarieties have been pro-
duced in Europe, which far surpass our common chestnuts of
the woods, in size, delicacy, and richness of flavour. Those
cultivated for the table in France, are known by the name
of inarrons. They are improved sorts of the Spanish chest-
nuts, four or five times as large, and when roasted, says Lou-
don, "have a rich creamy flavour, and an aromatic odour,
in which the common chestnuts are quite deficient." Some
of these trees are now growing in different parts of the Union,
and succeed well in our soil. They may be procured from
the nurseries, and we can hardly recommend to our planters
more acceptable addition to our nut-bearing forest trees.
The Chinquapin or Dwarf chestnut, (C. pumila,) is a curi-
ous low bush, from four to six feet high. The leaves are
20
nearly the size of the ordinary chestnut, or rather smaller,

and the fruit about two-thirds as large. It is indigenous to
all the states south of Pennsylvcinia, and is often found in

great abundance. It is a carious little tree, or more properly
a shrub, and merits a place in the garden : or it may be ad-
vantageously planted for underwood in a group of large trees.
As the chestnut, like the oak, forms stronsr tap-roots, it is
removed with some difficulty. The finest trees are produced

from the nut. and their growth is much more rapid when
youn?, than that of the transplanted tree. It prefers a deep
sandy loam, rather moist than dry and will not, like many ;
forest trees, accommodate itself to wet and low situations.
The Osage Orange Tree. Madura.
XaL Ord. Urticaceae. Lin. Syst. DicBcia, Tetrandria.
This interesting tree is found growing wild on the Arkansas

River, and other western tributaries of the Mississippi, south
of St. Louis, where, according to Mr. Nuttall. it attains the
height of .50 or 60 feet. The branches are rather light- col-
oured, and armed with spines, (produced at every joint.)
about an inch and a half long. The leaves are long, ovate
and acuminate, or pointed at the extremity ; they are deep
green, and more glossy and bright than those of the orange.
The blossoms are greenish and the fruit is about the shape and
;
size of a laroê orang-e, but the surface much roug-her than
that fruit. In the south, we are told, it assumes a deep yel-

low colour, and at a short distance strikingly resembles the
common orange : the specimens of fruit which we have seen
growing in Philadelphia, did not assume that fine colour
but the appearance of the tree laden with it, is not unlike
that of a large orange tree. It was first transplanted into
our gardens from a village of the Osage tribe of Indians,

whence the common name of the tree.
The wood is fine grained, yellow in colour, and takes a

brilliant polish. It is also very strong and eleistic, and on
this account, the Indians of the wide district to which this
tree is indigenous, employ it extensively for bows, greatly

preferring it to any other timber. Hence its common name,
among the white inhabitants, is Bodac. a corruption of the
term hois d'arc, [how-wood,) of the French settlers. A fine
yellow dye is extracted from the wood, similar to that of the
Fustic.
As the Osage orange belongs to the monoecious class of

plants, it does not perfect its fruit, unless both the male
£ind female trees are growing in the same neighbourhood.

Many have believed the fruit to be eatable, both from its fine
appearance, and from its affinity with, and resemblance to
that of the bread-fruit ; but all attempts to render it pleasant,
either cooked or in a raw state, have hitherto failed : it is
therefore probably inedible, though not injurious. Perhaps

when fully ripened, some mode of preparing it by baking or
otherwise, may render it palatable.
As an ornamental tree, the Osage orange is rather too
loose in the disposition of its wade-spreading branches, to be

called beautiful in its form. But the bright glossy hue of its
foliage, and especially the unique appearance of a good
sized tree when covered with the large orange-like fruit, ren-
der it one of the most interesting of our native trees ;

while
it has the same charm of rarity as an exotic, since it was in-
troduced from the far west, and is yet but little planted in
the United States. On a small lawn, where but iev^ trees
are needed, and where it is desirable that the species employed,
should all be as distinct as possible, to give the whole as much

156 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. *
variety as can be obtained in a limited space, such trees
should be selected as will not only be ornamental, but com-

bine some other charm, association, or interest. Among such
trees, we would by all means give the Osage orange a fore-
most place. It has the additional recommendation of being

a fine shade tree, and of producing an excellent and durable
wood.
The stout growth and strong thorns of this tree, have been
thought indicative of its usefulness for the making of hedges;
a method of fencing, which sooner or later must be adopted in
many parts of this country: and from the experiments which
we have seen made with plants of the Osage orange, we
think it likely to answer a very valuable purpose; especially
in the middle and southern The Messrs. Landreths
states.
of Philadelphia, have lately offered many thousands of them

to the public, at a low rate, and we hope to see the matter
fairly tested in various parts of the Union.

A rich deep loam is the soil best adapted to the growth of
this tree; and as it is rather tender when young, (though quite

hardy when it attains considerable size,) it should, as far as
possible, be planted in a rather sheltered situation. A dry

soil is preferable, if it must be placed in a cold aspect, as all
plants not perfectly hardy are much injured by the late growth,
caused by an excess of moisture and consequent immature
state of the wood, which is unable to resist the effects of a
severe winter.
The Mulberry Tree. Moms.

Nat. Onl. Urticacese. Lin. Sijst. Monoecia, Tetrandria.
The three principal species of the mulberry, are the common

Red American, the European Black, and the White mulber-
ries. None of them are truly handsome in scenery ; and the

two latter are generally low spreading trees, valued entirely for
the excellency of the fruit, or the suitableness of the foliage
for feeding silk worms. Our common mulberry, however,

in free, open situations, forms a large wide-spreading hori-
zontally branched, and not inelegant tree : the rough heart-
shaped leaves with which it is thickly clothed, afford a deep
shade ; and it groups well with the lime, the catalpa, and
many other round-headed trees. We consider it therefore
duly entitled to a place in all extensive plantations ;
while
the pleasant flavour of its slightly acid, dark red fruit, will
recommend it to those who wish to add to the delicacies of

the dessert. The timber of our wild mulberry tree is of the
very first quality; when fully seasoned, it takes a dull lemon-
coloured hue, and is scarcely less durable than the locust or
Live oak. Like those trees, it is much valued by ship-build-

ers ;
and at Philadelphia and Baltimore it commands a high
price, for the frame-work, knees, floor-timbers, and trunnels of
vessels. The Red mulberry is much slower in its growth
than the locust ; but so far as we are aware, it is not liable to
the attacks of any insect destructive to its timber ;
and it would
probably be found profitable to cultivate it as a timber-tree.
The locust, it will be remembered, grows thriftily only on

peculiar soils, loose, dry, and mellow: the Red mulberry pre-
fers deep, moist, and rich situations. No attempts, as far as
we can learn, have been made in its culture ;

but we would
recommend it to the particular attention of those who have
facilities for experiments of this kind.
The Black mulberry of Europe, [Morus nigra,) is a low,
slow-growing tree, with rough leaves, somewhat resembling
those of our Red mulberry, but more coarsely serrated, and
often found divided into four or five lobes ; while the leaves
which are not heart-shaped on our native species, are gener-
ally three-lobed. The European mulberry bears a fruit four
or five times as large as the American, full of rich, sweet

juice. It has long- been a favourite in England, and is one
of the most healthy and delicious fruits of the season. Glover
says :
" There the flushing peach,

The apple, citron, almond, pear, and date,
Pomegranates, purple, mulberry, and fig,
From interlacing branches mix their hues.

And scents, the passengers' delight.''
Leonid. B. TI.
We regret that so excellent a fruit should be so little cul-
tivated here. It succeeds extremely well in the middle

states : and as it ripens at the very period in midsummer
when fruits are scarcest, there can be no more welcome ad-
dition to our pomonal treasures, than its deep purple and
luscious berries. According to Loudon, it is a tree of great
durability ;
in proof of which he quotes a specimen at Sion
House, 300 years old, which is supposed to have been planted
in the 16th century by the botanist Turner.
The White mulberry, (M. alba,) is the species upon the
leaves of which the silk worms are fed. The fruit is insipid
and tasteless, and the tree is but little cultivated to embellish
ornamental plantations, though one of the most useful in the

world, when its importance in the production of silk is taken
into account. There are a great number of varieties of this
species to be found in the different nurseries and silk planta-
tions; and one of them, the Chinese mulberry, (M. multi-

caulis,) we consider worthy of notice as a beautiful tree. It
grows rapidly, and forms a handsome head ; and its large,

tender, and soft green foliage is not only beautiful to look
upon, but affords a fine shade ; while the peculiar tint of its
verdure contrasts happily with that of other more sombre

forest trees. The fruit is we believe of no importance
but it is the most valuable of all mulberries as food for the

silk worm, while its growth is the most vigorous, and its
leaves more easily gathered than those of any other tree of
the genus.
The Paper Mulberry Tree. Broussonetia.
Nat. Ord. UrticacesB. Lin. Syst. Dioecia, Tetrandria.
The Paper mulberry is an exotic tree of a low growth, rare-
ly exceeding twenty-five or thirty feet, indigenous to Japan

and the South Sea Islands, but very common in our gar-
dens. It is remarkable for the great variety of forms ex-

hibited in its foliage ; as upon young trees it is almost im-
possible to find two exactly alike, though the prevailing out-
lines are either heart-shaped, or more or less deeply cut or
lobed. These leaves are considered valueless for feeding the
silk worm ; but in the South Seas, the bark is woven into
dresses worn by the females ; and in China and Japan, ex-
tensive use is made of it in the manufacture of a paper, of the
softest and most beautiful texture. This is fabricated from
the inner bark of the young shoots, which is first boiled
to a soft pulp, and then submitted to processes greatly simi-
lar to those performed in our paper-mills. This tree blos-
soms in spring, and ripens its fruit in the month of August.

The latter is dark scarlet, and quite ornamental, though of no
value. The genus is dioecious and the reason why so few ;
fruit-bearing trees are seen in the United States, is because
we generally cultivate only one of the sexes, the female.

M. Parmentier, however, who introduced the male plant from
Europe, disseminated it in several parts of the country ; and

the beauty of the tree has thereby been augmented by the
increased interest which it possesses, when laden with its
long hairy berries.

The value of the Paper mulberry, in ornamental planta-
tions, arises from its exotic look, as compared with other
trees, from the singular diversity of its foliage, the beauty

of its reddish berries, and from the rapidity of its growth.
It is deficient in hardiness for a colder climate than that of
New- York ; but farther south it is considerably esteemed as
a shade-tree, for lining the side- walks in cities. In winter,

its light fawn or ash-coloured bark, mottled with patches of
a darker gray, contrasts agreeably with other trees. It has
no picturesque beauty, and should never be planted in quan-
tities, but only in scattered specimens, to give interest and
variety to a walk in the lawn or shrubbery.
The Sweet Gum Tree. Liquidambar.
Nat. Ord. Platanacese. Lin. Syst. MonoBcia, Polyandria.
According to Michaux,* the Sweet gum is one of our most

extensively diffused trees. On the seashore, it is seen as
far north as Portsmouth ; and it extends as far south as the
Gulf of Mexico, and the Isthmus of Darien. In many of the
southern states, it is one of the commonest trees of the forest
it is rarely seen, however, along the banks of the Hudson or

other large streams of New- York. It is not unlike the maple
in general appearance, and its palmate five-lobed leaves are
in outline much like the Sugar maple, though darker in col-
*N. A. Sylva, 1, 315.

our, and firmer in texture. It may also be easily distinguish-
ed from that tree, by the curious appearance of its seconda-
ry branches, which have a peculiar roughness, owing to the
bark attaching itself in plates edgewise to the trunk, instead
of laterally, as in the usual manner. The fruit is globular,
somewhat resembling that of the buttonwood, but much

rougher, and bristling with points. The male and female
catkins appear on different branches of the same tree, early
in the spring.
This tree grows in great perfection in the forests of New

Spain. It was first described by a Spanish naturalist. Dr.
Hernandez, who observed that a frasfrant and transparent
gum issued from its trunk in that country, to which, from its
appearance, he gave the name of liquid amber : this is now

the common name of the tree in Europe ; and the gum is at
present an article of export from Mexico, being chiefly val-
ued in medicine as a styptic, and for its healing and bal-
samic properties. " This substance, which in the shops is
sometimes called the white balsam of Peru, or liquid storax,

is, when it first issues from the tree, perfectly liquid and
clear, white, with a slight tinge of yellow, quite balsamic ;
and having: a most acrreeable fragrance, resembling that of

ambergris or styrax. It is stimulant and aromatic, and has
long been used in France as a perfume, especially for gloves."*
In the middle states a fragrant substance sometimes exudes
from the leaves, and by incision small quantities of the gum
may be procured from the trunk ; but a warmer climate ap-
pears to be necessary to its production in considerable quan-
tities.
We hardly know a more beautiful tree than the Liquid-

ambar in every stage of its growth, and during every season
* Aboretum Brit. 2051.
21
of the year. Its outline is not picturesque or graceful, but

simply beautiful, more approaching that of the maple than
any other : it is therefore a highly pleasing, round-headed
or tapering tree, which unites and harmonizes well with
almost any others in composition ; but the chief beauty
lies in the foliagfe. During the whole of the summer months
it preserves unsoiled that dark glossy freshness which is so
delightful to the eye ; while the singular regularly palmate

form of the leaves readily distinguishes it from the common
trees of a plantation. But in autumn it assumes its gayest
livery, and is decked in colours almost too bright and vivid
for foliage ;
forming one of the most brilliant objects in
American scenery, at that period of the year. The prevail-
ing tint of the foliage is then a deep purplish red, unlike

any symptom of decay, and quite as vivid as is common-
ly seen in the brightest blossoms of a Dutch parterre. This
is sometimes varied by a shade deeper or lighter, and occasion-
ally an orange tint is assumed. When planted in the neigh-
bourhood of our fine maples, ashes, and other trees remark-
able for their autumnal colouring, the effect is almost magi-
cal in a warm dry autumn. Whoever has travelled through
what are called the pine barrens of New- Jersey in such a sea-
son, cannot have failed to be struck with the gay tints of the
numberless forest trees which line the roads through

o those
sandy plains, and with the conspicuous beauty of the Sweet
gum or Liquidambar tree.
The bark of this tree, when full grown or nearly so, is ex-
ceedingly rough and furrowed, like that of the oak. The
wood is fine-grained, and takes a good polish in cabinet-
work though it is not so durable, nor so much esteemed for
;
such purposes, as that of the Black walnut, and some other

DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES, 163
native trees. The average height of full grown trees is about

35 or 40 feet.
Liquidamhar styracifiua is the only North American

species. It grows most rapidly in moist or even wet situa-
tions, though it will accommodate itself to a dryer soil.
The Walnut Tree. Juglans.
Nat. Ord. Juglandacese. Liri. Syst. Monoecia, Polyandria.
The three trees which properly come under this head, and
belong to the genus Juglans, are the Black walnut, the Euro-
pean walnut, and the Butternut.
The Black walnut is one of the largest trees of our native
forests. In good soils, it often attains a stature of 60 or 70
feet, and a diameter of three or four feet in the trunk, with a
corresponding amplitude of branches. The leaves, about a
foot or eighteen inches in length, are composed of six or eight

pairs of opposite leaflets, terminated by an odd one. They
contain a very strong aromatic, which is emitted plentifully
when they are bruised. The large nut, always borne on the
extremity of the young shoots, is round, and covered with a

thick husk; which, instead of separating into pieces, and fal-
ling off like those of the hickory, rots away and decays grad-
ually. The kernel of the Black walnut, too well known to
need any description here, is highly esteemed, and is consid-
ered by many persons to possess a finer flavour than any

other walnut.
The timber of this tree is very valuable : when well sea-
soned it is as durable as the White oak, and is less liable to
the attacks of sea- worms, etc., than almost any other ;

it is
therefore highly esteemed in naval architecture for certain
purposes. But its great value is in cabinet-work. Its col-

our, when exposed to the air, is a fine, rich, dark brown, ap-
proaching to black ; and as it takes a brilliant polish, it is com-

ing into general nse, in the United States, for furniture, as
well as for the interior finishing of houses.
The Black walnut has strong claims upon the Landscape

Gardener, as it is one of the grandest and most massive trees
which he can employ. Wlien full grown, it is scarcely in-
ferior in the boldness of its ramification, or the amplitude of

its head, to the oak or the chestnut ; and what it lacks in
spirited outline when compared with those trees, is fully com-

pensated, in our estimation, by its superb and heavy masses
of foliage, which catch and throw off the broad lights and
shadows in the finest manner. When the Black walnut
stands alone on a deep fertile soil, it becomes a truly majes-

tic tree ;
and its lower branches often sweep the ground in a
pleasing curve, which gives additional beauty to its whole
expression. It is admirably adapted to extensive lawns?
parks, or plantations, where there is no want of room for the
attainment of its full size and fair proportions. Its rapid

growth and umbrageous foliage also recommend it for pub-
lic streets and avenues.
The European walnut, [J. regia,) or as it is generally
termed here, the Madeira nut, is one of the most common
cultivated trees of Europe, where it was introduced originally
from Persia. It differs from our Black walnut, (which how-
ever it much resembles,) in the smooth gray bark of the
stem, the leaves composed of three or four pair of leaflets, and

in the very thin-shelled fruit, which, though not exceed-
ing the Black walnut in size, yet contains a much larger
kernel, which is generally considered more delicate in fla-
vour. In the interior of France, orchards of the walnut are

planted, and a considerable commerce is carried on in its
products, consisting chiefly of the fruit, of which large quanti-
ties are consumed in all parts of Europe. The wood is great-
ly used in the manufacture of gun-stocks, and in cabinet-
making ;
(though it is much inferior to the American walnut
wood for this purpose ;) and the oil extracted from the ker-
nel, is in high estimation for mixing with delicate colours

used in painting, and other purposes.
The European walnut is a noble tree in size, and thickly
clad in foliage. It is much esteemed as a shade-tree by the
Dutch and ;
Evelyn, who is an enthusiastic admirer of its
beauties, mentions their fondness for this tree as in the high-
est degree praiseworthy. " The Bergstras, [Bergstrasse\

which extends from Heidelberg to Darmstadt, is all planted
with walnuts ; for as by an ancient law, the Borderers

were obliged to nurse up and take care of them, and that
chiefly for their ornament and shade, so as a man may ride
for many miles about that country, under a continual arbour
or close walk, — the traveller both refreshed with the fruit
and shade. How much such public plantations improve the
glory and wealth of a nation ! In several places betwixt
Hanau and Frankfort in Germany, no young farmer is per-
mitted to marry a wife till he bring proof that he hath plant-

ed, and is the father of a stated number of walnut trees."*
The nuts are imported into this country in great quan-

tities ; and as they are chiefly brought from Spain and
the Madeiras, they are here almost entirely known by the
name of the Madeira nut. The tree is but little cultiva-
ted among us, though highly deserving more extensive fa-
vour, both on account of its value and beauty. It grows

well in the climate of the middle states, and bears freely ; a
specimen eighteen or twenty years old, in the garden of the
* Hunter's Evelyn, p. 16S.

author, has reached thirty-five feet in height, and bears two

or three bushels of fine fruit annually ; from which we have
already propagated several hundred individuals.
As an ornamental tree, warm rus-
Gilpin remarks, that the
set hue of its young foliage makes a pleasing variety among
the vivid green of other trees, about the end of May and ;
the same variety is maintained in summer, by the contrast of

its yellowish hue, when mixed in any quantity with trees of
a darker tint. It stands best alone, as the early loss of its
foliage is then of less consequence, and its ramification is
generally beautiful.
The butternut, (/. and

cathartica,) belongs to this section,
is chiefly esteemed for which abounds in oil, and is
its fruit;
very rich and sweet. The foliage somewhat resembles that

of the Black walnut, though the leaflets are smaller and nar-
rower. The form of the nut, however, is strikingly different,
being oblong, oval, and narrowed to a point at the extremity.
Unlike the walnut, the husk is covered with a sticky gum,

and the surface of the nut is much rougher than any other of
the walnut genus. The bark of the butternut is gray, and
the tops of old trees generally have a flattened appearance.
It is frequently an uncouth, ill-shapen, and ugly tree in form,
and we can hardly recommend it as in any way adapted

to add to the charms of a residence, otherwise than by the
excellence of its fruit.*
The Hickory Tree. Carya.
Nat. Ord. Juglandacese. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Polyandria.
The hickories are fine and lofty North American trees,
* Loudon errs greatly in his Arboretum (an incomparable work,) in suppos-

ing the butternut to be identical with the Black walnut whole
; no trees in the
American more easily distinguished at first sight. He also states

forest are
the fruit to be rancid and of little value but no American lad of a dozen years
;
will accord with him in this opinion.

highly valuable for their wood, and the excellent fruit borne
by some of the species. The timber is extremely elastic, and
very heavy, possessing great strength and tenacity. It is not
much employed in architecture, as it is peculiarly liable to
the attacks of worms, and decays quickly when exposed to
moisture. But it is very extensively employed for all pur-
poses requiring great elasticity and strength ;

as for axletrees,
screws, the wooden rings used upon the rigging of vessels,
whip-handles, and axe-handles ;

and an immense quantity of
the young poles are employed in the manufacture of hoops,
for which they are admirably adapted.
For fuel, no American wood is equal to this in the brillian-

cy with which it burns, or in the duration or amount of heat
given out by it : it therefore commands the highest price in
market, for that purpose.
The hickories are nearly allied to the walnuts ; the chief
botanical distinction consisting in the covering to the nut,
or husk ; which in the hickories separates into four valves
or pieces when ripe, instead of adhering in a homogeneous

coat, as upon the Black walnut and butternut. In size
and appearance, the hickories rank with the first class of
forest trees ;
most of them growing vigorously to the height
of 60 or 80 feet, with fine straight trunks, well balanced and
ample heads, and handsome, lively, pinnated foliage. When
confined among other trees in the forest, they shoot up 50 or
60 feet without branches ;
but when standing singly, they
expand into a fine head near the ground, and produce a
noble, lofty pyramid of foliage, rather rounded at the top.
They have all the qualities which are necessary to consti-

tute fine park trees, and are justly entitled to a place in every
considerable plantation.
The most ornamental species are the Shellbark hickory.
the Pignut, and the Pecan-nut. The former and the latter
produce delicious nuts, and are highly worthy of cultivation

for their fruit alone ; while all of them assume very hand-
some shapes during every stage of their growth, and ulti-
mately become noble trees. Varieties of the Shellbark hicko-
ry are sometimes seen producing nuts of twice or thrice

the ordinary size ;
and we have not the least doubt that the
fruit might be so improved in size and delicacy of flavour,
by careful cultivation, as to surpass the European walnut,

for the table. This result will probably be attained by
planting the nuts of the finest varieties found in our woods,
in rich moist soil, kept in high cultivation ; as all improv-
ed varieties of fruit have been produced in this way, and

not, as many suppose, by cultivating the original species.
These remarks also apply to the Pecan-nut ; a western
sort, which thrives well with us, and which produces a
nut more delicate in flavour than any other of this con-
tinent.
These trees form strong tap-roots, and are therefore some-

what difficult to transplant ; but they are easily reared from
the nut ; and, for the reason stated above, this method should
be adopted -in preference to any other, except in particular
cases.
The principal species of the hickory are the following
The Shellbark hickory, (C alha^) so called on account of

the roughness of its bark, which is loosened from the trunk
in long scales or pieces, bending outwards at the extremity,
and remaining attached by the middle this takes place, how- ;
ever, only on trees of some size. The leaves are composed of

two pairs of leaflets, with an odd or terminal one. The scales
which cover the buds of the Shellbark in winter, adhere only
to the lower half, while the upper half of the bud is left un-
covered, by which this sort is readily distinguished from the

other species. The hickory nuts of our markets are the pro-
duce of this tree ; they are much esteemed in every part of
the Union, and are exported in considerable quantities to Eu-
rope. Among many of the descendants of the original Dutch
settlers of New- York and New- Jersey,
the fruit is commonly
known by the appellation of the Kisky-tom nut.*
The Pecan-nut, [Pacainer of the French,) [C. olivafor-
mis,) is found only in the western states. It abounds on
the Missouri, Arkansas, Wabash, and Illinois Rivers and a;
portion of the Ohio : Michaux states that there is a swamp of

SOO acres on the right bank of the Ohio, opposite the Cum-
berland river, entirely covered with it. It is a handsome
stately tree, about 60 or 70 feet in height, with leaves a foot
or eighteen inches long, composed of six or seven pairs of
leaflets, much narrower than those of our hickories. The
nuts are contained in a thin, somewhat four-sided husk they ;
are about an inch, or an inch and a half long, smooth, cylin-

drical, and thin-shelled. The kernel is not divided by par-
titions like most of the hickories, and has a very delicate and
agreeable flavour. They form an object of petty commerce

between Upper and Lower Louisiana. From New-Orleans,
they are exported to the West Indies, and to the ports of the
United States.f
Besides these two most valuable species, our forests pro-
duce the Pignut hickory, (C ijorcina.) a lofty tree with five
to seven pairs of leaflets, so called from the comparative
worthlessness of its fruit; which is very thick-shelled, and

generally is left in the wood for the swine, squirrels, etc., to
devour. It is easily distinguished in winter by the smaller

size of its brown shoots, and its small oval buds. Its wood is
considered the toughest and strongest of any of the trees of

this section. The thick Shellbark hickory, (C laciniosa,)
*In some parts, pleasant social parties which meet at stated times during the
winter season, are called Kisky-toms, from the regular appearance of these nuts
among the refreshments of the evening.
t N. A. Sylva, I. 168,
22
resembles much in size and appearance the common Shell-

bark ;
but the nuts are double the size, the shell much thicker
and yellowish, while that of the latter is white. It is but
known, except west of the AUeghanies. The Mocker-
little
nut hickory, (C. tomentosa,) is so called from the deceptive

appearance of the nuts, which are generally of large size, but
contain only a very small kernel. The leaves are composed
of but four pair of sessile leaflets, with an odd one at the end.
The trunk of the old trees is very rugged, and the wood is
one of the best for fuel.
The Bitternut hickory, (C amara,) sometimes called the

White hickory, grows 60 feet high in New- Jersey. The
husk which covers the nut of this species, has four winged
appendages on its upper half, and never hardens like the
other sorts, but becomes soft and decays. The shell is thin,
but the kernel is so bitter, that even the squirrels refuse to
eat it. The Water Bitternut, (C. aquatica,) is a very inferi-
or sort, growing in the swamps and rice fields of the south-
ern states. The leaflets are serrated, and resemble in shape
the leaves of the peach tree. Both the fruit and timber are
much inferior to those of all the other hickories.
The Mountain Ash Tree. Pyrus*
Mit. Ord. Rosaceae. Lin. Sijst. Icosandria, Di-Pentagynia.
The European Mountain ash {Pyrus aucuparia,) is an

elegant tree of the second size, with an erect stem, smooth
bark, and round head. The leaves are pinnated, four or five
inches in length, and slightly resemble those of the ash. The
snow-white flowers are produced in large flat clusters, in
the month of May, which are thickly scattered over the

outer surface of the tree, and give it a lively appearance.
These are succeeded by numerous bunches of berries, which
Sorfti.s of the old Botanists.

in autumn turn to a brilliant scarlet, and are at that season
highly ornamental. For the sake of these berries, this tree is
a great favourite with birds ;

and in Germany it is called the
Vogel Beerbaum: i. e. bird's berry tree, and is much used by

bird catchers to bait their springs with.
Twenty-five feet is about the average height of the Moun-

tain ash in this country. Abroad, it grows more vigorously;
and in Scotland, where it is best known by the name of the
Roan Rowan tree, it sometimes

or 35 reaches the altitude of
or 40 feet. The lower classes throughout the whole of Britain,
for a long time attributed to its branches the power of being

a sovereign charm against witches; and Sir Thomas Lau-
der informs us that this superstition is still in existence in
many parts of the Highlands, as well as in Wales. It is
probable that this tree was a great favourite with the Druids
for it is often seen growing near their ancient mystical cir-
cles of stones. The dairy maid, in many parts of England,

still preserves the old custom of driving her cows to pasture
with a switch of the roan tree, which she believes has the
power to shield them from all evil spells.* " Evelyn men-
tions that it is customary in Wales, to plant this tree in church-
yards ; and Miss Kent in her Sylvan Sketches, makes the fol-
lowing remarks : — " In former times this tree was supposed

to be possessed of the property of driving away witches and
evil spirits ; and this property is alluded to in one of the
stanzas of a very ancient song, called the Laidley Worm of
Spindleton^s Heughs.
'
Their spells were vain ; the boys return'd
To the queen in sorrowful mood,
Crying that "witches liave no power
Where there is roan-tree wood ? "
' Lightfoot, Flora Scotica.

The last line of this stanza leads to the true reading of a

stanza in Shakspeare's tragedy of Macbeth. The sailor's wife,
on the witch's requesting some chestnuts, hastily answers,

'
Arown-tree, witch !
'
— but many of the editions have it, 'aroint
thee witch!' which is nonsense, and evidently a corruption."*

The European Mountain ash is quite a favourite with cul-
tivators here, and deservedly so. Its foliage is extremely

neat, its blossoms pretty, and its blazing red berries in autumn
communicate a cheerfulness to the season, and harmonize
happily with the gay tints of our native forest trees. It is
remarkably well calculated for small plantations or collec-
tions, as it grows in almost any soil or situation, takes but

little room, and is always interesting. " In the Scottish High-
lands, says Gilpin, " on some rocky mountain covered with

dark pines and waving birch, which cast a solemn gloom on
the lake below, a few Mountain ashes joining in a clump, and
mixing with them, have a fine efiect. In summer, the light
green tint of their foliage, and in autumn the glowing berries
which hang clustering upon them, contrast beautifully with

the deeper green of the pines : and if they are happily blended,
and not in too large a proportion, they add some of the most
picturesque furniture with which the sides of those rugged
mountains are invested." We have seen the Mountain ash
here, displaying itself in great beauty, mingled with a group
of hemlocks, from among the deep green foliage of which, the
coral berries of the former seemed to shoot out ; their colour
heightened by the dark back ground of evergreen boughs.
The American Mountain ash, {Pyrus Americana,) is a

native of the mountains along the banks of the Hudson, and
other cold and elevated situations in the north of the United
* Aboretum et Fruticetum, p. 918.

States : on the Catskill we have seen some handsome speci-

mens near the Mountain House ; but generally it does not grow
in so comely a shape, or form so handsome a tree as the for-
eign sort. In the general appearance of the leaves and blos-
soms, however, it so nearly resembles the European, as to be
thought merely a variety by some botanists. The chief dif-
ference between them appears to be in the colour of the fruit,
which on our native tree, is copper coloured or dull purplish

red. It may probably assume a handsome shape when cul-
tivated.
The Sorb {Pyrus Sorbus,) is an interesting
or Service tree,
species of Pyrus, a native of Europe, which is sometimes seen
in our gardens, and deserves a place for its handsome foliage,
and its clusters of fruit: which somewhat resemble those of the
Mountain ash, and are often eaten when in a state of incipient
decay. The leaves are coarser than those of the Mountain
ash, and the tree is larger, often attaining the height of 50 or
60 feet in its native soil.
The White Beam, {Pyrus Aria,) is another foreign species,

also bearing bunches of handsome scarlet berries, and clusters
of white flowers. The leaves, however, are not pinnated, but
simply serrated on the margin. It grows 30 feet high, and as
the foliage is dark green on the upper side, and downy white
beneath, it presents an effect greatly resembling that of the Sil-
ver poplar, in a slight breeze. Abroad, the timber is con-
sidered valuable; but here it is chiefly planted to produce a
pleasing variety among other trees, by its peculiar foliage and
scarlet autumnal fruit.
All the foregoing trees grow naturally in the highest, most

exposed, and often almost barren situations. When, however,
a rapid growth is desired, they should be planted in a more
moist and genial soil. They are easily propagated from
the seed, and some of the sorts may be grafted on the pear
or hawthorn. The seeds, in all cases, should be sown in
Autumn.
The Ailantus Tree. Ailantus.
JVat. Ord. XanthoxylacesB. Lin. Syst. Polygamia, Monoecia.
Ailanto is the name of this tree in the Moluccas, and is said
to signify Tree of Heaven an appellation probably bestowed

;
on account of the rapidity of its growth, and the great height

which it reaches in the East Indies, its native country. "When
quite young it is not unlike a sumac in appearance ; but the
extreme rapidity of its growth, and the great size of its pin-
nated leaves, four or five feet long, soon distinguish it from

that shrub. During the first half dozen years, it outstrips
almost any other deciduous tree in vigour of growth, and

we have measured leading stems which had grown twelve
or fifteen feet in a single season. In four or five years, it
therefore forms quite a bulky head, but after that period it ad-
vances more slowly, and in 20 years would probably be

overtopped by the poplar, the plane, or any other fast growing
tree. There are, as yet, no specimens in this country more
than 70 feet high ; but the trunk shoots up in a fine column,
and the head is massy and irregular in outline. In this coun-
try it is planted purely for ornament ; but we learn that in
Europe its wood has been applied to cabinet-work ; for which,

from its close grain, and bright satin-like lustre, it is well
adapted.* The male flowers only, (as far as we can learn,)
have been produced here : they form greenish-yellow pani-

cles, and are scarcely ornamental. In England, Loudon
states that it has ripened seeds at White-Knights, from which
plants have been raised.
In New- York and Philadelphia, the Ailantus is more gen-

erally known by the name of the Celestial tj-ee, and is much
* Annales de la Sociele d' Horticulture.
planted in the streets and public squares. For such situa-
tions it is admirably adapted, as it will insinuate its strong
roots into the most meagre and barren soil, where few other
trees will grow, and soon produce an abundance of foliage
and fine shade. It appears also to be perfectly free from in-
sects ;
and the leaves instead of drooping slowly, and for a
long time, fall off almost immediately when frost commences.
The Ailantus is well adapted to produce a good effect on
the lawn, either singly or grouped ; as its fine long foliage
catches the light well, and contrasts strikingly with that of

the round-leaved trees. It has a troublesome habit of produ-
cing suckers, however, which must exclude it from every
place but a heavy sward, where the surface of the ground is
never stirred by cultivation.
The branches of this tree are entirely destitute of the small

spray so common on most forest trees, and have a singularly
naked look in winter, well calculated to fix the attention of
the spectator at that dreary season.
The largest Ailantus trees in America are growing in

Rhode-Island ;
where it was introduced from China, under
the name of the Tillou tree. It has since been rapidly pro-
pagated by suckers, and is now one of the commonest orna-
mental trees sold in the nurseries.
The Kentucky Coffee Tree. Gymnodadus.

Nat. Ord. LeguminossB. Lin. Syst. Dioecia, Decandria.
This unique tree is found in the western part of the State

of New- York, and as far north as Montreal in Canada. But
it is seen in the greatest perfection, in the fertile bottoms of
Kentucky and Tennesse. Sixty feet is the usual height of
the Coffee tree in those soils ; and judging from specimens

growing under our inspection, it will scarcely fall short of
that altitude in good cultivated situations, anywhere in the
middle states.
When in full foliage, this is a very beautiful tree. The

whole leaf, doubly compound, and composed of a great num-
ber of bluish-2:reen leaflets, is generally three feet long, and
two-thirds as wide, on thrifty trees ; and the whole foliage
hansfs in a well-rounded mass, that would look almost too
heavy, were it not lightened in effect by the loose tufted ap-
pearance of each individual leaf. The flowers, which are
white, are borne in loose spikes, in the beginning of summer ;
•and are succeeded by ample brown pods, flat and somewhat

curved, which contain six or seven large gray seeds, imbedded
in a sweet pulpy substance. As the genus is dicscious, it is
necessary that both sexes of this tree should be growing near

each other, in order to produce seed.
When Kentucky was first settled by the adventurous pio-
neers from the Atlantic States, who commenced their ca-
reer in the primeval wilderness, almost without the neces-
saries of life, except as produced by them from the fertile
soil ;
they fancied that they had discovered a substitute
for coflee in the seeds of this tree, and accordingly the
name of Coffee tree was bestowed upon it : but when a
communication was established with the seaports, they glad-
ly relinquished their Kentucky beverage, for the more grate-
ful flavour of the Indian plant ; and no use is at present

made of it in that manner. It has however a fine compact
wood, highly useful in building or cabinet-work.
The Kentucky Coffee tree is well entitled to a place in
every collection. In summer, its charming foliage and agree-
able flowers render it a highly beautiful lawn tree ;
and in
winter, it is certainly one of the strangest trees in appearance,

in our whole native sylva. Like the Ailantus, it is entirely-
destitute of small spray, but it also adds to this the additional
singularity of thick blunt terminal branches, without any per-
m '^
'V
^
^%fe
[Fig. 21. The Keiilucky Coffee Tree.]
ceptible buds. Alto^êther it more resembles a dry, dead,
and withered combination of sticks, than a living and thrifty

tree. Although this would be highly monotonous and dis-
pleasing, were it the common appearance of our deciduous

trees in winter ;
yet, as it is not so, but a rare and very un-
ique exception to the usual beautiful diversity of spray and
ramification, it is highly interesting to place such a tree as

the present in the neighbourhood of other full-sprayed spe-
cies, w^here the curiosity which it excites M'ill add greatly

23
J 78 LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
to its value as an interesting tree, at that period of the

year.*
The seeds vegetate freely, and the tree is usually propaga-

ted in that manner. It prefers a rich strong soil, like most
trees of the western states.
The Willow Tree. Salix.
Nat. Ord. Salicaceae. Lin. Syst. Dioecia, Diandria.
A very large genus, comprising plants of almost every

stature, from minute shrubs of three or four inches in height,
to lofty and wide-spreading trees of fifty or sixty feet.f
They are generally remarkable for their narrow leaves, and

slender, round, and flexible branches.
There are few of these willows which are adapted to add

to the beauty of artificial scenery ; but among them are
three or four trees, which from their peculiar character de-
serve especial notice. These are the Weeping or Babylonian

willow, [Salix Bahylonica ;) the White or Huntington wil-
low, (^S*. alba ;) the Golden willow, (S. vitellina ;) the Russell
willow, {S. Riisselliana ;) and the profuse Flowering willow,

(^S*. caprea.)
The above are all foreign sorts, which however, (except
the last,) have long ago been introduced, and are now quite
common in the United States. All of them, except the first,
have an upright or wavy, spreading growth, and form lofty
trees, considerably valued abroad for their timber. The

White willow, and the Russell willow are very rapid in their
* There are some very fine specimens upon the lawn at Dr. Hosack's seat,
HvJe Park, N. Y. which have fruited for a number of years. See Fig. 21.
I Dr. Barratt ofMiddletown, Conn., who has paid great attention to the wil-
low, enumerates 100 species as growing in North America, either indigenous or
introduced.
growth, and have a pleasing light green foliage. The Golden

willow is remarkable for its bright yellow bark, which ren-
ders it quite ornamental, even in winter. It is a middle sized
tree, and is often seen growing along the road-sides in the
eastern and middle states. tSalix-caprea is deserving a place

in collections, for the beauty of its abundant blossoms, at an
early and cheerless period in the spring. There are a num-
ber of other species found growing in different parts of the
Union, which may perhaps possess sufficient interest to re-
commend themselves to the planter.
The chief, and indeed almost the only value of these wil-
lows in Landscape Gardening, is to embellish low grounds,
streams of water, or margfins of lakes. When mingrled with
other trees, they often harmonize so badly from their ex-

tremely different habits, foliage, and colour, that unless very
sparingly introduced, they cannot fail to have a bad effect.
On the banks of streams, however, they are extremely appro-
priate, hanging their slender branches over the liquid ele-
ment, and drawing genial nourishment from the moistened

soil.
"Le saule incline sur la rive penchante,

Balan9antmollement sa tete blanchissante."
In the middle distance of a scene, also, where a stream winds

partially hidden, or which might otherwise wholly escape
the eye, these trees, if planted along its course, connected as
they are in our minds with watery soils, will not fail to di-
rect the attention, and convey forcibly the impression of a
brook or river, winding its way beneath their shade.
The Weeping willow, however, is at once one of the most
elegant, picturesque, and beautiful of trees ;

elegant in its
light and delicate waving foliage ;

picturesque in its singular
and characteristic form ; and beautiful in the flowing lines
formed by its drooping branches, as well as in the melan-

choly, poetical, and scriptural associations connected with it.
Every one will call to mind the captivity of the children of
Israel, as connected with this tree : " By the waters of Baby-
lon we sat down and wept, O Zion ! As for our harps, we

hanged them upon the willow trees :" Psalm cxxxvii. And
the gentle sigh of the faintest breeze through its light foliage,
still recalls to the mind of the imaginative, the plaintive mur-
mur of those abandoned harps, which one may fancy to have

bequeathed their last tones of music to its pensile branches.
Since that period, the willow appears to have been more or

less consecrated to a tender sentiment of sfrief,
" Trailing low its boughs, to hide

The gleaming marble.''
To these offices of pensive melancholy, it appears to be ded-

icated in almost all countries. The Chinese and other Asi-
atic nations, and the Turks, as well as the enlightened Eu-
ropeans, universally plant it in their cemeteries and last
places of repose. A French writer thus speaks of it, in con-

trasting its merits for those purposes, with the cypress. " The
cypress was long considered as the appropriate ornament of
the cemetery ; but its gloomy shade among the tombs, and
its thick, hea\'y foliage, of the darkest green, inspire only
depressing thoughts, and present the image of death under
its most appalling form. The Weeping willow, on the con-
trary, rather conveys a picture of grief for the loss of the depart-
ed, than of the darkness of the grave. Its light and elegant
foliage, flows like the dishevelled hair and graceful drapery
of a sculptured mourner over a sepulchral urn ;
and conveys
DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. ISl
those soothing, though softly melancholy reflections, which
have made one of our poets to exclaim, ' There is a pleasure
even in orief.' "* On this passage,' Loudon remarks : "Not-
withstanding the preference thus given the willow, the shape

of the cypress, conveying to a fanciful mind the idea of a flame
pointing upwards, has been supposed to alford an emblem
of the hope of immortality; it is still planted in many

churchyards on the continent, and alluded to in the epitaphs
under this light."t
Abroad, the willow was in ancient days worn by young

girls, as a symbol of grief for one of their own sex who had
died young :
" Lay a garland on my hearse,

Ot the dismal yew ;
Maidens, willow branches wear,

Say I died true."
The poets often allude to the willow
"A willow garland thou did'st send,

Perfumed last day to me
Which did but only this portend,
I was forsook by thee.
Since so it is, I'll tell thee what.

To-morrow thou shall see
Me wear the willow, after that
To die upon the tree." Herrick.
In landscapes, the "Weeping willow is peculiarly expressive
of grace and softness. Although a highly beautiful tree,
great care must be used in its introduction, to preserve the
harmony and propriety of the whole ; as nothing could be
more strikingly inappropriate, than to intermix it with trees
expressive of dignity or majesty, as the oak, etc. ;

where
the violent contrast exhibited in the near proximity of the
* Poiteau, Noveau du Hamel. 1 Arb. Brit.

two opposite forms, could only produce discord. The fa-
vourite place, when it is most true to nature and itself, is
near water, where
"it dips
Its pendant boughs, stooping as if to drink."
COWPER.
There, when properly introduced, not in too great abun-

dance, hanging over some rustic bridge or cool jutting spring
and supported and brought into harmony with surrounding
vegetation by such other graceful and light-sprayed trees, as
the Birch and Weeping elm, its effect is often surpassingly
beautiful and appropriate. There it is one of the first in the
vernal season to burst its buds, and mirror its soft green fo-
liage in the flood beneath, and one of the last in autumn to
yield its leafy vesture to the chilling frosts, or fitful gusts of
approaching winter.
We consider the Weeping willow ill calculated for a place
near a mansion, which has any claims to size, magnificence,

or architectural beauty ; as it does not in any way contribute
by its form or outline to add to, or strengthen such character-
istics in a building. The only place where it can be happily
situated in this way, is in the case of very humble or incon-
spicuous cottages, which we have seen much ornamented by
being completely hidden, as it were, beneath the soft veil of
its streaming: foliage.
There is a very singular variety of the Weeping willow

cultivated in our gardens, under the name of the Ringlet wil-
low which
;
is so remarkable in the form of its foliage, and so
different from all other trees, that it is well worth a place as
a curiosity. Each leaf is curled round like a ring or hoop,
and the appearance of a branch in full foliage is not unlike a
thinly curled ringlet ; whence its common name. It forms

a neat, middle-sized tree, with drooping branches, though

hardly so pendant as the Weeping willow.
The uses of the willow are extremely numerous. Abroad

it is extensively cultivated in coppices, for timber and fuel^
for hoops, ties, etc.and we are informed, that in the north-
;
ern parts of Europe,and throughout the Russian Empire, the

twigs are employed in manufacturing domestic utensils, har-
ness, cables, and even for the houses of the peasantry them-
selves. From the fibres of the bark, it is said that a durable
cloth is woven by the Tartars ;
and the bark is used for
tanning, in various parts of the eastern continent.
But by far the most extensive use to which this plant is
applied, ismanufacture of baskets. From the earliest

in the
periods it has been devoted to this purpose, and large planta-
tions, or osier-fields, as they are called, are devoted to the
culture of particular kinds for this purpose, both in Europe

and America. The common Basket willow, an European
species, {S. viminalis,) is the sort usually grown for this
purpose, but several others are also employed. For the cul-
ture of the basket willows, a deep, moist, though not inun-
dated soil is necessary ; such as is generally found on the
margins of small streams, or low lands. " Ropes and bas-
kets made from willow twigs, were probably among the
very earliest manufactures, in countries where these trees
abound. The Ronlans used the twigs for binding their
vines, and tying their reeds in bundles, and made all sorts of
baskets of them. A crop of willows was considered so valua-
ble in the time of Cato, that he ranks the Salictum or willow
field, next in value to the vineyard, and the garden. (Art.
Salix, Arh. Brit.)
Among European Basket willow is extensively
us, the
cultivated,and very large plantations are to be seen in the
low grounds of New-Jersey and Pennsylvania. The wood of
some of the tree willows, and particularly that of the Yellow
willow, and the Shining willow, {S. lucida,) is greatly used
in making charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder.
It is almost unnecessary to say, that grow all the willows

readily from slips or truncheons planted in the ground. So
tenacious of life are they, that examples are known where
small trees have been taken up and completely inverted, by
planting the branches and leaving the roots exposed, which
have nevertheless thrown out new roots from the former tops,
and the roots becoming branches, the tree grew again with
its ordinary vigour.
The Sassafras Tree. Laurus.
Nat. Ord. Lauracese. Lin. Syst. Enneandria, Monogynia.
The sassafras is a neat tree of the middle size, belonging to
the same family as the European laurel or Sweet bay. It is
found, more or less plentifully, through the whole territory of

the United States. In favourable soils, along the banks of
the Hudson, it often grows to 40 or 50 feet in height ; but in
the woods it seldom reaches that altitude. The flowers are
yellow, and appear in small clusters in May, and the fruit is a

small, deep blue berry, seated on a red footstalk or cup. The
bark of the wood and roots has an agreeable smell and taste,
and is a favourite ingredient, with the branches of the spruce,
in the small beer made by the country people. Medicinally,
it is considered anti-scorbutic, and sudorific ;

and is thought
efficacious in purifying the blood. It was formerly in great
repute with practitioners abroad, and large quantities of the

bark of the roots were shipped to England ;
but the demand
has of late greatly decreased.
The sassafras is a very agreeable tree to the eye, decked as

it is with its glossy, deep green, oval or three-lobed leaves.
When fully grown, it is also quite picturesque for a tree of
so moderate a size ;
as its branches generally have an irregular,
somewhat twisted look, and the head is partially flattened,
and considerably varied in outline. After ten years of age this
tree always looks older than it really is, from its rough, deeply
cracked, gray bark, and rather crooked stem. It often appears
extremely well on the borders of a plantation, and mixes well
with almost any of the heavier, deciduous trees. As it is by
no means so common a tree as many of those already noticed,
it is generally the more valued, and may frequently be seen
growing along the edges of cultivated fields and pastures, ap-
pearing to thrive well in any good mellow soil.
The Catalpa Tree. Catalpa.
Nat. Ord. Bignoniacese. Liju Syst. Diandria, Monogynia.
A native of nearly all the states south and west of Virgi-
nia, this tree has now become naturalized also throughout the
middle and eastern sections of the union, where it is gener-
ally planted for ornament.
In Carolina it is called the Catawba tree, after the Cataw-
ba Indians, a tribe that formerly inhabited that country ;

and
it is probable that the softer epithet now generally bestowed
upon it in the north, is only a corruption of that original

name.
The leaves of this tree are very large, often measuring six
or seven inches broad ; they are heart-shaped in form, smooth,
and pale green on the upper side, slightly downy beneath.
The blossoms are extremely beautiful, hanging like those of the
Horse-chestnut, in massy clusters beyond the outer surface of
the foliage. The colour is a pure and delicate white, and the
inner part of the corolla is delicately sprinkled over with vi.
olet, or reddish and yellow spots ; indeed, the individual

beauty of the flowers is so great when viewed closely, that one
almost regrets that they should be elevated on the branches
24
of a large forest tree. When these fall, they are succeeded

by bean-like capsules or seed-vessels, which grow ten or
twelve inches long, become brown, and hang pendant upon
the branches during the greater part of the winter.
The Catalpa never, or rarely, takes a symmetrical form
when growing up ; but generally forms a wide-spreading
head, forty or fifty feet in diameter. Its large and abundant
foliage affords a copious shade, and its growth is quite rapid^
soon forming a large and bulky tree. In ornamental planta-

tions it is much valued on account of its superb and showy
flowers, and is therefore deserving a place in every lawn.
It is generally seen to best advantage when standing alone,

but it may also be mingled with other large round-leaved
trees, as the basswood, etc., when it produces a very pleasing
effect. The branches are rather brittle, like those of the locust,
and are therefore somewhat liable to be broken by the wind.

Accustomed to a warmer climate, the leaves expand late in
the spring, and wither hastily when frost approaches ; but

the soft tint of their luxuriant vegetation is very grateful to
the eye, and it appears to be uninjured by the hottest rays of
summer.
We have seen the Catalpa employed to great advantage in
fixing and holding up the loose soil of river banks, where,
if planted, it will soon insinuate its strong roots, and retain
the soil firmly. In Ohio, experiments have been made with
the timber for the posts used in fencing ;
and it is stated on
good authority that it is but little inferior, when well sea-
soned, to that of the locust in durability.
Michaux mentions that he has been assured that the ho-
n^y collected from the flowers is poisonous ;

but this we are
inclined to doubt ; or at least, we have witnessed no ill effects
from planting it in abundance in the middle states, in those

neighbourlioods where bees are kept in considerable num-

bers.
The Catalpa is very easily propagated from seeds sown in

any light soil ; and the growth of the young plants is ex-
tremely rapid. C. syringafolia is the only species.
The Persimon Tree. Diospyros.
Nat. Ord. Ebenacese. Lin. Si/st. PoJygamia, Dioecia.
The Highlands of the Hudson, and about the same lati-
tude on the Connecticut, may be considered the northern

limits of this small tree. It generally forms a spreading,
loose head, some twenty or thirty feet high, in good soils in
the middle states; but we have seen a specimen of nearly

eighty feet, in the old Bartram Garden at Philadelphia; and
fifty feet is probably the average growth on deep fertile lands
in the southern states.
The Persimon bears a small, round, dull red fruit, about
an inch in diameter, containing six or seven stones ; it is
insutferably austere and bitter, until the autumnal frosts have
mellowed it, and lessened its harshness, when it becomes

quite palatable. Considerable quantities of the fruit are an-
nually brought into New- York market, from New-Jersey and
its vicinity, and sold : the produce is very abundant, a sin-
gle tree often yielding several bushels. A strong brandy
has been distilled from them ; and in the south, they are said
to enter into the composition of the country beer. For the
latter purpose they are pounded up with bran, dried, and
kept for use till wanted.
The foliage of the Persimon is handsome; the leaves be-
ing four or five inches long, simple, oblong, dark green, and
glossy, like those of the orange. The blossoms are green,

and inconspicuous.
The Persimon has no importance as a tree to recommend
it ;but it may be admitted in all good collections for its
pleasing shining foliage, and the variety which its singular
fruit adds to the productions of a complete country residence.
The common sort, {D. Virginlana,) grows readily from the

seed.
There is an European species, (Diospyrus Lotus,) with

yellow fruit about the size of a cherry, rather less palatable
than our native kind. The specimens of this tree which we

have imported, appear too tender to bear our winters unpro-
tected, so that it will probably not prove hardy in the north-
ern states.
The Peperidge Tree. Nyssa.
Xat. Ord. Santalacese. Lin. Syst. Polygamia, Dioecia.
The Peperidge, Tupelo, or sour gum tree, as it is called in
various parts of the Union, grows to a moderate size, and is
generally found in moist situations, though we have seen it
in New-York State, thriving very well in dry upland soils.
The diameter of the trunk is seldom more than eighteen

inches, and the general height is about forty or fifty feet.
The flowers are scarcely perceptible, but the fruit borne in
pairs, is about the size of a pea, deep blue, and ripens in Oc-
tober.
The leaves are oval, smooth, and have a beautiful gloss on

their upper surface. The branches diverge from the main
trunk almost horizontally, and sometimes even bend down-
wards like those of some of the Pine family, which gives tne
tree a very marked and peculiar character.
The Peperidge when of moderate size, is not difficult to

transplant, and we consider it a handsome tree, both on ac-
count of its beautiful, dark green, and lustrous foliage in sum-
mer, and the brilliant •fiery colour which it takes when the
frost touches it in autumn. In this respect it is fully equal
in point of beauty, to that of the Liquidambar or Sweet gum,

and the maples which we have already described ; and so
fine a feature do we consider this autumnal beauty of foliage'
that we would by all means advise the introduction of such
trees as the Peperidge, into the landscape for that reason alone, .
were it not also valuable for its peculiar form and polished
leaves, in summer.
Besides the Peperidge there are three other Nyssas, natives

of this continent, viz: the Black gum, (N. sylvatica.,) a tree
of greater dimensions, and larger, more elongated leaves,
whose northern boundary is the neighbourhood of Philadel-
phia the Large Tupelo, (iV. grandidentata,) a tree of the
;
largest size, with large coarsely toothed foliage, and a large

blue fruit, three-fourths of an inch long, which is sometimes
called the wild olive and the sour Tupelo, [N. capitata,)
;
with long, smooth, laurel-like leaves, and a light red, oval

fruit, called the Wild Lime, from its abounding in a strong
acid, resembling that of the latter fruit. Both the latter trees
are natives of the southern states, and are little known north
of Philadelphia.
The wood of all the foregoing trees is remarkable for the
peculiar arrangement of its fibres ; which instead of running
directly through the stem in parallel lines, are curiously
twisted and interwoven together. Owing to this circum-
stance it is extremely difficult to split, and is therefore often
used in the manufacture of wooden bowls, trays, etc. That
of the Peperidge is also preferred for the same reason, and for
its toughness, by the wheelwrights, in the construction of the
naves of wheels, and for other similar purposes.
Michaux remarks that he is unable to give any reason why

thenames of Sour gum, Black gum, etc., have been bestowed
upon these trees, as they spontaneously exude no sap or fluid
which could give rise to such an appellation. We suspect
that the term has arisen from a comparison of the autumnal
tintsof these trees belonging to the genus Nyssa, with those
of the Sweet gum or Liquidambar, which at a short distance
they so much resemble in the early autumn.
The Thorn Tree. Crategus.
Nat. Ord. Rosacese. Lin. Syst. Icosandria, Di-pentagynia.
A tree of the smallest size ;

but though many of the sorts
attain only the stature of ordinary shrubs, yet some of our

native species, as well as the English Hawthorn, (C. o.yy-
cantha,) when standing alone, will form neat spreading-top-
ped trees of twenty or thirty feet in height.
Although the thorn is not generally viewed among us as a
plant at all conducive to the beauty of scenery, yet we are in-
duced to mention it here, and to enforce its claims in that
point of view, as they appear to us highly entitled to consid-

eration. First, the foliage, deep green, shining, and often
beautifully cut and diversified in form, is prettily tufted and
arranged upon the branches ; secondly, the snowy blossoms,
often produced in such quantities as to completely whiten
the whole head of the tree, and which in many sorts have a
delightful perfume, present a charming appearance in the
early part of the season ; and thirdly, the ruddy crimson or

purple haws or fruit, give the whole plant a rich and glowing
appearance in and among our fine forests, open glades, or wild
thickets, in autumn.
The most ornamental and the strongest growing indigenous
kinds, are the Scarlet Thorn tree, (C. coccinea,) and its vari-
eties the Washington Thorn, (C jpojndifolia ) and the Cock-

spur Thorn, (C crus-galli); all of which in good soil, will
grow to the height of twenty or twenty-five feet, and can

readily be transplanted from their native sites.
The English Hawthorn is not only a beautiful small tree,
but it is connected in our minds, with all the elegant, poetic,
and legendary associations which belong to it in England

for scarcely any tree is richer in such than this. With the
floral games of May^ this plant, from its blooming at that
period, and being the favourite of the season, has become so
identified, that the blossoms are known in many parts of
Britain chiefly by that name. Among the ancient Greeks

and Romans, theywere dedicated to Flora, whose festival
beofan on the first of that month ; and in the olden times of
merry England, the May-pole, its top decked with the gayest
garlands of these blossoms, was raised amid the shouts of

the young and old assembled to celebrate this happy rustic
festival. Chaucer alludes to the custom, and describes the
hawthorn thus
Marke the faire blooming of the Hawthorne tree,

Which finely cloathed in a robe of white,
Fills full che waaton eye with May's delight.

Court of Love.
And Herrick has left us the following lines to " Corrina

going a Maying ;"
" Come, my Corrina, come ; and coming, mark

How eche field turns a street, eche street a park
Made green, and trimmed with trees ; see how
Devotion gives eche house a bough
Or branch ;
eche porch, eche doore ere this,
An arke, a tabernacle is.

Made up of Hawthorne, neatly interwove.
As if here were those cooler shades of love."
The following lines descriptive of the English species, we

extract from the " Romance of Nature :"
" Come let us rest this hawthorn tree beneath,

And breathe its luscious fragrance as it flies,
And watch the tiny petals as they fall,
Circling and winnowing down our sylvan hall."
The berries or haws, as they are called, have a very rich

and coral-like look when the tree, standing alone, is com-
pletely covered with them in October. There are some ele-
gant varieties of this species, which highly deserve cultiva-

tion for the beauty of their flowers and foliage. Among them
we may particularly notice the Double flowering, with beau-
tiful blossoms like small white roses ; the Pink flowering,
the Scarlet flowering, and the Variegated-leaved Hawthorn,
all elegant trees ; as well as the Weeping hawthorn, a rarer
variety, with pendulous branches.

The Hawthorn is most agreeable to the eye in composition
when it forms the undergrowth or thicket, peeping out in
all its green freshness, gay blossoms, or bright fruit, from be-
neath and between the groups and masses of trees; where,
mingled with the hazel, etc., it gives a pleasing intricacy to
the whole mass of foliage. But the different species display
themselves to most advantage, and grow also to a finer size,
when planted singly, or two or three together, along the

walks leading through the different parts of the pleasure-
ground or shrubbery.
The Magnolia Tree. Magnolia.
Nat, Ord. Magnoliacese. Lin. Syst. Polyandria, PoJygynia.
The North American trees composing the genus Magnolia

are certainly among the most splendid productions of the for-
ests in any temperate climate ; and when we consider the

size, and fragrance of their blossoms, or the beauty of their
large and noble foliage, we may be allowed to doubt whether
there is a more magnificent and showy genus of deciduous

trees in the world. With the exception of a few shrubs or
smaller trees natives of China, and the mountains of Cen-

tral Asia, it belongs exclusively to this continent, as no in-
dividuals of this order are indigenous to Europe or Africa.
The American species attracted the attention of the first
botanists who came over to examine the riches of our na-

tive flora, and were transplanted to the gardens of England
and France, more than a hundred years ago, where they are
still valued as the finest hardy trees of that hemisphere.
The Large Evergreen Magnolia, [M. grandiflora,) or Big
Laurel, as it is sometimes called, is peculiarly indigenous to
that portion of our country south of North Carolina, where

its stately trunk, often seventy feet in height, and superb py-
ramid of deep green foliage, render it one of the loveliest and
most majestic of trees. The leaves, which are evergreen,
and somewhat resemble those of the laurel in form, are
generally six or eight inches in length, thick in texture, and

brilliantly polished on the upper surface. The highly
fragrant flowers are composed of about six petals, open-
ing in a wide cup-like form, of the most snowy whiteness
of colour. Scattered among the rich foliage, their effect is
exquisitely beautiful. The seeds are borne in an oval cone-

like carpel or seed-vessel, composed of a number of cells
which split longitudinally, when the stony seed, covered with
a bright red pulp, drops out. There are several varieties
which have been raised from the seed of this species abroad ;
the most beautiful is the Exmouth Magnolia, with fine fol-
25
iage, rusty beneath ;

it produces its flowers much earlier and
more abundantly than the original sort.
We regret that this tree is too tender to bear the open air
north of Philadelphia, as it is one of the choicest evergreens.

At the' nurseries of the Messrs. Landreth, and at the Bartram
Botanic Garden of Col. Carr, near that city, some good
specimens of this Magnolia and its varieties are growing
thriftily ; but in the State of New- York, and at the east, it
can only be considered a green-house plant.

The Cucumber Magnolia, (C accuminata,) (so called
from the appearance of the young fruit, which is not unlike a
green cucumber,) takes the same place in the north, in point
of majesty and elevation, that the Big laurel occupies in the
south. Its northern limit is Lake Erie ; and it abounds
along the whole range of the Alleghanies to the southward,
in rich mountain acclivities, and moist sheltered valleys.
There it often measures three or four feet in diameter, and

eighty in height. The leaves, which are deciduous, like those
of all the Magnolias except the M. grandiflora, are also about
six inches long, and four broad, accuminate at the point, of
a bluish green on the upper surface. The flowers are six

inches in diameter, of a pale bluish white, sometimes tinged
with yellow, and slightly fragrant. The fruit is about three

inches long, and cylindrical in shape. Most of the inhabi-
tants of the country bordering on the Alleghanies, says Mi-
chaux, gather these cones about midsummer, when they are
half ripe, and steep them in whiskey; the liquor produced,

they take as an antidote against the fevers prevalent in those
districts.
The Umbrella Magnolia, [M. tripetala,) though found

sometimes in the northwest of New- York, is rare there, and
abounds most in the south and west. It is a smaller tree
than the preceding kinds, rarely growing more than thirty-
feet hio-h. The leaves on the terminal shoots, are disposed
three or four in a tuft, which has given rise to the name of
Umbrella tree. They are of fine size, eighteen inches or two

feet long, and seven or eight broad, oval, and pointed at both
ends ;
the flowers are also large, white, and numerous ;
and
the conical fruit-vessel containing the seeds, assumes a beau-
tiful rose-colour in autumn.
The Large-leaved Magnolia, (M. macrophylla,) is the
rarest of the genus in our forests, being only found as yet,

in North Carolina. The leaves grow to an enormous size,
when the tree is young, often measuring three feet long, and
nine or ten inches broad. They are oblong, oval, and heart-
shaped at the base. The flowers are also immense, opening
of the size of a hat crown, and difl'using a most agreeable

odour. The tree attains only a secondary size, and is dis-
tinguished in winter by the whiteness of its bark, compared

with the others.
The Heart-leaved Magnolia, [M. cor data,) is a beautiful
southern species, distinguished by its nearly round, heart-

shaped foliage., and its yellow flowers about four inches in di-
ameter. It blooms in the gardens very young, and very

abundantly, often producing two crops in a season.
Magnolia auriculata, grows about forty feet high, and is
also found near the southern Alleghany range of mountains.

The leaves are light green, eight or nine inches long, widest
at the top, and narrower towards the base, where they are
rounded into lobes. The flowers are not so fine as those of
the preceding kinds, but are still handsome, pale greenish

white, and about four inches in diameter.
Besides these, there is a smaller American Magnolia,
which is the only sort that in the middle or eastern sections
of the Union, grows within 150 miles of the seashore. This

is the Magnolia of the swamps of New- Jersey, and the south,
[M. glauca,) of which so many fragrant and beautiful bou-

quets are gathered in the season of its inflorescence, brought
to New- York and Philadelphia, and exposed for sale in the

markets. It is rather a large bush, than a tree ;
with shin-
ing, green, laurel-like leaves, four or five inches long, some-
what mealy or glaucous beneath. The blossoms about three
inches broad, are snowy white, and so fragrant that where
they abound in the swamps, their perfume is often percep-
tible for the distance of a quarter of a mile.
The foreign sorts introduced into our gardens from China,
are the Chinese purple, [M. 'purpurea,) which produces an

abundance of large delicate purple blossoms, early in the
season ;
and the Yulan or Chinese White Magnolia, {M.
conspicua,) a most abundant bloomer, bearing beautiful
cream-coloured, fragrant flowers in spring, before the leaves
appear. These succeed very well in sheltered situations, in
our pleasure-grounds, and add greatly to their beauty early

in the season.
The Magnolia, in order to thrive well, requires a deep

rich soil ; which in nearly all cases, to secure their luxuri-
ance, should be improved by adding thereto some leaf mould

or decayed vegetable matter from the woods. When trans-
planted from the nursery, they should be preferred of small

or only moderate size, as their succulent roots are easily in-
jured, and they recover slowly when large. Most of them
may be propagated from seed ;
but they flower sooner, grow
more vigorously, and are much hardier when grafted upon
young stocks of the Cucumber Magnolia. This we have
found to be particularly the case with the Chinese species and
varieties.
xVU these trees are such superb objects upon a lawn, in

their rich summer garniture of luxuriant foliage, and large
odoriferous flowers, that they need no further recommenda-

tion from us to insure their regard and admiration from all
persons who have room for their culture. If possible, situa-
tions somewhat sheltered either by buildings, or other trees,
should be chosen for all the species, except the Cucumber

Magnolia, which thrives well in almost any aspect not di-
rectly open to violent gales of wind.
The White-wood or Tulip Tree. Liriodendron.
Nat. Ord. Magnoliaceae. Liru Syst. Polyandria, Polygynia.
The Tulip tree belongs to the same natural order as the
Magnolias, and is not inferior to most of the latter in all that
entitles them to rank among our very finest forest trees.
The taller Magnolias, as we have already remarked, do

not grow naturally within 100 or 150 miles of the sea-coast
and the Tulip tree may be considered as, in some measure,

supplying their place in the middle Atlantic states. West of
the Connecticut river, and south of the sources of the Hudson,
this fine tree maybe often seen reaching in warm and deep allu-
vial soils, 80 or 90 feet in height. But in the western states,
where indeed the growth of forest trees is astonishingly vig-
orous, this tree far exceeds that altitude. The elder Mi-
chaux mentions several which he saw in Kentucky, that

were fifteen and sixteen feet in girth ; and his son confirms
the measurement of one, three miles and a half from Louis-
ville, which at five feet from the ground, was found to be
twenty-two feet and six inches in circumference, with a cor-
responding elevation of 130 feet.
The foliage is rich and glossy, and has a very peculiar

form ; being cut off, as it were, at the extremity, or slightly
notched and divided also, into two sided lobes. The breadth
of the leaves is six or eight inches. The flowers which are
shaped like a large tulip, are composed of six thick yellow

petals, mottled on the inner surface with red and green.
They are borne singly on the terminal shoots, on full-
grown trees have a pleasant, slight perfume, and are very

showy. The seed-vessel, which ripens in October, is formed
of a number of scales surrounding the central axis in the
form of a cone. It is remarkable that young trees under 30
or 35 feet high, seldom or never perfect their seeds.
Whoever has once seen the Tulip tree in a situation where
the soil was favourable to its free growth, can never forget
it. With a clean trunk, straight as a column, for 40 or 50
feet, surmounted by a fine ample summit of rich green foliage,
it is in our estimation, decidedly the most stately tree in North

America. When standing alone, and encouraged in its late-
ral growth, it will indeed often produce a lower head, but
its tendency is to rise, and it only exhibits itself in all its state-
liness and majesty when, supported on such a noble colum-

nar trunk, it towers far above the heads of its neighbours of
the park or forest. Even when at its loftiest elevation, its
large specious blossoms, which from their form, one of our

poets has likened to the chalice
Through the verdant maze

The Tulip tree,
Its golden chalice oft triumphantly displays.

Pickering.
jut out from amid the tufted canopy in the month of June, and
glow in richness and beauty. While the tree is less than a foot
in diameter, the stem is extremely smooth, but when older, it
becomes deeply furrowed, and is quite picturesque. For the

lawn or park, we conceive the tulip tree eminently adapted

its tall upright stem, and handsome summit, contrasting nobly
with the spreading forms of most deciduous trees. It should
generally stand alone, or near the border of a mass of trees,
where it may fully display itself to the eye, and exhibit all
its charms from the root to the very summit; for no tree of the
same grandeur and magnitude is so truly beautiful in every
portion of its trunk and branches. Where there is a taste for
avenues, the Tulip tree ought by all means, to be employed,

as it makes a most magnificent overarching canopy of ver-
dure, supported on trunks almost architectural in their sym-
metry. The leaves also, froiji their bitterness, are but little
liable to the attacks of any insect.
This tree was introduced into England about 1668; and

is now we are informed, to be found in almost every gentle-
man's park on the continent of Europe, so highly is it es-
teemed as an ornamental tree of the first class. We hope

that the fine native specimens yet standing here and there,
in farm lands along our river banks, may be sacredly pre-

served from the barbarous infliction of the axe, which form-
erly despoiled without mercy, so many of the majestic deni-
zens of our native forests.
states, where this tree abounds, it is much used

In the western
in building and carpentry. The timber is light and yellow,
and the tree is commonly called the Yellow Poplar, in those
districts, from some fancied resemblance in the wood, though
it is much heavier and more durable than that of the poplar.
When exposed to the weather, the wood is liable to warp,

but as fine grained, light, and
it is easily worked, it is exten-
sively employed for the pannels of coaches, doors, cabinet-
work, and wainscoats. The Indians who once inhabited these
regions, hollowed out the trunks, and made their canoes of
them. There are two sorts of timber known viz. the Yel- ;
low and the White poplar, or tulip tree. These, however, it

is well known are the same species, {L. tuUpifej-a,) but the
variation is brought about by the soil, which if dry, gravelly,

and elevated, produces the white, and if rich, deep, and rather
moist, the yellow timber.
It is rather difficult to transplant the Tulip tree when it has
attained much size, unless the roots have undergone prepa-
ration, as will hereafter be mentioned ;
but it is easily propa-
gated from seed, or obtained from the nurseries, and the
growth is strong and rapid.
The Dogwood Tree. Cornus.
Nat. Ord. Cornaceae. Lin. Syst. Tetrandria, Monogynia.
There are a number of small shrubs that belong to this
genus, but the common Dogwood, (Cornus Jlorida,) is the
only species which has any claims to rank as a tree. In the

middle states, where it abounds, as well as in most other
parts of the Union, the maximum height is thirty-five feet,
while its ordinary elevation is about twenty feet.
The Dogwood is quite an ornamental small tree, and owes

its interest chiefly to the beauty of its numerous blossoms
and fruit. The leaves are oval, about three inches long,
dark green above, and paler below. In the beginning of
May, while the foliage is beginning to expand rapidly, and
before the tree is in full leaf, the flowers unfold, and present
a beautiful spectacle, often covering the whole tree with their
snowy garniture. The principal beauty of these, consists in
the involucrum or calyx, which instead of being green, as
is commonly the case, in the Dogwood takes a white or pale
blue tint. The true flowers may be seen collected in little
clusters, and are individually quite small, though surround-

ed by the involucrum, which produces all the effect of a fine
white blossom.
Ill the early part of the season, the Dogwood is one of the
o-ayest ornaments of our native woods. It is seen at that time
to ^reat advantage in sailing up the Hudson river. There,
in the abrupt Highlands, which rise boldly many hundred

feet above the level of the river, patches of the Dogwood in
full bloom, gleam forth in snowy whiteness from among the
tender green of the surrounding young foliage, and the

o-loomier shades of the dark evergreens, which clothe with
a rich verdure the rocks and precipices that overhang the

moving flood below.
The berries which succeed these blossoms, become quite

red and brilliant in autumn ;
and, as they are plentifully
borne in little clusters, they make quite a display. When

the sharp frosts have lessened their bitterness, they become
the food of the robin, which, at that late season, eats them
greedily.
The foliage in autumn is also highly beautiful, and must

be considered as contributing to the charms of this tree.
The colour it assumes is a deep lake-red ; and it is at that
season as easily known at a distance by its fine colouring,
as the Maple, the Liquidambar, and the Nyssa, of which we
have already spoken. Taking into consideration all these
ornamental qualities, and also the fact that it is every day

becoming scarcer in our native wilds, we think the Dogwood
tree should fairly come under the protection of the planter,
and well deserves a place in the pleasure-ground and shrub-
bery.
The wood is close-grained, hard, and heavy, and takes a

good polish. It is too small to enter into general use, but is
26
often employed for the lesser utensils of the farm. The bark
has been very successfully employed by physicians in Phila-
delphia, and elsewhere, and is found to possess nearly the
same properties as the Peruvian bark. Bigelow states in his
American Botany, that its use in fevers has been known and
practised in many sections of the Union by the country peo-
ple, for more than fifty years.
Besides this native species there is an European dogwood,

{Corniis masmla,) commonly called the Cornelian cherry^
which is now planted in many of our gardens, and grows to
the height of twenty or thirty feet. The small yellow flowers
come out close to the branches in March
or April, and the
whole tree is quite handsome
autumn, from the size and
in
colour of its fine scarlet berries. These are as large as a

small cherry, transparent, and hang for a long time upon
the tree. The leaves are much like those of the common
Dogwood. Although the blossoms are produced when the
plant is quite a bush, yet it must attain some age before the
fruit sets. Altogether, the Cornelian cherry is one of the
most desirable of small trees.
The Salisburia or Giniô Tree,
Nat. Ord. Taxacese. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Polyandria.
This fine exotic tree, which appears to be perfectly hardy

in this climate, is one of the most singular in its foliage that
has ever come under our observation. The leaves are wedge-
shaped, or somewhat triangular, attached to the petioles at
one of the angles, and pale yellowish green in colour ; the

ribs or veins, instead of diverging from the central mid-rib
of the leaf, as is commonly the case in dicotyledonous plants,
are all parallel ; in short, they almost exactly resemble, (ex-
cept in being three or four times as large,) those of the beau-
tiful Maiden hair fern, (Adiantum,) common in our woods

being thickened at the edges, and notched on the mariiin in
a similar manner. The male flowers are yellow, sessile cat-
kins ;
the female is seated in a curious kind of cup, formed
by the enlargemejit of the summit of the pedundle. The

fruit is a drupe, about an inch in length, containing a nut,
which, according to Dr. Abel, is almost always to be seen

for sale in the markets of China and Japan, the native coun-
try of this tree. They are eaten, after having been roasted
or boiled, and are considered excellent.

The Salisburia was introduced into this country by that
zealous amateur of horticulture and botany, the late Mr. Ha-
milton of Woodlands, near Philadelphia, who brought it from
England in 17S4, where it had been received from Japan
about thirty years previous. There are several of these now
growing at Woodlands ;
and the largest measures fifty-five
feet in height, and three feet four inches in circumference.
The next largest specimen which we have seen, is now stand-

ing on the north side of that fine public square, the Boston
Common. It originally grew in the grounds of Gardiner
Green, Esq. of Boston ;
but though of fine size, it was about
three years since, carefully removed to its present site, which
proves its capability for bearing transplanting. Its meas-
urement is forty feet in elevation, and nearly four in circum-
ference. There is also a very handsome tree in the grounds
of Messrs. Landreth, Philadelphia, about thirty-five feet high,
and very thrifty.
We have not learned that any of these trees have yet borne
their blossoms ; at any rate, none but male blossoms have
yet been produced. Abroad, the Salisburia has fruited in
the south of France, and young trees have been reared from
the nuts.
The bark is somewhat soft and leathery, and on the

trunk and branches assumes a singular tawny yellow, or
grayish colour. The tree grows pretty rapidly, and forms

an exceedingly neat, loose, conical, or tapering head. The
timber is very solid and heavy ; and the tree is said to grow
to enormous size in its native rountry ; Bunge, who accom-
panied the mission from Russia to Pekin, states that he saw
near a Pagoda, an immense Ginko tree, with a trunk nearly

forty feet in circumference, and still in full vigour of vegeta-
tion.*
Although nearly related to the Pine tribe, and forming, ap-

parently, the connecting link between the conifercB and exo-
genous trees, yet unlike the former tribe, the wood of this
tree is perfectly free from resin.
The Ginko tree is so great a botanical curiosity, and is so
singularly beautiful when clad with its fern-like foliage, that
it is strikingly adapted to add ornament and interest to the
pleasure-ground. As the foliage is of that kind which must

be viewed near by to understand its peculiarity, and as the
form and outline of the tree are pleasing, and harmonize well
with buildings, we would recommend that it be planted near
the house, where its unique character can be readily seen
and appreciated.
Salishiiria adiantifolia is the only species. In the Uni-
ted States it appears to flourish best in a rich fertile soil,
rather dry than otherwise. South of Albany it is perfectly
hardy, and may therefore be considered a most valuable ac-
quisition to our catalogue of trees of the first class. It has

hitherto been propagated chiefly from layers ; but cuttings
of the preceding years growth, planted early in the spring,
in a fine sandy loam, and kept shaded and watered, will
also root without much difficulty. When the old trees al-
ready mentioned, (which have doubtless been raised from

* Bull, de la Soc. d'Agir. dii depart, de I'Herault. Arb. Brit.
seed,) begin to blossom, plants reared from them by cuttings

or grafts, will of course produce blossoms and fruit much
more speedily than when reared from the nut.
The American Cypress Tree. Taxodium.
Nat. Ord. Coniferse. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Monadelphia.
The Southern or Deciduous cypress, {Taxodium disti-
chiim,*) is one of the most majestic, useful, and beautiful trees

of the southern part of North America. Naturally, it is not
found growing north of Maryland, or the south part of Dela-
ware, but below that boundary it becomes extremely multi-
plied. The low grounds and alluvial soils subject to inunda-
tions, are constantly covered with this tree; and on the banks
of the Mississippi, and other great western rivers for more than
600 miles from its mouth, those vast marshes caused by the
periodical bursting and overflowing of their banks, are filled
with huge and almost endless growths of this tree, called
Cypress swamps. Beyond the boundaries of the United
States, its geographical range extends to Mexico ; and Mi-

chaux estimates that it is found more or less abundantly,
over a range of country more than 3000 miles in extent.
" In the swamps of the southern states and the Floridas,
on whose deep miry soil a new layer of vegetable mould is
deposited every year by the floods, the Cypress attains its ut-
most development. The largest stocks are 120 feet in height,
and from 2.5 to 40 feet in circumference, above the conical base,

which at the surface of the earth is always three or four times
as large as the continued diameter of the trunk ; in felling
them, the negroes are obliged to raise themselves upon scaf-
* Cupressus disticha.
folds five or six feet from the ground. The roots of the larg-
est stocks, particularly of such as are most exposed to inun-
dation, are charged with conical protuberances, commonly

from eighteen to twenty-four inches, and sometimes lour or
five feet in thickness ;

these are always hollow, smooth on
the surface, and covered with a reddish bark, like the roots,
which they resemble also in the softness of their wood ;

they
exhibit no sign of vegetation, and I have never succeeded in
obtaining shoots by wounding their surface, and covering

them with earth. No cause can be assigned for their exis-
tence : they are peculiar to the Cypress, and begin to appear

when it is twenty or twenty-five feet in height ; they are not
made use of, except by the negroes for bee-hives."
'•
The foliage is open, light, and of a fresh, agreeable tint
each leaf is four or five inches long, and consists of two par-
allel rows of leaflets, upon a common stem. The leaflets are
small, fine, and somewhat arching, with the convex side out-
wards. In the autumn, they change from a light green to a
dull red, and are shed soon after."
" The Cypress blooms in Carolina, about the first of Febru-

ary. The male and female flowers are borne separately, by
the same tree; the first in flexible pendulous aments, and the
second in bunches, scarcely apparent. The cones are about
as large as the thumb, hard, round, of an uneven surface, and
stored with small irregular ligneous seeds, containing a cy-
lindrical kernel ; they are ripe in October, and retain their

productive virtue for two years."*
Such is the account given of the Cypress in its native soils.
In the middle states it is planted only as an ornamental tree;
and while in the south, its great abundance causes it to be
* N. A. Svlva, II, 332.

neo-lected or disregarded as such, its rarity here allows us
fully to appreciate its beauty. North of the 43° of latitude

it will not probably stand the winter without protection ; but
south of that, it will attain a good size. The finest planted
specimen which we have seen, and one which is probably

equal in grandeur to almost any in their native swamps, is
growing in the Bartram Botanic Garden, near Philadelphia.

That garden was formed by the father of American botanists,
John Bartram, who explored the southern and western terri-
tories, then vast wilds, at the peril of his life, to furnish the sa-
vans and gardens of Europe, with the productions of the new

world, and who commenced the living collection, now un-
equalled, of American trees, in his own garden. In the lower
part of it stands the ^rea^ Cypress^ a tree of noble dimensions,
measuring at this time 130 feet in height, and 25 in circum-

ference. The tree was held by Bartram's son, William, while
his father assisted in planting it, ninety-nine years since.
The elder Bartram at the time expressed to his son, the hope
that the latter might live to see it a large tree. Long before
he died (not many years since,) it had become the prodigy of

the garden, and great numbers from the neighbouring city
annually visit it, to admire its vast size, and recline beneath
its ample shade.
The foliage of the Cypress is peculiar ; for while it has a simi-
lar appearance to the Hemlock, Yew, and other evergreen trees,
its cheerful bright green tint, and loose airy tufts of foliage,
give it a character of great lightness and elegance. In young
trees, the form of the head is pyramidal or pointed ; but
when they become old, Michaux remarks, the head becomes

widely spread, and even depressed, thus assuming a remarka-
bly picturesque aspect. This is also heightened by the deep
furrows or channels in the trunk, and the singular excres-
cences or knobs already described, which, jutting above the

surface of the ground, give a strange ruggedness to the surface
beneath the shadow of its branches. A single Cypress stand-
ing alone, like that in the Bartram Garden, is a grand object,
unitinc with the expression of great elegance and lightness

in its foliage, that of magnificence, when we perceive its ex-
traordinary height, and huge stem and branches.

In composition, the Cypress produces the happiest effect,
when it is planted with the hemlock and firs, which it har-
monizes well with in the form of its foliage, while its soft light
green hue is beautifully opposed to the richer and darker

tints of those thickly-clad evergreens. Wherever there is a
moist and rather rich soil, the Cypress may be advantage-

ously planted ;
for although we have seen it thrive well on a
fertile dry loam, yet to attain all its lofty proportions, it re-
quires a soil where its thirsty roots can drink in a sufficient
supply of moisture. There its growth is quite rapid ; and

although it may at first suffer a little from the cold at the
north, in severe winters, yet it continues its progress, and ul-
timately becomes a stately tree.
In many parts of the southern states, the timber of this

tree, which is of excellent quality, is extensively used in the
construction of the frame work and outer covering of houses.
It is also esteemed for shingles ; and a large trade has long
been carried on from the south in Cypress shingles. Posts
made of this tree are found to be very lasting ; and it is also
employed for water pipes, masts of vessels, etc. In the
north, its place is supplied by the Pine timber ; but in many
southern cities, particularly New-Orleans, it will be found to
enter into the composition of almost every building.
In the nurseries, the Cypress is usually propagated from
the seed ;
and as it sends down strong roots, it should be
transplanted where it is finally to o^row, before it attains too
great a development.
The European Cypress, Cupressus sempervirens,) a beau-
(
tiful evergreen tree, shaped like a small Lombardy poplar,

which is the principal ornament of the churchyards and ce-
meteries abroad, is unfortunately too tender to endure the
winter in any of the states north of Carolina, South of that
state, it may probably become naturalized, and serve to add
to the catalogue of beautiful indigenous evergreen trees.
From its dark and sombre tint, and perpetual verdure, it is
peculiarly the emblem of grief
" Binde you my brows witli viourning Cyparesse,

And palish twigs of deadlier poplar tree,
Or if some sadder shades ye can devise,
Those sadder shades vaile my light-loathing eyes."
Bp. Hall.
The Larch Tree. Larix.
Nat. Ord. ConifersR. Lin. Syst. MoncEcia, Monadelphia.
The Larch is a resinous cone-bearing tree, belonging to

the Pine family, but differing from that genus in the annual
shedding of its leaves like other deciduous trees. In Eu-
rope, it is a native of the coldest parts of the Alps and Ap-
penines ; and in America, is indigenous to the most northern
parts of the Union, and the Canadas. The leaves are col-
lected in little bunches, and the branches shoot out from the
main stem in a horizontal, or more generally in a declining
position.
For picturesque beauty, the Larch is almost unrivalled.

Unlike most other trees which must grow old, uncouth, and
mis-shapen, before they can attain that expression, this is sin-
gularly so, as soon almost as it begins to assume the stature
of a tree. It can never be called a beautiful tree, so far as
27
beauty consists in smooth outlines, a finely rounded head, or

gracefully drooping branches. But it has what is perhaps
more valuable, as being more rare, — the expression of bold-
[Fig. 22. The European Larth.]
ness, and picturesqueness, peculiar to itself, and which it
seems to have caught from the wild and rugged chasms,

rocks, and precipices of its native mountains. There its irreg-
ular and spiry top and branches, harmonize admirably with
the abrupt variation of the surrounding hills, and suit well
the gloomy grandeur of those frowning heights.

Like all highly expressive and characteristic trees, much
more care is necessary in introducing the Larch into artifi.
cial scenery judiciously, than round-headed trees. If planted
in abundance, it becomes monotonous, from the similitude of

its form in different specimens ;

it should therefore be intro-
duced sparingly, and always for some special purpose.
This purpose may be, either to give spirit to a group of other

trees, to strengthen the already picturesque character of a
scene, or to give life and variety to one naturally tame and

uninteresting. All these objects can be fully effected by the
Larch ;
and although it is by far the most suited to harmo-
nize with, and strengthen the expression of scenery naturally
grand, or picturesque, with which it most readily enters into
combination, yet in the hands of taste, there can be no rea-
son why so marked a tree should not be employed in giving

additional expression to scenery not absolutely devoid of cha-
racter.
The extremely rapid growth of this tree when planted
upon thin, barren, and dry soils, is another great merit which
it possesses as an ornamental tree ; and it is also a necessary
one to enable it to thrive well on those very rocky and bar-
ren soils, where it is most in character with the surrounding

objects. It is highly valuable to produce effect or shelter
suddenly, on portions of an estate, too thin or meagre in their

soil, to afford the sustenance necessary to the growth of many
other deciduous trees.
The Larch is the great timber tree of Europe. Its wood

is remarkably heavy, strong, and durable, exceeding in all
those qualities the best English oak. To these, it adds the

peculiarity of being almost uninflammable, and resisting the
influence of heat for a long time. Vitruvius relates, that

when Caesar attacked the castle of Larignum, near the Alps,
whose gate was commanded by a tower built of this wood,

from the top of whieh the besieged annoyed him with their
stones and darts, he commanded his army to surround it
with faggots, and set fire to the whole. When however all
the formerwas consumed, he was astonished to find the

Larch tower uninjured.* The wood is also recommended
for the decks of vessels, and the masts of ships, as it is little
liable either to fly in splinters in an engagement, or to catch
fire readily.
In Great Britain, immense plantations of this tree are made

with a view to profit ; and although as yet nothing like rear-
ing trees for timber has been attempted here, nevertheless,

the time must come when our attention will necessarily be
turned in this direction. When such is the case, it is proba-
ble that the Larch will be found to be as much an object
of profit, on this side of the Atlantic, as on the other.
Indeed, we are much inclined to believe, that thousands of
acres of our sterile soils in some districts, might now be pro-
fitably planted with this tree.
In Scotland, the Larch was first introduced in the year

1738, when eleven plants were given to the Duke of Athol,
who afterwards, struck by the rapidity of their growth, and
the excellency of their timber, planted thousands of acres with
them. As a specimen of what is done in timber growing
abroad, and the peculiar capacity of the Larch for thriving on
poor soils, we shall make some extracts from the account
given of its growth in Scotland, by Sir T. D, Lauder.
" The late Duke of Athol planted large districts with this
tree, and thereby converted the heathy wastes into valuable
forests but this was not the whole of the improvement he
;
thus created. The Larch being a deciduous tree, sheds upon

the earth so great a shower of decayed spines every succeed-
ing autumn, that the annual addition which is made to the
soil, cannot be less, than from a third of an inch to half an
inch, according to the magnitude of the trees. This we have

often had opportunities of proving, by our remarks made on
the surfaces of newly cleaned pleasure walks. The result of
* IS'ewton's Vitruvius, p. 40.

planting a moor with Larches then, is, that when the trees
liave grown so much as to exchide the air and moisture on
the surface, the heath is soon exterminated ;
and the soil
gradually increasing by the decomposition of the leaflets an-
nually thrown down by the Larches, grass begins to grow as
the trees rise in elevation, so as to allow greater freedom for

the circulation of the air below, — and thus, land which was
not worth one shilling an acre, becomes most valuable pas-
ture ; and we can say that our own experience amply bears
out the fact. The Duke of Athol found that the value of the
pasture in oak copses, was worth five or six shillings (ster-
ling,) per acre, for eight years only, in twenty-four, when the
copse is cut down again. Under a Scotch fir plantation it is
not worth sixpence more per acre, than it was before it was
planted under Beech and Spruce, it is worth less than it
;
was before. But under Larch, where the ground was not
worth one shilling per acre, before it was planted, the pasture
becomes worth from eiofht to ten shillings an acre, after the
first thirty years, when all the thinnings have been completed,
and the trees left for naval purposes, at the rate of four hun-
dred to the acre, and twelve feet apart.
The Larch is a very quick grower. Between ] 740, and

1744, eleven trees were planted at Blair, the girths of which,
at growths from seventy-three to seventy-six years, ranged
from eiffht feet two inches, to ten feet. This lot was calcula-
ted to average one hundred feet each, in the whole, one thou-
sand two hundred feet. The total measurement of this lot
of twenty-two trees, therefore, is two thousand six hundred
and which at the moderate value of two shil-
forty-five feet,
lings per foot, would give the sum of £264, 10s. ($1174) for
twenty-two Larch trees, of something under eighty years old.
We by the Duke of Athol's tables of m.easurement, that
find
trees plantsdby him in 1743, were nine feet three inches in
circumference, when measured at four feet from the ground,
in 1795.
The plantations of Larch made by Duke James of Athol,
between 1 733 and 1759, amounted to one thousand nine hun-
dred and twenty-eight trees. Of these, eight hundred and

seventy-three, were cut down between 1809 and 1816. The
Duke of Athol had the satisfaction to behold a British frigate
built in 1819 and 1820 at Woolwich yard, out of timber
planted at Blair and Dunkeld, by himself and the Duke his
predecessor. And the extensive and increasing Larch forests
of those districts, may yet be called upon largely to supply
both our naval and mercantile dock-yards. Mankind are
prone to cherish and embalm the memory of individuals

whose claims to notoriety have originated in their wide-spread
destruction of the human race ;
but they are too apt to forget
those who have been the benefactors of mankind. That a

vessel formed from trees of his introduction and planting,
should have waved the British flag over the ocean, is likely
to be all the reward contemporaneous or posthumous, which
will ever adhere to the noble Duke, for the great good he has
done to his country, and for the blessed legacy he has left to
his descendants, by the plantation of about fifteen thousand

five hundred and seventy-three English acres of ground,
which consumed above twenty-seven millions, four hundred
and thirty one thousand, and six hundred trees.
The following is the probable supply of Larch timber from
Athol, beginning twelve years from 1817.
Loads annually. Scotch acres about,

12 years before cutting, or in 1829
12 years before cutting, . 1841 4,250
10 do. do. 1851 8,000)
8 do. do. 1859 18,000 } 2,000
8 do. do. 1867 30,000
16 do. do. 1883 52,000 >
3,500
3 do. do. 1886 120,000 S
39 (years calculated to finish

69
)jgg9 ^3. j g^Q
6 ( plants marked out. )
' '
72 years. Scotch acres, 7,000
The Larch is unquestionably the most enduring timber

that we have. It is remarkable, that whilst the red wood or
heart wood is not formed at all in the other resinous trees,
till they have lived for a good many years, the Larch, on the
contrary, begins to make it soon after it is planted ;
and
while you may fell a Scotch fir of thirty years old, and find
no red wood in it, you can hardly cut down a young Larch
large enough to be a walking stick, without finding just such
a proportion of red wood compared to its diameter as a tree,
as you will find in the largest Larch tree in the forest, com-
pared to its diameter. To prove the value of the Larch as a
timber tree, several experiments were made in the river
Thames. Posts of equal thickness and strength, some of
Larch and others of oak, were driven down facing the river
wall, where they were alternately covered with water by the
effect of the tide, and then left dry by its fall. This species
of alternation is the most trying of all circumstances for the
endurance of timber and accordingly the oaken posts de-
;
cayed, and were twice renewed in the course of a very few

years, while those that were made of the Larch, remained al-
together unchanged."
Besides the foregoing species, [Larix Europea,) we have
two native sorts much resembling it which are chiefly found
;
in the states of Maine, Vermont, and New-Hampshire. These

are known by the names of the Red Larch, [L. microcar-
pa,) and the Black Larch, (L. pendiila) ; which latter is
often called Hackmatack. In the coldest parts of the Union,
these often grow to 80 and 100 feet high ;
but in the middle
states, they are only seen in the swamps, and appear not to
thrive so well except in such situations. For this reason
the European Larch is of course greatly preferable when

plantations are to be made, either for profit or ornament.
The latter is generally increased from seed in the nurseries.
The American larches are well worthy a place where suf-
ficient moisture can be commanded, as their peculiar forms
are striking and picturesque.
In the upper part of Massachusetts, we have observed
them in their native soils growing 70 or 80 feet high, and
assuming a highly elegant appearance. Their foliage is
bluish-green, and more delicate yet altogether the Ameri-
;
can Larch appears to be less picturesque, (except far north,)

than the foreign species.
SECTION V.
EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES.

The History and Description of all the finest Hardy Evergreen Trees. Remarks on their
EFFECTS IN LANDSCAPE GaRDENINO, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN COMPOSITION. Their CultlVft-
tion, etc. The Pines. The Firs. The Cedar of Lebanon. The Red Cedar. The Arbor
Vitae. The Holly. The Yew, etc.
Beneath the forest's skirt I rest,
Whose branching Pines rise dark and high,

And hear the breezes of the West
Among the threaded fohage sigh.
Bryant.
The Pine Tree. Pinus.
Nat. Ord. Coniferee. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Monadelphia.
HE Pines compose by far the most im-

portant genus of evergreen trees. In
either continent they form the densest
and most extensive forests known, and
their wood in civil and naval architecture, and for various
other purposes, is more generally used than any other. In

the United States and the Canadas, there are ten species ; in
the territory west of the Mississippi to the Pacific, including

Mexico, there are fourteen ; in Europe, fourteen ; in Asia,
eight, and in Africa, two species. All the colder parts of the
old world — the mountains of Switzerland and the Alps, the
shores of the Baltic, vast tracts in Norway, Sweden, Germa-
EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 217
ny, Poland, and Russia, as well as millions of acres in our own

country, abound with immense and interminable forests of
Pine. Capable of enduring extreme cold, and flourishing in

an atmosphere the mean temperature of which is not greater
than 37° or 38° Fahrenheit^ they are found as far north as
latitude 68° in Lapland ;
while on mountains they grow at
a greater elevation than any other aborescent plant. On
Mount Blanc, the Pines grow within 2,800 feet of the line of
perpetual snow.* In Mexico, also, Humboldt found them

higher than any other tree ;
and Lieut. Glennie describes
them as growing in thick forests on the mountain of Popo-
cotapetl, as high as 12,693 feet, beyond which altitude vege-
tation ceases entirely.-]-
The Pines are, most of them, trees of considerable magni-

tude and lofty growth, varying from 40 to 150 or even 200
feet in height in favourable situations, rising with a perpen-
dicular trunk, which is rarely divided into branches, bearing
much proportionate size to the main stem, as in most decid-

uous trees. The branches are much more horizontal than
those of the latter class, (excepting the Larch.) The leaves
are linear or needle-shaped, and are always found arranged

in little parcels of from two to six, the number varying in
the different species. The blossoms are produced in spring,

and the seeds, borne in cones, are not ripened, in many sorts,
until the following autumn. Every part of the stem abounds
in a resinous juice, which is extracted, and f6rms in the va-

rious shapes of tar, pitch, rosin, turpentine, balsam, etc., a
considerable article of trade and export.
As ornamental trees, the Pines are peculiarly valuable for

the deep verdure of their foliage, which, unchanged by the
* Edinburgh Phil. Journ.
t Proc. Geological Soc. Lend. Arb. Brit.
28
severity of the seasons, is beautiful at all periods, and espe-

cially so in winter ; for the picturesque forms which many
of them assume when fully grown, and for the effectual shel-
ter and protection which they afford in cold, bleak, and ex-
posed situations. We shall here particularize those species,
natives of either hemispheres, that are most valuable to the
planter, and are also capable of enduring the open air of the
middle states.
The White Pine, (P. strobus,) called also Sapling Pine,

and Apple Pine, in various parts of this country, and Wey-
mouth Pine abroad, is undoubtedly the most beautiful North
American tree of the genus. The foliage is much lighter in
colour, more delicate in texture, and the whole tufting of the

leaves more airy and pleasing than that of the other species.
It is also beautiful in every stage of its growth, from a young

plant to a stately tree of 150 feet. When it grows in strong
soil, it becomes thick and compact in its head ;

but its most
beautiful form is displayed when it stands in a dry and gra-
velly site ; there it shoots up with a majestic and stately
shaft, studded every six or eight feet with horizontal tiers of
branches and foliage. The hue of the leaves is much paler,
and less sombre than that of the other native sorts ;

and be-
ing less stiffly set upon the branches, is more easily put in
motion by the wind : the murmuring of the wind among the

Pine tops is poetically thought to give out a rather melan-
choly sound :
—
" The Pines of Mosnalus were heard to mourn,
And sounds of wo along the grove were borne,"
says Virgil, speaking of the European Pine. But the mur-

mur of the slight breeze among the foliage of the White Pine
gives out a remarkably soothing and agreeable sound, which

agrees better with the description of Leigh Hunt
" And then there fled by me a rush of air

That stirr'd up all the other foliage there,
Filling the solitude with panting tongues,
At which the Pines wol<e up into their songs,
Shaking their choral locks."
Pickering, one of our own poets, thus characterizes the
melody:
"The overshadowing pines alone, through which I roam,

Their verdure keep, although it darker looks ;
And hark ! as it comes sighing through the grove,

The exhausted gale, a spirit there awakes.
That wild and melancholy music makes."
This species seldom becomes flattened or rounded on the

summit in old age, like many other sorts, but preserves its
graceful and tapering form entire. From its pleasing growth

and colour, we consider it by far the most desirable kind for
planting in the proximity of buildings, and its growth for an

evergreen is also quite rapid,
Tlie leaves of the White Pine are thickly disposed on the

branches, in little bundles or parcels of five. The cones are
about five inches long ; they hang when nearly ripe in a
pendulous manner from the branches, and open to shed their
seeds about the first of October. The bark on trees less than
twenty years old, is remarkably smooth, but becomes cracked
and rough, like that of the other Pines, when they grow old,
although it never splits and separates itself from the trunk in
scales, as in other species.
The great forests of White Pine lie in the northern parts

of the Union ;
and the geographical range of this tree is com-
prised chiefly between New-York and the 47th degree of
north latitude, it being neither capable of resisting the fierce
heat of the south, nor the intense cold of the extreme north-
ern regions. In Maine, New-Hampshire, and Vermont, the

White Pine abounds in various situations, adapting itself to
every variety of from dry, gravelly upland, to swamps
soil,
constantly wet. Michaux measured two trunks near the

river Kennebec, one of which was 154 feet long, and 54
inches in diameter ; the other 144 feet long, and 44 inches
in diameter, at three feet from the ground. Dr. Dwight also
mentions a specimen on the Kattskill 249 feet long, and sev-
eral on the Unadilla 200 feet long, and three in diameter.*
These, though they are remarkable specimens, show the
stately altitude which this fine species sometimes attains,
equalling in majesty the grandest specimens of the old world:
TJie rougher rinded Pine,

The great Argoan ship's brave ornament,
Which, coveting with his high top's extent
To make the mountains touch the stars divine,

Declis all the forest with embellishment.
Spenser.
The Yellow Pine, (P. mitls,) is a fine evergreen, usually

reaching a stature of 50 or 60 feet, with a nearly uniform
diameter of about 18 inches for two-thirds of its length. The
branches orenerally take a handsome conical shape, and the
whole head considerably resembles that of the spruce, whence
it is sometimes called the Spruce Pine. The term Yellow
Pine arises from the colour of the wood as contrasted with
that of the foregoing sort, which is white. The leaves of
this species are long and flexible, arranged in pairs upon the
branches, and have a fine dark green colour. The cones
are very small, scarcely measuring an inch and a half in
length, and are clothed on the exterior with short spines.
The growth is quite slow.
The Yellow Pine is rarely found above Albany to the
northward, but it extends as far south as the Floridas. It
grows in the greatest abundance in New- Jersey, Maryland,

and Virginia, and sometimes measures five or six feet in cir-
* Dwight's Travels, Vol. IV. p. 21—26.

EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. .j'221
cumference. In plantations, it has the valuable property to

recommend it, of growing on the very poorest lands.
The is a very distinct sort, com-
Pitch Pine, (P. rigida,)
mon in whole of the United States east of the AUegha-
the
nies. It is very stiff and formal in its growth when young,
but as it approaches maturity, it becomes one of the most

picturesque trees of the genus. The branches, which shoot
out horizontally, bend downwards at the extremities, and
the top of the tree when old, takes a flattened shape. The
whole air and expression of the tree is wild and romantic,
and is harmonious with portions of scenery when these cha-

racters predominate. The leaves are collected in threes, and
the colour of the foliage is a dark green. The cones are py-
ramidal, from one to three inches long, and armed with short
spines.
The bark of this kind of Pine is remarkably rough, black,
and furrowed even upon young trees ;
and the wood is filled
with resinous sap, from which pitch and tar are copiously
supplied. The trees grow in various parts of the country,
both on the most meagre soils and in moist swamps, with
almost equal facility. In the latter situations, they are however
comparatively destitute of resin, but the stems often rise to
80 feet in elevation.
The foregoing are the finest and most important species of

the north. The Red Pine, {Pinus rubra,) and the Gray
Pine, are species of small or secondary size, chiefly indigenous
to British America. The Jersey Pine, (P. inops,) is a dwarf-
ish species, often called the Scrub Pine, which seldom grows
more than 25 feet high.
There are some splendid species, that are confined to
the southern states, where they grow in great luxuriance.
Among the most interesting of these, is the Long-leaved Pine,
(P. australis,) a tree of 70 feet elevation, with superb wand-
like foliage, borne in threes, often nearly a foot in length.
The cones are also seven or eight inches long, containing a
kernel or seed of agreeable flavour. As this tree grows as far
north as Norfolk in Virginia, we are strongly inclined to be-
222 *. LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
lieve that it might be naturalized in the climate of the middle

states, and think it would become one of the most valuable
additions to our catalogue of evergreen trees. The Loblolly
Pine, {P. Tada,) of Virginia, has also fine foliage, six inches
or more in length, and grows to 80 feet in height. Besides
these already named, the southern states produce the Pond
Pine, {P. sei'otina,) which resembles considerably the Pitch
Pine, with, however, longer leaves, and the Table Mountain
Pine, [P. Pungens,) which grows 40 or 50 feet high, and is
found exclusively upon that part of the Alleghany range.
We must not forget in this enumeration of the Pines of
North America, the magnificent species of California, and the
north-west coast. The most splendid of these was discovered
in Northern California, and named the Pinus Lambertiana,
in honour of that distinguished botanist A. B. Lambert, Esq.
of London, the author of a superb work on this genus of trees.
It is undoubtedly one of the finest evergreens in the world,
averaging from 100 to 200 feet in heig-ht. Its discoverer,
Mr. Douglass; the indefatigable collector of the Horticultural

Society of London, measured one of these trees that had
blown down, which was two hundred and fifteen feet in
length, and fifty-seven feet nine inches in circumference, at
three feet from the root, while at one hundred and thirty-four
feet from the root, it was seventeen feet five inches in girth.
This, it is stated, is by no means the maximum height of the

species. The cones of the Lambert Pine measure sixteen
inches in length and the seeds are eaten by the natives of
;
those regions, either roasted or made into cakes, after being

pounded. The other species found by Mr. Douglass, grow
naturally in the mountain valleys of the western coast, and
several of them, as the Pimis grandisj and nobilis, are almost
as lofty as the foregoing sort while Pinus monticola and
;
P. Sabiniana, are highly beautiful in their forms, and ele-

gant in foliage. The seeds of nearly all these sorts, were first
sent to the garden of the London Horticultural Society, where

many of the young trees are now growing; and we hope that
they will soon be introduced into our plantations, which they
EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES, 223
are so admirably calculated, by their elegant foliage and stu-
pendiious magnitude, to adorn.

The European Pines next deserve our attention. The
most common species in the north of Europe is the Scotch
tall evergreen tree, of SO feet in
Pine, (P. sylvestrisj) a dark
height,which furnishes most of the deal timber of Europe,
and when growing in its native sites harmonizes well with
the surrounding scenery, but is hardly worth extensive cul-
ture here. The Stone Pine, (P. pinea,) is a native of the
South of Europe, where it is decidedly the most picturesque
evergreen tree of tiiat continent. It belongs peculiarly to Italy,
and its "vast canopy, supported on a naked column of great

height, forms one of the chief and peculiar beauties in Italian
scenery, and in the living landscapes of Claude." We regret
that it is too tender to bear our winters, but its place may in
a great measure be supplied by the Pinaster or Cluster Pine,
(P. pinaster,) which is quite hardy, and succeeds well in the
United States. This has much of the same picturesque ex-
pression depressed or rounded head, and tall columnar stem,
;
which mark the Stone Pine while its thickly massed foliage,
;
clustering cones, and rough bark, render it distinct and strik-

ingly interesting.
The Corsican Pine, (P. larico,) is a handsome, regular
shaped, pyramidal tree, with the branches disposed in tiers
like those of the White Pine. It grows to a larg-e size, and
is valued for its extremely dark green foliage, thickly spread
upon the branches. also one of the most rapid growers
It is
among and has been found to grow remark-

the foreign sorts,
ably well upon the barren chalk downs of England. Pimis
cembra is a very slow growing, though valuable kind, indi-
genous to Switzerland.
These are the principal European species that deserve
notice here, for their ornamental qualities. Some splendid
additions have been made to this genus, by the discovery of
new species on the Himmalaya mountains of Asia; and from
the great elevation at which they are found growing wild,
we have reason to hope that they will become naturalized in

our climate.
We must not leave this extensive family of trees, without
adverting to their numerous and important uses. In the
United States, full four-fifths of all the houses built, are con-
structed of the White and Yellow Pine, chiefly of the former.
Soft, easily worked, light and fine in texture, it is almost uni-
versally employed in carpentry, and for all the purposes of
civil architecture; while the tall stately trunks, furnish masts

and spars, not only for our own vessels, but many of those of
England. A great commerce is therefore carried on in the
timber of this tree, and vast quantities of the boards, etc. are
annually exported to Europe. The Yellow and Pitch Pine,
furnish the enormous supplies of fuel consumed by the great
number of steamboats employed in navigating our numerous
inland rivers. The Long-leaved Pine is the great timber
tree of the southern states; and when we take into account
all its various products, we must admit it to be the most val-
uable tree of the whole family. The consumption of the

wood of this tree in building, in the southern states, is im-
mense; and its sap furnishes nearly all the turpentine, tar,
pitch, and rosin, used in this country, or exported to Europe.
The turpentine flows from large incisions made in the trunk,
(into boxes fastened to the side of the trees for that purpose,)
during the whole of the spring and summer. Spirit of tur-

pentine is obtained from this by distillation. Tar is pro-
cured by burning the dead wood in kilns, when it flows out
in a current from a conduit made in the bottom. Pitch is
prepared by boiling tar until it is about one half diminished
in bulk ;and rosin is the residium of the distillation, when

spirit of turpentine is made. The Carolinas produce all these
in the greatest abundance, and so long ago as in 1807, the
exportation of them to England alone, amounted to nearly
$800,000 in that single year.
The Fir Trees. Abies.
J\rat. Ord. Coniferee. Lin. Sijst. Moiioecia, Monadelphia.
The Fir trees differ from the Pines, to which they are
nearly related, in having much shorter leaves, which are
placed singly upon the branches, instead of being collected
in little bundles or parcels of two, three, or five, as is the case
in all Fines. They generally grow in a more conical man-

ner than the latter, and in ornamental plantations owe their
beauty in most cases, more to their symmetrical regularity
of growth, than to picturesque expression.
The Balsam, or Balm of Gilead Fir, {A. balsamea,) some-
times also called the American Silver Fir, is one of the most
ornamental of our native evergreens. It is found most abun-
dantly in Maine, and Nova Scotia, but is scattered more or
less on the mountain tops, and in cold swamps, through va-
rious other parts of the Union. At Pine Orchard, near the

Catskill Mountain-house, it flourishes well, though not seen
below the elevation of 1,800 feet. When standing singly, it
forms a perfect pyramid of fine dark green foliage, 30 or 40

feet high, regularly clothed from the bottom to the top. The
leaves, about half or three-fourths of an inch long, are silvery
white on the under surface, though dark green above ; and are
inserted both on the sides and top of the branches. It is one
of the most beautiful evergreens for planting in the grounds
near the house, and is perhaps more cultivated for that pur-
pose, than any other in the Union. The cones, which are
four or five inches long, like those of the European Silver
Fir point upwards. However small the plants of this Fir
may be, still they are interesting, as they display the same sym-
metry as full grown trees. The deep green colour of the ver-
29
dure of the Balm of Gilead Fir is retained unchanged in all its
beauty through the severest winters, which causes it to con-
trast agreeably with the paler tints of the spruces. On the
trunk of trees of this species, are found small vesicles or blis-
ters, filled with a liquid resin, which is extracted and sold,
under the name of Balm of Gilead,* for its medicinal vir-
tues.
The European Silver Fir, [A. jîcea,) strongly resembles,
when young, the Balsam Fir. But its leaves are longer and
coarser, and the cones are much larger, while it also attains
twice or three times the size of the latter. In the forests of
Germany, it sometimes rises over 100 feet; and it always
becomes a large tree in a favourable soil. It grows slowly

during the first 20 years, but afterwards it advances with
much more rapidity. It appears to thrive well in this coun-
try.
The Norway Spruce Fir, {A. communis, \) is by far the

handsomest of that division of the Firs called the Spruces.
It generally rises with a perfectly straight trunk to the height
of from 80 to 150 feet. It is a native, as its name denotes,
of the colder parts of Europe, and consequently grows well
in the northern states. The branches hang down with a
fine graceful curve, or sweep ; and although the leaves are
much paler than those of the foregoing kinds, yet the thick
fringe-like tufts of foliage, which clothe the branches, give
the whole tree a rich, dark appearance. The large cones, too,
nearly six inches long, are beautifully pendant, and greatly
increase the beauty of an old tree of this kind.
The Norway Spruce is the great tree of the Alps ;
and as
a park tree, to stand alone, we scarcely know a more beau-
tiful one. It then generally branches out quite down to the
ground and its fine sweeping, feathery branches hang down
;
in the most graceful and pleasing manner. There are some

* The true Balm of Gilead is an Asiatic herb, Jimyris gileadensis.
f Mies exelsa.
suberb specimens of this species in various gardens of the

middle states, SO or 100 feet high.
The Black, or Double Spruce, (^1. nigra,) sometimes also

called the Red Spruce, is very common in the north ; and,
according Michaux, forms a third part of the forests of Ver-
to
mont, Maine, New-Hampshire, as well as New Brunswick

and Lower Canada. The leaves are quite short and stiff,
and clothe the young branches around the whole surface
and the whole tree, where it much abounds, has rather a
gloomy aspect. In the favourable humid black soils of those
countries, the Black Spruce grows 70 feet high, forming a
fine tall pyramid of verdure. But it is rarely found in
abundance farther south, except in swamps, where its growth
is much less strong and vigorous. Mingled with other ever-
greens, it adds to the variety, and the peculiar colouring of
its foliage gives value to the livelier tints of other species of
Pine and Fir.
The White or Single Spruce, {A. alba,) is a smaller and
lesscommon tree than the foregoing, though it is often found in
the same situations. The leaves are more thinly arranged
on the young shoots, and they are longer and project more
from the branches. The colour, however, is a distinguish-
ing characteristic between the two sorts ;
for while in the
Black Spruce it is very dark, in this species it is of a light
bluish green tint. The cones are also much larger on the
White Spruce tree.
The Hemlock Spruce, or, as it is more commonly called,
the Hemlock, [A. canadensis,) is one of the finest and most

distinct of this tribe of trees. It is most abundantly multi-
plied in the extreme northern portions of the Union ;
and
abounds more or less, in scattered groups and thickets,
throughout all the middle states, while at the south it is con-
fined chiefly to the mountains.
It prefers a soil, which, though slightly moist, is less hu-

mid than that where the Black Spruce succeeds best ; and it
thrives well in the deep cool shades of mountain valleys. In

the Highlands of the Hudson, it grows in great luxuriance;
and in one locality, the sides of a valley near Cro'nest, the

surface is covered with the most superb growths of this tree,
reaching up from the water's edge to the very summit of the

hill, 1,400 feet high, like a rich and shadowy mantle, sprink-
led here and there only with the lighter and more delicate
foliage of deciduous trees.
The average height of the Hemlock in good soils is about

70 or 80 feet ; and when standing alone, or in very small
groups, it is one of the most beautiful coniferous trees. The

leaves are disposed in two rows on each side of the branches,
and considerably resemble those of the Yew, though looser

in texture, and livelier in colour. The foliage, when the
tree has grown to some height, hangs from the branches in
loose pendulous tufts, which give it a peculiarly graceful
appearance. When young, the form of the head is regular-
ly pyramidal : but when the tree attains more age, it often
assumes very irregular and picturesque forms. Sometimes

it grows up in a thick, dense, dark mass of foliage, only va-
ried by the pendulous branches, which project beyond the
grand mass of the tree ;
at others it forms a loose, airy, and
graceful top, permeable to the slightest breeze, and waving
its loose tufts of leaves to every passing breath of air. In
almost all cases, it is extremely ornamental, and we regret
that it is not more generally employed in decorating the
grounds of our residences.
The uses of the Fir tree are important. The Norway

Spruce Fir furnishes the white deal timber so extensively
employed in Europe for all the various purposes of building;
and its tall, tapering stems afford fine masts for vessels. The
Black Spruce timber is also highly valuable, and is thought
by many persons to surpass in excellence that of the Norway

Spruce. The young shoots also enter into the composition
of the celebrated Spruce beer of this country, a delightful
and very healthy beverage. And the Hemlock not only
furnishes a vast quantity of the joists used in building
frame-houses, but supplies the tanners with an abundance
of bark, which, when mixed with that of the oak, is highly
esteemed in the preparation of leather.
We regret that the fine evergreen trees both of this coun-
try and Europe, which compose the Pine and Fir tribes,.
have not hitherto received more of the attention of planters.

It is indescribable how much they add to the beauty of a
country residence in winter. At that season, when, during
three or four months the landscape is bleak and covered with
snow these noble trees, properly intermingled with the groups
in view from the window, or those surrounding the house,

give an appearance of verdure and life to the scene which
cheats winter of half its dreariness. In exposed quarters,
also, and in all windy and bleak situations, groups of ever-
greens form the most effectual shelter at all seasons of the
year, while many of them have the great additional recom-
mendation of growing upon the most meagre soils.
In fine country residences abroad, it is becoming customa-

ry to select some extensive and suitable locality, where all
the species of Pines and Firs are collected together, and al-
lowed to develop themselves in their full beauty of propor-

tion. Such a spot is called a Pinetum ; and the effect of
all the different species growing in the same assemblage, and

contrasting their various forms, heights, and peculiarities,
cannot but be strikingly elegant. One of the largest and

oldest collections of this kind is the Pinetum of Lord Gren-
ville at Dropmore, near Windsor, England. This contains
nearly 100 kinds, comprising all the sorts known to English

botanists, that will endure the open air of their mild climate.
The great advantage of these Pinetums is, that many of the
more delicate species, which if exposed singly would perish,

thrive well, and become quite naturalized under the shelter
of the more hardy and vigorous native sorts.
The Cedar of Lebanon Tree. Cedrus.
Nat. Ord. Coniferse. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Monadelphia.
The Cedar of Lebanon is universally admitted by Euro-
pean authors to be the noblest evergreen tree of the old
world. Its native sites are the elevated valleys and ridges
of Mount Lebanon and the neighbouring heights of the lolty
groups of Asia Minor. There it once covered immense for-
ests, but it is supposed these have never recovered from the

inroads made upon them by the forty score thousand hewers
employed by Solomon to procure the timber for the erection

of the Temple. Modern travellers speak of them as greatly-
diminished in number, though there are still specimens mea-

suring thirty-six feet in circumference. Mount Lebanon is
inhabited by numerous Maronite Christians, who hold an-

nually a celebration of the Transfiguration, under the shade
of the existing trees, which they call the " Feast of Ce-
dars.^''
The Cedar of Lebanon is nearly related to the Larch, hav-
ing its leaves collected in parcels like that tree, but diifers
widely in the circumstance of its foliage being evergreen.
It is remarkable for the wide extension of its branches, and
the immense surface covered by its overshadowing canopy

of foliage. In the sacred writings it is often alluded to as an
emblem of great strength, beauty, and duration. " Behold

the Assyrian was a Cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches,

and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature ; and
his top was among the thick boughs. His boughs were mul-
tiplied, and his branches became long. The fir trees were
not like his boughs, nor the chestnut trees like his branches,
nor any tree in the garden of God like unto him in beauty."*
In England, the Cedar of Lebanon appears to have become

quite naturalized. There it is considered by far the most
ornamental of all the Pine tribe, —
possessing an air of dig-
nity and grandeur when full grown, beyond any other tree.
To attain the fullest beauty of development, it should always
stand alone, so that its far-spreading horizontal branches can
have full room to stretch out and expand themselves on
every side. Loudon in his Arboretum, gives a representa-
tion of a suberb specimen now growing at Syon House, the
seat of the Duke of Northumberland, which is 72 feet high,
24 in circumference, and covers an area, with its huge de-

pending branches, of 117 feet. There are a number of other
Cedars in England almost equal to this in grandeur. Sir T.
D. Lauder gives an account of one at Whitton, which blew
down in 1779 it then measured 70 feet in height, 16 feet in
:
circumference, and covered an area of 100 feet in diameter.

To show the rapidity of the growth of this tree, he quotes
three Cedars of Lebanon, which were planted
Hopetoun at
House, Scotland, in the year 1748. The measurement is the
circumference of the trunks, and shows the rapid increase
after they have attained a large size.
1801.
First Cedar,
Second do.
Third do.
From the above table, it will be seen how congenial even

the cold climate of Scotland is, to the growth of this tree.
Indeed in its native soils, the tops of the surrounding

hills are almost perpetually covered with snow, and it is
therefore,one of the very hardiest of the evergreens of the

old world. There can be no reason why it should not suc-
ceed admirably in many parts of the United States; and when
we consider its great size, fine dark green foliage, and wide
spreading limbs, which
' '
Overarching, frame
Most solemn domes within,"
Shelley.
as well as the many interesting associations connected with

it, we cannot it better worth our early attention,
but think
and extensive introduction, than almost any other foreign
tree. Evergreens are comparatively difficult to import, and
as we have made the experiment of importing Cedars of Le-
banon from the English nurseries with but indifferent suc-
cess, we would advise that persons attempting its cultivation,
should procure the cones containing the seeds from England,
when they may be reared directly in our own soil, which
will of course be an additional advantage to the future growth
of the tree.*
The situations found to be most favourable to this Cedar,
in the parks and gardens of Europe, are loose sandy or grav-
with a moist subsoil underneath, or in the
elly soils, either
neighbourhood of springs, or bodies of water. In such places
it is found to advance with a rapidity equal to the Larch,
one of the fastest growing timber trees, as we have already

noticed.
* The finest Cedar of Lebanon in the Union, is growing in the grounds of T.

Ash, Esq. of Westchester Co. N. Y. being 50 feet high and of corresponding
breadth.
The Red Cedar Tree. Junij)enis.
JSat. Ord. Coniferse. Lin. Sijst. Dioecia, Monadelphia.
The Red Cedar is a very common tree, indigenous to this
country, and growing in considerable abundance from Maine

to Florida ; but thriving with the greatest luxuriance in the
sea-board states. When fully grown, the Red Cedar is about
40 feet in height, and little more than a foot in diameter.
The leaves are very small, composed of minute scales, and

lie pretty close to the branches. Small blue berries, borne
thickly upon the branches of the female trees in autumn
and winter, contain the seeds. These are covered with a
whitish exudation, and are sometimes used, like those of the
foreign juniper, in the manufacture of gin.
The Red Cedar has less to recommend it to the eye than

most of the evergreens, which we have already described.
The colour of the foliage is dull and dingy at many seasons,
and the form of the young tree is too compactly conical to
please generally. When old, however, we have seen it
throw off this formality, and become an interesting and in-
deed a picturesque tree. Then its branches shooting out in a

horizontal direction, clad with looser and more pendant foliage,
give the whole tree quite another character. The twisted

stems, too, when they become aged, have a singular, dried-
looking, whitish bark, which is quite unique and peculiar.
We have seen a very fine natural avenue of Red Cedars near

Fishkill landing, in Dutchess Co. composed of two rows of
noble trees 35 or 40 feet high, which is a delightful walk in
winter and early spring. This has given the name of Cedar
Grove to the country seat in question, where the Red Cedar
grows spontaneously upon a slate subsoil, with great luxuri-
30
ance. There the trees are disseminated widely by the birds,
which feed with avidity upon the berries.
The Red Cedar is well known to every person as one of

our very best timber trees. It name from the red-
takes its
dish hue of the perfect wood. This has a fragrant odour,

and is not only light, fine-grained, and close in texture, but
extremely durable. It is therefore much employed, (though
of late it is becoming scarcer,) in conjunction with the Live
oak, which is too heavy alone, in ship-building. It is also
valued for its great durability as posts for fencing ;

and is
exported to Europe, to be used in the manufacture of pencils,

and other useful purposes.
The Arbor ViTiE Tree. Thuja.
Nat. Ord. Coniferse. Lin. Syst. Monoecia, MonadeJphia.
The Arbor Vitas, [Thuja occidentalism) sometimes also

called Flat Cedar, or White Cedar, is distinguished from
most evergreens by its flat foliage, composed of a great num-

ber of scales closely imbricated, or overlaying each other,
which give the whole a compressed appearance. The seeds
are borne in a small cone, usually not more than half an

inch in length.
This tree is extremely formal and regular in outline in al-
most every stage of growth ;

generally assuming the shape
of an exact cone or pyramid of close foliage, of considerable
extent at the base, close to the ground, and narrowing up-
wards to a sharp point. So regular is their outline in many
cases, when they are growing upon favourable soils, that at
a short distance they look as if they had been subjected to

the clipping-shears. The sameness of its form precludes the
employment of this evergreen in so extensive a manner as most
Others; that is, in intermingling it promiscuously with other

trees of less artificial forms. But the Arbor Vitae, from this very-
regularity, is well suited to support and accompany scenery

when objects of an avowedly artifical character predominate,
as buildings, etc., where it may be used with a very happy

effect. There is also no evergreen tree indigenous or intro-
duced, which will make a more effectual, close, and impervi-
ous screen than this : and as it thrives well in almost every
soil, moist, dry, rich or poor, we strongly recommend it
whenever such thickets are desirable. We have ourselves

tried the experiment with a hedge of it about 200 feet long,
which was transplanted about five or six feet high from the
native habitats of the young trees, and which fully answers
our expectations respecting it, forming a perfectly thick
screen, and an excellent shelter on the north of a range of

buildings at all seasons of the year, growing perfectly thick
without trimming, from the very ground upwards.
The only fault of this tree as an evergreen, is the compara-
tively dingy green hue of its foliage in winter. But to com-

pensate for this, it is remarkably fresh looking in its spring,
summer, and autumn tints, comparing well at those seasons
even with the bright verdure of deciduous trees.
The Arbor Vitse is very abundant in New-Brunswick,

Vermont, and Maine. In New- York, the shores of the Hud-
sen at Hampton landing, TO miles above the city of New-
York, are lined on both sides with beautiful specimens of
this tree, many of them being perfect cones in outline. Forty
feet is about the maximum altitude of the Arbor Vitas, and

the stem rarely measures more than ten or twelve inches in
diameter. "
The wood is very light, soft, and fine-grained, but is re-

piited to be equally durable with the Red Cedar. It is con-

sequently employed for various purposes in building and
fencing, where, in the northern districts, it grows in suffi-
cient abundance, and of suitable size.

The Chinese Arbor Vitse, ( T. orientalis,) is a tree of much
smaller and more feeble growth. It cannot therefore as an
ornamental tree be put in competition with our native spe-
cies. But it is a beautiful evergreen for the garden and
shrubbery, where more suitable and sheltered site.
it finds a
The White Cedar, [Thuja spheroidoe,"^) which belongs
to the same genus as the Arbor Vitse, is a much loftier tree,
often growing 80 feet high. It can hardly be considered a
tree capable of being introduced into cultivated situations,

as it is found only in thick swamps and wet grounds. The
foliage considerably resembles that of the common Arbor
Vitse,though rather narrower, and more delicate in texture.
The cones are small and
rusfo-ed, and chancre from ffreen to
a blue or brown tint in autumn. In the south it is often

called the Juniper.
The White Cedar furnishes excellent shingles, much more
durable than those made of either Pine or Cypress ; in Phil-
adelphia the wood is much esteemed and greatly used in
cooperage. " Charcoal," according to Michaux, " highly es-
teemed in the manufacture of gunpowder, is made of young
stocks, about an inch and a half in diameter, deprived of
their bark and the seasoned wood affords beautiful lamp-
;
black, lighter and more intensely coloured, than that ob-

tained from the Pine."
The American Holly Tree. Ilex.
Nat. Ord. Aquifoliaceae. Lin. Stjst. Dioecia, Tetrandria.
The European Holly is certainly one of the evergreen

glories of the English gardens. There, its deep green, glos-
* Cupressxis thuyoides of the old botanists.

sy foliage, and bright coral berries, whicli hang on for
a long time, are seen enlivening the pleasure-grounds and

shrubberies throughout the whole of that leafless and in-
active period in vegetation — winter. It is also in our mother

tongue, inseparably connected with the delightful associa-
tions of the merry Christmas gambols and feastings, when
both the churches and the dwelling houses, are decorated
with its boughs. We have much to regret, therefore, in the
severity of our winters, which will not permit the European

Holly to flourish in the middle or eastern states, as a hardy
tree. South of Philadelphia, it may become acclimated; but

it appears to suffer greatly farther north.
A beautiful succedanum, however, may we believe, be
found in the xVmerican Holly, {Ilex opaca.) which indeed

very closely resembles the foreign species in almost every
particular. The leaves are waved or irregular in surface
and outline, though not so much so as those of the latter,
and their colour is a much lighter shade of green. Like

those of the foreign plant, they are armed on the edges wnth
thorny prickles, and the surface is brilliant and polished.
The American Holly is seen in the greatest perfection on the
eastern shore of Maryland and Virginia, and the lower part
of New- Jersey. There it thrives best upon loose, dry and
gravelly soils. Michaux says it is also common through all
the extreme southern states, and in West Tennessee, in which

latter places it abounds on the margins of shady swamps, where
the soil is cool and fertile. In such spots it often reaches for-
ty feet in height, and twelve or fifteen inches in diameter.

Although the growth of the Holly is slow, yet it is always
beautiful ; and we regret that the American sort, which may
be easily brought into cultivation, is so very rarely seen in
our gardens or grounds. The seeds are easily procured ;

and
if scalded and sowed in autumn, immediately after being ga-

thered, they vegetate freely. For hedges the Holly is alto-
gether unrivalled ;
and it was also one of the favourite plants
for verdant sculpture^ in the ancient style of gardening.
Evelyn, in the edition of his Sylva, published in London in

1664, thus bursts out in eloquent praise of it :
" Above all
natural greens which enrich our home-born store, there is
none certainly to be compared to the Holly ; insomuch that

I have often wondered at our curiosity after foreign plants
and expensive difficulties, to the neglect of the culture of this
vulgar but incomparable tree, — whether we will propagate
it for use and defence, or for sight and ornament. Is there
under heaven a more glorious and refreshing object of the

kind, than an impregnable hedge of one hundred and sixty-
five feet in length, seven high, and five in diameter, which I
can show in my poor gardens, at any time of the year, glit-
tering with its armed and varnished leaves ? The taller
standards, at orderly distances, blushing with their natural
coral. It mocks the rudest assaults of the weather, beasts,
or hedge-breaker :
—
'
Et ilium nemo impune lacessit.'
The Yew Tree. Taxus.
Nat. Ord. Taxaceae. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Monadelphia.
The European Yew is a slow-growing, evergreen tree,

which often when full grown, measures forty feet in height,
and a third more in the diameter of its branches. The fol-
iage is flat, linear, and is placed in two rows, like that of the
Hemlock tree, though much darker in colour. The flowers
are brown or greenish, and inconspicuous, but they are sue-

ceeded by beautiful scarlet berries, about half or three-fourths

of an inch in diameter, which are open at the end, where a
small nut or seed is deposited. These berries have an ex-
quisitely delicate, waxen appearance, and contribute highly
to the beauty of the tree.
The growth of this tree, even in its native soil, is by no

means rapid. In twenty years, says Loudon, it will attain
the height of fifteen or eighteen feet, and it will continue
growing for one hundred years ; after which it becomes

comparatively stationary, but will live many centuries.
When young, the Yew is rather compact and bushy in its
form ; but as it grows old, the foliage spreads out in fine hor-
izontal masses, the outline of the tree is irregularly varied,
and the whole ultimately becomes highly venerable and pic-
turesque. When standing alone, it generally shoots out into

branches at some three or four feet above the surface of the
ground, and is ramified into a great number of close branches.
(Fig. 23. The English Yew.]
In England, it has been customary, since the earliest set-
tlement of that island by the Britons, to plant the Yew in

churchyards ; and it is therefore as decidedly consecrated to
this purpose there, as the Cypress is in the south of Europe.
For the decoration of places of burial it is well adapted, from
the deep and perpetual verdure of its foliage, which con-

jointly with its great longevity, may be considered as em-
blematical of immortality. The custom still exists, in a few
places in Ireland and Wales, of carrying twigs of this and
other evergreen trees in funerals, and throwing them into the
grave, with the corpse.*
" Yet strew

Upon my dismall grave
Such offerings as ye have,
Forsaken Cypresse and Yeice;
For kinder flowers can have no birth
Or growth from such unhappy earth."
Stanly.
There is a mournful yet sweet and pensive pleasure, in thus
adorning these last places of repose with such beautiful, unfad-

ing memorials of grief. They rob the graveyard or cemetery
of its horrors, and by their perpetual garlands of verdure

and freshness, inevitably lead the mind from the ideas of
death which an ordinary barren churchyard alone inspires,

to reflections of a purer and loftier cast ; the immortality
which awaits the soul when disenthralled of clay. Among

the old English poets, we find much of these feelings in fa-
vour of decorating the precincts of the grave, and surround-

ing them with what may be called the poetry of grief. Her-
rick, one of the sweetest of the number, in some lines ad-
dressed to the Cypress and Yew, says :
" Bothe of ye have

Relation to the grave
And where
The funeral trump sounds, you are there.
*
* Encyclopaedia of Plants, 849,

I shall be made
Ere longe a fleeting shade ;
Pray come,
And do some honour to my tomb."
Some of the old Yews in the churchyards and gardens of

England have attained a wonderful period of longevity.
Gilpin mentions one in the churchyard of Tisbury in Dor-
setshire, now standing and in fine foliage, though the trunk

is quite hollow, which measures thirty-seven feet in circum-
ference, and the limbs are proportionately large. The tree
is entered by a rustic gate ;

and seventeen persons lately
breakfasted in its interior. It is said to have been planted
many generations ago by the Arundel family. The famous

Yew at Arkenwyke House, which Henry VH. made his
place of meeting with Anna Boleyn when she was there, is
supposed to be upwards of a thousand years old : it is forty-
nine feet high, twenty-seven in circumference, and the

branches extend over an area of two hundred and seven feet.
There are besides these, a great number of other celebrated

Yews in England, of immense size and age, which are pre-
served with the greatest care and veneration.
It is a common saying of the inhabitants of the New For-

est in England, says Gilpin, that " a post of Yew will out-
last a post of iron." The wood is extremely durable, and

being hard and very fine-grained, as well as beautifully varie-
gated with reddish or orange veins, it is much prized for in-
laying, veneering, and other similar purposes, by the cabi-
net-makers abroad. Tables made of it are said to be more

beautiful than those of mahogany ;
and the wood of the root
to vie in beauty with that of the Citron.
It is also remarkably elastic, and is therefore much valued
31
for bows. In ancient times, when bows and arrows were

the chief weapons of destruction in war, the bows made of the
Yew tree were vaUied by the ancient Britons above all oth-
ers. According to the Arboretum Brittanicum, in Switzerland,
where this tree was scarce, it was formerly forbidden, under
heavy penalties, to cut down the Yew for any other purpose
than to make bows of the wood. The Swiss mountaineers
call it " William's tree," in memory of William Tell.
The Yew, like the Holly, makes an excellent evergreen
hedge — close, dark green, and beautiful when clad in the
rich scarlet berries. We desire, however, rather to see this
tree naturalized in our gardens and lawns as an evergreen

tree of the first class, than in any other form. Judging from
specimens which we have growing in our own grounds, we
should consider it quite hardy in any latitude south of Al-
bany, New- York. And although it is somewhat slow in its
growth, yet, like many other evergreens, it is as beautiful
when a small bush or a thrifty young tree, as it is venerable

and picturesque, when ages or even centuries have witness-
ed its never fading verdure. It appears to grow most vigor-
ously and thrive best, on a rich and»heavy soil, and in situ-
ations rather shaded than exposed to a burning sun.
There are several beautiful varieties of the Yew, [Taxus

baccata,) cultivated in the nurseries ; the Irish Yew, ( T. b.
fastigiata,) remarkable for its scattered foliage, and very
handsome upright growth, and the Yellow berried Yew,
(T. b.fructo-Jiava^) are the most ornamental.
The North American Yew, (T. canadensis^) is a low
trailing shrub, scarcely rising above the height of four or
six feet, though the branches extend to a considerable dis-
tance. In foliage, berries, etc., it so strongly resembles the
European plant, that many botanists consider itonly a dwarf

variety. The leaves are nevertheless shorter and narrower,
and the male flowers always solitary. It is found in shady,
rocky places, in the Highlands, and various other localities^
from Canada to Virginia.

SECTION VI.
VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS.
Value of kind of vegetation. Fine natural effects. The European Ivy. The Virginia
this
Creeper. The Wild Grape Vine. The Bittersweet. The Trumpet Creeper. The Pipe
Vine, and the Clematis. The Wistarias. The Honeysuckles and Woodbines. The Jas-
mine and the Periploca. Eemarks on the proper mode of introducing vines. Beautiful
effects of climbing plants in connection with buildings.
Q,uite over-canopied with lush woodbine,

With sweet musk roses, and with eglantine.
Shaespeare.
I NE S and climbing plants are ob-
p jects full of interest for the Landscape

Gardener, for theyseem endowed with
the characteristics of the elegant, the
beautiful, and the picturesque, in their
luxuriant and ever- varying forms.

When judiciously introduced, therefore, nothing can so easily
give a spirited or graceful air to a fine or even an ordinary
scene, as the various plants which compose this group of
the vegetable kingdom. We refer particularly now to those
which have woody and perennial stems, as all annual or

herbaceous stemmed plants are too short-lived to afford any
lasting or permanent addition to the beauty of the lawn or
pleasure-ground.
Climbing plants may be classed among the adventitious
beauties of trees. Who has not often witnessed with delight
,VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 245
in our native forests, the exquisite beauty of a noble tree, the
old trunk and fantastic branches of which, were enwreathed

with the luxuriant and pliant shoots, and rich foliage, of
some beautiful vine, clothing even its decayed limbs with
verdure ;
and hanging down in gay festoons, or loose negli-
gent masses, waving to and fro in the air. The European

Ivy, {Hedera Helix,) is certainly one of the finest, if not the
very finest climbing plant, (or, more properly, creeping vine,
for by means of its little fibres or rootlets on the stems, it
will attach itself to trees, walks, or any other substance,)
with which we are acquainted. It possesses not only very
fine dark green palmated foliage, in great abundance ; but

the foliage has that agreeable property of being evergreen,
which, while it enhances its value ten-fold, is at the same

time so rare among vines. The yellow flowers of the Ivy
are great favourites with bees, from their honied sweetness ;
they open in autunni, and the berries ripen in the spring.
When planted at the root of a tree, it will often, if the head

is not too thickly clad with branches, ascend to the very top-
most limbs ; and its dark green foliage, wreathing itself
about the old and furrowed trunk, and hanging in careless

drapery from the lower branches, adds greatly to the ele-
gance of even the most admirable tree. Spenser describes
the appearance of the Ivy growing to the tops of the trees,
" Emongst the rest, the clamb'ring Ivie grew,
Knitting his wanton arms with grasping hold,
Lest that the poplar happely should rew
Her brother's strokes, whose boughs she doth enfold
With her lythe twigs, till they the top survew,
And paint with pallid green her buds of gold."
The fine contrasts between the dark colouring of the leaves

of the Ivy, and the vernal and autumnal tints of the foliage
of deciduous trees, are also highly pleasing. Indeed this fine
climbing plant may be turned to advantage in another way ;
in reclothing dead trees with verdure. Sir T. D. Lauder

says, that " trees often die from causes which we cannot di-
vine, and there who is master of extensive woods,

is no one
who does not meet with many such instances of unexpected
and unaccountable mortality. Of such dead individuals we
have often availed ourselves, and by planting Ivy at their
roots, we have converted them into more beautiful objects

than they were when arrayed in their own natural foliage."
The Ivy is not only beautiful upon trees, but it is also remark-
ably well adapted to ornament cottages, and even large man-
sions, when allowed to grow upon the walls, to which it
will attach itself so firmly by the little rootlets sent out from
the branches, that it is almost impossible to tear it off. On
wooden buildings, it may perhaps be injurious, by causing
them to decay ;
but on stone buildings, it fastens itself firm-
ly, and holds both stone and mortar together like a coat of
cement. The thick garniture of foliage with which it covers

the surface, excludes stormy weather, and has therefore
a tendency to preserve the walls, rather than accelerate their
decay. This vine is the inseparable accompaniment of the

old feudal castles, and crumbling towers of Europe, and bor-
rows a great additional interest from the romance and his-
torical recollections connected with such spots. Indeed half

the beauty, picturesque, as well as poetical, of those time-
worn buildings, is conferred by this plant, which seeks to

bind together and adorn with something of their former
richness, the crumbling fragments that are fast tottering to
decay :
—
" The Ivy, that staunchest and firmest friend,
That hastens its succouring arm to lend
To the ruined fane where in youth it sprung,
And its pUant tendrils in sport were flung.
VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 247
When the sinking buttress, and moulding tower

Seem only the spectres of former power,
Then the Ivy clusters round the wall,
And for tapestry hangs in the moss-grown hall.
Striving in beauty and youth to dress

The desolate place in its loneliness."
Romance of Nature.
The Ivy lives to a great age, if we may judge from the
specimens that overrun some of the oldest edifices of Europe,

which are said to have been covered with it for centuries,
and where the main stems are seen nearly as large as the
trunk of a middle sized tree.
" Whole ages have fled, and their works decayed,

And nations have scattered been ;
But the stout old Ivy shall never fade

From its hale and hearty green ;
The brave old plant in its lonely days.

Shall fatten upon the past
For the stateliest building man can raise,
Is the Ivy's food at last."
The Ivy is not a native of America ; nor is it by any

means a very common plant in our gardens, though we
know of no apology for the apparent neglect of so beautiful
a climber. It is hardy south of the latitude of 42°, and we
have seen it thriving in great luxuriance as far north as
Hyde Park, on the Hudson, 80 miles above New- York. One

of the most beautiful growths of this plant, which has ever
met our eyes, is that upon the old mansion in the Botanic
Garden at Philadelphia, built by the elder Bartram. That

picturesque and quaint stone building is beautifully overrun
by the most superb mantle of Ivy, that no one who has once
seen can fail to remember with admiration. The dark
gray of the stone-work is finely opposed by the rich verdure
of the plant, which falls away in openings here and there,
around the windows, and elsewhere. It never thrives well

if suffered to ramble along the ground, but needs the support

of a tree, a frame, or a wall, to which it attaches itself firmly,
and grows with vigorous shoots. Bare walls or fences may

thus be clothed with verdure and beauty equal to the living
hedge, in a very short period of time, by planting young Ivy
roots at the base.
The most desirable varieties of the common Ivy are, the

Irish Ivy, with much larger foliage than the common sort,
and more rapid in its growth; the Silver-striped, and the Gold-
striped leaved Ivy, both of which, though less vigorous, are
much admired for the singular colour of their leaves. The

common English Ivy is more hardy than the others in our
climate.
Although, as we have said, the Ivy is not a native of this

country, yet we have an indigenous vine, which, at least in
summer, is not inferior to it. We refer to the Virginia Creep-

er, {Amvelopsis hederacea,) which is often called the Amer-
ican Ivy. The leaves are as large as the hand, deeply di-
vided into five lobes, and the blossoms are succeeded by
handsome, deep blue berries. The Virginia Creeper is a
most luxuriant grower, and we have seen it climbing to the
extremities of trees 70 or 80 feet in height. Like the Ivy,

it attaches itself to whatever it can lay hold of, by the little
rootlets which spring out of the branches ; and its foliage,
when it clothes thickly a high wall, or folds itself in cluster-
ing wreaths around the trunk and branches of an open tree,
is extremely handsome and showy. Although the leaves are

not evergreen like those of the Ivy, yet in autumn they far
surpass those of that plant in the rich and gorgeous colour-
ing which they then assume. Numberless trees may be seen
in the country by the road-side, and in the woods, thus deck-
ed in autumn in the borrowed glories of the Virginia Creeper;

but we particularly remember two, as being remarkably strik-

ing objects; one, a wide-spread elm — the trunk and grace-
ful diverging branches completely clad in scarlet by this
beautiful vine, with which its own leaves harmonized well
in their fine deep yellow dress; the other, a tall and dense
Cedar, through whose dark green boughs gleamed the rich
colouring of the Virginia Creeper, like a half-concealed,
though glowing fire.
In the American forests nothing adds more to the beauty

of an occasional tree, than the tall canopy of verdure with
which it is often crowned by the wild Grape vine. There
its tall stems wind themselves about until they reach the
very summit of the tree, where they cluster it over, and
bask their broad bright green foliage in the sunbeams. As
if not content with this, they often completely overhang the
head of the tree, falling like ample drapery around on eve-

ry side, until they sweep the ground. We have seen very
beautiful effects produced in this way by the grape in its
wild state, and it may easily be imitated. The delicious
fragrance of these wild grape vines when in blossom, is
unsurpassed in delicacy ;
and we can compare it to nothing
but the delightful perfume which exhales from a huge bed
of Mignonette in full bloom. The Bittersweet, [Celastrus
scandens,) is another well known climber, which ornaments
our wild trees. Its foliage is very bright and shining, and
the orange-coloured seed-vessels which burst open, and dis-
play the crimson seeds in winter, are quite ornamental. It
winds itself very closely around the stem, however, and we

have known it to strangle or compress the bodies of young
trees so tightly as to put an end to their growth.
The Trumpet Creeper, [Bignonia radicans,) is a very
showy climbing plant. The stem is quite woody, and often

32
attains considerable size ; the branches, like those of the Ivy,
and Virginia Creeper, fasten themselves by the roots thrown

out. The leaves are pinnated, and the flowers, which are
borne in terminal clusters on the ends of the young shoots

about midsummer, are exceedingly showy. They are tubes
five or six inches long, shaped like a trumpet, opening at the
extremity, of a fine scarlet colour on the outside, and orange

within. The Trumpet Creeper is a native of Virginia, Car-
olina, and the states farther south, where it climbs up the

loftiest trees. It is a great favourite in the northern states as
a climbing plant, and very beautiful effects are sometimes

produced by planting it at the foot of a tall-stemmed tree,
which it will completely surround with a pillar of verdure,
and render very ornamental by its little shoots, studded with
noble blossoms.
One of the most singular climbing shrubs or plants which
we cultivate, is the Pipe-vine, or Birthwort, {Aristolochia
sijjho.) It is a native of the Alleghany mountains, and

is one of the tallest of twining plants, growing on the
trees there to the height of 90 or 100 feet, though in gar-
dens it is often kept down to a frame of four or five feet
high. The leaves are of a noble size, being eight or nine
inches broad, and heart-shaped in outline. The flowers,
about an inch or a little more in length, are very singular.
They are dark yellow, spotted with brown, in shape like a
bent siphon-like tube, which opens at the extremity, the whole

flower resembling as close as possible, a very small Dutdi-
man^s pipe, whence the vine is frequently so called by the
country people. It flowers in the beginning of summer, and
the foliage, during the whole growing season, has a very rich
and luxuriant appearance. Aristolochia tomentosa is a

smaller species, with leaves and flowers of less size, the for-
mer downy or hairy on the under surface.
The various kinds of Clematis, though generally kept
within the precincts of the garden, are capable of adding to

the interest of the pleasure-ground, when they are planted
so as to support themselves on the branches of trees. The
common White Clematis or Virgin's Bower, (
C. virginica,)
is one of the strongest growing kinds, often embellishing

with its pale white blossoms, the whole interior and even the
very tops of our forest trees in the middle states. After these
have fallen, they are succeeded by large tufts of brown,

hairy-like plumes, appendages to the clusters of seeds, which
give the whole a very unique and interesting look. The
Wild Atrageiie, with large purple flowers, which blossom
early, has much the same habit as the Clematis, to which
indeed it is nearly related. Among the finest foreign species
of this genus are, the Single and Double-flowered purple

Clematis, (C. viticella and its varieties,) which though slen-
der in their stems, run to considerable height, are very pret-
ty, and blossom profusely. The sweet scented, and the Ja-
pan Clematis, (C. Jlammula and C. Jlorida,) the former
very fragrant, and the latter beautiful, are perhaps too ten-
der, except for the garden, where they are highly prized.
The Glycine or Wistaria, ( Wistaria pubescens,) is a very
handsome climbing plant, and adds much to the beauty of

trees, when trained so as to hang from their lower branches.
The leaves are pinnate, and the light purple flowers, which
bloom in loose clusters like those of the Locust, are univer-
sally admired. The Chinese Wistaria, (

W. sinensis,) is a
very elegant species of this plant, which appears to be quite

hardy here ;
and when loaded with its numerous clusters of
pendant blossoms, is highly ornamental. It grows rapidly,

and with but little care, will mount to a great height. These
vines with pinnated foliage, would be remarkably appropri-
ate when climbing up, and hanging from the branches of
such light airy trees as the Three-thorned Acacia, the Lo-

cust, etc.
We must not forget to enumerate here the charming fami-

ly of the Honeysuckles ;
some of them are natives of the old
world, some of our own continent ; and all of them are com-
mon in our gardens, where they are universally prized for
their beauty and fragrance. In their native localities they

grow upon trees, and trail along the rocks. The species
which ascends to the greatest height, is the common Euro-
pean Woodbine,* which twines around the stems, and hangs
from the ends of the longest branches of trees :
" As Woodbine weds the plant within her reach,

Rough Ehn, or smooth-grained Ash, or glossy Beech,
In spiral rings ascends the trunk, and lays
Her golden tassels on the leafy sprays."
COWPER.
The Woodbine, [Lonicera peryclemenutn,) has separate,

opposite leaves, and buff-coloured or paler yellow and red
blossoms. There is a variety, the common monthly Wood-
bine, which produces its flowers all summer, and is much
the most valuable plant. Another, [L. p. belgiciim,) the

Dutch Honeysuckle, blossoms quite early in spring; and a
third, {L. p. quercifolium,) has leaves shaped like those of
the oak tree.
The finest of our native sorts are the Red and Yellow
trumpet Honeysuckles, {L. sempervirens and L. flava,)
which have the terminal leaves on each branch, joined to-
* Woodbind is the original name, derived from the habit of the plant of wind-
ing itself around trees, and binding the branches together.
gether at the base, or perfoliate, making a single leaf. They

blossom in the greatest prolusion during the whole summer
and autumn, and their rich blossom-tubes, sprinkled in nu-
merous clusters over the exterior of the foliage, as well as an
abundance of scarlet berries in autumn, entitle them to high
regard. There is also a very strong and vigorous species,
called the Orange pubescent Honeysuckle, [L. ])iibesce?is,)
with large, hairy, ciliate leaves, and fine large tawny or

orange-coloured flowers. It is a very luxuriant plant in its
habit, and a very distinct species to the eye. All these na-
tive sorts have but very slight fragrance.

The Chinese twining Honeysuckle, [L. Jlexuosa,) is cer-
tainly one of the finest of the genus. In the form of the leaf
it much resembles the common Woodbine; but the foliage
is much darker coloured, and is also sub-evergreen, hanging
on half the winter, and in sheltered spots, even till spring. It
blossoms, when the plant is old, several times during the
summer, bearing an abundance of beautiful flowers, open at
the mouth, red outside, and striped with red, white, or yel-
low within. It grows remarkably fast, climbing to the very

summit of trees in a short time ;
and the flowers, which first
appear in June, are deliciously fragrant. In all its varieties
the Honeysuckle is a charming plant, either to adorn the

porch of the cottage, the latticed bower of the garden, to both
of which spots they are especially dedicated ;
or to climb the
stems of the old forest tree, where —
"With clasping tendrils it invests the branch
Else unadorn'd, with many a gay festoon,
And fragrant chaplet ; recompensing well
The strength it borrows with the grace it lends."
There it diffuses through the air a delicious breath, that
renders a walk beneath the shade of the tall trees doubly de-
lightful, while its flowers give a gayety and brightness to
the park, which forest trees, producing usually but incon-

spicuous blossoms, could not alone produce.
We have to regret that the inclemency of our winters will
not permit us to cultivate the White European Jasmine,
(Jasminum officinale.) out of the garden, as even there it
requires a slight protection in winter. Below the latitude
of Philadelphia, however, it will probably succeed well. In

the southern states they have a most lovely plant, the Caro-
lina .Tasmine, (
Gelseminum,) which hangs its beautiful yel-
low flowers on the very tree tops, and the woods there in
spring are redolent with their perfume.
The connoisseur in vines will not forgfet the curious Pe-
riploca, which grows very rapidly to the height of 40 or 50
feet, and bears numerous bunches of very curious brown or

purple flowers in summer ;
or the numerous varieties of
climbing roses, so superb both in leaf and blossom : or the
Double-blossoming Brambles, both pink and white, which

often make shoots of 20 or 30 feet long in a season, and bear
pretty clusters of full double flowers in June. All these
fine climbers, and several others to be found in the cata-

logues, may, in the hands of a person of taste, be made to
contribute in a wonderful degree to the variety, elegance,
and beauty of a country residence ;

and to neglect to intro-
duce them would be to refuse the aid of some of the most

beautiful accessories which are capable of being combined
with trees, as well as with buildings, gardens, and fences.
Some persons object to the growth of climbing plants upon
trees, that, by compressing the stems and tightening them-
selves around the limbs of trees, they gradually check their
growth, and finally by preventing the expansion of the

trunk, put an end to the life of the tree. This, we have no
doubt, has been the case when young trees in the full vigour
of growth have been completely encompassed and wound
about with the strong growing woody creepers ; but it so
rarely happens, (scarcely ever in the case of middle-sized
trees, on which vines are more generally planted,) that we

consider the objection of no moment. Indeed, were all this
true, the management of the growth of any vine, however

luxuriant,-is so completely within the power of the cultivated,
that by a very trifling annual attention, he can entirely pre-
vent the possibility of any injurious effects of this kind.
The reader must not imagine from the remarks which we
have here made on the beauty and charms of climbing
plants, that we would desire to see every tree in an extensive
park wreathed about, and overhung with fantastic vines and

creepers. Such is by no means our intention. We should
consider such a proceeding as something in the worst possi
ble taste. There are some trees whose rugged and ung^race-
ful forms would refuse all such accompaniment ; and others

from whose dignity and majesty it would be improper to de-
tract, even by adding the gracefulness of the loveliest vine^
Such, too, is never the case in nature, as, for one tree deck-
ed in this manner, we see a hundred which are not, and

the very rarity of the example imparts additional beauty and
interest to it when it appears. This should be the case in
all artificial plantations ;

and he who has a true and live-
ly feeling for the beautiful and picturesque, will easily
understand at a glance where these expressions will be

strengthened or weakened by the addition of more grace
and elegance. A few scattered trees here and there, with
whose forms the plans adopted harmonize, draped and fes-
tooned with the most appropriate climbing plants will be all
that can be properly introduced in any scene, unless it be

of a very artificial character ;

but even these additional ac-
cessories, simple as they may seem, often produce an effect
singularly beautiful, which shows how much in real land-
scape, as well as in painting, depends upon a few finishing

touches to the scene.
Although we are not now writing of buildings, it may
not be inappropriate here to remark how much may be done
in the country, and indeed even in town, by using vines
and creepers to decorate buildings. The cottage in this
country, (except in some parts of the eastern states,) rarely
conveys the idea of comfort and happiness which we wish

to attach to such a habitation, and chiefly because it stands
so often bleak, solitary, and exposed to every ray of our
summer sun, with a scanty robe of foliage to shelter it. How
different such edifices, however humble, become when the
porch is overhung with climbing plants, — when the blush-
ing rose-buds peep in at the window sill, or the ripe purple clus-
ters of the grape hang down about the eaves, those who have
seen the better cottages of England, well know. Very little
care and very trifling expense, will procure all the addition-
al beauty ;
and it is truly wonderful how much so little once
done, adds to the happiness of the inmates. Every man
feels prouder of his home, when it is a pleasant spot for the
eye to rest upon, than when it is situated in a desert, or over-
grown with weeds. Besides this, tasteful embellishment has

a tendency to refine the feelings of every member of the fami-
ly ;
and every leisure hour spent in rendering more lovely
and agreeable even the humblest cottage, is infinitely better
employed than in lounging about in idle and useless dissipa-

tion.
TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 257
SECTION YII.
TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS.

Nature of operations on Ground.Treatment of flowing and of irregular surfaces, to heighten
their expression ; flats, Roclis, as materials in Landscape. Laying out
or level surfaces.
Roads and Walks: Directions for the Approach: Rules by Repton. The Drive and minor
walks. The introduction of fences and verdant hedges.
"Strength may wield the ponderous spade,

May turn the clod and wheel the compost home
But elegance, chief grace the garden shows,
And most attractive, is the fair result
Of thought, the creature of a polished mind."
COWPER.
ROUND is undoubtedly the most unwieldy

and ponderous material that comes under the
care of the Landscape Gardener. It is not
only difficult to remove, the operations of the
leveller rarely extending below two or three feet of the sur-
face, but the effect produced by a given quantity of labour

expended upon it, is generally much less than when the
same has been bestowed in the formation of plantations, or
the erection of buildings. The achievements of art upon
ground, appear so trifling too, when we behold the apparent
facility with which nature has arranged it in such a variety
of forms, that the former sink into insignificance when com-

pared with the latter.
For these reasons, the operations to be performed upon

ground in this country, will generally be limited to the
33
neighbourhood of the house, or the scenery directly under

the eye. Here, by judicious levelling and smoothing in
some cases, or by raising gentle eminences with interposing
hollows in others, much may be done, at a moderate ex-
pense, to improve the beauty of the surrounding landscape.
It is however fortunately the case, that in the modern

style of landscape improvement, extensive and costly opera-
tions upon ground are very seldom needed. By the aid of
plantations arranged as we have already suggested, much
may be done to soften too great inequality of surface, as
well as to heighten the apparent magnitude of gentle undu-

lations. The art of the improver, when employed upon this
material, will therefore be directed to the production of neg-
ative, rather than positive effects, — to the removal of ex-

isting faults or blemishes, rather than to the production of
an entirely new and artificial surface.
To pursue this method with success, it is necessary that

he should refer constantly to the principle which we sugges-
ted in the commencement of our remarks: the j^Teservation
of the natural character of the scene, or, we may here add,
the heightening of the character intended for the form of

the surface. We have already remarked that scenes abound-
ing in natural beauty were chiefly characterized by gentle
undulations of surface, and smooth easy transitions from the
level plain to the softly swelling hill or flowing hollow ;
and
that on the contrary, highly picturesque scenes exhibited a
more irregular and broken surface, abounding with abrupt
transitions, and more strongly marked elevations and depres-
sions.
In a scene expressive of sitJijjle or graceful heauty^

where the surface is more or less undulating, the first pro-
ceeding of the improver will be to remove any accidental or
TREATMENT OF GROUND. — FORMATION OF WALKS. 259
natural deformity which may interfere with that expression.

Such are, unsightly ridges of earth, small lumpish hills, the
ragged elevations where old fences have been removed, or

deep furrows created by the former action of the plough. If
there are any uncouth pits or ugly hollows, such must be

either filled up, or concealed by plantations, and all excres-
cences that interfere with the prevailing expression of the
whole, should be removed.

In the next place, the improver will examine the formation
of the ground, as it appears naturally. If too rugged, — the
sweeps and undulations sometimes easy and beautiful, at oth-
ers hard and disconnected, — he will endeavour to soften
and remove this inequality. This will be easily executed, —

if some of the eminences are broken into too high, sudden,
and abrupt hills, — by carefully lowering them into more

graceful elevations, and placing the superfluous earth in the
adjacent hollows : proper regard being paid to portions of

the scene, already pleasing, by producing such a surface as
will connect itself naturally with the same, when the im-
provements shall be entirely completed.
Should the surface on the contrary, be somewhat broken
or undulating, but not distinctly so, appearing rather heavy
and undecided between a level, and finely varied ground, the
operations must be directed in such a manner as to increase
the boldness of the whole. The ground of a country resi-
dence is often brought into such a state by the continued ac-
tion of the plough at some former period, which has gradu-

ally levelled down the gentle eminences and filled up the
hollows, till in some places, it appears scarcely struggling out

of a level. The course is then obvious ;
the superfluous earth
which chokes up the valleys, must be removed again to the
neighbouring hills, where it belongs, when the natural beau-

ty of the ground will be restored. This is eifected with
comparative facility, as every foot of surface taken from the

depression, adds by removal two feet to the height of the
adjoining elevation.
The improvement of picturesque surfaces must proceed
in a similar manner. When a surface is naturally and truly
picturesque, art will add little or nothing to its effect. It
will rather therefore endeavour to produce a perfect whole?

and a connection between the various parts, than to disturb
the existing features. In the vicinity of the house, the artist
will soften down that boldness and inequality which, if too
great, might interfere both with convenience and the beauty
of utility^ which must there be constantly kept in view.

Otherwise, the beauty of picturesque surfaces may be often
heightened by various means within our reach ;
such as in-
creasing the abruptness of surface by taking away a few feet

of earth, or by adding other picturesque irregularities, which
by connection may strengthen the expression of the whole.
Mr. Price has remarked, that " the ugliest ground is that
which has neither the beauty of smoothness, verdure, and

gentle undulation, nor the picturesqueness of bold and sud-
den breaks, and varied tints of soil : of such kind, is ground

that has been disturbed and left in that unf ^,ished state : as
in a rough ploughed field run to sward."*- Such ground it
is often difficult to restore to a picturesque state, even when

that was its previous expression. But it is not impossible to
do so, for it must be remembered that it is not hy forming
the surface alone that nature renders it picturesque, but also
by the accessories and accompaniments which she liberally
bestows upon the surface when once formed. These are,
* Essay on the Picturesque, I, 193.

veoêtation, trees, rocks, etc., which, with the influence of

time, will often render many a scene that, stripped of its en-
riching drapery, would be positively harsh and ugly, ex-

tremely picturesque, mellow, and beautiful. Proofs of this
will occur to every one who will contrast in his mind
the appearance of a steep clayey river bank, or even open
pit, when bare, raw, and verdureless, and the same objects
when nature or art has clothed them with a luxuriant and
diversified garniture of trees, shrubs, and plants. In the
former case, all was positively ugly and displeasing to the
eye of taste ; in the latter, all is picturesque and harmoni-

ous.
A perfect flat or level surface is often the most difficult
to improve of any description of ground. In some cases, as in

the example of a very large park, with an immense building,
a level surface may be in excellent keeping, giving an air of

grandeur to the whole scene : for both the simplicity, and the
wide extent of a level plain in such a situation, would be
highly expressive of grandeur when united to a fine pile of
building. But ordinarily, a flat surface is extremely dull and
uninteresting. One unbroken plain of green is spread before
the eye, varied by none of those changing lights and shadows
that belong to a finely undulating lawn. It is true that this
affects the mind differently in certain situations, as a broad plain
is a delightful contrast and source of repose in a mountain-

ous country. But we here speak of the greater part of the
surface of the United States, where county seats are located,
and where it will be found, that a diversified surface is great-

ly to be preferred to a dead level.
Where such a level exists, in some situations, it is almost

impossible to improve it much. When, for illustration, the
whole surrounding country is equally tame and flat, the

creation by artificial means, of undulations, hills, or hollows
in a park, would be in such evident contradiction to the natur-
al formation, that the eye would at once detect it as a decep-
tion, harmonizing badly with general nature. The best that
can be done in such cases, is perhaps, to produce the greatest

possible beauty by plantations and buildings, and not to at-
tempt any alterations of surface, which would be insignificant

and absurd.
When however, this is not the case, but the grounds them-
selves, though nearly level, are surrounded by more bold and
spirited variations of surface, a great deal may be effected.
In those portions of the grounds nearest the surrounding
inequalities, the latter may be apparently carried into the
former, and the artificial sweeps, breaks, or undulations in
the park may be so connected with each other, and the neigh-
bouring irregularities, as to produce the effect of elegant art
joined to the charm of natural expression.

The error into which inexperienced improvers are con-
stantly liable to fall, is a want of breadth and extent in their

designs ; which latter, when executed, are so feeble as to be
full of littlenesses, out of keeping with the magnitude of the
surrounding scene. Their designs, like the sketches of a
novice in drawing, are cramped and meagre. This is exem-
plified in ground, by their producing, instead of easy undula-
tions, nothing but a succession of short sweeps and hillocks,
like waves in .the ocean. Now the most beautiful variation
in ground is undoubtedly that of gradually varying lines and

insensible transitions of surface, and these should correspond
in magnitude and breadth to the size and style of the place.
Such surfaces are full of the flowing lines, and rounded
smoothnesses, which Burke considers characteristic of beauty,

or the long undulations exhibit the outlines of Hogarth's fa-
vourite line of grace.
In places of large extent there may be scenes in different

portions of the park, of totally different character; one simply
beautiful, abounding with graceful and flowing lines, and

another highly picturesque, and full of spirited breaks and
variations ; such often form very pleasing and striking con-
trasts to each other, and should therefore, by all means, be
preserved : but they should also be rendered distinct by their
own surrounding plantations, else much of iheir effect as a
whole, when separately considered, will be lost upon the spec-
tator. For it should be remembered the mind is incapable
of appreciating or doing justice to two distinct and dissimilar
expressions at the same time. Whatever be the scene to be
improved, therefore, it should be taken by itself and considered
as a whole, if the eye command that scene alone. Then the
improver can proceed on the principle that every piece of
ground is distinguished by certain properties : it is either
tame or bold, graceful or rude, continued or broken ; and if any
variety inconsistent with these expressions be obtruded, it
has no other effect than to weaken one idea iDithont raising
another. " The insipidity of a fiat is not taken away by a

few scattered hillocks; a continuation of uneven ground can
alone give the idea of irregularity. A large, deep, abrupt
break, among easy swells and falls, seems at best but a piece
left unfinished, and which ought to have been softened ; it is
not more natural because it is more rude. On the other hand,
a fine small polislied form, in the midst of rough, mis-shapen

ground, though more elegant than all about it, is generally
no better than a patch, itself disgraced and disfiguring the
scene. A thousand instances miofht be added to show that
the prevailing idea ought to pervade every part, so far at least

indispensably, as to exclude whatever distracts it, and as
much further as possible to accommodate the character of the

ground to that of the scene to which it belongs."*
Rocks, either in detached fragments or large masses, enter

^ into the composition of many scenes, and sometimes have an
excellent effect. Indeed much of the spirit of picturesque
scenery, is often owing to the bold projections made by rocks
in various forms. An overhanging cliff, or steep precipice, a
moss covered rocky bank, or even a group of rocks on a ledge,
from which springs a tuft of trees and shrubs ;

all these give
strength to a picturesque scene. Their effect may often be
rendered more striking by art : sometimes by removing the

earth or loose stones from the bottom of the precipice, so as
greatly to increase its apparent height: for the perpendicular

position is the finest in which rocks can be viewed. At other
times, the effect of a continuous range of rocks may be much
improved, by planting the summit, and making occasional
breaks of verdure in the front surface.
Rocks which are too apparent, and which cannot be re-
moved, may be concealed with trees and vegetation, or par-

tially covered with vines and creepers. The latter often have
a beautiful effect in picturesque scenery, and we have seen
very charming pictures formed of over-arching cliffs and
groups of rock, upon which hung and rambled in luxuriant
profusion, a rich mixture of climbing plants. Where rocks
thus accidentally occur in beautiful scenes, to which they, if
left bare would be inimical, they may be wonderfully softened

and brought into keeping by a covering of the honeysuckle,
* Mr. Wbately has given such minute and excellent details in relation to this
subject, in his Observations on Modern Gardening, that we gladly refer the reader
who desires to pursue this subject farther, to that work: which indeed is so un-
exceptionable in style and good taste, that Alison has frequently quoted it in
illustration of his admirable Essay on Taste./
the Ivy, and other species of the gayest and most luxuriant
flowering vines.
Loose and detached fragments of rocks, can never be per-
mitted to lie scattered about the lawn, in any style. In a scene
expressive of general beauty, of course they would be entirely
out of place : and in a picturesque scene, they should only
be suffered to remain in spots where they have some evident

connection with larger masses. If they were allowed to lie
loosely around, they would only give an air of confused

wildness, opposed to every thing like the elegance of tasteful
art or the comfort of a country residence ;

but if only seen in
particular spots where they evidently belong, they will, by
contrast, give force and spirit to the whole. We do not now
speak of large rounded boulders or smooth stones, such as
are seen lying about the soil in some of our valley tracts ;
as
such are void of interest, and unless they are large, or in some
degree remarkable, they ought to be at once removed out of
the way. Characteristic and picturesque rocks, are those with
firm, rugged, and distinct outlines, externally covered with a

coating of weather stains, dark lichens, or mosses, and which
meet the eye with a mellow and softened tone of colour.
Roads and ivalks, are so directly connected with opera-
tions on the surface of the ground, and with the disposition
of plantations, which we have already made familiar to the
reader, that we shall introduce in this place a few remarks
relative to their direction and formation. A French writer
has remarked of them that they are "/es ruba?is qui attachent
le boiiquet,^^ and they certainly serve as the connecting me-
dium between the different parts of the estate, as well as the
means of displaying its various beauties, peculiarities, and
finest points of prospect.
The Approach is by far themost important of these routes. L/
34
It is the private road, leading from the public highway, di-
rectly to the house itself. It should therefore bear a propor-

tionate breadth and size, and exhibit marks of good keeping,
in accordance with the dignity of the mansion.
In the ancient style of gardening, the Approach was so

formed as to enter directly in front of the house, affording
a full view of that portion of the edifice, and no other. A
line drawn as directly as possible, and evenly bordered on
each side with a tall avenue of trees, was the whole expendi-
ture of art necessary in its formation. It is true, the simpli-
city of design was often more than counterbalanced by the

difiiculty of levelling, grading, and altering the surface, ne-
cessary to please the geometric eye ;

but the rules were as
plain and unchangeable, as the lines were parallel and un-
deviating.
In the present more advanced state of Landscape Garden-

ing, the formation of the Approach has become equally a
matter of artistical skill with other details of the art. The
house is generally so approached, that the eye shall first meet
it in an angular direction, displaying not only the beauty
of the architectural facade^ but also one of the end eleva-
tions, thus giving a more complete idea of the size, character,
or elegance of the building : and instead of leading in a direct
line, from the gate to the house, it curves in easy lines through
certain portions of the park or lawn, until it reaches that
object.
If the point where the Approach is to start from the high-

way, be not already determined past alteration, it should be
so chosen, as to afford a sufficient drive through the grounds
before arriving at the house, to give the stranger some idea

of the extent of the whole property : to allow an agreeable
diversity of surface over which to lead it: and lastly in such
a manner as not to interfere with the convenience of ready-

access to and from the mansion.
This point being- decided, and the other being the mansion
and adjacent buildings, it remains to lay out the road in such
gradual curves as will appear easy and graceful, without

verging into rapid turns, or formal stiffness. Since the mod-
ern style has become partially known and adopted here, some
persons appear to have supposed that nature 'has a horror
of straight lines,' and consequently, believing that they could

not possibly err, they immediately ran into the other extreme,
filling their grounds with zig-zag and regularly serpentine
roads, still more horrible: which can only be compared to
the contortions of a wounded snake dragging its way slowly
over the earth.

There are two guiding principles which have been laid
down for the formation of Approach roads. The first, that the
curves should never be so great, or lead over surfaces so un-

equal, as to make it disagreeable to drive upon them ; and
the second, that the road should never curve without some
reasoiiy either real or apparent.
The most natural method of forming a winding Approach

where the ground is gently undulating, is to follow, in some
degree, the depressions of surface, and to curve round the
eminences. This is an excellent method, so long as it does
not lead us in too circuitous a direction, nor, as we before
hinted, make the road itself too uneven. When either of
these happen, the easy, gradual flow of the curve in the

proper direction, must be maintained by levelling or grading,
to produce the proper surface.
Nothing can be more unmeaning than to see an Approach,
or any description of road, winding hither and thither
through an extensive level lawn towards the house, without
the least apparent reason for the curves. Happily, we are
not therefore obliged to return to the straight line ; but

gradual curves may always be so arranged as to appear ne-
cessarily to wind round the groups oftrees^ which otherwise

would stand in the way. Wherever, then, a bend in the road
is intended, a cluster or group of greater or less size and
breadth, proportionate to the curve, should be placed in the pro-
jection formed. These trees, as soon as they attain some size,
if they are properly arranged, we may suppose to have origi-
nally stood there, and the road naturally to have curved, to

avoid destroying them.
This arrangement of trees bordering an extended Approach
road, in connection with the various other groups, masses,
and single trees, in the adjacent lawn, will in most cases
have the effect of concealing the house from the spectator

approaching it, except, perhaps, from one or two points. It
has therefore been considered a matter worthy of considera-

tion, at what point or points the^r.^^ vieio of the house shall
be obtained. If seen at too great a distance, as in the case
of a large estate, it may appear more diminutive and of less
magnitude than it should ;

or, if first viewed at some other po-
sition, may strike the eye of a stranger, at that point, unfa-
it
vourably. The best, and indeed the only way to decide the
matter, is to go over the whole ground covered by the Ap-
proach route carefully, and select a spot or spots sufficiently
near to give the most favourable and striking view of the

house itself. This, if openings are to be made, can only be
done in winter ;
but when the ground is to be newly planted,
it may be prosecuted at any season.
The late Mr. Repton, who was one of the most celebrated
English practical landscape gardeners, has laid down in
one of his works, the following rules on the subject, which

we quote, not as applying in all cases, but to show what are

generally thought the principal requisites of this road in the
modern style.
First. It ought to be a road to the house, and to that prin-
cipally.
Second!]/. If it be not naturally the nearest road possible,

it ought artificially to be made to appear so.
Thirdly. The artificial obstacles which make this road
the nearest, ought to appear natural.
Fourthly. Where an approach quits the high road, it ought

not to break from it at right angles, or in such a manner as
to rob the entrance of importance, but rather at some bend of
the public road, from which a lodge or gate may be more
conspicuous ;
and where the high road may appear to
branch from the approach, rather than the approach from the
high road.
Fifthly. After the approach enters the park, it should avoid
skirting along its boundary, which betrays the want of extent
or unity of property.
Sixthly. The house, unless very large and magnificent,

should not be seen at so great a distance as to make it ap-
pear much less than it really is.
Seventhly. The first view of the house should be from the

most pleasing point of sight.
Eighthly. As soon as the house is visible from the ap-

proach, there should be no temptation to quit it, (which will
ever be the case if the road be at all circuitous,) unless suffi-
cient obstacles, such as water or inaccessible ground appear

to justify its course.*
Although there are many situations where these rules must

be greatly modified in practice, yet the improver will do well
* Repton's Enquiry into the changes of taste in Landscape Gardening, p. 109.

to bear them in mind, as it is infinitely more easy to make

occasional deviations iirom general rules, than to earn* out a
tasteful improvement without any guiding principles.
There are many fine country residences on the banks of

the Hudson, Connecticut, and other rivers, where the propri-
etors are often much perplexed and puzzled by the situation
of their houses ; the building presenting really txco fronts,
while they appear to desire only one. Such is the case when
the estate is situated between the public road on one side, and
the river on the other ; and we have often seen the Approach
artificially tortured into a long circuitous route, in order
finally to arrive at what the proprietor considers the true front,
viz.. the side nearest the river. When a building is so situa-
ted, much the most elegant effect is produced by having two

fronts : one, the entrance front, with the porch or portico
nearest the road, and the other, the river front, facing the
water. The beauty of the whole is often surprisingly en-
hanced by this arrangement, for the visiter after passing by

the Approach through a considerable portion of the grounds,
with perhaps, but slight and partial glimpses of the river, is
most agreeably surprised on entering the house, and looking

from the drawing-room windows of the other front, to behold
another beautiful scene totally different irom the last, enriched
and ennobled by the wide-spread sheet of water before him.
Much of the effect produced by this agreeable surprise from the

interior, it will readily be seen, would be lost if the stranger
had ciiready driven round and alighted on the river front.
The Drive, is a variety of road rarely seen among us. yet
which may be made a very agreeable feature in some of our

country residences, at a small expense. It is intended for ex-
ercise more secluded than that upon the public road, and to
show the interesting portions of the place from the carriage,

or on horseback. Of course it can only be formed upon places

of considerable extent; but it enhances the enjoyment of such
places very hiorhly, in the estimation of those who are fond of
equestrian exercises. It generally commences where the ap-
proach terminates, viz.. near the house : and from thence.

proceeds in the same easy curvelinear manner, through various
parts of the grounds, farm, or estate. Sometimes it sweeps
through the pleasure orounds, and returns along the very
beach of the river, beneath the fine overhanging foliage of its
projecting bank — sometimes it proceeds towards some fa-
vourite point of view, or interesting spot in the landscape ;
or at others it leaves the lawn and traverses the farm, giving
the proprietor an opportunity to examine his crops, or exhibit
his agricultural resources to his friends.
Walks are laid out for purposes similar to Drives, but are
much more common, and may be introduced into every scene,
however limited. They are intended solely for promenades
or exercise on foot, and should therefore be dry and firm,
if possible, at all seasons when it is desirable to use them.
Some may be open to the south, sheltered with evergreens,
and made dry and hard, for a warm promenade in winter;
others formed of closely mown turf and thickly shaded by a

leafy canopy of verdure, for a cool retreat in the midst of
summer. Others again may lead to some sequestered spot,
and terminate in a secluded rustic seat, or conduct to some

shaded dell or rugged eminence, where an extensive prospect
can be enjoyed. Indeed, the genius of the place must sug-
gest the direction, length, and number of the walks to belaid
out, as no fixed rules can be imposed in a subject so ever-
changing and different. It should however, never be forgot-
ten, that the walk ought always to correspond to the scene
it traverses, being rough where the latter is wild and pictur-
esque, sometimes scarcely differing from a common footpath,
and more polished, as the surrounding objects show evidences

of culture and high keeping. In direction^ like the ap-
proach, it should take easy flowing curves, though it may

often turn more abruptly at the interposition of an obstacle.
The chief beauty of curved and bending lines in walks, lies
in the new scenes, which by means of them are opened to the
eye. In the straight walk of half a mile, the whole is seen

at a glance, and there is too often but little to excite the spec-
tator to pursue the search ; but in the modern style, at every

few rods, a new turn in the walk opens a new prospect to the
beholder, and " leads the eye," as Hogarth graphically ex-

pressed it, " a kind of wanton chase," continually affording
new refreshment and variety.
Fences are often among the most unsightly and offensive
objects in our country seats. Some persons appear to have
a passion for subdividing their grounds into a great number
of fields ;
a process which is scarcely ever advisable even in
common farms, but for which there can be no apology in
elegant residences. The close proximity of fences to the
house gives the whole place a confined and mean character.

" The mind," says Repton, " feels a certain disgust under a
sense of confinement in any situation however beautiful." A
wide-spread lawn, on the contrary, where no boundaries are
conspicuous, conveys an impression of ample extent and space
for enjoyment. It is frequently the case that, on that side
of the house nearest the outbuildings, fences are, for conven-

ience, brought in its close neighbourhood, and here they are
easily concealed by plantations ;
but on the other sides, open
and unobstructed views should be preserved, by removing
all barriers not absolutely necessary.
Nothing is more common, in the places of cockneys who
become inhabitants of the country, than a display immedi-

ately around the dwelling of a spruce paling of carpentry,
neatly made, and painted white or green; an abomination
among the fresh fields, of which no person of taste could be
guilty. To fence off a small plot around a fine house in the
midst of a lawn of fifty acres, is a perversity which we could

never reconcile, with even the lowest perception of beauty.
An old stone wall covered with creepers and climbing plants,
may become a picturesque barrier a thousand times superior
to such a fence. But there is never one instance in a thous-

and where any barrier is necessary. Where it is desirable to
separate the house from the level grass of the lawn, let it be
done by an architecturalterrace of stone, or a raised platform
of gravel supported by turf, which will confer importance
and dignity upon the building, instead of giving it a petty
and trifling expression.
Verdant hedges are an elegant substitute for stone or

wooden fences, and we are surprised that their use has not
been hitherto more general. We have ourselves been mak-
ing experiments for the last ten years with various hedge-
plants, and have succeeded in obtaining some hedges which
are now highly admired. Five or six years in this climate,
will, under proper care, be sufficient to produce hedges of
great beauty, capable of withstanding the attacks of every
kind of cattle; barriers, too, which will outlast three or four
generations. The common Arhor Vitce, (or flat Cedar,)
which grows in great abundance in many districts, forms

one of the most superb hedges, without the least care in
trimming ;
the foliage growing thickly, down to the very
ground, and being evergreen, the hedge remains clothed the
whole year. Our common Thorns, and in particular those
known in the nurseries as the Newcastle and Washington

35
thorns, form hedges of ^reat strength and beauty. They are

indeed much better adapted to this climate than the Enghsh
Hawthorn, which often suffers from the unclouded radiance
of our mid-summer sun. In autumn, too, it loses its foliage
much sooner than our native sorts, some of which assume a

brilliant scarlet when the foliage is fading in autumn. In
New-England, the Buckthorn is preferred from its rapid and
luxuriant growth ;
and in the southern states, the Madura,
or Osage Orange is becoming a favourite for its glossy and
polished foliage. The Privet or Prim, is a rapid growing
shrub, well fitted for interior divisions. Picturesque hedges
are easily formed by intermingling a variety of flowering
shrubs, sweet briers, etc., and allowing the whole to grow
together in rich masses. In all cases where hedges are em-
ployed in the natural style of landscape, (and not in close con-
nection with highly artificial objects, buildings, etc..) a more
agreeable eflfect will be produced by allowing the hedge to
grow somewhat irregular in form, or varying it by planting

near it other small trees and shrubs to break the outline, than
by clipping it in even and formal lines. Hedges may be ob-

tained in a single season by planting long shoots of the osier
willow or any other tree which throws out roots easily from
cuttings.
A simple and pleasing barrier, in good keeping with cot-

tage residences, maybe formed of rustic tvork, as it is termed.
For this purpose, stout rods of any of our native forest trees
are chosen, with the ba'-k on, six to ten feet in length ;
these
are sharpened and driven into the ground in the form of a

lattice, or wrought into any figures of trellis that the fancy
may suggest. When covered with luxuriant vines and climb-

ing plants, such a barrier is often admirable for its richness
and variety.
The sunk fence, fosse, or Jia-ha^ is an English invention,

used in separating that portion of the hawn near the house,
frqm the part grazed by deer or cattle, and is only a ditch
sufficiently wide and deep to render communication difficult
on opposite sides. When the ground slopes from the house,
such a sunk fence is invisible to a person near the latter, and

answers the purpose of a barrier without being in the least
obtrusive.
In a succeeding section we shall refer to terraces with their
parapets, which are by far the most elegant barriers for a

highly decorated flower garden, or for the purpose of main-
taining a proper connection between the house and the
grounds, a subject scarcely at all attended to, or the impor-
tance of which, even recognised as yet among us.

SECTION VIII.
TREATMENT OF WATER.
Beautiful effects of tliis element in nature. In what cases it is desirable to attempt the forma-
tion of artificial pieces of water. Regular forms unpleasing. Directions for the formation
of ponds or lakes in the irregular manner.Study of natural lakes. Islands. Planting the
margin. Treatment of natural brooks and rivulets. Cascades and waterfalls. Legitimate
sphere of the art in this department.
The dale
With Woods and shagg'd with mossy rocks,
o'erliung,
Whence on each hand the gushing waters play,
And down the rough cascade white-dashing fail,
Or sleam in lengthened vista through (he trees.

Thompson.
HE delightful and captivating effects of
water in landscapes of every description,

are universally known and admitted! The
boundless sea, the broad full- river, the dashing noisy brook,
and the limpid meandering rivulet, are all possessed of their
peculiar charms ;
and when combined with scenes otherwise
finely disposed and well wooded, they add a hundred fold to
their beauty. The soft and trembling shadows of the sur-

rounding trees and hills, as they fall upon a placid sheet of
water, and the brilliant light which the crystal surface reflects
in pure sunshine, mirroring too, at times in its resplendent
bosom, all the cerulean depth and snowy whiteness of the

TREATMENT OP WATER. 277
overhanging sky, give it an almost magical effect in a beau-

tiful landscape. The murmnr of the babbling brook, that
" In linked sweetness long drawn out,"
falls npon the ear in some quiet secluded spot, is inexpressiblv
soothing and delightful to the mind ;

and the distant sound of
a cascade that tumbles, with an almost musical dash, over its
bed of moss-covered rock, is one of the most attractive and

pleasing that we can hear, in the course of our walk of inspec-
tion over the grounds of a country seat. The simplest or the
most monotonous view may be enlivened by the presence of

water in any considerable quantity, and the most picturesque
and fascinating landscape, will by its addition, receive a new
charm inexpressibly enhancing all its former interest. In
short, as no place can be considered perfectly complete without
either a water view, or water upon its own grounds, wherever
it does not so exist, and can be easily formed by artificial
means, no man will neglect to take advantage of so fine a
source of embellishment as is this element in some of its va-

ried forms.
" Fleuves, ruasseiux, beaux lacs, claires fontaines.

Venez, poitez partout la vie ct la fratcheur ;
Ah ! qui peut remplacer votre aspect enchanteur ?
De pies il nous amuse, et de loin nous invite

C'est le premier qu'on cherche, ct le dernier qu'on quitte.
Vous fecondes les champs vous repetez les cieux,
;
Vous enchantez I'oreille, et vous charmez les yeux.''
In this country, where the progress of gardening and im-

provements of this nature, is rather shown in a simple and
moderate embellishment of a large number of villas and coun-
try seats, than by a lavish and profuse expenditure on a few en-

tailed places, as in the residences of the English nobility, the
formation of large pieces of water at great cost, and extreme

labour, would be considered both absurd and uncalled for.
Indeed, when nature has so abundantly spread before us such

an endless variety of supero lakes, rivers, and streams of every
size and description, the efforts ofman to rival her great works
by mere imitation, would in many cases only become ludi-
crous by contrast.
When, however, a number of perpetual springs cluster to-
gether, or a rill, rivulet, or brook, runs through an estate in
such a manner as easily to be improved or developed into
an elegant expanse of water in any part of the grounds, we
should not hesitate to take advantage of so fortunate a cir-
cumstance. Besides the additional beauty conferred upon

the whole place by such an improvement, the proprietor may
also derive an inducement from its utility ; for the possession
of a small lake, well stocked with carp, trout, pickerel, or

any other of the excellent pond fish, which thrive and propa-
gate extremely well in clear frseh water, is a real advantage
which no one will undervalue.
There is no department of Landscape Gardening which

appears to have been less understood in this country, than the
management of water. Although there have not been many
attempts made in this way, yet the occasional efforts that
have been put forth in various parts of the country, in the

shape of square, circular, and oblong pools of water, in-
dicate a state of knowledge extremely meagre, in the art of
Landscape Gardening. The highest scale to which these

pieces of water rise in our estimation is that of respectable
horse-ponds ; — beautiful objects they certainly are not. They

are generally round or square, with perfectly tame, flat banks
on every side, and resemble in tameness and insipidity, a huge

basin set down in the middle of a green lawn. They
are even, in most cases, denied the benefit of shade, except,
TREATMENT OF WATER. 279
perhaps occasionally a few strags^ling trees can be said to
fulfil that purpose ;

for richly tufted margins, and thickets
of overhanging shrubs, are accompaniments rare indeed.*

Lakes or ponds are the most beautiful forms in which
water can be displayed in the grounds of a country resi-
dence. f They invariably produce their most pleasing effects
Simple and easy,, as would appear the artificial imitation of these variations
of nature, yet io an unpractised hand and a tasteless mind, nothing is really
more difficult. To produce meagre right and geometrical forms is ex-
lines
tremely easy in any of the fine arts, but to give the grace, spirit, and variety of
nature, requires both tasteful perception and some practice; hence, in the in-
fancy of any art, the productions are characterized by extreme meagreness and
simplicity ;
— of which the first efforts to draw the human figure or to form arti-
ficial pieces of water, are good examples.
Brown, who was one of the first practitioners of the modern style abroad, and
who just saw far enough to lay aside the ancient formal method, without ap-
preciating nature sufficiently to be will'ng to take her for his model, once dis-
graced half of :he finest places in England with his tame bald pieces of artificial
water, and round, formal, clumps of trees. Mr. Knight, in his elegant poem,
" The Landscape," spiritedly rebuked this practice in the following lines :
—
" Shaved to the brink our brooks arc taught to flow
WJiere no obtruding leaves or branches grow
While clumps of shrubs bespot each winding vale
Open alike to every gleam and gale :
Each secret haunt and deep recess display'd,

And intricacy banished with its shade.
Hence, hence! thou haggard fiend, however call'd,

The meagre genius of the bare and bald
Thy spade and mattock here at length lay down,
And follow to the tomb, thy favourite, Brown ;
Thy favourite Brown, whose innovating hand,

First dealt thy curses o'er this fertile land
First taught the walk in spiral forms to move,
And from their haunts the secret Dryads drove ;
With clumps bespotted o'er the mountain's side,

And bade the stream 'twixt banks close-shaven glide;
Banish'd the thickets of high tow'ring wood
Which hung reflected o'er the glassy flood."
I Owing to the immense scale upon which nature displays this fine element
in North America, every sheet of water of moderate or small size, is almost uni-
when they are below the level of the house ; as, if above,
they are lost to the view, and if placed on a level with the
eye they are seen to much less advantage. We conceive that
they should never be introduced where they do not naturally
exist, except with the concurrence of the following circum-
stances. First, a sufficient quantity of ruiniing water to
maintain at all times an overflow, for nothing can be more
unpleasant than a stagnant pool, as nothing is more delight-
ful than pure, clear, limpid water ; and secondly, some na-
tural formation of ground, in which the proposed water can
be expanded, that will not only make it appear natural, but

diminish, a hundred fold, the expense of formation.
The finest and most appropriate place to form a lake, is in
the bottom of a small valley, rather broad in proportion to its
length. The soil there, will probably be found rather clayey

and retentive of moisture, and the rill or brook, if not already
running through it, could doubtless be easily diverted thither.
There, by damming up the lower part of the valley with a
head of greater or less height, the water may be thrown

back so as to form the whole body of the lake.
The first subject which will demand the attention, after
the spot has been selected for the lake or pond, and the height
of the head, and consequent depth of water determined upon,
is the proposed form or outline of the whole. And, as we
have already rejected all regular and geometric forms, in
scenes where either natural or picturesque beauty is supposed
to predominate, we must turn our attention to examples for
imitation in another direction.
If then, the improver will recur to the most beautiful,
versally called a jtoml. And many a beautifid, limpid, natuial expanse which
in England would be thought a charming lake, is here simply a pond. The
term may be equally correct, but is by no means as elegant.
small, natural lake within his reach, he will have a subject
to study, and an example to copy well worthy of imitation.

If he examine minutely and carefully such a body of water,
with all its accompaniments, he will find that it is not only
delightfully wooded and overshadowed by a variety of vegeta-
tion of all heights, from the low sedge that grows on its open
margin, to the tall tree that bends its branches over its limpid
wave ;
but he will also perceive a striking peculiarity in its
irregular outline. This, he will observe is neither round,

square, oblong, or any modification of these regular figures,
but full of bays and projections, sinuosities and recesses

of various forms and sizes, sometimes bold, and reaching
a considerable way out into the body of the lake, at others
smaller and more varied in shape and connection. In the
height of the banks, too, he will probably observe considerable
variety. At some places, the shore will steal gently and
gradually away from the level of the water, while at others
it will rise suddenly and abruptly, in banks more or less
steep, irregular, and rugged. Rocks and stones covered with

mosses, will here and there jut out from the banks, or lie
along the margin of the water, and the whole scene will be
full of interest from the variety, intricacy, and beauty of the
various parts. If he will accurately note in his mind all
these varied forms — their separate outlines, the way in which

they blend into one another, and connect themselves together,
and the effect which, surrounding the water, they produce
as a whole, he will have some tolerably correct ideas of the
way in which an artificial lake ought to be formed.
Let him go still farther now, in imagination, and suppose

the banks of this natural lake, without being otherwise alter-
ed, entirely denuded of grass, shrubs, trees, and verdure of

every description, remaining characterized only by their orig-
36
inal form and outline; this will aîve him a more complete
view of the method in which his labours must commence ;
for uncouth and apparently mis-shapen as those banks are

and must be, when raw and unclothed, to exhibit all their
variety and play of light and shadow when verdant and

complete, so the original form of the banks and margin of the
piece of artificial water, must, in order finally to assume the
beautiful or picturesque, be made to assume outlines equally

rough and harsh in their raw and incomplete state.
It occasionally happens, though rarely, that around the
hollow or valley where it is proposed to form the piece of

water, the ground rises in such irregular form, and is so un-
dulating, receding, and projecting in various parts, that when

the water is dammed up by the head below, the natural out-
line formed by the banks already existing, is sufficiently
varied, to produce a pleasing effect without much further
preparatory labour. This, when it occurs, is exceedingly

fortunate ;
but the examples are so unfrequent, that we must
here make our suggestions upon a different supposition.
When, therefore, it is found that the form of the intended

lake would not be such as is desirable, it must be made so
by digging. In order to do this with any exactness, the im-
prover should take his stand at that part of the ground where
the dam or head is to be formed, and raising his levelling in-
strument to the exact height to which the intended lake

shall rise, sweep round with his eye upon the surrounding
sides of the valley, and indicate by placing marks there, the
precise line to which the water will reach. This can easily
be done throughout the whole circumference, by a few changes

of position.
"When the outline is ascertained in this way, and marked
out, the improver can, with the occasional aid of the level-
ler, easily determine where and how he can make alterations

and improvements. He will then excavate along the new
margin, until he makes the water line, (as shown by the in-
strument,) penetrate to all the various bays, inlets, and curves
of the proposed lake. In making these irresfular variations,

sometimes bold and striking, at others fainter and less per-
ceptible, he can be guided, as we have already suggested, by

no fixed rules, but such as he may deduce from the opera-
tions of nature on the same materials, or by imbuing his mind
with the beauty of forms in graceful and refined art. In
highly polished scenery, elegant curves and graceful sweeps
should enter into the composition of the outline; but in wilder
or more picturesque situations, more irregular and abrupt
variations, will be found most suitable and appropriate.
The intended water outline once fully traced and under-
stood, the workmen can now proceed to form the banks. All
this time the improver Vvîll keep in mind the supposed ap-
pearance of the bank of a natural lake stripped of its vegeta-
tion, etc., which will greatly assist him in his progress. In
some places the banks will rise but little from the water, at
others one or two feet, and at others perhaps three, four, or

six times as much. This they will do, not in the same man-
ner in all portions of the outline, sloping away with a like
gradual rise on both sides, for this would inevitably produce
tameness and monotony, but in an irregular and varied man-
ner ; sometimes falling back gradually, sometimes starting
up perpendicularly, and again overhanging the bed of the lake
itself
All this can be easily effected, while the excavations of
those portions of the bed which require deepening are going
on. And the better portions of the soil obtained from the
latter, will serve to raise the banks when they are too low.
It is of but little consequence how rouo^hly and irregularly
the projections, elevations, etc., of the banks and outlines are
at first made, so that some general form and connection is
preserved. The danger lies on the other side, viz : in pro-
ducing a whole too tame and insipid, for we have found by

experience, how difficult it is to make workmen un-
the best
derstand how to operate in any other way than in regular

curves and right lines. Besides, newly moved earth, by set-
tling, and the influence of rains, etc., tends, for some time,
towards greater evenness and equality of surface.

Mr. Price, in his unrivalled instructions for the creation of
pieces of artificial water, has suggested another excellent
method by which the outlines and banks of lakes, may

be varied. This is, first, by cutting down the banks, in
some places nearest the water, perpendicularly, and then un-

dermining them. This will produce a gradual variation in
some parts, which, falling to pieces, will produce new and
irregular accidental outlines. When, by the action of rain
and frost, added to that of the water itself, large fragments
of mould tumble from the hollowed banks of rivers or lakes,

these fragments, by the accumulation of other mould, often
lose their rude and broken form, are covered with the fresh-
est grass, and enriched with tufts of natural flowers ; and

though detached from the bank, and upon a lower level, still
appear connected with it, and vary its outline in the softest
and most pleasing manner. As fragments of the same kind

will always be detached from ground that is undermined, so
by their means the same effects may designedly be produced
and they will suggest numberless intricacies and varieties of
a soft and pleasing, as well as of a broken kind.
It will of course be well understood that we have here not
supposed our proposed lake to be located in a valley that

must be filled to the brim, or in a tame flat when the water
would rise to the same level as the adjacent ground. In such
situations there could be but little room for the display of a
high degree of picturesque beauty. On the contrary, when

the surrounding ground in many places rises gradually, or is
naturally higher than the proposed level of the water, there
is room for all the variety of banks of various heights, form,

and outline, which so spring out of the neighbouring undu-
lations and eminences, and connect themselves with them,
as to appear perfectly natural and in proper keeping.
In arranging these outlines and banks, we should study
the effect at the points from which they will generally be
viewed. Some pieces of water in valleys, are looked down

upon from other and higher parts of the demesne ; others,
(and this is most generally the case,) are only seen from the
adjoining walk, "at some point or points where the latter ap-
proaches the lake. They are most generally seen from one,
and seldom from more than two sides. When a lake is
viewed from above, its contour should be studied as a whole;

but when it is only seen from one or more sides or points,
the beauty of the coup d ^ceil from those positions can often
be greatly increased by some trifling alterations in arrange-

ment. A piece of water which is long and comparatively
narrow, appears extremely different in opposite points of
view ;
if seen lengthwise from either extremity, its apparent
breadth and extent is much increased; while, if the spectator
be placed on one side and look across, it will seem narrow

and insignificant. Now, although the form of an artificial
lake of moderate size should never be much less in breadth

than in length, yet the contrary is sometimes unavoidably
the case ;
and being so, we should by all means avail our-
selves of those well known laws in perspective, which will
place them in the best possible position, relative to the spec-
tator.
If the improver desire to render his banks still more pic-
turesque, resembling the choicest wiorceaw.T of natural banks,
he should go a step farther in arranging his materials before
he introduces t?ie water, or clothes the margin with vegetation.
In analyzing the finest portions of natural banks, it will
be observed that their peculiar characteristics often depend

on other objects, besides the mere ground of the surrounding
banks, and the trees and verdure with which they are clothed.
These are, rocks of various size, forms, and colours, often pro-
jecting out of, or holding up the bank in various places ; stones
sometimes imbedded in the soil, sometimes lying loosely

along the shore ;
and lastly, old stumps of trees with gnarled
roots, whose decaying hues are often extremely mellow and

agreeable to the eye. All these have much to do with the
expression of a truly picturesque bank, and cannot be exclu-
ded or taken away from it without detracting largely from
its character. There is no reason, therefore, in an imitation
of nature, why we should not make use of all her materials
to produce a similar effect ; and although in the raw and
rude state of the banks at first, they may have a singular and
rather outre aspect, stuck round and decorated here and

there with large rocks, smaller stones, and old stumps of
trees ;
yet it must be remembered that this is only the chaotic
state, from which the new creation is to emerge, more per-
fectly formed and completed ; and also that the appearance
of these rocks and stumps, when covered with mosses, and
partially overgrown with a profusion of luxuriant vegetation

and climbing plants, will be as beautifully picturesque after
a little time has elapsed, as it is now uncouth and uninviting.

Islands generally contribute greatly to the beauty of a

piece of water. They serve, still farther, to increase the va-
riety of outline, and to break up the wide expanse of liquid,

into secondary portions, without injuring the effect of the
whole. The striking contrast too, between their verdure,
the colour of their margins, composed of variously tinted
soils and stones, and the still, smooth water around them,
softened and blended as this contrast is, by their shadows
reflected back from the limpid element, gives additional rich-
ness to the picture.
The distribution of islands in a lake or pond, requires
some judgment. They will always appear most natural
when sufficiently near the shore, on either side, to maintain
in appearance some connection with it. Although islands

do sometimes occur near the middle of natural lakes, yet the
effect is by no means good; as it not only breaks and distracts

the effect of the whole expanse by dividing it into two dis-
tinct parts, but it always indicates a shallowness or want of

depth in the water where it should be deepest.
There are two situations where it is universally admitted
that islands may be happily introduced. These are, at the in-
let and the exit of the body of water. In many cases, where
the stream which supplies the lake is not remarkable for size,
and will add nothing to the appearance of the whole view

from the usual points of sight, it may be concealed by an
island or a small group of islands, placed at some little dis-
tance in front of it. The head or dam of a lake too, is often
necessarily so formal and abrupt, that it is difficult to make

it appear natural and in good keeping with the rest of the
margin. The introduction of an island or two, placed near
the main shore, on either side, and projecting as far as pos-
sible before the dam, will greatly diminish this disagreeable

formality, particularly if well clothed with a rich tuft of
shrubs and overhanging bushes.

X Except in these two instances, islands should be generally
placed opposite the salient points of the banks, or near those

places where small breaks or promontories run out into the
water. In such situations, they will increase the irregularity
of the outline, and lend it additional spirit and animation.

Should they, on the other hand, be seated in or near the
marginal curve and indentations, they will only serve to clog
up these recesses ; and while their own figures are lost in
these little bays where they are hidden, by lessening the

already existing irregularities, they will render the whole
outline tame and spiritless.
On one or two of these small islands, little rustic habita-
tions, if it coincide with the taste of the proprietor, may be

made for different aquatic birds or water fowl, which will
much enliven the scene by their fine plumage. Among
these the swan is pre-eminent for its beauty and graceful-
ness. Abroad, they are the almost constant accompaniments
of water in the ground of country residences ;
and it cannot
be denied that, floating about in the limpid wave with their
snow-white plumage and superbly curved necks, they are ex-
tremely elegant objects.
After having arranged the banks, reared up the islands,
and completely formed the bed of the proposed lake, the im-
prover will next proceed, at the proper period, to finish his
labours by clothing the newly formed ground, in various
parts, with vegetation. This may be done immediately, if it
be desirable ;
or if the season be not favourable, it may be de-
ferred until the banks, and all the newly formed earth, have
had time to settle and assume their final forms, after the dam
has been closed, and the whole basin filled to its intended
height.
Planting the margins of pieces of water, if they should be

of much extent, must evidently proceed upon the same lead-
ing principle that we have already laid down for ornamental

plantations in other situations. That is, there must be trees
of different heights and sizes, and underwood and shrubs of

lower growth, disposed sometimes singly, at others in masses,
groups, and thickets ;

in all of which forms, connection must
be preserved, and the whole must be made to blend well to-
gether, while the different sizes and contours will prevent

any sameness and confusion. On the retreating dry banks,
the taller and more sturdy deciduous and evergreen trees, as
the oak, ash, etc. maybe planted, and nearer by, the different
willows, the elm, the alder, and other trees that love amoister
situation, will thrive well. It is indispensably necessary in

order to produce breadth of effect and strong rich contrasts,
that underwood should be employed to clothe many parts of
the banks. Without it, the stems of trees will appear loose
and straggling, and the screen will be so imperfect as to al-
low a free passage for the vision in every direction. For this
purpose, we have in all our woods, swamps, and along our

brooks, an abundance of hazels, hawthorns, alders, spice
woods, winter berries, azaleas, spireas, and a hundred other
fine low shrubs, growing wild, which are by nature extremely
well fitted for such sites, and will produce immediate effect
on being transplanted. These may be intermingled, here

and there, with the swamp button-bush, [Cephalanthus)
which bears handsome white globular heads of blossoms,
and the swamp magnolia, which is highly beautiful and fra-
grant. On cool north banks, among shelves of proper soil,
upheld by projecting ledges of rock, our native Kalmias and

37
Rhododendrons, the common and mountain laurels, may be

made to flourish. The Virginia Creeper, and other beautiful
wild vines, may be planted at the roots of some of the trees

to clamber up their stems, and the wild Clematis so placed
that its luxuriant festoons shall hang gracefully from the pro-
jecting boughs of some of the overarching trees. Along the
lower banks and closer margins, the growth of smaller plants
will be encouraged, and various kinds of wild ferns may be
so planted as partially to conceal, overrun, and hide the rocks
and stumps of trees, while trailing plants, as the periwinkle
and moneywort, [Lysatnachia iiimitniilaria,) will still far-
ther increase the intricacy and richness of such portions. In

this way, the borders of the lake will resemble the finest por-
tions of the banks of picturesque and beautiful natural dells
and pieces of water, and the effect of the whole when time
has given it the benefit of its softening touches, if it has been
thus properly executed, will not be much inferior to those
matchless bits of fine landscape. A more striking and artis-
tical effect will be produced by substituting for native trees

and shrubs, common on the banks of streams and lakes in
the country, only rare foreign shrubs, vines, and aquatic
plants of hardy growth, suitable for such situations. While

these are arranged in the same manner as the former, from
their comparative novelty, especially in such sites, they will
at once convey the idea of refined and elegant art.
If any person will take the trouble to compare a piece of

water so formed, when complete, with the square or circular
sheets or ponds now in vogue among us, he must indeed be
little gifted with an appreciation of the beautiful, if he do not
at once perceive the surpassing merit of the natural style.
In the old method, the banks, level, or rising alike on all

sides, without any, or but few surrounding trees, carefully-
gravelled along the edge of the water, or what is still worse,

walled up, slope away in a tame, dull, uninteresting grass
field. In the natural method, the outline is varied, sometimes
receding from the eye, at others stealing out, and inviting the
gaze — the banks here slope off gently with a gravelly beach,
and there rise abruptly in different heights, abounding with
hollows, projections, and eminences, showing various colour-
ed rocks and soils, intermingled with a luxuriant vegetation
of all sizes and forms, corresponding to the different situations.
Instead of allowing the sun to pour down in one blaze of

light, without any objects to soften it with their shade, the
thick overhanging groups and masses of trees cast here and
there deep cool shadows. Stealing through the leaves and
branches, the sun-beams quiver and play upon the surface of
the flood, and are reflected back in dancing light, while their
full glow upon the broader and more open portions of the
lake is relieved and brought into harmony by the cooler and
softer tints mirrored in the water from the surrounding hues
and tints of banks, rocks, and vegetation.
Natural brooks and rivulets can often be improved great-

ly by a few trifling alterations or additions, when they chance
to come within the bounds of a country residence. Occa-
sionally, they can be diverted from their original beds if they
should run through distant and unfrequented parts of the
demesne, and brought through nearer portions of the pleas^
ure-grounds or lawn. This however, can only be done, with
propriety, when there is a natural indication in the grounds
through which it is proposed to divert it — as a succession
or hollows, etc., to form the future channel. Sometimes, a
brisk little brook can be divided into two smaller ones for
some distance, again uniting at a point below, creating addi-
tional diversity by its varying form.*-

Brooks, rivulets, and even rills, may frequently be greatly
improved by altering the form of their beds in various places.
Often, by merely removing a few trifling obstructions, loose
stones, branches, etc.. or hollowing away the adjoining bank

for a short distance, fine little expanses or pools of still water
may be formed, which are happily contrasted with the more
ruo-ged course of the rest of the stream. Such improvements
of these minor water courses, are much preferable to widen-
ing them into flat, insipid, tame canals or rivers, which,

though they present greater surface to the eye, are a thou-
sand times inferior in the impetuosity of motion, and musical,

'babbling sound,' so delightful in rapid brooks and rivulets.f
Cascades and ivater-falls are the most charming features
of natural brooks and rivulets. Whatever may be their size
they are always greatly admired, and in no way, is the pe-
culiar stillness of the air experienced in the country more

pleasingly broken, than by the melody of falling water.
Even the gurgling and mellow sound of a small rill, leaping
* The Abbe Delille has given us a fine image of a brook thus divided, in the
following Hnes :
—
"Plus loin, il se s^pare en deux ruisseaux agiles,
Clui, se-suivant I'un I'autre avec rapidite,
Disputent de vitess et de limpiditfe ;
i
Puis, rejoignant tons deux lelit qui les rassemble,

Murmurent enchantes de voyager ensemble. ^
Ainsi, toujours arrant de d6tour en detour,

Muet, bruyant, paisible, inquiet tour k tour,
Sous mille aspects divers son cours se renouvelle."
\ The most successful improvement of a natural brook that we have ever wit-
nessed, has been effected in the grounds of Henry Sheldon, Esq. of Tarrytown,
N. Y. The great variety and beauty displayed in about a fourth of a mile of the
course of this stream, its pretty cascades, rustic bridges, rockwork, etc., reflect
the highest credit on the taste of that gentleman.

over a few fantastic stones, has a kind of lulling fascination

for the ear, and when this sound can be brought so near as
to be distinctly heard at the residence itself, it is peculiarly
delightful. Now any one who examines a small cascade at
all attentively, in a natural brook, will see that it is often

formed in the simplest manner by the interposition of a few
large projecting stones, which partially dam up the current
and prevent the ready flow of the water. Such little cas-
cades are easily imitated, by following exactly the same course,

and damming up the little brook artificially; studiously
avoiding however, any formal and artificial disposition of the
stones or rocks employed.
Larger water-falls and cascades cannot usually be made

without some regular head or breastwork, to oppose more
firmly the force of the current. Such heads may be formed
of stout plank and well prepared clay ;* or, which is greatly
preferable, of good masonry laid in water cement. After a
head is thus formed it must be concealed entirely from the

eye by covering it both upon the top and sides with natural
rocks and stones of various sizes, so ingeniously disposed, as
to appear fully to account for, or be the cause of, the water-
fall.
The axe of the original backwoodsman appears to have

left such a mania for clearing behind it, even in those por-
tions of the Atlantic states where such labour should be for-
pver silenced, that some of our finest places in the country

will be found much desecrated and mutilated by its careless
and unpardonable use ; and not only are fine plantations
• It is found that strong loam or any tenacious earth well prepared by pud-
dling or beating in water is equally impervious to water as clay ; and may there-
fore be used for lining the sides or dams of bodies of made water when such
materials are required.
often destroyed, but the banks of some of our finest streams
and prettiest rivulets partially laid bare by the foul aid of

this instrument, guided by some tasteless hand. Wherever
fi.ne brooks or water courses are thus mutilated, one of the
most necessary and obvious improvements is to reclothe them
with plantations of trees and underwood. In planting their
banks anew, much beauty and variety can often be produced

by employing different growths, and arranging them as we
have directed for the margins of lakes and ponds. In some
places where easy, beautiful slopes and undulations of ground

border the streams, gravel, soft turf, and a few simple groups
of trees, will be the most natural accompaniments ;
in others
where the borders of the stream are broken into rougher,
more rocky and precipitous ridges, all the rich wildness and
intricacy of low shrubs, ferns, creeping and climbing plants,
may be brought in to advantage. Where the extent to be
thus improved is considerable, the trouble may be lessened

by planting the larger growth, and sowing the seeds of the
smaller plants mingled together. Prepare the materials, and
time and nature, with but little occasional assistance, will ma-
ture and soften, and blend together the whole, in their own
matchless and inimitable manner.
From all that we have suggested in these limited remarks,
it will be seen that we would only attempt in our operations
with water, the elegant or picturesque imitations of natural
lakes or ponds, and brooks, rivulets, and streams. Such are
the only forms in which this unrivalled element can be dis-
played so as to harmonize agreeably with natural and pic-

turesque scenery. In the latter, there can be no apology
made for the introduction of straight canals, round or oblong
pieces of water, and all the regular forms of the geometric
mode ;
because they would evidently be in violent opposi-
tion to the whole character and expression of fine landscape.

In architectural, or flower gardens, (of which we shall here-
after have occasion to offer some remarks,) where a different
and highly artificial arrangement prevails, all these regular

forms, with various jets, fountains, etc., may be employed
with good taste, and will combine well with the other acces-
sories of such places. But in the grounds of a residence in
the modern style, nature, if possible, still more purified, as
in the great chefs d^ceuvres of art, by an ideal standard,
should be the great aim of the Landscape Gardener. And

with water especially, only beautiful when allowed to take
its own flowing forms and graceful motions, more than with
any other of our materials, all appearance of constraint and
formality should be avoided. If art be at all manifest, it
should discover itself only, as in the exquisitely painted land-

scape, in the reproduction of nature in her most elegant devel-
opments. Indeed, many of the most celebrated authors who
have treated of this subject, appear to agree, that the pro-
ductions of the artist in this branch, are most perfect, as they

approach most nearly to fac-similes of nature herself: and
though art should have formed the whole, its employment
must be nowhere discovered by the spectator ; or as Tasso
has more elegantly expressed the idea
" l'aRTE CHE TUTTO FA, NULLA SI SCOPRE."

SECTION IX.
LANDSCAPE OR RURAL ARCHITECTURE.

Difference between a city and a country house. The characteristic features of a country house.
Examination of the leading principles in Rural Architecture. The different styles. The
Grecian style, its merits and defects, and its associations. The Boman and Italian styles.
The Pointed or Gothic style. The Tudor Mansion. The English Cottage, or Rural Gothic
style. These styles considered in relation to situation or scenery. Individual tastes. En-
trance Lodges.
" A bouse amid the quiet country's shades,

"With length'ning vistas, ever suuny glades ;
Beauty and fragrance clustering o'er the wall,

A porch inviting, and an ample hall."
RCHITECTURE, either
practically considered, or view-
ed as an art of taste, is a subject
^\ so important and comprehen-

sive in itself, that volumes
would be requisite to do it justice. Buildings of every de-
scription, from the humble cottage to the lofty temple, are
objects of such constant recurrence in every habitable part
of the globe, and are so strikingly indicative of the intelli-
gence, character, and teiste of the inhabitants, that they pos-

sess in themselves a great and peculiar interest for the mind.
To have a "local habitation," — a permanent dwelling, that
we can give the impress of our own mind, and identify with
our own existence, — appears to be the ardent wish, sooner
RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 297
or later felt, of every man : excepting only those wandering

sons of Ishmael, who pitch their tents with the same indiffer-
ence, and as little desire to remain fixed, in the flowery plains
of Persia, as in the sandy deserts of Zahara or Arabia.

In a city or town, or its immediate vicinity, where space
is limited, where buildings stand crowded together, and de-
pend for their attractions entirely upon the style and manner
of their constniciiorl, mere architectural effect, after conven-
ience and fitness are consulted, is of course the only point to
be kept in view. There the facade which meets the eye of
the spectator from the public street, is enriched and made at-
tractive by the display of architectural style and decoration;

commensurate to the magnitude or importance of the edifice,
and the whole, so far as the effect of the building is concerned,
comes directly within the province of the architect alone.
With respect to this class of dwellings, we have little com-

plaint to make, for many of our town residences are highly
elegfant and beautiful. But how shall we desiornate that siu£ru-
lar perversity of taste, or rather that total want of it. which

prompts the man, who. under the name of a villa residence,
piles up in the free open coimtry, amid the green fields, and
beside the wanton gracefulness of luxuriant nature, a stiff
modern 'three story brick,' which, like a well bred cockney

with a true horror of the country, doggedly seems to refuse
to enter into harmonious combination with any other object

in the scene, but only serves to call up the exclamation,
Avaunt stiff pile ! why did'st thou stray
From blocks congenial in Broadway!
Yet almost daily we see built up in the country huge com-

binations of boards and shingles, without the least attempts at
adaptation to situation ; and square masses of brick start up

3S
here and there, in the verdant slopes of our village suburbs,

appearing as if they had been transplanted, by some unlucky
incantation, from the close-packed neighbourhood of city resi-
dence, and left accidentally in the country.
What then are the proper characteristics of a rural resi-
dence? The answer to this in a few words is, such a dwelling,

as from its various accommodations, not only gives ample
space for all the comforts and conveniences of a country life,
but by its varied and picturesque form and outline, its porch-
es, verandas, etc., also appears to have some reasonable con-

nection, or be in perfect keeping, with surrounding nature.
Architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the

heauty of the landscape or situation. Buildings of almost
every description, and particularly those for the habitation of
man, will be considered by the mind of taste, not only as ar-
chitectural objects of greater or less merit, but as component

parts of the general scene; united with the surrounding lawn,
embosomed in tufts of trees and shrubs, if properly designed

and constructed, they will even serve to impress a character
upon the surrounding landscape. Their eifect will frequently
be good or bad, not merely as they are excellent or indifferent

examples of a certain style of building, but as they are hap-
pily or unhappily combined with the adjacent scenery. The
intelligent observer will readily appreciate the truth of this,
and acknowledge the value as well as necessity of something

besides architectural knowledge. And he will perceive
how much more likely to be successful, are the efforts of him,
who in composing and constructing a rural residence, calls
in to the aid of architecture, the genius of the landscape ;

—
whose mind is imbued with a taste for beautiful scenery, and
who so elegantly and ingeniously engrafts art upon nature,
as to heighten her beauties ; while by the harmonious union

he throws a borrowed charm around his own creation.
The English, above all other people, are celebrated for
their skill in what we consider rural adaptation. Their
residences seem to be a part of the scenes where they are sit-
uated ;
for their exquisite taste and nice perception of the
beauties of Landscape Gardening and rural scenery, lead them
to erect those picturesque edifices, which, by their varied out-
lines, seem in exquisite keeping with nature; while by the
numberless climbing plants, shrubs, and fine ornamental trees
with which they surround them, they form beautiful pictures

of rural beauty. Even the various offices connected with the
dwelling, partially concealed by groups of foliage, and con-

tributing to the expression of domestic comfort, while they
extend out, and give importance to the main edifice, also
serve to connect it, in a less abrupt manner, with the

grounds.
So different indeed is the general character of the cottage
and villa architecture of England, that many an American, on

looking over the illustrated works of their writers on domestic
architecture, while he acknowledges their high scenic beauty,
generally regards them in much the same light as he does
Moore's description of the vale of Cashmere, in LallaRookh
beautiful imaginative creations of the artist, but which can
never be realized in every day life, and a comfortable dwell-
ing. The fact however is, it is well known, quite the con-
trary ;
for many of the English country residences are really
far more beautiful than the pictorial representations ; and no

people gather around themselves more of those little comforts
and elegancies, which make up the sum total of home, than
the inhabitants of that highly cultivated and gardenesque
countrv.
The leading principles which should be our guide in Land-
scape or Rural Architecture, have been condensed by an able

writer in the followino: heads. " 1st, As a useful art, in fit-
ness FOR THE END IN VIEW : 2d, as dXi art of design, in
EXPRESSION OF PURPOSE 3d, as an art of taste, in expres-

:
sion OF SOME particular ARCHITECTURAL STYLE."

The most enduring and permanent source of beauty is,
undoubtedly, utility. In a country residence, therefore, of

whatever character, the comfort and convenience of the va-
rious members of the family being the first and most impor-
tant consideration, the quality of fitness is universally appre-
ciated and placed in the first rank. In many of those articles
of furniture or apparel which luxury or fashion has brought

into use, fitness or convenience often gives way to beauty of
form or texture : but in a habitation, intended to shelter us
from the heat and cold, as well as to give us an opportunity to
dispense the elegant hospitalities of refined life — the neglect
of the various indispensable conveniences and comforts which
an advanced state of civilization require, would be but poorly
compensated for, by a fanciful exterior or a highly ornate
style of building. Farther than this, fitness will extend to
the choice of situation; selecting a sheltered site, neither too
high, as upon the exposed summit of bleak hills, nor too low,
as in the lowest bottoms of damp valleys ; but preferring those
middle grounds which, while they afford a free circulation
of air, and a fine prospect, are not detrimental to the health
or enjoyment of the occupants. A proper exposure is an-

other subject, worthy of the attention of either the architect
or proprietor, as there are stormy, and pleasant aspects or
exposures in all climates.
However much the principle offitness may be appreciated

and acted upon in the United States, we have certainly great
need of apology for the flagrant and almost constant viola-
tion of the second principle, viz : the expression of purpose.
By the expression of purpose in buildings, is meant that arch-
itectural character, or ensemble, which distinctly points out
the particular use or destination for which the edifice is in-
tended. In a 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 build-
ing. 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 chim-
neys, 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 sur-
mount 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 ele-
gant Venetian shutters — to say nothing of mansions with

none but concealed chimney-tops, and without porches or
appendages 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 archi-
tecture, although independent of any particular style ;

in
the same manner as the reasons for things are altogether in-
dependent of the language in which they are conveyed. As in
literary composition, no beauty of language can ever com-

pensate for poverty of sense, so in architectural composition,
no beauty of style can ever compensate for want of expres-

sion of purpose." Applying this excellent principle to our
own country houses and their offices or outbuildings, 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 piaz-
za, four, six, or eight lofty wooden columns are seen sup-
porting 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 dwel-
ling-house, and especially in a country residence. These are
the chimney-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 stu-
diously conceal them. But in a climate where fires are re-
quisite 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 dwel-
ling in that climate. Chimney-tops being never, or rarely,
placed on those buildings intended for the inferior animals,

are also undoubtedly in a measure, indicative of human hab-
iations. Instead, therefore, 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.
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 unor-
namenied part. Examples are not wanting, in all the differ-
ent styles of architecture, of handsome and characteristic chim-
neys, 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 arti-
ficial 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 dig-
nity 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 media res, without the friendly prepa-

ration of a single word of introduction. Porches are suscep-
tible of every variety of form and decoration, from the em-
battled and buttressed portal of the Gothic castle, to the lat-
ticed 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 por-
tico.
In this country, no architectural feature is more plainly

expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the piaz-
za. The unclouded splendour and fierce heat of our sum-

mer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real
comfort and enjoyment ; and the long piazzas round many
of our country residences stand in stead 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 piazza, therefore, in this climate, will excuse
its adoption into any style of architecture that may be select-

ed for our domestic uses, although abroad, buildings in the
style in question, as the Gothic, for example, are not usually
accompanied by such an appendage. 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 ar-
chitecture, because they recal to the mind the different uses
to which they are applied, and the several enjoyments con-

nected with them, also contribute greatly to the interest of the
building itself, and heighten its good effect as part of a har-
monious whole, in the landscape. The various projections
and irregularities, caused by verandas, porticoes, etc. serving
to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by grad-
ual transition, with the ground about it.
The reader, who thus recognises features as expressive 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 beauty of style, will confer at all times an-
other, 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 emotions

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 undoubt-

edly a matter of the first importance, and proper care being
taken not to violate j^/ne55, 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 Egyptian, one of the oldest architectural styles, char-
acterized by its heavy colossal forms, and almost sublime ex-

pression, is supposed to have had its origin in caverns hewn
39
in the rocks. The Chinese style, easily known by its wav-

ing 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, are, or can well be, thor-

oughly adapted to our domestic purposes, as they are want-
ing in fitness, and have comparatively few charms of associa-
tion for residents of this country.
The only styles at present in common use for domestic arch-

itecture throughout the enlightened portions of Europe and
America, are the Grecian and Gothic styles, or some modifi-
cations of these two distinct kinds of building. These modi-
fications, which of themselves are now considered styles by
most authors, are, the Roman and Tiiodern 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 Athens, which
still remain in a sufficient degree of preservation to bear am-
ple testimony to the high state of architectural art among the
Greeks. The best works of that period are always charac-
terized by unity and simplicity, and in them the most ex-
quisite proportion is united with a polished elegance of form,

which stamps them perfect works of art. Each of the five
orders was so nicely determined and executed by their match-
less skill, that all modern attempts at improving them has
entirely failed, for they are, individually, 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 wonton wreath."
A single or double portico of columns supporting a lofty-
pediment, the latter connected with the main body of the

building, which in nearly all cases was a simple paralello-
gram, constituted the principal features characteristic of the

pure Grecian architecture. And this very simplicity of form
united with the chasteness of decoration, and elegance of pro-
portion, 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 those choice days of classic literature 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 de-
signed by a Phidias, and her architecture encouraged and
patronized by a Pericles ; when, in short, all the splendour 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 intrinsi-
cally 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 domestic Rural Architecture.
To this we answer, that although this form, fig. 24, is actu-
ally in more common use than any other style, in the United
States, it is greatly inferior to the Gothic and its modifica-
tions in fitness, including under that head all the comforts
and conveniences of country life ;

and also from the prevalence
of horizontal lines and plain surfaces, it is not found to har-
monize with picturesque scenery so happily, as a style afford-

ing more bold and varied outlines.
-'^?^^^^&=^^^sr&
[Fig. 24. Grecian Resideoce.]
We have already avowed that we consider fitness and ex-

pression of purpose two leading principles of the first impor-
tance in Rural Architecture ;
and Grecian architecture in its
pure form, viz : the temple, when applied to the purposes of

domestic life, makes a sad blow at both these established
rules. As a public building, the Greek temple form is per-
fect, 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 in-
gress. Domestic life, on the contrary, requires apartments

of various dimensions, some large and others smaller, which,
to be conveniently, 7?iif;st often be irregularly placed, with
perhaps openings or windows of different sizes or dimensions.

The comforts of a country residence are so various, that ve-
randas, porches, wings of different sizes, and many other
little accommodations expressive of purpose, become necessa-

ry, and therefore when properly arranged, add to the beauty
of Rural Architecture. But the admirer of the pure 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 num-
ber, 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 accommo-
dations may be obtained in any style.
It has been well observed by

modern critics, that there is no
reason to believe the temple
, form was ever, even by the

11=;= ^ Greeks, used for private dwell-
ings, which easily accounts for
g_ our comparative failure, in
^^^^^^ constructing well arranged,
11 g 25 Roman Residence J
Small resideuccs in thls style.
The Romans, either unable to compose in the simple ele-
gance and beauty of the Grecian style, or feeling its want of

adaptation to the multifarious usages of a more luxurious
state of society, created for themselves what is generally con-
* 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, etc., in our country houses, without a murmur, believing that
they are realizing the perfection of domestic comfort.

sidered a less beautiful and perfect, yet which is certainly a
more bold, varied, and, if we may use the term, accommoda-
ting style. The Roman style is distinguished from its
prototype by the introduction of arched openings over the

doors and windows, story piled over story, often with col-
umns 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
[Fig. i!6- View nt Pn : Isle, Ihe resi'Jence of Wm. Denning, Esq., Dutchess Co. N. Y-]
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 fitted it more completely for domestic purposes. For

this reason, a great portion of the finest specimens of the mod-

ern domestic architecture of the other continent, is to be
found in the Roman style.
The Italian style is, we think, decidedly the most beauti-
ful mode for domestic purposes, that has been the direct off-
spring 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 efiect.
" 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 campanile, boldly contrasted with the
horizontal line of roof only broken by a few straggling chim-

ney-tops: the row of equal sized, closely placed windows, con-
trasting with the plain space and single window of the pro-
jecting balcony ; the prominent portico, the continued arcade,
the terraces, and the variously formed and disposed out-build-

ings, all combine to form that picturesque whole, which dis-
tinguishes the modern Italian villa from every other."f

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,
* Loudon's Ency. of Arch. p. 951.

t In this country,owing to the greater number of fires, the effect would be
improved by an additional number of chimney-tops.
[Fig. 27. Mr. Smillie's Villa.]
being formed abroad, of semicylindrical tiles, which give a

distinct and highly marked expression to this 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 pro-
jecting from single windows, or sometimes from connected
rows of windows which are charming places for a coup (Tceil,
or to enjoy the cool breeze ; as they admit, to shelter you

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.

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 the summers of the south of Eu-
rope : while by increased thickness of walls, and closeness of
* In 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
zinc or tin coverings.
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 al-
ready 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 char-
acter, without interfering with convenient internal arrange-

ment, while at the same time, this style has the very great
[Fig- 23. The .New- Haven Suburban Villa.*]
merit of allowing additions to be made in almost any direc-
tion, without injuring the effect of the original structure : in-
deed such is the variety of sizes and forms, which the differ-
ent parts of an Italian villa may take, in perfect accordance

with architectural propriety, that the original edifice frequent-
ly 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
* 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 exceedingly neat

edifices, maybe considered as models for this kind of dwelling. Fig. 28, without
being a precise copy of any one of these buildings, may be taken as a pretty ac-
curate representation of their general appearance.
40
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, even were
it in this single point alone, the Italian style is superior to the
Grecian for rural residences.*
[Kie.29. Residence ol Ulthop Doane, Burlington, New-Jersey]
Pleasing associations are connected with Roman and Ital-

ian architecture, especially to those who have studied their
effect in all the richness and beauty with which they are in-
vested in the countries where they originated ; and they may
* Riverside Villa, the residence of Bishop Doane, at Burlington, New Jersey,

is one of the finest examples of the Itahan style in this country. For the draw-
ings from which yigitres 29 and 30 are engraved, and for the following descrip-
tion, 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.
In designing it, the architect was desired to combine something of the character
of the cottage and mansion, and to afford ample accommodation for the family
be reoârded with a degree of classic interest by every culti-

vated mind. The modern Italian style recalls images of
and guests. In these he was eminently successful and the enlightened pro-
;
prietor pronounces the result, " a model of convenience, with every comfort and
elegance desirable in a residence."
In the accompanying plan, fig. 30, a, is the hall j b, the vestibule; c, the
dining-room; d, the library; e, the drawing-room ;
/, the parlour; g, Bishop
D.'s room; h, dressing-room ; i, water-closets; j, bath-room ; k, store-room; I,
principal stairs ; m, back stairs ; o, conservatory ; p, veranda, etc.
[Fig. 80. Plan of (he Principal Floor.)
The Delaware, at this part of its course, takes a direction nearly west ; and
while the river front, (comprising the drawing-room, hail, and library,) com-
manding the finest water views, which are enjoyed to the greatest advantage in
summer, has a cool aspect the opposite side of the house, including the dining-
:
room, parlour, etc., is the favourite quarter in winter, being fully exposed to the
genial influeuce 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 Burling-
ton, studded with neat cottages and gardens.
A small terrace with balustrade, which surrounds the hall door, gives impor-
tance 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,
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 numbers 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,
opens from the hall, 17 by 21 feet. In the coiling of this central apartment is a
circular opening, with railing in the second stor)', forming a gallery above, which
communicates with the different chambers, and affords ventilation to the whole
house. Over this circular opening is a sky-light in the roof, which, mellowed and
softened by a second coloured one below it, serves to light the vestibule. From
the vestibule we enter the dining-room, c, 17 by 25 feet. The fine vista through
the hall, vestibule, and dining-room, 70 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 ves-
tibule, through a wide circular headed opening, we enter upon the principal
stairs, I. This opening is balanced by a recess on the opposite side of the ves-
tibule. 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 these
doors, another fine vista in this direction. The library, 18 by 30 feet, and 16
feet high, is fitted up in the most superb and tasteful manner, and completely
filled with choice books. The bay-window, seen on the left in the perspective
view,^g'. 29, is a prominent feature in this room, admitting through its coloured
panes a pleasing, subdued light, in keeping with the character of the apartment.
The drawing-room is 19 by 30 feet, with an enriched panneled 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, o,
and another door to the parlour,/. The latter is 18 by 20 feet, looking across
the lawn and into the conservatory. Among the minor details are a china closet,
r, and a butler's closet, s, in the dining-room through the latter, the dishes are
;
carried to and from the kitchen, larder, etc The smaller passage leading from
the main staircase, opens to the store-room, k, and other apartments already
designated, and communicates, by the back stairs, m, with the servants' cham-
bers, 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 cellarage, wine, coals, etc. A forcing-pump supplies the
whole house with water from the river and in the second story are eight prin-
;
cipal chambers, averaging 360 square feet each, making in all 25 rooms in the
house, of large size.
this Style of architecture, combine to render it in the fine ter-
raced 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, could in this country be
made productive 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. Yases, and
other beautiful architectural ornaments, may now be pro-

cured in our cities, or may be imported direct from the Med-
iterranean, finely cut in Maltese stone, at very moderate
prices, and both the grounds and buildings be ornamented in
an exquisite manner.
Gothic, or more properly, pointed a7'chitecture, which
sprung 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 contrivance, with all
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, 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
toward 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 preju-
dice, foolishly 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 ao-ainst the evidences of his senses, he cannot but admit

that there is far more genius and nice mathematical skill
evinced in one of these cathedrals, than would have been

requisite in the construction of the most celebrated of the
Greek temples. Though they may not exhibit that simpli-
city and harmony of proportion which Grecian buildings dis-
play, they abound in much higher proofs of genius, as is
evinced in the conception and execution of these fabrics, so

abounding in unrivalled sublimity, variety, and beauty.
Gothic architecture, in its purity, was characterized mainly
by the pointed arch. This novel feature in architecture,
which, probably, in the hands of artists of great mathemat-

ical 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 open-
ing with architraves, or solid blocks of stone, resting on col-
umns at short intervals, thus filling up his open space, the
Gothic artist, by a single span of his pointed arch, resting on
distant pillars, kept the whole area beneath, free and unen-
cumbered. Applied, too, to openings for the admission of
light, which were deemed of comparatively little or no im-
portance by the Greeks, the arch was of immense value, ma-

king it possible to pierce the solid wall with large and lofty
apertures, that diff'used a magic 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 inventors, and
as also, in themselves, they are unfitted 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 apart-
ments. It would scarcely, however, we think, be more ab-
surd to build a miniature cathedral for a dwelling in the
Gothic style, than to make an exact copy of the Temple of

Minerva for a country residence, 30 by 50 feet in size, 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 cen-
tury 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 and
Elizabethan mansion, of the English gentleman, surrounded
by beautiful parks, filled with old ancestral trees ; and the
pretty rural gabled cottage, of the humblest pretensions, 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 different

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 predom-
inant in the window and door openings, which in all edi-
fices, (except Norman buildings,) were lancet-shaped or high

pointed, in the 13th century; four centered 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 original-
ly intended as a shelter to those engaged in defending the
ffie. 31. The Caslellatcil mode.]
building against assaults. Modern buildings in the castella-
ted style, without sacrificing almost every thing to strength,
as was once necessary, preserve the general character of the

ancient castle, while they combine with it almost every mod-
ern luxury. In their exteriors we perceive strong and mas-
sive octagonal or circular towers, rising boldly, with corbel-
led or projecting cornices, above the ordinary level of the
building. The windows are either pointed or square-headed,

or perhaps a mixture of both. The porch rises into a turret-
ed and embattled gateway, and all the offices and out-build-
ings 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 ter-
race 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, per-
haps, also rather wanting in appropriateness ;

castles never
having been used for defence in this country. Notwith-
standing these objections, there can be no reason why a
wealthy proprietor should not erect his mansion in the cas-
tellated 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 imi-
tations of it in materials less durable than brick or stone,
would be discreditable to any person having the least preten-

sion to correct taste.
A mansion in the Tudor Style^ aflfgrds the best example
of the excellency of Gothic architecture for domestic pur-

poses. The roof often rises boldly here, instead of being
concealed by the parapet wall, and the gables are either plain,
or ornamental with crockets. The windows are divided by
mullions, and are generally enriched with tracery in a style
less florid than that employed in churches, but still sufficient-
ly elegant to give an appearance of decoration to these parts
of the building. Sometimes the low or Tudor arch is display-
ed in these 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 at-
tended to. Indeed, in the domestic architecture of this era,
41
[Fig. 3'2. "Vii ; Paulding Manor, Irom the N. W.
the windows and doors are often sources of great architectu-
ral beauty, instead of being left mere bare openings filled
with glass, as in the Classic styles. Not only is each indi-

vidual window divided by mullions, in compartments whose
tops are enriched 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

mansion affected a great variety of forms and sizes. Among
these stand conspicuous, the hay and oriel windows. The
bay window, which is introduced in most apartments on the
first or principal floor of much size or magnificence, is a win-
dow 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 favourite direction. This,
while it has a grander effect than several windows of mode-

rate size, gives a variety of form and outline to the ditferent
apartments, that can never be so well attained when the win-
dows 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 cor-
belled 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. This is made up of many fine features.
The pointed gables with their finials are among the most strik-
ing, and the neat parapet wall, either covered with a moulded
coping, or perhaps diversified with battlements ;
the latter not
* It affords us much pleasure to be able to present to the reader so admirable

an illustration of the pointed style, as Paulding Manor. (See the engravings,
figures 32 and 33. The former, from a northwest position, shows the archi-
tecture only ; the latter is a landscape view from a southeast point.) This
mansion, the residence of Philip R. Paulding, Esq., one of the most complete in
this country as regards the architecture, was built in 1840, from the designs of
Alex. J. Davis, Esq. ; and in its details, both externally and internally, the most
minute attention has been paid to a careful correspondence with the best ex-
amples of the Tudor era. Among the most remarkable features of the edifice,
we may here notice, the admirable parte cochere, or covered entrance for car-
riages to drive under, and the superb library with a lofty ceiling of carved timber.
Situated on a promontory below Tarrylown, on the Hudson, it commands
noble prospects, from three of its sides, of the Tappan Zee, Haverstraw Bay,
and the lofty and striking Palisades. The surface of the grounds is bold and
well varied ; and when the ornamental plantations arrive at maturity, the effect
of the building will be greatly heightened. For the drawings, plans, and descrip-
tion of the principal story, we are indebted to Mr. Davis, the architect.
In this plan, the entrance porch, a, is 16 by 22 feet; the hall, b, 18 feet square;
the saloon, c, 18 by 22 feet; the drawing-room, d, including the hexagonal
bay, 25 by 36 feet. The dining-room,/, 18 by 28 feet ; the office or business-
room, g, 12 by 18 feet, etc. The stairs are placed in the northern tower.
In examining the exterior, the eye is struck by the picturesque outline of
towers, turrets, gables, and pinnacles; and with the pleasing variety afforded by
[Fig. 33. View of Paulding Manor, from the S. £.]
[Kig. 34. PUn of the Pi

SO massive as in the castellated style, but evidently intended
for ornament only. This line of parapets is often varied by

the ornamented gablet of a dormar window, rising out of
the roof 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 that of
a simple square roof whose summit is one unbroken straight
line
The enclosed entrance porch, approached by three or four

stone steps, with a seat or two for servants waiting, is a dis-
tinctive mark of all the old English houses. This projected,

in most cases, from the main body of the edifice, and opened
directly into the hall. The latter apartment was not mere-
ly, (as in most of our modern houses,) an entry, narrow and
long, running directly through the house, but had a peculiar
the windows decorated with mullions and tracery. The Arcaded piazza, e, and
wide terrace with stone parapet, afford shelter and shade, as well as an agreea-
blepromenade. The drawing-room is a spacious apartment, occupying the
whole of the south wing, and has a rich ceiling, groin-arched, with fan tracery,
or diverging ribs, springing from and supported by columnar shafts. The ceil-
ings of all the apartments in this story are highly elegant in decoration. That
in the dining-room is concavo-convex in shape, with diverging ribs and ramified
tracery springing from corbels in the angles ; the centre being occupied by a
pendant. In the saloon the ribbed ceiling forms two inclined planes, and in the
office the ribs, intersecting on a horizontal surface form, pannelled lacunars. All
these forms of ceiling are indicated by the dotted lines on the plan.
The floor of the second story has a much larger area than that of the first,
as the rooms in the former project over the open portals in the latter. The spa-
cious library, over the western portal, lighted by a lofty window, is the finest
apartment of this story, with its carved foliated timber roof rising in the centre to
the height of 25 feet. The dimensions
of this room are 37 by 18 feet, including
the organ gallery. There are eight sleeping apartments in this story, and sev-
eral bed-rooms in the attic. The kitchen, etc. etc. are placed in the basement
story. The whole building is constructed in the most careful manner of the
Mount Pleasant Marble.
character of its own., being large and ample, the roof or ceil-
inar ribbed or oroined, and the floor often inlaid with marble
tiles. A corresponding and suitable style of finish with

Gothic details, ran through all the different apartments, each
of which, instead of being finished and furnished with the

formal sameness here so prevalent, displayed according to
its peculiar purposes, as the dining-room, drawing-room,
library, etc. a marked and distinctive air.
[Fig. 35. Residence uf the Auiliurat Newljurgli, N. Y.]
We have thus particularized the Tudor mansion, because

we believe that for a cold country like England or the Uni-
ted States, it has unrivalled claims upon the attention of

large landed proprietors, or those who wish to realize in a
country residence the greatest amount of comfort and enjoy-
ment. 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 comfortable,

and decidedly the most picturesque and striking style, for
country residences of a superior class.* The materials gen-
erally employed in their construction in England, are stone

or brick ;
and of late years, brick and stucco has come info
very general use.

A mansion in the Elizabethan style, differed from a Tu-
dor mansion more in the details, than in the general plan and
construction. These details were executed in a kind of mix-
ture of the Gothic and Italian modes, and while sometimes
very beautiful and attractive edifices, were the result of this
singular union ;
at others, the excellency or merit of either
style was lowered by the confused melange. We cannot
therefore, so highly recommend the Elizabethan manner for
general adoption here, as a correct and tasteful style, although

we believe it has much merit, as a convenient mode of build-
ing for the country.

Tiie old English cottage style, or what we have denom-
inated Riij'al Gothic, contains within itself all the most
striking and peculiar elements of the beautiful and pictur-

esque in its exterior, while it admits of the greatest possible
variety of accommodation and convenience in internal ar-
rangement.
In its general composition. Rural Gothic really differs from
the Tudor style more in that general sit?ij)licitp which serves
to distinguish a cottage or villa of moderate size from a man-
sion, than in any marked character of its own. The square
headed windows preserve the same form, and display the
Gothic label and muUions, though the more expensive finish
of decorative tracery is frequently omitted. Diagonal, or
latticed lights are also more commonly seen in the cottage
style, than the mansion. The general form and arrange-
*The residence of Robert Gilmore, Esq., near Baltimore, in the Tudor style,
is a very superb and extensive pile of building.

ment 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 Eng-
lish cottage.
Perhaps the most striking feature of the Rural Gothic

style as we see it in the best old English cottages, is the
pointed gable. This feature, which grows out of the high

roofs 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 mould-
ed coping, or they are finished with the long projecting
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 ornamented octagonal shaft, ren-
dering the gable one of the greatest sources of interest in

these dwellings.
The porch, the labelled windows, the chimney shafts, and

the ornamented gables, being the essential elements in the
composition of the old 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 pictur-
esque villa of the retired gentleman of fortune. In this sim-
ple form, the whole may be constructed of wood very cheap-
ly, 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 dor mar-
windows, by the introduction of mullions and tracery in the
window openings, and indeed, by a multitude of interior and

exterior enrichments generally applied to the Tudor man-
sions, a villa in the Rural Gothic style niay be made a per-
[FjS. 36. Cutt.ige ol N. B. Warren, Esq , Truy, N. Y. J
feet gem of a country residence. Of all the styles hitherto

enumerated, we consider this one of the most suitable for this
country, as, while it comes within the reach of all persons

of moderate means, it unites, as we before stated, so much
of convenience and rural beauty.*
To the man of taste, there is no style which presents
greater attractions, being at once rich in picturesque beau-
* 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.

42
ty, and harmonious in connection with the surrounding

forms of vegetation. To be happily situated, a Grecian
villa must have a well chosen locality and vegetation of pe-
culiar forms. Its square masses and horizontal lines, even
then, unite badly with those of surrounding nature. But the
Rural Gothic, the lines of which point upwards, in the pyra-
midal'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 surround-
ing hills : and while it is seldom or never misplaced in

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
thQ 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 architec-
ture, which in its simplicity, must be regular,) it is evident
that additions 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 studying internal comfort and convenience, as
well as external effect.
The ideas connected in our minds with Gothic architec-

ture 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
Europe, and particularly of what we term the mother coun-

try, is so much our own, that we form a kind of delightful
ideal acquaintance with the venerable castles, abbeys, and

strong-holds 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 cas-
tellated residence, therefore, in a wild and picturesque situa-
tion, may be interesting, not only from its being perfectly in
keeping with surrounding nature, but from the delightful
manner in which it awakens associations connected with the
history of the past.
The domestic architecture of England may be viewed in

another pleasing light. Their buildings and residences have
not only the recommendation of beauty and complete adapta-
tion, 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 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 elegant 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 Garden-
ing, is unrivalled. They have studied nature intently, and
discovered an exquisite sense of her beautiful forms and har-

monious combinations. Those charms vi-hich in other coun-
tries 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 gi-
gantic 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 bounding away to the
covert, or the pheasant bursting suddenly upon the wing.

The brook, taught to wind in natural meanderings, or expand
into a glassy lake, — the sequestered pool reflecting the quiv-
ering 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 por-
tion 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 fu-
ture landscape. The sterile spot grows into loveliness under

his hand ;
and yet the operations of art which produce the
effect are scarcely to be perce;ved ;
the cherisiiing and train-
ino- of some trees ; the cautious pruning of others ;

the nice
distribution of flowers and plants of tender and graceful fol-
iage; 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 favourite picture."
"The residence of people of fortune and refinement in the
country, has diftlised a degree of taste and elegance that de-

scends to the lowest class. The very labourer, 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 wood-
bine 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 sum-

mer 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 har-
monious 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 naturalized in this country. Under its enchant-
ing influence, the too great bustle and excitement of our
commercial cities would be happily counterbalanced by the

more elegant and quiet enjoyments of country life. Our ru-
ral residences, evincing that love of the beautiful and the
picturesque, which, combined with solid comfort, is so attrac-
tive to the eye of every beholder, would not only become
sources of the purest enjoyment to the refined minds of the

possessors, but would 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, will,
we hope, sooner or later, give way to that more refined feel-
ing which prefers a neat villa or cottage, tastily constructed,
and surrounded by its proper accessories, whether extensive

or limited, of verdant trees and beautiful shrubbery.
It is gratifying to see the progressive improvement in Ru-
ral Architecture, which within a few years past, has evinced
itself in various parts of the country, and particularly on the

banks of the Hudson and Connecticut Rivers, as well as in
the suburbs of our larger cities. Here and there, beautiful
villas and cottages in the Italian, or old English styles, are
being erected by proprietors who feel the preeminent beauty

of these modes for domestic architecture. And from the ra-
pidity with which improvements having just claims for pub-
lic favour, advance in our community, we have every rea-
son 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.
Mr. Warren's residence at Troy, N. Y., (fig. 36,) 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 build-
ing a more appropriate and charming air than its present

one, which, however, affords a magnificent prospect of the
surrounding country.
There is scarcely a building or place more replete with
interest in America, than the cottage of Washington Irving,

near Tarrytown. The " legend of sleepy Hollow," so de-
lightfully told in the Sketch- Book, has made every one ac-
quamted with this neighbourhood, 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.
Irvina: has chosen this spot, the haunt of his early days, since
[Fig. 31. Residence of W.ishington Irving, Esq.;
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 some-

what of the English cottage mode, but retaining strongly-
marked symptoms of its Dutch origin. The quaint old
weathercocks 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 êntly
swelling slope reaching down to the water's edge, bordered

by prettily wooded ravines through which a brook meanders
pleasantly ;
and threaded 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.

Mr. Sheldon's residence, (fig. 38,) in the same neighbour-
hood, furnishes us with another example of the Rural Gothic
mode, worth the stady 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 some-
thing more expressive and picturesque, is making progress
among us.
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, directly beneath the liv-
ing 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 ad-
ding wings to the main building for those purposes which

will not 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 grreat advantaoê of havinsf all these con-
veniences 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, extend-
ing out from the main building, partly visible and partly
[Fig. 33. Residence of II. Sheldon, Esq., near Tairylown, N. Y.
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. Pic-
turesque effect is certainly increased by thus extending the
pile and increasing the variety of its outline.
We have omitted hitherto any mention of the Sioiss style.
The unique and striking cotlages of Switzerland are at once
recognised by their low sloping roofs, covered with broad

shingles, and projecting widely on brackets at the eaves ;
upon the second story runs an open gallery, which serves

as a walk around the house. The whole building is con-
structed of wood, and the chimneys are carried up in square
masses covered at the top with broad coping stones; this
style may be easily put in practice here by an amateur who

desires a fanciful light cottage in a peculiar situation, where
the scenery is appropriate.
43
Before fixing upon any style of building for a country re-
sidence, it is a matter of no little importance that the propri-

etor should consider, first, the natural character or expres-
sion of the site and locality as a landscape ;

and secondly,
what style will be in good keeping with that character. This
is more especially necessary where any strongly marked
style, as the Grecian, or castellated, has the preference in the
mind of the proprietor, as a mixed style will accommodate
itself more easily to a variety of situations. This point, which
appears to us one of great moment, is lost sight of in ninety-
nine instances in a hundred ; though we will venture to
assert that a good light is not of greater advantage to a fine

picture, than is an appropriate character of scenery or adja-
cent landscape to a fine villa. Every one feels the truth of
this, when he looks upon this harmonious union in the case

of a happily placed residence, though all persons do not un-
derstand the reason of the unsatisfactory nature of the effect
produced by placing a fine building in an unsuitable situation.
As a general principle, it may safely be laid down, that
classic architecture should always be selected where the
neighbouring grounds, or the surrounding scenery is simply
beautiful or elegant, or approaching to those characters as
we have already defined them. On the contrary, the Gothic
style and its varieties, are best suited to landscapes or scenes

where the prevailing expression is that oi 'picturesque beau-
ty, more or less striking. We have before pointed out how

in many situations where the natural expression of a home
scene is feeble, that is, neither decidedly beautiful or pictur-
esque, these latter expressions may be greatly heightened, or
even, in a great measure, conferred, by proper arrangement

of the grounds, and by planting them with trees either de-
cidedly beautiful or picturesque in themselves.
Adopting this principle, we tiiink the Grecian and Roman

styles, (especially the former,) should be chosen when the
general character of the landscape is that of graceful beauty,
— when the surface of the surrounding grounds is level or
gently undulating, or falling in gradual slopes. The trees
in such a scene, either of natural growth or made planta-

tions, would be chiefly of the round-headed or oval forms, as
the Chestnut, Ash, Elm, Lime, etc. The prevailing lines in

such a landscape would be horizontal, waving, and undulat-
ing, or at most, occasionally curved lines ; and these would
harmonize well with the horizontal lines prevalent in Classic
architecture.
The Italian style, which is extremely irregular in outline,

but yet preserves much of the details of the former styles,
may be placed with propriety in either beautiful or pictur-
esque scenes. In the former it will not be out of keeping,
and will add by contrast, to the expression of the landscape ;
while it unites happily with more picturesque landscapes by

its highly varied outline. To increase the charm of as-
sociation, the Lombardy poplar should be sparingly inter-

spersed with the round-head trees ; and Elms planted in the
neighbourhood of each other, and overgrown with festoons
of the grape vine, should be introduced in the park or lawn.
The Italian pines, or some of our native species, which re-
semble them in habit, are also suitable accompaniments.

The Castellated style never appears completely at home
except in wild and romantic scenery, or in situations where
the neighbouring mountains, or wild passes, are sufficiently
near to give that character to the landscape. In such local-

ities the Gothic castle aifects 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 character of the
surrounding objects. To place such a building in this coun-
try 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 back to its original purpo-
ses, viz. those of security and defence.

The Tudor and Rural Gothic styles are, in themselves,
as we have already shown, highly picturesque ; and they

are, therefore, most happily exhibited in connection with
picturesque scenery. In home landscapes, this kind of scene-
ry may be almost created by planting spiry-top't trees, as the
larch, various pines and firs, and those round-headed trees
which have a spirited outline, for example the oak ;

and by
a certain picturesque method of grouping objects, and the
general disposition of the demesne.
A blind partiality for any one style in building is detri-
mental to the progress of improvement, both in taste and

comfort. Individuals of different means, possessing various
tastes, or situated in dissimilar portions of a country, will
naturally have different wants, and expect different enjoy-

ments in a country residence ; and it is only by the means
of a number of distinct styles, that such a diversity of tastes
can be accommodated. 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

no feeling for architectural, or indeed any other species of
beauty. But beside 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 clas-
sical 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 espe-

cially fine landscapes, will perhaps, very naturally, prefer the
modern Italian style for a country residence. The wealthy
proprietor, either from the romantic and chivalrous associa-
tions 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 real-
ize the beau ideal of genuine old English country residence,
with its various internal comforts and 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 land-
scape, 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 visiters having frequent ingress and egress.
The entrance lodge may further be considered a matter
strictly useful, in serving as the dwelling of the gardener or
farmer with 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, in a
reflective and well regulated mind, apologise 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 sufficiently considered.
Most generally the lodge is at too great a distance from the
gate, consuming loo much time in attendance, and exposing

the persons attendincr, 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 Eu-
rope, from the very simple reason of the greater equality of

conditions here, and therefore every thing which tends to
lessen labour, or the appearance of entire dependency, is
worthy of beingr taken into account.
For these reeisons we would place the gate very near the
lodge ; it would be preferable if it were part of the same ar-
chitectural composition : and if possible adopt the contri-
vance 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 obli-
ged to leave his or her employment,* This 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 dis-
tance, instead of half a dozen rods apart from the lodge, as

is frequently done.
* In fig. 39, 13 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, b, 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, /, is the interior of the gate-keepers' 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,
which is opened and shut by the motion of the winch, without obliging the in-
mates to leave the house.

That the entrance lodge should correspond in style with
the mansion, maxim insisted upon by all

is a writers on
Rural Architecture. Where the latter is built in a mixed
st\ie, 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 pleeisiug effect, as a lodge
iF;s- 3- P.in i;as •Js gale frara the -.n-.
in the form of the old English cottage for a castellated man-

sion, 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 cor-
respondence in size is also agreeable ; where the dwelling of

the proprietor is simply an ornamental cottage, the lodge, if
any, should be more simple and unostentatious ; and even

where the house is maofnificent, the lodge should rather be
below the creneral 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 ol the demesne.

[Fig. 40. GMe Lo.lge n,l Blithe ud.]
One of the prettiest and most complete lodges (fig. 40) that
has come under our notice, has been erected at Blithewood,
on the Hudson, by the intelligent proprietor, R. Donaldson,
Esq. It is extremely well executed after a design in the

English Cottage style : the whole of the exterior is grained
in imitation of oak, and the shingles are so cut as to form

hexagons when laid upon the roof.
(Fij, l:. Li.aL' Lodge in tiie Ualian .Slyle J
In figure 41 is shown a gate lodge in the Italian style, with
projecting eaves supported by cantileavers or brackets, round-
headed windows with balcony, the characteristic porch, and

other leading features of this 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 suf-
ficient distance between them to make the approach throuo-h

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 or-
namental and should be considered part of a whole, grouping

with other objects in rural landscape.
One of the most unique specimens of domestic architecture in the country, is

the summer or cottage residence of Nathan Dunn, Esq., of Philadelphia, which
is situated at Mount Holly, New-Jersey, figure 42. The broad and highly ele-
gant veranda is one of its striking features. This is covered, from the eaves
one-third of its depth downward, by a screen of foliated apertures filled with
coloured glass, giving a rich glow to the deep shade of the cool promenade be-
neath. The roof is ornamented by the graceful pendants of the eaves, and its
bold projection insures the wall from dampness, while it gives a shaded appear-
ance in summer.
This extenbive cottage was designed by Mr. Notman of Philadelphia, who
however, acknowledges his indebtedness to the elegant invention of the propri-
etor, for the many of its most interesting features. The facade
suggestion of
shown accompanying engraving, measures about 140 feet, and the do-
in the
mestic offices, etc., not shown, occupy about 80 feet more on the right. The
style of this building is mixed the arcaded veranda has an oriental air, while
;
the main body of the cottage is in the English cottage manner. The aim in
designing it being to produce something adapted to the American climate, in
fitness, and expression of purpose, rather than to follow any one fixed style.
" From the veranda in front," says the architect in his description of the plan,
figure 43, "you enter the hall, an elipsis of about 8 by 11 feet, with two niches
on each side containing large and handsome flower vases : the ceiling is a pan-
nelled dome. From this a door opens to the saloon, about 36 feet by 10, divided
in length by scagliola columns in antae, and surmounted by an enriched pannelled
ceiling with hatched gilding. On the right and left of the saloon, are the draic-
ing and dining-rooms, each 26 by 18 feet. From the drawing-room opens the
library, 34 feet by 13, and 16 feet high to the apex of the arched ceiling. This
room is finished and furnished in a rich Gothic style : the ceiling is a Tudor arch
the rafters or ribs springing from corbels, and forming pannels in double series,
foUated ; and the effect, especially in the semi-octagon end, where the intersections .
44
[Pig. 42. Collage Resiiieuce of Nathan Dunn, Esq., Mount Holly, N. J.]
of the tracery are numerous, is highly elegant. The erottage-oriel window in this
apartment is filled with a screen of Gothic pannel work, glazed with fine examples
of landscapes painted on glass. From the libary we enter, through a small lobby,
an octagonal conservatory with glazed roof and sides, 20 feet in diameter. There
is another reserve green-house from which this conservatory is kept constantly
supplied with beautiful plants in full bloom.
! SUMMER I
! KITOHEN I
[Fig. 43. Plan of the principal flooi-.]

From the dining-room a door opens to Mr. Dunn's bed-room, and from hence a
lobby leads to the side entrance, to the kitchen, and to the back stairs the latter
;
conducting to a cool parlour on the cellar floor. Besides the bed-rooms on this
floor, there are three in the second story, over the central portion of the house-
An air furnace supplies heat to all the main body of the edifice shown in the en-
graving.
Note. —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 Architecture : Goodwin's jRm-
ral Architecture Hunt's Picturesque Domestic Architecture, and Examples of Tu-
:
dor Architecture : Pugin's Examples of Gothic Architecture, etc. The most suc-
cessful American architects in this branch of the art, with whom we are acquaint-
ed, are Alexander J. Davis, Esq., of New- York, and John Notman, Esq., of
Philadelphia.
SECTION X.
EMBELLISHMENTS ;
ARCHITECTURAL, RUSTIC AND FLORAL.
Value of a proper connection between the house and grounds. Beauty of the architectural
terrace, and its application to villas and cottages. Use of vases of different descriptions.
Sundials. Architectural flower garden. Irregular flower-garden. French flower-garden.
English flower-garden. General remarks on this subject. Selection of showy plants, flow-
Arrangement of the shrubbery, and selection of choice shrubs. The
ering in succession.
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.
COWPER.
Each odorous bushy shrub

Fenced up the verdant wail; each beauteous flower;
Iris all Hues, Roses and Jessamine
Rear'd high their flourished heads between,

And wrought Mosaic.
Milton.
N our finest places, or those

country seats where much of
the poHsh of pleasure ground
or park scenery is kept up, one of the most striking defects,

is the want of ^'- union hetioeen the house and the grounds."
EMBELLISHMENTS. 349
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 scarce-
ly felt at all. But this only proves the infant slate of Land-
scape 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 of-
ten to be met with, of a fine place, about which, however, there

is felt to be a certain incongruity between the house, a highly
artificial object, and the surrounding grounds, where the pre-
vailing expression 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 di-
rectly 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 bor-
der of this terrace, we will form a handsomae 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
an elegant one, we will find suitable places at proper inte-
vals, for 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 you descend from the terrace by a few steps.
This flower-garden may be simply what its name denotes,
a place exclusively devoted to the cultivation of flowers, or

(if the house is not in a very plain style, admitting of little
enrichment,) it may be an architectural flower-garden. In

the latter case, intermingled with the flowers, are to be seen
vases, fountains, and sometimes even statues ; the efiect of
the fine colours 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 in-
creased variety and richness imparted to the whole scene, by
the addition of the architectural and garden decorations.
The mind is led gradually down from the house, with its
projecting porch or piazzas, to the surrounding terrace crown-
ed with its beautiful vases, and from thence to the architec-
tural 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 en-
wreathing it, and throwing out the mural objects in strong-
er relief, aiT,d connecting them pleasingly with the verdure
of the turf beneath ;

the still farther rambling off" of vases,
etc., into the brilliant flower-garden, which, through these

ornaments, maintains an avowed connection with the archi-
tecture of the house; all this, we think it cannot be denied,
forms a rich setting to the architecture, and unites agreeably
the forms of surrounding nature with the more regular and

uniform outlines of the building.
The effect, we think, will be not less pleasing if reviewed
from another point of view, viz : the terrace, or from the

EMBELLISHMENTS, 351
apartments 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 dis-
tant points, unless there are some strongly marked objects
in the foreground. In fine, the intervention of these ele-

gant 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 desul-

tory 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 en-
richment bestowed on 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 de-
gree of exterior ornament is visible, or a Gothic villa of the
better class, will allow the additional enrichment of the archi-

tectural terrrace and its ornaments. Indeed the terrace
itself, in so far as it denotes a raised dry 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
* Essaxj on Onmmenlal Gardening, by Thomas Hope.

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 surface 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, twen-
ty, 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
Virginia 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 climber^ which will readi-
ly recur to the amateur.
There can be no reason why the smallest cottage, if its oc-
cupant be a person of taste, should not have a terrace deco-

rated in a suitable manner. This is easily and cheaply effect-
ed by placing neat flower-pots on the parapet, or border and

angles of the terrace, with suitable plants growing in them.
For this purpose, the American or Century Aloe^ a formal
architectural-looking plant, is exceedingly well adapted, as it

EMBELLISHMENTS. 353
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
E^ of flowers, may be chosen. Yucca flaccid a is a
[Fig. U.\
fine hardy species, which would look well in
such a situation. An aloe in a common flow-
er-pot is shown in fia^. 44 ;

and a Yucca in an
ornamental flower-pot in fig. 45.
Where there is a terrace ornamented with
urns or vases, and the proprietor wishes to [Fig- 45.]
give a corresponding air of elegance to his grounds, vases,
sundials, etc., may be placed in various appropriate situa-
tions, not only in the architectural 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 artificial and architectural an

object as a sculptured vase, is never correctly introduced
unless it appear in some way connected with build-
ings, 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 ac-
companied 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 contrast-
ed, in direct union. But when we see a statue or a vase
placed in any part of the grounds where a near view is ob-
tained of the house, (and its accompanying 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.
45
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 manufactured
of artificial stone, of fine pottery, or of cast iron, which have

the same eflfect, and are of nearly equal durability, 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 Si 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 per-
manence. 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 perpendicular posi-
tion, 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 46 is a Gothic, and figures 47, 48, are Gre-
cian 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 manufactured
in an artificial stone, as durable as marble, by Austin
of London, and together with a great variety of other
beautiful sculpturesque decorations, may be imported at very
reasonable prices.
Figures 49, 50, are beautiful vases of pottery ware, manu-
factured by Peake, of Staffordshire — and which may be im-
ported cheaply, or will be made to order at the Salamander
works, in New- York. These vases, when coloured, to imitate
EMBELLISHMENTS. 355
fe-fe^^-i^t^fe^ûi".^»iteK>i.^v,'j>, marble or other stone, are extremely dura-

ble and very ornamental. As yet, we are
unable to refer our readers to any manu-
factory 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 consequent demand, to induce our

artisans to produce them of equal beauty,
[Fig. 47.
J
and of greater cheapness.
At Blithewood, the seat of R. Donaldson, Esq., on the
Hudson, a number of exquisite vases may ^^r.i'^'ô-â^s^smy^
be seen in the pleasure-grounds, which are

cut in Maltese stone. These were imported
by the proprietor, direct from Malta, at very
moderate rates, and are not only extremely

beautiful, but very durable. Their colour
is a warm shade of gray which harmoni-
zes agreeably with the surrounding vege-
tation.
Large vases are sometimes filled with

earth and planted with choice flowering plants, and the ef-
fect of the blossoms and green leaves growing out

of these handsome receptacles, is at least unique
and striking. Loudon objects to it in the case
of an elegant sculptured vase, "because it is re-
ducino: a work of art to the level of a mere o-arden

flower-pot, and dividing the attention between
(Fig. -19.
the beauty of the form of the vase, and of its
sculptured ornaments, and that of the plant which it con-

tains." This criticism is a just one in its general applica-
tion, especially when vases are considered as
architectural decorations. Occasional devi-

ations, however, may be permitted, for the
sake of producing variety, especially in the
case of vases used as decorations in the
flower-garden.
A very pretty and fanciful substitute for the
sculptured vase may be found in vases or bas-
kets of rustic icork, constructed of the branch-
es and sections of trees with the bark attached. I

Fig. SO.l
Figure 51 is a representation of a pleasing

rustic vase which we have constructed
without difficulty. A tripod of branches
of trees forms the pedestal. An octa-
gonal box serves as the body or frame
of the vase ; on this, pieces of birch and
hazle, (small split limbs covered with the
[Fig- 51 bark,) are nailed closely, so as to form a

sort of mosaic covering to the whole exterior. Ornaments
of this kind, which may be made by the amateur with the as-
sistance 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 ingenious artist in rustic work, which he may call in
to the embellishment of rural scenes, without taxing his purse

heavily.
Sundials, {Jig- 52,) are among the oldest decorations for
the garden and grounds, and there are scarcely any which
EMBELLISHMENTS. 357
we think more suitable. They are not merely-

decorative, but have also a useful character, and
may therefore be occasionally placed in distant
parts of the grounds, should a favourite walk ter-
minate there. When we meet daily in our

walks for a number of years, with one of these si-
lent monitors of the flight of time, we become in
a degree attached to it, and almost look upon it
as gifted with a species of intelligence, which

looks out when the sunbeams smile upon its dial-
[Fig. 52.] plate.
The Architectural Flotver-garden, as we have just re-
marked, has generally a direct connection 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 gar-
den being occupied by an elegant vase, a sundial, or that still
finer ornament, a fountain, or jet dêau. 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, resem-
bling that of the terrace to which it is connected, is con-
tinued round the whole of 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 supe-
rior 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 harmo-
nious union between the house and the grounds. And sec-
ondly, because we have both the rich verdure and gay blos-
soms 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, 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 cer-
tainly 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.
(Fig.53. The Irregular Flower-garden.]

EMBELLISHMENTS. 359
The irregular flower-garden is surrounded by an irregu-

lar belt of trees and ornamental shrubs of the choicest spe-
cies, and the beds, are varied in outline, as well as irregularly
disposed, sometimes grouping together, sometimes standing
singly, but exhibiting no uniformity of arrangement. An

idea of its general appearance may be gathered from the
accompanying sketch, ô*. 53, which may be varied at plea-
sure. In it the irregular boundary of shrubs is shown at a,
the flower-beds h, 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 di-
rectly to the house, we think the effect is most satisfactory
when the beds or walks are laid out in symmetrical forms. Our
reasons for this are these ;
the flower-garden, unlike distant
portions of the pleasure-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 reg-
ular 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 intricate, 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 symmet-

rical 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 cho-
sen, and the eftect, when the selection is judicious, is highly
brilliant. Each bed, in its season, presents a mass of blossoms,
and the contrast of rich colours is much more striking than in
any other arrangement. No plants are admitted that are shy
bloomers, 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 inter-
vals being filled with handsome herbaceous plants, perma-

nently 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 de-
EMBELLISHMENTS. 361
scription of the elegant flower-garden, on the lawn at Drop-

more, the beds being cut out of the smooth turf.
"The flower-garden at Dropmore is shown in Jig. ,54.
In this the plants are so disposed, that when in flower the
corresponding forms of the figure contain corresponding co-

loured 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.
o
"^ ta-v u?o,,'
[Fig. 54. The Flcnver-Garden at Dropmore.]
In Summer.
Beds.
1. Rosa Indica, (blush China,) bordered with R. Semperfloreua
Acre pleno, and R. Indica minor.
2. Pelargonium inquinans, (Scarlet Geranium.)
3. Verbena Lamberti.
4. Senecio elegans, flora pleno. (Double Jacobea.)
5. 5. Alonsoa incisifolia.
6. 6. Agathea excelsis.
7. Fuchsia coccinea, (Lady's Eardrop,) bordered with Double

Primrose.
8. Helitropium peruvianum.
9. Ruellia formosa.
10. Ageratum mexicanum.
11. Dianthus chinensis, (Indian Pink,) and Mignonette.
12. Lobelia splendens.
13. Dianthus satifolius.
46
Bess.
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 Gera-
nium.
18. Anagallis grandiflora.
19. Anagellis Monelli.
20. Pelargonium coruscans, (Fiery-red Geranium.)
21. Prince of Orange Geranium.
22. Oenothera coespitosa.
23. Oenothera missouriensis, (Missouri evening Primrose.)

24. Scarlet flowered variegated-leaved Geranium.
25. Malope triflda.
^
26. Lobelia fulgens.
27. Petunea Phcenecia.
28. Commelina celestis.
29. Cistus guttatus.

30. Campanula pentagona.
31. Four seasons Rose and Mignonette.
32. Bouvardia triphylla.
33. Double Nasturtium.
In Winter and Spring.

Beds.
1. Anemone Coronaria.
2. 2. Malcomia maratima, (Mediterranean stock.)
3 and 4. Fine varieties of Tulips.

5. 5. Double rocket Larkspur, (sown in autumn.)
6. 6. Agatheoea cselestis.
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. Hyacinths, single blue variety.
20 and 21. Single white Hyacinths.
EMBELLISHMENTS. 363
Beds.
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. Hyacinths, 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 pos-
sible, to be of sorts which admit of being in the ground all

the year : and the summer crop should be planted at inter-
vals between the winter plants. Or the summer crop, hav-
ing 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 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 masses, is productive of by far the most
splendid eflect. In England, where flower-gardens are car-
ried to their greatest perfection, the preference 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, Lobelias, Scarlet Geraniums, etc.,
*Ency. of Gardening, 1000.

[Kig. 55. English riower-Garden.]
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 Jig. 55, we give an example of a small cottage or villa
* In many English residences, the flower-garden is maintained in never-

fading- brilliancy by almost daily supplies from what is termed the reserve gar-
deju 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 bloom, from the pots in the reserve garden. This, which is the ultima-
tum of refinement in flower-gardening, has never, to our knowledge, been at-
tempted in this country.

EMBELLISHMENTS. 365
residence, of one or two acres, where the flower-beds are dis-
posed around the lawn in the Enghsh style : their forms

irregular, with curved outlines, affording a great degree of
variety in the appearance as viewed from different points on
the lawn itself. In this, the central portion is occupied by
the lawn ; c, d, are the flower-beds, planted with showy bor-
der-flowers, in separate masses ; 6, the conservatory. Sur-

rounding the whole is a collection of choice shrubs and trees,
the lowest near the walk, and those behind increasing in al-
titude as they approach the boundary wall or fence. In this

plan, as there is supposed to be no exterior view worth pre-
serving, 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 the 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, 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, Carna-
tions, 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 snow-drop 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 prop-
erly selected : such as flower at different seasons — continue
long time in bloom, and present fine masses of flowers. On

the other hand, a very large number of species may be assem-
bled together ; and owing to their being merely botanical
rarities, and not bearing fine flowers — or blossoming
to their
chiefly in a certain portion of the season — or continuing but
a short period in 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, inclu-
ding the Isle de Bourbon varieties, some few Eschscholtzias,
the showy Petunias, Gillias, and other annuals, and a dozen
choice double Dahlias, 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 heteroge-
neous mixture of everything the possessor can lay his hands

on, or crowd within the enclosure.
The 7ningled flower-garden, as it is termed, is by far the
most common mode of arrangement in this country, though
it is seldom well eff'ected. 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 colours 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 farthest 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

EMBELLISHMENTS, 367
this simple rule, will not only give the beds, when the plants
are full grown, a confused look, but the beauty of the hum-
bler and more delicate plants will be lost amid the tall thick
branches of sturdier plants, or removed so far from the spec-
tator 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 colours of their blossoms. When a g-ar-
dener, or an amateur, is perfectly informed on these points,
he can take a given number of plants of diiferent 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, we

here subjoin a short list of the more showy perennial and
annual hardy border flowers, such as are easily procured
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. 3j Those which are over two feet in height.
Flowering m April.
1. Anemone ihalictroides, pi. Double wood Anemone ; white.
1. Anemone Pulsatilla. Pasque flower blue. ;
1. Anemone hepatica, pi. Double Hepaticas blue. ;
1. Viola odorata, pi.Double white and blue European violets.
1. Omphalodes verna. Blue Venus Navelwort.

1. Folemonium reptans. Greek Valerian blue. ;
1. Phlox stolonifera. Creeping Phlox red. ;
2. Phlox divaricata. Early purple Phlox.

1. Primula veris.The Cowslip; yellow and red.

1. Primula polyaniha. The Polyanthus purple. ;
1. Primula auricula. The Auricula purple. ;
1. Viola tricolor. Heart's Ease or Pansy many colours and sorts. ;
1. Viola grandijlora. Purple Pansy.

2. Saxifraga crassifolia. Thick-leaved Saxifrage ; lilac.
1. Phlox subuluta. Moss pink Phlox.

1. Phlox nivea. White Moss Pink.
1. Gentiana acaulis. Dwarf Gentian ;
purple.
1. Adonis vernalis. Spring fl. Adoni s ;
yellow.
2. Dodecatheon meadia. American Cowslip ; lilac.
2. Pulmonaria virginica. Virginian Lungwort ;

purple.
2. Alyssum saxatile. Golden basket ;
yellow.
2. TroUius europeus. European Globe flower ;
yellow.
1. Corydalis cucularia. Breeches-flower ; white.
Mat.
1. yeromcag-en/zanoides; Gentian leaved Speedwell ; blue.

2. Veronica spicata ; Blue spiked Speedwell.
2. Penistemon ovata ; Oval leaved Pentstemon ; blue.
2. Pentstemon airopurpureus ; Dark purple Pentstemon.
2. Orobus niger ; Dark purple Vetch.
1. Jeff'ersonia diphylla ; Five leaved Jeffersonia ; white.
1. Lysamachia nummularia ; Trailing Loose-strife ;
yellow.
1. Convallaria majalis ; Lily of the Valley ; white.
1. Saponaria ocymoides ; Basil-like Soapwort ; red.
1. Phlox pilosa; Hairy Pplox; red.
2. Anchusa Italica ; Italian Bugloss blue. ;
2. Ranunculus acris,pl. Double Buttercups; yellow.

2. Tradescantia virginica ; blue and white Spiderwort.
2. Lupinus polyphyllus ; Purple Lupin.
2. Iris sibirica ; Siberian Iris ; blue.
3. Iris fiorentina ; Florentene Iris ; white.
3. Pcconia tenuifolia ; small leaved Pseony ; red.
3. Paonia albiflora ; single white Pseony.

2. Lupinus nootkaensis ; Nootka Sound Lupin ; blue.
2. Hesperis matronalis, alba, pi. ; the double white Rocket.
2. Phlox suaveolens ; the white Phlox or Lychnidea.
2. Phlox maculata ; the purple spotted Phlox.
3. Hemerocallis flava ; the yellow Day-lily.
2. Lupinus perennis and rivularis ; perennial Lupins ; blue.
2. Lychnis floscuculi, pi. ; double ragged-Robin ; red.
2. Papaver orientalis ; oriental scarlet Poppy.

EMBELLISHMENTS. 369
2. Aquilegia canadensis ; wild Columbine ; scarlet.
1. Houstonia ccerulea; blue Houstonia.
June.
1. Spircca filipendula, pi. ; Double Pride of the Meadow ; white.

2. Spircea lobata ; Siberian Spirea ; red.
2. Spircea Ulmaria, pi. ; double Meadow-sweet ; white.
2. Delphinium grandiflorum, pi. ; double dark blue Larkspur.
2. Delphinium chinense, pi. ; double Chinese Larkspur ; blue.
2. Dianthus horiensis ; garden Pinks, many double sorts and col-

ours.
2. Caltha palusiris, pi. ; double marsh Marygold ;
yellow.
1. Cypripedium pubescens ; Yellow Indian Moccasin.
2. Folemonium cccruleum, and album; common white and blue
Greek Valerian.
2. Campanula persicifolla, pi. double peach-leaved Campanula
;
white.
2. Aniirhinum majus ; red and white Snap Dragons.
2. Geranium sanguineum ; bloody Geranium ;
red.
1. Viscaria vulgaris, pi, ; white and red Viscaria.

2. CEnothera fruticosa ; shrubby Evening Primrose; yellow.
1. Eschschohzia californica ; golden Escscholtzia ;
yellow.
1. Lychnis fulgens ; fulgent Lychnis ; red.
1. Dianthus chinensis ; Indian Pinks ; variegated.

2. Dianthus caryophyllus ; Carnation; variegated.
1. Verbena muUifida ; cut-leaved Verbena ;
purple.
1. Verbena Lamberti ; Lambert's Verbena ;

purple.
2. Campanula grandijlora ; large blue Bell-flower.

3. Aconitum Napellus ; Monks Hood purple. ;
3. Aconitum Napellus, variegated ; purple and white Monks Hood.

3. Campanula rapunculoides ; nodding Bell-flower ; blue.
2. Clematis integrifolia ; Austrian blue Clematis.

3. Verbascum phcenecium ;
purple Mullein.
3. Clematis erecta; upright Clematis; white.

3. Linum perenne ; perennial Flax ; blue.
3. FcRonia Humei ; double blush Pceony.

3. Pcemia fragrans ; double fragrant Pceony rose.
3. Posonia whitley ; double white Pceony.
3. Gaillardia arisiata ; bristly Gaillardia; yellow.
2. Asphodelus ramosus ; branchy Asphoder ; white.
2. Pentstemon speciosa ; showy Pentstemon ; blue,
1. Iris Susiana; Chalcedonian Iris ; mottled.
47
Jdly.
2. Dictamnus Fraxinella; purple Fraxinella.

2. Dictamnus alba ; white Fraxinella.
1. Pentstemon Ricliardsomi ; Richardson's Pentstemon ;
pnrple.
1. Pentstemon pubescens ; downy Pentstemon ; lilac.
2. Anchusa officinalis ; common Bugloss blue. ;
1. Campanula carpatica ; Carpathian Bell-flower blue. ;
2. Monarda didyma ; scarlet Balm.

2. CEnothera Fraseri; Frasces Dvening Primrose yellow. ;
2. CEnothera macrocarpa ; large podded Evening Primrose yel- ;
low.
1. Sedum populifolium ; poplar-leaved Sedum white. ;
2. Campanula Trachelium, pi. double white, and blue ;

Bell-
flowers.
2. Potentilla Russelliana ; Russell's Cinquefoil ; red.
1. Dianthus deltoides ; Mountain Pink ; red.
1. Veronica maritima ; Maratime Speedwell ; blue.

3. Delphinium datum ; Bee Larkspur; blue.
2. Delphinium speciosum ; showy Larkspur ; blue.
2. Campanula macrantha ; large blue Bell-flower.
3. Pentstemon Digitalis ; Missouri Pentstemon ; white.
3. Hibiscus palustris ; swamp Hibiscus ; red.
3. Lychnis Chalcedonica ; single and double scarlet Lychnis.
2. Chelone Lyoni ; purple Chelone.
2. Chelone barbata ; bearded Chelone ; orange.
2. Dracocephalum grandiflorum ; Dragon's Head ;
purple.
3. Lythrum lat folium. ; Perennial Pea ;
purple.
August.
2. Catananche ccereulea ; blue Catananche.

1. Corydalis formosa ; red Fumitory.
1. Phlox cariiea ; flesh coloured Phlox.
2. Asclepias tuberosa ; orange Swallowort.
2. Veronica carnea ; flesh coloured Speedwell,
2. Gaillardia bicolor ; orange Gaillardia.
2. Hemerocallis japonica; Japan day Lily ; white.
2. Dianthus superbus ; superb fringed Pink ; white,
2. Lobelia cardinalis ; Cardinal-flower ; red.
1. Lychnis coronata ; Chinese orange Lychnis.
2. Lythrum Salicaria ; Willow Herb purple. ;
3. Yucca filamentosa ; Adam's Thread white. ;
3. Yucca jlaccida ; Flaccid Yucca ; white-

EMBELLISHMENTS. 371
3. Phlox paniculata ; pauicled Phlox ;

purple and white.
3. Campanula pyramidalis ; pyramidal Bell-flower ; blue and
white.
2. Liatris squarrosa ; Blazing Star ; blue.
3. Epilobium spicatum ; purple spiked Epilobium.
2. Coreopsis tenuifolia ; fine-leaved Coreopsis ;
yellow.
3. Cassia marylandica ; Maryland Cassia ;
yellow.
September and October.
1. Achillea Plar mica, pi. ; double Milfoil; white.

2. Coreopsis grandijlora ; large yellow Coreopsis.
1. Aster linifolius ; fine-leaved Aster ; white.
2. Eupatorium ccelestinum ; azure blue Eupatorium.
2. Phlox ivheeleriana ; Wheeler's Phlox red. ;
3. Aster macrophyllus ; broad-leaved Aster ; white.

3. Eupatorium aromaticum ; Fragrant Eupatorium ; white.
3. Liatris elegans ; elegant Blazing Star ;
purple.
3. Liatris spicata and scariosa ; blue Blazing Stars.
1. Gentania Saponaria ; Soapwort Gentian blue. ;
3. Aster novce-anglia: ; New-England Aster ;

purple.
3. Echinops Ritro ; Globe thistle
3. Chrysanthemum indicum ; Astemesias, many sorts and colours.
The shrubbery is so generally situated in the neighbour-
hood of the flower-garden and the house, that we shall here
offer a few remarks on its arrangement and distribution.
A collection of flowering shrubs is so ornamental, that to
a greater or less extent, it is to be found in almost every resi-
dence of the most moderate size: the manner in which the
shrubs are disposed, must necessarily depend in a great de-

gree, upon the size of the grounds, the use or enjoyment to
be derived from them, and the prevailing character of thie
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 gen-
erally be placed near and about the house, in order that
their gay blossoms and fine fragrance may be more constant-

ly 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 more rare species 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 introduc-

tion of shrubs, might interfere with the noble and dignified ex-
pression of lofty full grown trees, except perhaps, they were
planted here and there, among large 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. 55,
page 364. 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
EMBELLISHMENTS. 373
Dr. Hosack, which borders the walk leading from the man-
sion, 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, com-
pletely 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 bor-
der, 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
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
grass 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, every thing depends upon growp-
ingwell, it will be found that shrubs maybe 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 pictur-

esque 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 neigh-

bourhood 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 selec-
tion 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 additional species
and varieties, and many more rare, might be enumerated,

but such will be sufficiently familiar to the connoisseur al-
ready ; and what we have said respecting botanical rarities
in flowering plants maybe applied with equal force to shrubs,

viz : that in order to produce a brilliant effect, a few well
chosen species, often repeated, are more effective than a great
and ill-assorted melange.
In the following list, the shrubs are divided into two clas-
ses — No. 1 designating those of medium size, or low growth,

and No. 2, those which are of the largest size.
Flowering in April.
1. Daphne mezeremn, The pink Mezereum D. M. album, the

white Mezereum.
2. Sheperdia argentea, the Buffalo berry ;
yellow.
1. Folhergilla alnifoUa, the alder-leaved Fothergilla ; brown.
EMBELLISHMENTS. 375
1. Cydoniajaponica, the Japan Quince ; scarlet.
1. Cydonica japonica alba, the Japan Quince white. ;
2. Amelancliier Botryapium, the snowy Medlar.

1. Ribes aureum, the Missouri Currant yellow. ;
1. CoroniUa Emerus, the Scorpion Senna yellow. ;
2. Magnolia conspicua, the Chinese chandelier Magnolia white. ;
Mat.
2. Cralegus oxycantha, the scarlet Hawthorn.

2. Crategus oxycantha, Jl. pleno, the double white Hawthorn.
2. Chionanthus virginica, the white Fringe tree.
1. Chionanthus latifolius, the broad-leaved Fringe tree ; white.
1. Azalea : many fine varieties ; red, white, and yellow.
1. Calycanthus fllorida, the Sweet-scented-shrub ; brown.
1. Magnolia purpurea, the Chinese purple Magnolia.
2. Halesia tetraptera, the silver Bell tree ; white.
2. Syringa vulgaris, the common white and red Lilacs.
1. Syringa persica, the Persian Lilac : white and purple.
1. Syringa persica laciniata, the Persian cut-leaved Lilac ;
pur-
ple.
1. Kerria or Corchorus Japonica, the Japan Globe flower ;

yellow.
1. Lonicera tartarica, the Tartarian upright Honeysuckles ; red
and white.
1. Fhiladelphus coronarius, the common S)Tringo, and the double
Syringe ; white.
1. Spiraa hypericifolia, the St. Steplien's vireath ; white.
1. Spiraea corymbosa, the cluster flowering Spirea ; white.
1. Ribes sanguineum, the scarlet flowering Currant.
1. Amygdalus pumila, pi. the double dwarf Almond pink. ;
1. Caragana Chamlagn, the Siberian Pea tree yellow. ;
2. Magnolia soulangeana, the Soulange Magnolia purple. ;
1. Pceonia Moutan banksia, and rosea, the Chinese tree Pseo-

nias ;
purple.
1. Benthamiafragifera, the red berried Bentharaia ;
yellow.
JuiME.
1. Amorpha fruticosa, the Indigo Shrub ;

purple.
2. Colutea arborescens, the yellow Bladder-senna.

1. Colutea cruenta, the red Bladder-senna.
1. Cytisus capitatus, the cluster-flowered Cytissus ;
yellow.
1. Stuarlia virginica, the white Stuartia.
1. Cornus sanguinea, the bloody twig Dogwood ; white.
1. Hydrangea quercifolia, the oak-leaved Hydrangea ; white.
2. PMladelphus grandijlorus, the large flowering Syringo ; white.

2. Viburnum Opulus, the Snow-ball white. ;
2. Magnolia glauca, the swamp Magnolia white. ;
1. Robinia hispida, the Rose-acacia.
July.
1. Spirea bella, the beautiful Spirea ; red.

2. Sophora japonica, the Japan Sophora ; white.
2. Sophora japonica pendula, the weeping Sophora ; wiiite.
2. Rhus Cotinus, the Venetian Fringe tree ;

yellow. (Brown
tufts.)
1. Ligustrum vulgare, the common Privet white. ;
2. Cyiisus Laburnum, the Laburnum yellow. ;
2. Cytisus I. quercifolia, the oak-leaved Laburnum ; white.

1, Cytisus purpureu, the purple Laburnum.
1. Cytisus argenteus, the silvery Cytissus ;
yellow.
1. Cytisus nigricans, the black rooted Cytissus ;
yellow.
2. Kcelreuteria paniculata, the Japan Koelreuteria ;
yellow.
August and September.
1. Clethra alnifolia, the alder-leaved Clethra ; white.

1. Symphoria racemosa, the Snowberry ;
(in fruit,) white.
2. Hibiscus syriacus, the double purple, double white, double

striped, double blue, and variegated leaved Althea.
1. Spircca tomentosa, the tomentose Spirea ; red.
2. Magnolia glauca, thompsoniana, the late flowering Magnolia ;
white.
1. Baccharis halimifolia, the Groundsel tree ;
purple.
2. Euonymus europccus, the European Strawberry tree, (in
fruit,) red.
2. Euonymus europceus alba, the European Strawberry tree ; the

fruit white.
1. 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

EMBELLISHMENTS. 377
grown as standards, is wonderfully brilliant, when they are

in full bloom. Perhaps the situation where they are display-
ed to the greatest advantage is, in the centre of small round,
oval, or square beds in the flower-garden, where the remain-
der 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 au-
tumn and winter, are not hardy enough to endure the depress-
ed temperature often degrees below zero. South of Phila-
delphia, these beautiful exotic evergreens may be acclimated
with good success, and will add astonishingly to the interest
of the shrubbery and grounds in winter.

Besides the Balsam firs, and the Spruce firs, the Arbor
Vitas, and other evergreen trees which we have described in

the previous pages of this volume, the following hardy spe-
cies 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.
Kalmia latifolia, the common Laurel ; several colours.

Juniperus suecia, the Swedish Juniper,
Juniperis communis, the Irish Juniper.
Buxus arbarescens, the common Tree-box, the Gold striped Tree-
box, and the Silver striped Tree-box.
Ilex opaca, the American Holly.
Craiegus pyracantha, the Evergreen Thorn.
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 difierent members of a family.
Those who have not enjoyed it, can hardly imagine the
48
pleasure afforded by a well-chosen collection of exotic plants,

which, amid the genial warmth of an artificial climate, con-
tinue 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 vigour 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 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
1
about in vegetable forms, the interest we feel in the opening
of a favourite 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 ennuyante.
The difference between the green-house and conserva-
tory is, that in the former, the plants are all kept in fots 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 favour of the conser-
vatory. The plants being allowed more room, have richer

and more luxuriant foliage, and grow and flower in a man-
EMBELLISHMENTS. 379
ner altogether superior to those in pots. The allusion to na-

ture 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 per-
fect 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 partic-
ular taste, as that of a botanical amateur, who wishes to sfrow
a great number of species in a small space, the green-house

will be found preferable. Whenever either the conservatory
or green-house is of moderate size, and intended solely for
private recreation, we would in every case, when such a

thing is not impossible, have it attached to the house ; com-
municating 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 con-
servatory, bordered and overhung with the fine forms of tro-
pical vegetation, — golden oranges glowing through the dark

green foliage, and gay corrollas lighting up the branches of
Camellias, and other floral favourites. Let us add the ex-
ultino: song- of a few Canaries, and the enchantment is com-
plete. 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 e?ids 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 conservatory 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 lead-
ing down the conservatory, 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 are
to be well-grown, must be glazed. Opaque roofs prevent
the admission of perpendicular light, without which, the

stems of vegetation are drawn up weak and feeble, as well
as 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 much more elegant, and the plants
will thrive more admirably, if 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 ;
south-
east and southwest are scarcely inferior. Even east and

west exposures will do very well, where there is plenty of
glass to admit light ; for though our winters are cold, yet
there is a great abundance of sun, and bright clear atmos-

phere, both far more beneficial to plants, than the moist, foggy
vapour of an English winter, which, though mild, is compara-
tively sunless. When the conservatory adjoins and looks into
the flower-garden, the effect will be appropriate and pleasing.
Some few hints respecting the construction of a conserva-
tory 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

EMBELLISHMENTS. 381
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 sum-
mer. 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-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 some
cases to our knowledge here.
In the second place, some thorough provision must be
made for warming the conservatory ; and it is by far the
best mode to have the apparatus for this purpose entirely in-
dependent of the dwelling-house ; that is, (thous^h the fur-
nace may be in the basement,) the flues and fire should be

intended to heat the conservatory alone ; for although a con-
servatory may, if small, be heated by the same fire which
heats the kitchen or one of the living rooms, it is a much
less efficient mode of attaining this object, and renders the
conservatory more or less liable 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 di-
ameter from an open boiler, and by Perkins' mode,* as it is
called, which employs small pipes of an inch in diameter,
* An agency for this complete method of heating buildings of al! de-
scriptions to a mild and equal temperature, has recently been established at

New- York, at the office of the Howell Works, 238 Water-street.
382 LANDSCAPE GARDENING,
hermetrically sealed. Economy of fuel and in the time requi-

site in attendance, are the chief merits of the hot water sys-
tems, 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 con-

cealed 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 chamber, under
the walk, which has perforated sides or a grated top, to per-
mit the escape of heated air.*
[Fig. 5G. Villa of J. W. Perry, Esq , al Brooklyn, N. V, with the CoDserviilory attached.]
One of the most beautiful conservatories attached to the

dwelling, to which we can refer our readers, for an example,
is that of J. W. Perry, Esq., Brooklyn, near New- York, ^g-.
56, forming the left wing of this elegant villa. The most
magnificent detached conservatory is that of J. P. Gushing,
Esq., at his elegant seat, Belmont Place, Watertown, near
* 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.
EMBELLISHMENTS. 383
Boston. In both these examples, the buildings are heated

by hot water, the pathways paved with marble, and the whole
is in the highest order and keeping.
A conservatory is frequently made an addition to a rectan-
gular 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. Whatever be the style of the archi-
tecture of the house, that of the conservatory should in every
case conform to it, and evince a degree of enrichment equal

to 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 some-
times called, eight or ten feet square, communicating with the
parlour, 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 comforts of life are more

equally distributed than in any other, the taste for enjoy-
ments of this kind extending itself with the means for real-
izing them, into every portion of the northern and middle

states.
Open and covered seats, of vaiious descriptions, are among

the most convenient and useful decorations for the pleasure-
grounds of a country residence. Situated in portions 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 enjoy-
ing them, has a double recommendation to our minds.

Open and covered seats are of two distinct kinds ;
one
architectural, or formed after artist-lilie designs, of stone or
wood, in Grecian, Gothic, or other forms ; which may, if they

are intended to produce an elegant effect, have vases on pe-
destals as accompaniments ; the other, rustic, as they are
called, which are formed out of trunks and branches of trees,
roots, etc., 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 vio-
lence to our feelings and sense of propriety to admit many rus-
tic seats and structures of any kind; but architectural decora-

lions 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 artificial 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.
The simplest variety of covered architectural seat, is the

latticed arbour for vines of various description, with the seat
underneath the canopy of foliage: this may with more pro-
priety be introduced in various parts of the grounds than
any other of its class, as the luxuriance and natural graceful-

ness of the foliage which covers the arbour, in a great mea-
EMBELLISHMENTS. 385
sure destroys, or overpowers the expression of its original
form. Lattice arbours, however, neatly formed of rough

poles and posts, are much more picturesque and suitable for
wilder portions of the scenery.
The temple and the pavilion, are highly finished
forms of covered seats, which are occasionally in-
troduced in splendid places, where classic archi-

[Fig. 571
tecture prevails. There is a circular pavilion of
this kind at the termination of one of the walks at Dr. Ho-
sack's residence, Hyde Park. Fig. 57.
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 lono; walk in the
tr.g. s8.]
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 58, 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. 59,
is a seat of the same character, made at the foot
of a tree, whose overhanging branches afford a fine shade.
Figure 60, is a covered seat or rustic arbour, with a thatch-

ed roof of straw. Twelve posts are set securely in the
ground, which make the frame of this structure, the open-

49
ings 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 structure 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 61, represents a covered seat of another kind. The
central structure, which is circular, is inten-
ded for a collection of minerals, shells, or any

other curious objects for which an amateur
might have di penchant. Geological or miner-

[Fig. 61.]
alogical specimens of the adjacent neighbour-
hood, would be very proper for such a cabinet. The seat
surrounds it on the outside, over which is a thatched roof or

EMBELLISHMENTS. 387
veranda, supported on rustic pillars formed of the trunks of

saplings, with the bark attached.
[Fig. 62. Rmtic covered Seat.]
Many of the English country places abound with admira-

ble specimens of rustic work in their parks and pleasure-
grounds. White Knight's, in particular, a residence of the
Duke of Marlborough has a number of beautiful structures
of this kind. Figure 62, is a view of a 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 quan-
tity, they may be nailed on in squares, diamonds, medallions, or

other patterns, and have the efiêct 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

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
colours 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
wedore. 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 diiferent colours, which has an
effect not unlike that of a thick Brussels carpet.
The mosses retain their colour for a great length of time,
and when properly ranmied in with the wedge, they cannot
be pulled out again without breaking their tops. The only

example which we have seen of a handsome moss-house in
this country, is at Winship's Garden, Brighton, near Boston.
A prospect toioer is a most desirable and pleasant struc-
ture in certain residences. Where the view is comparative-

ly limited from the grounds, on account of their surface be-
ing level or nearly so, it often happens that the spectator, by

being raised some twenty-five or thirty feet above the sur-
face, finds himself in a totally different position, whence a
charming coup cPmil, or bird's-eye view of the surrounding
country is obtained.
Those of our readers who may have visited the delightful
garden and grounds of M. Parmentier, near

Brooklyn, some half a dozen years since,
during the lifetime of that amiable and zeal-
ous amateur of horticulture, will readily re-

[t'ig- 63. ProsiwctAibor.J •
member i i
the rustic prospect-arbor, or tower,
figure 63, which was situated at the extremity of his place.

EMBELLISHMENTS, 389
It was one of the first pieces of rustic work of any size, and
displaying any ingenuity that we remember to have seen
here ; and from its summit, though the garden walks afford-
ed no prospect, a beautiful reach of the neighbourhood for

many miles was enjoyed.
Figure 64 is a design for a rustic prospect tower of three
stories in height, with a double thatched roof
It is formed of rustic pillars or columns, which
are well fixed in the ground, and which are
filled in with a fanciful lattice of rustic
branches. A spiral stair-case winds round

the interior to the platform of the second and
upper stories, where there are seats under the open thatched
roof
On a/erme ornee^ 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 detach-
ed building, and in this country it may be built of logs in
a tasteful manner with a thatched roof; the interior beinof
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 con-
ceal.
A species of useful decoration, which is perhaps more nat-

urally suggested than any other, is the bridge. Where 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 necessaiy. In pieces of artificial water that are ir-
regular in outline, a narrow strait is often purposely made,

with the view of introducing a bridge for effect.
When the stream is large and bold, a handsome architec-

tural 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 fo-
liage of the pleasure-ground or park, a rustic bridge may be
A /^^^\ brought in with the happiest effect. Fig.
i-r rt=as9Si^'^î^f ^^ ^'^ ^ rustic bridge erected under our

,^^^^^^^^M direction. The foundation is made by
[Fig. 65. Rus.ic Bridge.]
laying dowu a few large square stones
beneath the surface on both sides of the stream to be span-
ned ;
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 diameter, crosswise upon the

sleepers, and nailing them down securely. The bark is al-
lowed 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-
duced in particular portions of the scenery of a residence, j^^.
66. When well executed, that is, so as to have a natural

and harmonious expression, the effect is highly pleasino-.
We have seen, however, in places where a high keeping and

EMBELLISHMENTS. 391
^Vf^;^
[Pig. 66. Rockwork.]
good taste otherwise prevailed, such a barbarous melange^ 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 at-
tempt nothing of the kind, unless there is a suitable place for

its display, and at the same time, the person attempting it is
sufiiciently an artist, imbued with the spirit of nature in her

various compositions and combinations, 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, or 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 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 conductingr the walks throufifh the grrounds,
we 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 pictur-
esque operations upon it. We will begin by collecting from

some rocky hill or valley in the neighbourhood of the estate,
a sufficient quantity of rugged rocks, in size from a few

pounds to half a ton or more, if necessary, preferring always
such as are already coated with mosses and lichens. These

we will assemble around the base of the large rock, in an
irregular somewhat pyramidal group, bedding them some-
times partially, sometimes almost entirely in soil heaped in
irregular piles around the rock. The rocks must be arranged
in a natural manner, avoiding all regularity 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 natu-
ral groups, of a character similar to that which we wish to
produce, will aiford sufficient hints if the artist is
" Prodigue de genie,"
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 be planted in the soil which fills the interstices between

the rocks : when these grow to fill their proper places, partly
EMBELLISHMENTS. 393
concealing and adorning the rocks with their neat green

foliage and pretty blossoms, the effect of the whole, if prop-
erly 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 orrowth of
alpine and other similar plants, if there are no natural in-

dications of a rocky surface, a rockwork may sometimes be
introduced without violating good taste by preparing nat-
ural 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 appearance of a
rocky ridge just cropping out. as the geologists say, then the
rockwork will, to the eye of a spectator, seem to be con-
nected 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 ar-
tificial appearance.
In a previous page, when treating of the banks of pieces of
water formed by art, we endeavoured to show how the nat-

ural, appearance of such banks would be improved by the
judicious introduction of rocks partially imbedded into and
holding them up. Such situations, in the case of a small
lake or pond, or a brook, are admirable sites for rockwork.

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 ar-
50
ranged 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 rock-
work 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 beautiful shrubs and climbers.

On a tame sandy level, where rocks of any kind are un-
known, 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 ap-
prehend, to any great cost incurred in putting them up, or

any want of appreciation of their sparkling and enlivening
• 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 Brough-
ton of Hoole House, Chester, England, has succeeded in forming round a nat-
ural valley an imitation of the hills, glaciers, and scenery of a passage in Switzer-
land. 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.

EMBELLISHMENTS. 395
effect in garden scenery, as to the fact that there are few arti-
zans here, as abroad, whose business it is to construct and

fit up architectural and other jets d'eau,
Ttie 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. Where there is
[Fig. 67. Design for a rountiiu]
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 the required spot
but where there is no such head of water, the latter must be

provided from a reservoir artificially prepared, and kept con-
stantly 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 sufiicient 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 moderate size being much more than is gener-
ally 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 conspicuous, and over it
to erect a small tower, the top of which shall contain a cis-
tern and a small horizontal windmill ; which being kept in
motion by the wind more or less almost every day in sum-

mer, will raise a sufficient quantity of water to keep the re-
servoir supplied from the well below. In either of these

cases, it is only necessary to carry leaden pipes from the cis-
tern, (under the surface, below the reach of fost,) 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 consump-

tion of the fountain during the hours when it will be neces-
sary 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.
" In conducting the water from the cistern or reservoir to
the jet or fountain, the following particulars require to be at-

tended to :
— In the first place, all the pipes must be laid suf-
ficiently 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, technically 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 quad-
ruple proportion to each other. There are several sorts of

EMBELLISHMENTS. 307
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 ; be-
cause 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 found advan-
tageous 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 technically 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 of six inches in
diameter, and the last 600 feet with pipes of four inches in
diameter. In conduits not exceeding 900 feet, the same di-
ameter may be continued throughout. When several jets
are to play, in several fountains, or in the same, it is not

necessary to lay a fresh pipe from each jet to the reservoir
a main of sufficient size, with branch pipes to each jet, be-
ing 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 mat-
ters 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 ob-
ject 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,
ouofht to be a cock for turninor 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 cir-
cular hole of the pipe. In conduit pipes, all elbows, bend-
ings, 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 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 or-
der 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 sur-

faces 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 conduit pipes
on a regular uniform slope, to secure a steady uninterrupted

flow of water. Owing to the friction in the pipes, and the
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 ex-
ample, if the reservoir is ten feet four inches high, the water
in the jet will only rise ten feet, and in like proportion for
EMBELLISHMENTS. 399
the different heights. The following table* 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.
Height of the
Weeping, or Tazza Fountains as they are called, are

simple and highly pleasing objects which require only a
ni^TiTT'^'rTTS'^ i
^^''y nioderate supply of water com-
I'Jlj^^^^^^^!^ ;,';';; pared with that demanded by a con-
jiV/' v|jljl|i:^^^';
/'
;i ['i:i('; stant and powerful jet. The conduit
:i ;ijl;^.'''!' tîji|^ -|! ||i|:^|'- pipe rises through and fills the vase,
I
.„
rp:, ba.
[fig.
'
'lazza
, p ,
.
,
luuntaiii.J
which is so formed as to overflow
round its entire margin. Figure 69 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 perpen-
dicularly, 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 French 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 rockwork alluded to, from whence (the orifice of

the pipe being concealed or disguised,) the water issues
among the rocks either in the form of a cascade, a weeping

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. '
'
''
Fotitttains 5f a h%hl"y 'î'tTfi'fcial character are happily situ-
ated only when they are placed in the neighbourhood of

buildings qjiid ar,cj;î,f,epturfil forms. When only a single
EMBELLISHMENTS. 401
fountain can be maintained in a residence, the centre of the
flower-garden, or the neighbourhood 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 view-
ed from the windows of the rooms ;
and the falling wa-
tery spray suggesting ideas of coolness is no less delightful
in the surrounding stillness, of a summer evening.

After all that we have said respecting architectural and
rustic decorations of the grounds, we must admit that it re-
quires a great deal of good taste and judgment, to introduce
and distribute them so as to be in good keeping with the

scenery of country residences. A neat villa residence, when
the house, with afew tasteful 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 through-
out the garden and grounds, while the latter, in themselves,
evince a slovenly degree of keeping, and a crude and meagre

knowledge of design in Landscape Gardening.
Unity of expression^ is the maxim and guide in this de-
partment of the art, as in every other. Decorations can
never be introduced with good effect, when they are at va-
riance with the character of surrounding objects. A beauti-
ful Grecian 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 to-
tally misapplied in the case of a plain square edifice, evinc-
ing no architectural style in itself.
51
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.jDy means of appropriate dec-

orations, as to heighten by contrast, 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 when they are manifestly appropri-

ate 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, quiet portion of the grounds, where

undisturbed meditation may be enjoyed. As our favourite
Delille says
" Sachez ce qui convient ou nuit au caractere.
Un reduit ecarle. dans un lieu solitaire,
Peint mieux la solitude encore et I'abandon.

Montrez-vous done fideie k chaque expression ;
N'allez pas au grand jour offrir un ermitage :
Ne cachez point un temple au fond d'un bois sauvage."
Les Jardins.
Or if certain objects are unavoidably placed in situations
of inimical expression, the artist should labour to alter the

character of the locality. How much this can be done by the
proper choice of trees and shrubs, and the proper arrange-
EMBELLISHMENTS. 403
merit of plantations, those who have seen the difference in as-
pect of certain favourite localities of wild nature, as covered
with wood, and 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 purposes, by the aid of time, with ease and fa-
cility.
APPENDIX.
I.
Notes on transplanting trees. Reasons for frequent failures in removing large trees. Direc-
tions for performing this operation. Selection of subjects. Preparing trees for removal.
Transplanting evergreens.
There 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 improve-
ment or embellishment of new country residences, we shall offer a few re-

marks here, with the hope of rendering it a more easy and successful prac-
tice 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 constitutes 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 phy-
siology, and partly from mal-practice in the operation of removal itself.
When the admirably written "Planter's Guide," by Sir Henry Steuarf,
made its appearance some ten years ago, not only describing minutely the
406 APPENDIX.
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, beau-

tified with their verdure and luxuriance the baronet's own park, the
whole matter of transplanting was apparently cleared up, and numbers of

individuals in this country, with sanguine 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 atmosphere, which for
full nine months of the twelve, is copiously charged with fogs, mist, and
dampness, may undoubtedly be considered as the most favourable in the
world, for restoring the weakened or impaired vital action of large transplant-
ed trees. In this country, on the contrary, the dry atmosphere, and constant
evaporation under the brilliant sun of our summers, are most important ob-
stacles with which the transplanter has to contend, and which render com-
plete 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 suffi-
ciently large to produce very considerable immediate eflfect, 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, etc., and the second,
a bad or improper selection of subjects on which the operation is to be per-
formed. Either of these causes would account for bad success in removals
and where, as is frequently the case, both are combined, total failure can
scarcely be a matter of surprise to those really familiar with the matter.
An uninformed spectator, who should witness for the first time the re-
moval of a forest tree, as ordinarily performed by many persons, would
scarcely suppose that anything beyond mere physi£al strength was required.
APPENDIX. 407
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 shoveling in, while the tree is held upright, the surroundmg 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, complet-
ing the whole by pouring two or three pails of water upon the top of the
ground. How any reflecting person, who looks upon a plant as a delicately
organized individual, can reasonably expect or hope for success after such
treatment in transplanting, is what we never could fully miderstand ! 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 lar-
ger 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, therefore, in the highest degree fatal to the success of the trans-
planted tree. To avoid this as far as practicable, we should, in removing a
tree, commence at such a distance as to include a circumference 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 carefully
loosened from the soil, with as little injury as possible ; the earth should
be gently and gradually removed from the larger roots, as we proceed on-
ward 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 perfect condition,
that even when of considerable size, we may confidently hope for a speedy
recovery of its former luxuriance after being replanted.
Now to remove a tree in this manner, requires not only a considerable

408 APPENDIX.
degree of experience, which is only to be acquired by practice, but also much

falienee 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 portion 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 por-
tion of the roots are carefully taken up with the tree, pruning may be
nearly or entirely dispensed with, and thus the original symmetry and
beauty of the head retained. When this is the case the leaves contribute
as much, by their peculiar action in elaborating the sap, towards re-estab-
lishing the tree, as the roots ; and indeed the two act so reciprocally 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 offices of leaves, are essential to the
health of a plant : its healthiness being in proportion to the degree in
which these functions are duly performed. The leaf is in reality a nat-
ural 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 re-
turning into the general circulation, the fluids in their matured condition.
In a word, the leaf of a plant is its lungs and stomach traversed by a sys-
tem of veins." * All the pruning, therefore, that is necessary, when a tree
is properly transplanted, will be comprised in paring smooth all bruises, or
accidental 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.
* Theory of Horticulture.
APPENDIX. 409
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 trans-
plant successfully, even with the greatest care ; while the latter may
always be removed with comparatively 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 compara-
tively few branches except at the top, smooth and thin bark, and they are
scantily provided with roots, but especially with the small fibres so essen-
tially 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 a 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 Stewart has aptly denominated,
the ''protecting properties'^ vêW developed; being robust and hardy they
are well calculated to endure the violence of the removal, while trees
growing in the midst of a wood, sheltered from the tempests by their fel-
lows, and scarcely ever receiving the sun and air freely except at their top-
most branches, are too feeble to withstand the change of situation, when
removed to an open lawn, even when they are carefully transplanted.
" Of trees in open exposures," says Sir Henry, "we find that their pecu-
liar properties contribute, in a remarkable manner, to their health and pros-
perity. In the first place, their shortness and greater girth of stem, in
contradistinction to others in the interior of woods, are obviously 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 access 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 supe-
rior tliickness and induration of bark is, in like mannei; bestowed for the
52
410 APPENDIX.
protection of the sap-vessels, 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 nour-
ishment and strength ; nourishment to support a mass of such magnitude,

and strength to contend with the fury of the blast. Such are the obvious
purposes for which the unvarying characteristics of trees in open exposures

are conferred upon them. Nor are they conferred equally and indiscrim-
inately upon all trees so situated. They seem, by the economy of nature,
to be peculiar adaptations to the circumstances and wants of each individual,
uniformly hestoived 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 machine used in removing trees of moderate size is of simple con-
struction ; 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 loosened about the
roots, the pole, with the tree attached, is drawn down to a horizontal 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 to 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, par-
tially 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 one year, and often three or four vears
;
the tree, stimulated by the fresh supply of food, throws out an abundance
of small fibres, which render success, when the time for removal arrives,
comparatively certain.
* The Planter's Guide, p. 105.

APPENDIX. 411
It may be well to remark here, that before large trees are transplanted
into their final situations, the latter should be well prepared by trenching,
or digging the soil three feet deep ; intermingling throughout the whole a
hberal portion of well decomposed manure, or rich compost. To those
who are in the habit of planting trees of any size in unprepared ground, or
that merely prepared by digging one spit deep and turning in a little sur-
face manure, it is inconceivable how much more rapid is the growth, and
how astonishingly luxuriant the appearance of trees when removed into
ground properly prepared. It is not too much to affirm, that young trees
under favourable 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 proportion, — a gain of growth surely worth the trifling ex-
pense incurred in the first instance.
In the actual planting of the tree, the chief point lies in bringing every
small fibre in contact with the soil, so that no hollows or interstices are
left, which may produce mouldiness and decay of the roots. To avoid this
the soil must be firmly broken 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 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
contact for growth. Trees well watered in this way when planted, will
rarely require it afterwards ; 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 supply ; when, the water having been absorbed, the surface should
again be replaced. There is no practice more mischievous to newly plant-
ed 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 sur-
face becomes baked, and but little water reaches the roots ;
just sufficient
perhaps to afford a momentary stimulus, to be followed by increased sensi-

bility 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 pre-
412 APPENDIX.
ferred 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, as should it be deferred to a later period, the trees will be
likely to suffer greatly by the hot summer sun before they are well estab-
lished.
The transplanting of evergreens is generally considered so much more

difficult than that of deciduous trees, and so many persons who have tole-
rable success in the latter, fail in the former, that we may perhaps be ex-
pected to point out the reason of these frequent failures.
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 impossibe to succeed in the
temperate portions of the United States, from the different character of our
climate at these seasons. The genial moisture of the English climate, ren-
ders transplanting comparatively easy at all seasons, but especially in win-
ter ; 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 in their foliage, and soon perish. If planted in autumn

or early winter, the severe cold that ensues, to which the newly disturb-
ed plant is peculiarly alive, paralyzes vital action, and the tree is so much
enfeebled that, when spring arrives, it survives but a short period. The
only period, therefore, that remains for the successful removal of ever-
greens 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 vigour.
Evergreens are, in their roots, much more delicate and impatient of dry-
ness than deciduous trees ; and this should be borne in mind while trans-
planting them. For this reason, experienced planters always choose a wet
or misty day for their removal ; and in dry weather we would always re-
commend 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 diffi-
cult of removal than other trees.
Another mode of transplanting large evergreens, which is very success-
fully practised among us, is that of removing them with frozen balls of
APPENDIX. 413
earth in mid-winter. When skilfully performed, it is the most complete of

all the modes, and is so different from the common method, that the objec-
tion we have just made to winter planting, does not apply to this case.
The trees to be removed are selected, the situations 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 dis-
tance, gradually undermining it, and leaving all the principal mass of roots
embodied in the ball of earth. 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 pre-
viously 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
scarcely to show, at the return of growth, any ill effects from its change
of location.
11.
Description of an English Suburban residence, Cheshunt Cottage. With views and plans
showing the arrangement of the house and grounds. And the mode of managing the whole
[The following description of an interesting suburban residence near
London, with the numerous engravings illustrating it, has been kindly fur-
nished us for this work by J. C. Loudon, Esq. It was originally published
in his "Gardener's Magazine," and affords an admirable illustration of this

class of residences : showing what may be done, and how much beauty and
enjoyment realized, on a comparatively limited space of ground.]
Cheshunt Cottage, the Residence of Wm. Harrison, Esq.

F. L. S. ETC.
" 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.)
The sides of the road from London to Cheshunt, by Stoke Newington, Ed-
monton, 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
414 APPENDIX.
[Fig. 1. Cheshuiu Cottage, from ihe Road.]
Green, called the Green Lanes, between the Tottenham and Edmonton
road and the Barnet road, and threading our way through numerous inter-
esting 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 remarkable circumstances in the state of the
country in the neighbourhood 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 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, numer-
ous 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 public road, in his fami-
ly carriage or in a stage-coach ; and it is accordingly only known to pe-
destrians, and such as are not afraid of driving their horses over rough
roads, or meeting waggons or hay-carts in narrow lanes. The road through
the Green Lanes to Enfield is an excellent turnpike road, always in a good

state, with occasional villas near Bour Farm and Palmer's Green; and
APPENDIX
416 APPENDIX.
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 hand-
some trees. Afterwards it passes the celebrated park of Theobalds, near
where formerly stood a royal palace, the favourite residence of James L,
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^^ 1.
The ground occupied by Mr. Harrison's cottage and gardens is about

seven acres, exclusive of two adjoining grass fields. The grounds lie en-
tirely on one side of the house, as shown in the plan, fig. 13. in p. 438,
439. 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 right 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 inter-
est, 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 architect and Landscape Gardener ; not only devising the general de-
sign, but furnishing working-drawings of all the details of the interior of
the cottage. His reason for fixing on the present situation for the house
was, the vicinity (the grounds joining) of a house and walk belonging to a
relation of his late wife. This circumstance is mentioned as accounting 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 commenced his operations about thirty years ago, by pur-
chasing, at a large nursery sale, large lots of evergreens, not 6 in. high, in
beds of one hundred each, such as laurels, Portugal laurels, laurustinuses»

bays, hollies, &c. ; 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 occasional particular trees and shrubs from nursery grounds,
constituted a continual supply for improvement and extension. This, with
APPENDIX. 417
418 APPENDIX,
the hospital ground mentioned hereafter, furnished the means of extensions
and improvements at no other expense than labour, which, when completed,

gave the place the appearance of an old garden ; the plants being larger
than could be obtained, or, if obtained, safely transplanted, Irom nurseries.
This is an important consideration, in addition to that of economy, well

worth the attention of amateur improvers of grounds or gardens.
By inspecting the ])]3.n,Jig. 4, it will be found that the house contains,
on the ground floor, three good living-rooms, and two other rooms (n and
g-) particularly appropriate to the residence of an amateur fond of botany

and gardening ; and that it is replete with every description of accommo-
dation and convenience requisite for the enjoyment of all the comforts and
luxuries that a man of taste can 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 farmyard, and of
the hot-house and frame departments, as exhibited in the plan,_^^. 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, the kitchen-
garden, and the hot-houses on the same side as the kitchen offices, yet in
this case no inconvenience results from their separation ; because the pub-
lic road, as will be seen by the plan, Jig. 12, forms a ready medium of com-
munication between them, in cases 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 intro-
duce as much variety as could be conveniently done in a comparatively

limited space. This has been effected chiefly by distributing oyer the lawn
a collection of trees and shrubs ; by forming a small piece of water, and
disposing of the earth excavated into hilly inequalities ; and by walks lead-
ing to different points of view, indicated by different kinds of covered seats
or garden structures. In conducting the walks, and distributing the trees
and shrubs, considerable skill and taste have been displayed in concealing
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.
Before we enter into further details, we shall describe, first, the plan of
420 APPENDIX.
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 con-

sidered as a cottage, or rather as a villa assuming a cottage character.
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 ^^. 4 is an enlarged plan, consists of:
a, The porch, entered from a bridge thrown across the brook, 4, as shown
mfig. 4.
b b, Passage, from which are seen the stairs to the bedrooms ; and in which,
at a, there is a jib-door and a ventilating window, to prevent the possi-
bility of the smell from the kitchen or offices, or water-closet, penetrating
to the other parts of the passage.
c, Recess for coats, hats, etc., fitted up with a hat and umbrella-stand,
tables, etc.
d, Drawing-room, with a recess at the further end, fitted up with a sofa

and a writing-table.
e, 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 gar-
den, and a glass door to the porch, h, also looking into the garden, and
from which the view Jig. 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, etc. ; 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 paneled wainscoat. The shelves are
fitted in front with mahogany double reeds, fixing the cloth which pro-
tects the tops of the books, thus giving the appearance of mahogany.
g, Museum for specimens of minerals and other curiosities, entered 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 ser-
APPKNDIX. 421
|Fig5- View from the Libiaiy Porch.
vants' 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 /, containing a
turning-lathe, a carpenters' work-bench, a complete set of carpenters'
tools, garden tools for pruning, etc., of all sorts ; spuds with handles,
graduated with feet and inches, fishing tackle, archery articles, etc.
0, 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.
q, 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 b, are seen
the stairs leading to the servants' bedrooms, r, Beer-cellar.
s. Kitchen, lighted from the roof, and from a window on one side.
ss, Scullery, lighted from one side, t, Housekeeper's closet. ?/, Coal-cel-
lar, r. Larder, k-. Bottle rack, a;. Safe for cold meat, y. Wash-house.
2, Knife-house. 4-, filtering apparatus. 1, Ash-pit. 2, Coal-house.
422 APPENDIX.
3, Fire-place to the vinery at 10, in the kitchen-garden 9.
4 4, Brook. 5 5, 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 every
thing that is desirable for comfort and even luxury. The chief difficulty
which occurs to a stranger, in looking at the plan, is, to discover how sev-
eral 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,
etc., is to be preferred ; but which in most cases 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 'mfg, 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 alcove has the floor paved with small pebbles, and the sides
and ceiling lined with young fir-wood, with the bark on. There is a dis-
guised door on the right, which leads to 69, a house for grinding-mills
and other machines ; and on the left, which leads 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 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 ap-
pearance of this alcove is shown in fig. 7.
2, Ship-room, paved with slate, and with the walls finished in stucco, and
ceilintr 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
APPENDIX. 423
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 sailino-
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.
3, 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 Orchidacese, are heated from the boiler indicated at 61.
4, Orchidaceous and fern house, in which a is the stage for Orchidacese,
and b a cone of rockwork, chiefly of vitrified bricks, for ferns. These

ferns, amountipg 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 Orchidaceae, ail 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 Devon-
shire at Chatsworth, they continue much longer in bloom, than when
kept in the degree of heat necessary for their growth.
4 c, Lobby between the orangery (3) and the conservatory (5.)
4 6?, 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 jig. 8, in p. 428. 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
APPENDIX.
ffif 6
APPENDIX.
426 APPENDIX.
wall is covered with different species of Passifl5ra, and with the Tacsb-
nia pinnatistipula.
6, Camellia-house. The camellias kept in pots ; the rafters covered with
vines, and the back wall with passifl6ras and other climbers. This
house, and also 5, are heated from one boiler, as indicated at 64.
7, Geranium-house. The roof is in the ridge and furrow manner of Mr.

Paxtoa. 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 Paxton.
The sides of the pit are formed cf slabs of slate ; and there is a slate
box at e, containing a plant of Musa Cavendishw with a spike of fruit,
two or three of which ripen off weekly. F. is a cistern for stove aquat-
ics. There is a plant of Brugmanstcs suav6lens {Datura 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 coccmea in this house. Both these plants are in
the free soil.
9, House for Cape heaths.

APPENDIX. 427
10, Pinery. The roof of this house is in the ridge and furrow manner, 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 carpen-
ter, 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.
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, etc., during

winter.
15, Tool-house and potting-shed ; the tools regularly hung on irons fixed
to the ceiling, or set against the wall, or laid on shelves, the place
for each sort of tool or implement, ropes, etc., being painted in large
white letters on black boards. The following rules are painted on a
board which is hung up in the tool-house :

—
" Rules to be observed by all Persons working on these Premises, Master
and Men.
" 1. 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 ^d.
" II. For every heap of sweepings or rakings left at night uncleared,
forfeit 3tZ.
« III. Every person making use of bad language to any person on these
premises shall forfeit, for each and every such offence, ^d.
"IV. 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.

428 APPENDIX,
APPENDIX. 429
"VI. Ail forfeits to be paid to the gardener, on or before the Saturday
night following. If any person working regularly on the premises fail to
conform to the above rules and regulations, the gardener shall be at liber-
ty to stop his fines from his wages. Further, should any foreman or jour-
neyman fail to comply with the above rules and regulations (with a knowl-
edge 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, etc. ; but of late the amount has been so
small, that Mr. Harrison has found it necessary to add to it to supply beer,
etc., 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.
16, Mushroom-shed, in which the mushrooms are grovioi in Oldacre's
mamier.
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 2.5 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 smal-
ler 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, etc. amply supplies the store pigs and sows, without any pur-
chased 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
430 APPENDIX.
subject treated in detail in the Quarterly Jourtvil of Agriculture, vol. vii.
p. 445. According to the doctrine there laid down, the globules of meal.
or farinaceous matter of the roots and seeds of plants, lie closely com-
pacted together, within membranes so exquisitely thin and transparent'
that their texture is scarcely to be discerned with the most powerful mi-
croscope. Each farinaceous particle is, therefore, considered as envelop-
ed in a vesicle, which it is necessary to burst, in order to allow the solu-
ble 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 decomposition produced by fermentation ; and, hence, fer-
mented food, like food which has been cooked, is more easily digested
than uncooked or unfermented food. Plants are nourished by the ulti-
mate particles of manure in the same way that animals are nourished by
the ultimate particles of food ; and hence fermentation is as essential to
the dunghill as cookery is to food. The young gardener, as well as the
young farmer, may learn 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, etc. ;
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 occa-
sionally 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-bam. 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, etc. 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.

APPENDIX. 431
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 copper for brewing,
another for the dairy utensils, and a third for washing, besides the oven
already mentioned.
48, Dairy. The milk dishes are of white earthenware ; zinc having been
tried, but having been found not to throw up the cream so speedily and
effectively as had been promised. One zinc dish, with handles, is used
for clotted cream, which is regularly made during the whole of the fruit
season, and occasionally for dinner parties, for preserved tarts, etc. 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 distri-
buted in both places by open tubes and pipes.

49, Coachman's living-room.
50, Coachman's kitchen, and stairs to two bedrooms over.
51, Court for enclosing the coachman's children.
52, Lobby to the dairy. 53, Lobby to Mr. Pratt's brewhouse.

54, Cellar. 55, Chicken-yard.
56, Farmer's yard.
57, A gravelled court separating the coach-yard, 59, from the stable-yard,
56.
58, Place for slaughtering in. 59, Stable-yard.
60, Shed for compost, and various other garden materials ; such as a 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 to come out through the under side of the faucet. Here are
432 APPENDIX.
also kept paint pots, oil cans, boxes, baskets, and a variety of other mat-
ters. The whole of this shed is kept warm by the heat which escapes
from the fire-pJace in 61, and from the back 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 roof-
ing 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 contains in the
upper part two apartments enclosed 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 convenient 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 indicated
at 62, before which is the potting-bench.
64, Fire-place to the conservatory and the camellia-house.
65, Place for keeping food for the rabbits and pigeons, with stairs to the
pigeon-house, which is placed over it.
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 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 carmot 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. Cleanli-
ness, and frequent change of food, have now, for five years, kept the rab-
bits in constant health. It ought never to be forgotten, that attention to

APPENDIX. 433
the above rules, in partially drying green succulent vegetables, is essen-

tial 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 rab-
bit, mentioned in the Encyclopccdia of Agriculture, §73.55, the flesh of
which resembles that of the hare, in quantity and flavour. Mr. Pratt has
fed rabbits here, which, when killed, weighed 11 lbs. We can testify to
their excellence when cooked.
[Fig. 9. View from tlie Chinese Temple.I
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 instru-

ments 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 bins for keeping different kinds of potatoes, car-
rots, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, and yellow, French, and

white turnips, with shelves for onions; and a loft over, which is used as
.55
434 APPENDIX.
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 use of
the family in London, as well as Cheshunt ; here is also a regular stair-
case 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, in p. 421.) The whole of any mud which may
collect in the brook may be wheeled up a plank through this door, with-
out dirtying the walk.
74 74, The brook.
75, Foot entrance to Mr. Pratt's house, the coachman's house, the dairy,
etc.
76, Carriage entrance to the stable-court, garden offices, farm-yard, etc.
77, Private entrance to the garden, over the rustic bridge shown in
78, Masses of vitrified bricks and blocks of stone, distributed among lavim
and shrubs ; among which, large plants of agave, and other rock exot-
ics, are placed in the summer season. The pots and tubs being con-
cealed, by covering them with the stones forming the masses of rockwork.
Here the semicircular space surrounded by rock contains a collection of
Himalayan rhododendrons, etc., in pots, many of them seedlings which

have not yet flowered.
79 79, American shrubbery, consisting chiefly of rhododendrons, azaleas,
magnolias, etc., growing in 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

APPENDIX. 435
these gardens are edged with slate. The bed 83t contains a collection
of choice standard roses. 84, Dahlias.
85, Double ascent of steps to a mound formed of the earth removed in ex-
cavating for the pond. From the platform to which these steps lead
there is a circuitous path to the Chinese temple ; and the steps are or-
namented with Chinese vases, thus affording a note of preparation for
the Chinese temple. The outer sides of the steps are formed of rock-
work, 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 Jig. 9, p. 433.
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 Jig. 10.
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 surrounded 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, in p. 436. 92, Dahlias.
436 APPENDIX.
wS^r.^'^
I
Pig. 11. Grotto, with Umbrella Tent over-:
93, Slip of ground for compost, and various other materials requisite for
the garden and farmyard ; communicating with the frame-ground by the

door 94, witli the farmyard 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 p. 438, 4.39, is a vertical profile of the gardens and pleasure-
ground, with the farmyard, and a small 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 domestic offices, and the smaller kitchen-garden.

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 fruit
APPENDIX. 437
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.

12, Covered seat; of which a view is shown in^ô-. 12. In front of this
seat there is a mulberry tree of large dimensions, which was transplanted
[Fig. 12. Covered Seal, of grotesque and rustic Masoai*y.J
by Mr. Harrison when it was upwards of 80 years of age. The instru-
ments with which a number of large plants, particularly shrubs, were

transplanted under Mr. Harrison's directions, 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 any causes, or which were not im-
mediately wanted, in what he called an hospital for these purposes.
13, A flower-garden, in which for several years a large Araucaria brasi-

liensis 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 Jig. 14, in p. 441, and of which fg.
15, is an elevation of the back ; showing the mamier in which the
barked poles are arranged.
15, Basin of water for aquatics.

438 APPENDIX.
[F«. llj
APPENDIX. 439
Fig. l^]
440 APPENDIX.
16, Rustic building, of which a view is shown in /;§-. 16. In the interior
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 instruments for play-
ing at what is called lawn billiards, which is said to be a game interme-

diate 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 send out with them the following
printed rules :
—
" This game, which differs from all others, should be played on a lawn
about 12 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. 17, in p. 444.
21, Descending steps through evergreens ; from which is seen the distant
view of the house and the tent, as in Jig. 10, in p. 435.
22, Dahlia plantation.
23, Chinese temple, from the interior of which is obtained the view shown
mjig. 9, in p. 433. Behind the temple, a little to one side, is the grotto
shown at 91 in the plan, fig. 6, in p. 424, 425 ; and also in the view,
fig. 11, in p. 436.
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, p. 424, 425.
26, The hot-houses, pits, frames, farm-buildings, &c., shown fig. 6.
27, Grass fields, forming part of the farm.
28, Point from which the view of the hot-houses, fig. 8, in p. 428, is
taken ; and also, turning round, the view of the house, fig. 18, in p. 447.
29, Secret entrance to the grounds. 30, Principal entrance to the house.
31, Entrance to the stable-court and farmyard.

APPENDIX. 441
[Fig. 14. Rustic cohered Seat, of Woodwork. J
Remarks. — In pointing out the principal sources of the professional in-
struction which a young gardener may derive from examining this place,
we shall first direct attention to the garden structures. These, whether of
I
Pig. 15. Elevation of the Biclt.]
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

56
442 APPENDIX.
of plan, and without incurring touch expense. A good exercise for the
young designer would be, to distribute the same accommodation, properly

classed, along the sides of a square or squares, or along the sides of a par-
allelogram 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
[Fig. 16. Hermil'i Seal, and Clastical Vine.)
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 ju-
dicious use of the Penryhn slate ; 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.

APPENDIX. 443
In the farm buildings, the fittings up of the poultry-houses, the rabbit-
house, and the dairy and dairy scullery, well deserve attention ; and also
the arrangement for fermenting the food of the pigs in under-ground cis-
terns, 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 partic-
ular plants. The liquid-manure from the stables is kept apart from that
from the cow-house ; 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 cask in a close shed, (60 in the plan fig. 6, in p. 424, 425,) 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 iira, Erugmansio!, 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 vigour ; but has
not yet had sufficient experience of its efiects, to give a list o f 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
difierent kinds of soils, procured from different parts of the country, are con-
stantly kept in the slip adjoining the frame-ground, ready for use.
The grounds being nearly level are readily supplied with water from
the ponds and from the brook ; and there are concealed wells, communica-
ting with these sources by pipes from the brook, in different parts of the
grounds, and more especially in the kitchen-garden, from which the plants
can be abundantly watered in the growing season with comparatively little
labour ; there being six different places, including the ponds and brook,
444 APPENDIX.
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 enclosed 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, etc., and these enclosures 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 distrib-
uting 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.
ani Agave Mount.]
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.
APPENDIX. 445
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.
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 irreg-
ular groups of trees, with masses of evergreen and deciduous shrubs as un-
dergrowth, intersected by glades of turf. They are scattered over the gen-
eral 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 groimds to the other, and thus as-
certain 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,Jlg. 13,
inp. 438, 439; but, through these openings, the grass field beyond appears
united 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.

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 ultimately 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 laid 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 specta-
tor looking directly across. Indeed, in scenery, no rule is generally more
applicable than this, viz. that all straight lines, whether fences, roads, ca-
nals, or rivers, and all regular symmetrical objects, such as buildings,
should be looked at obliquely. Applying this rule, therefore, to the scene-

446 APPENDIX.
ry 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 fruige of shrubs, it should
only be broken here and there by occasional 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 con-
tinuing the walk which commences at d near 19, by n and o o, to ^ near

16. If there were nothing to see or be seen beyond the boundary, then,
unless the boundary fence were a conservative wall, that is, a wall covered
with half-hardy ornamental plants, we should still prefer changing the di-
rection 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 visiter 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 de-
ference 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.
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, 1st, to have a walk dif-
ferent from any other in the garden ; and, 2d, a walk sheltered 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 finish-
ed, it will enter a dense plantation, the walk going round at the back of
the building in that corner. The fence would have been entirely exclu-
ded from either near or distant 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 larustinuses 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
great measure, Mr. Harrison thinks, obviate the objection made, or, at least'
APPENDIX. 44r
[Fig. 18. Garden From of Cliesbunl Collage.
lessen the force of it, as future appearances will, he thinks, prove
W. H."
The trees and shrubs on the lawn are almost all disposed in the garden-
esque manner ; that is, so that each individual plant may assume its natural
shape and habit of growth. The masses are also chiefly planted 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 produce as much variety as possible, the pic-
turesque style of planting, in which trees and shrubs are so closely group-
ed 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
Scotch pine for its darkness ; the Populus angulata for its large leaves,
and for its property of preserving these till destroyed by severe frost, long
before which all the other poplars have become naked ; the A'cer macro-
phyllum, for its large leaves ; the Montpelier maple, for its small ones
the Negundo /raxinifdlium, for its green-barked shoots ; the American
oaks, for the singular variety in form and colour of their foliage ; the catal-
448 APPENDIX.
pa, for its broad rich yellowish leaves, and its showy blossoms, which ap.
pear late in the season ; the deciduous cypress ; the bonduc, or Kentucky
coffee tree ;
the cut-leaved alder ; the tulip tree ; the purple beech ; the
purple hazel ; the Oriental plane, of which there are several fine speci-
mens ; the variegated sycamore, and other variegated trees and shrubs,
which are always so beautiful in spring ; those thorns and crabs which are
beautiful 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 of a fine straw colour ; the magnolias ; the rhododendrons ;
the heaths ; the brooms ; and the double-blossomed furze ; besides various
striking or popular plants, such as the variegated holhes, the scarlet arbu-
tus, etc. 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 no-
ticeable for something in its foliage, general form, flowers, or fruit. The
Magn5lia grandifldra var. exoniensis flowers freely as a standard without
any protection, and was not even injured by the winter of 1837-8 ; nor was
A'rbutus procera, also unprotected. A number of the more rare trees and
shrubs, such as Araucaria brasiliensis, which had stood out eight years, A.
CunninghJimii, Pinus insignis, P. palustris, P. Gerardifina, P. canariensis*
etc. 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 received. 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 bordered 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, admit the sun at
that season to dry the ground. The walks are laid out in different direc-
tions, in order that, from whatever point the wind may blow, at least one
walk will be sheltered from it. The greater number are in the direction of
north and south ; because walks in that direction are best exposed to the
sun in the winter season, which is the period of the year in which the pro-
prietor chiefly resides here. It is always desirable, in a small place, that all
APPENDIX. 449
the walks should be concealed 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 prin-
ciple of variety and intricacy) have been carefully attended to by Mr. Har-
rison ; and hence the walk from a to b, in the plan^g-. 13, in p. 438, 439'
is concealed by raising the turf on the side next the house higher than on
the opposite side ; while that from c to tZ is concealed by the bushes and
trees at c, and more especially by a large rhododendron at ee. The walk
f g his concealed from the walk i ; partly by a swell in the surface of the
turf on the side next i, but chiefly by the bushes which are scattered along
its margin. At^, there is a clump which prevents any one on the walk i
from seeing the line gf; and any one on the walk gf from seeing the line
i. In walking along from /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 immediately 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 at a time, but taking care, at the same time, to let him have fre-
quent 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 dipt, but never cut ; because the gravel, being almost
as high as the turf, the latter can never sink down, and swell 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 gardeners 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 disa-
greeable. The freshiy pared turf becomes a spot or a scar in the scene,
withdrawing the attention from the walk itself, and from the adjoining
grounds, to a point, or rather a line, which is in itself of little consequencej
57
450
fFig. 19. View across the Water, looking towards the House.,
but which, by the paring, is obtruded on the eye, so as to destroy all allu-
sion 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 immova-
ble, as it is of trees and shrubs to increase 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 assistance 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
APPENDIX. 451
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. 417 ; 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 k vafig. 13, in p. 439, there is
a boat-house, on the top of which are several large agaves, the common, the
variegated, and Agave plicatilis ; the tubs containing which are so disguised
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
crassula, is indicated in a view of the boat-house, fig. 17, in p. 444 ; 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 va-
riety 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 mix-
ture of evergreens to give the effect of cheerfulness in winter. In the water
are two large plants of Calla sethiopica 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 p. 417, 433, 435, 444.
The Flower-Garden (2.5, in fig. 13, in p. 438, 439,) 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 advantage of ren-
dering the flowers accessible to ladies immediately after rain, when they
are often in their greatest beauty, and, at all events, in their greatest fresh-
ness and vigour ; 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 withwoSes, dahlias, and other large-growing plants in masses,
the beauties of which do not require to be closely examined.

ERRATA.
In page 105, line 17, for " Bchianla," reai " schianta."
«' " " line 18, Jot " cite," rtai " vite."
" " 108, last line,/»r "Lander," rtaA " Lauder."
" " 1522, line 26, for " unwaming," rtaA " unwarming."
" " 255, line 8, /or "cultivated," re<i4 "cultivator."
« « 269, line 10, /or " ever," reaî " over."
" " 297, line 18, Jot " singular perversity of," rtai " singularly perverted."
i
liltliiiiltii
:.iiiiiiiSii:-;ii
liiiiiHiiiliHiiiliiliii'Hifilliiiifi^
litJHifiJUiwiitKHJUfnfHftitfUffhifi

Downing TheoryandPractice

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Downing TheoryandPractice

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Downing TheoryandPractice

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

T^

THE THEORY AND PRACTICE

THE IMPROVEMENT OF COUNTRY RESIDENCES.

HISTORICAL NOTICES AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE ART,

Weigh well the subject, be with caution bold,

NEW- YORK & LONDON

WILEY AND PUTNAM.

Entered according to tlie Act of Cougress, by

EX-PRESIDENT OF THE DNITED STATES ;

THE LOVER OF RURAL PURSUITS,

THE DISTINGUISHED PATRIOT, STATESMAN,

IS RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY

A TASTE for rural improvements of every description is

advancing silently, but with great rapidity in this country.

These views have so often presented themselves to me of

late, and have been so frequently urged by persons desiring

gestions especially to this country and to the peculiar wants

ment. But in the older states, as wealth has accumulated,

piness. " In the midst of the continual movement which

which affords the mind more permanent satisfac-

deed, it is the purest of human pleasures," says Lord Bacon.

tice by him, who

" Plueks life's roses in his quiet fields,"

the enjoyment drawn from it, (unlike many other amuse-

which surround the country residence of the man of taste,

ing the general scenery of his residence.

eral gentlemen in this country who have kindly furnished

Davis, Esq. of New- York, and Notman, Esq. of Philadel-

phia, architects, for architectural drawings and descriptions.

Newburgh, N. Y. April, 1841. \

BEAUTIES OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

trationsdrawn from nature and painting, p. 30. Nature and principles of

"WOOD AND PLANTATIONS.

The beauty of trees in rural embellishments, p. 44. Pleasure resulting

p. 53. Directions for the arrangement of plantations in the modern style,

headed trees, p. 78 : — Spiry-topped 80 — Oblong-headed

83 : — Drooping trees, p. 85.

DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES.

EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES.

p. 234. The holly, p. 236. The yew, p. 238.

VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS.

Value of this kind of vegetation ;

vine, p. 250. The clematis, — the 251. The honeysuckles and

TREATMENT OF GROUND. — FORMATION OF WALKS.

Nature of operations on ground, p. 257. Treatment ot flowing and of

Beautiful effects of this element in nature, p. 276. In what cases it is

desirable to attempt the formation of artificial pieces of water, p. 277. Regu-

LANDSCAPE OR RURAL ARCHITECTURE.

Difference between a city and country house, p. 297. The characteristic

p. 330. Cottage of N. B. Warren, Esq., p. 329. Of Washington Irving,

EMBELLISHMENTS ; ARCHITECTURAL, RUSTIC, AND FLORAL.'

Value of a proper connection between the house and grounds, p. 348.

356. Architectural flower-garden, p. 357. Irregular flower-garden, p. 359-

Rustic seats, p. 387. Prospect towers, p. 389. Bridges, p. 390. Rock-

I. Notes on transplanting trees, p. 405. Reasons for frequent failures

in removing large trees, p. 407. Directions for performing this operation,

p. 408. Selection of subjects, p. 409. Preparing trees for removal, p. 410.

II. Description of an English suburban residence, Cheshunt Cottage, p.

" L'un k nos yeux piesente

fined perceptions of beauty are combined with them." And