SEPTEMBER. 195 



ON AUTIFICIAL ROCKERIES.* 



Among the numerous natural embellishments which are so abun- 

 dantly scattered over the surface of this country, and the natural 

 facilities afforded for beautifying the private pleasure-ground of the 

 wealthy proprietor, there are but few instances where these natural 

 facilities have been advantageously turned to account in artificial 

 decoration. 



Now if natural decorations increase the interest and beauty of a 

 garden, accordingly as they are treated in an artistic manner, so also 

 do decorations merely artificial gain in proportion as they resemble 

 nature. But the artificial has never the value or the interest of the 

 natural, any more than a copy has the interest or value of an original 

 picture from the hands of one of the old masters. So truly is this 

 the case when applied to garden scenery, that a place wholly artifi- 

 cial, however well executed, has little interesting or pleasing about 

 it, until by age it has obtained something of a natural appearance. 



An object purely natural, in the midst of a pleasure-ground, is 

 not only a pleasing relief to the mind, but is also more striking and 

 impressive, more august and grand, than the ornamental vase or the 

 geometrical parterre. These may be pretty or beautiful ; but even 

 the hard, cold, stern features of a projecting rock gives us a nobler 

 and more exalted kind of pleasure than these artificial niceties. A 

 large mass of rocks, however tastefully arranged in a spacious plea- 

 sure-ground, has less influence on the imagination than a small irre- 

 gularly arranged group in a confined and secluded nook, with all 

 the wild savageness of primitive nature around it. Indeed, a low 

 confined dell, the channel of a ravine, or a quiet secluded hollow, 

 retired from every thing architectural or artificial, appears to be the 

 most proper place for a rockery. The spectator should come upon 

 it quite unexpectedly, but not by a sudden transition of the general 

 scene, although circumstances may often occur to render sudden 

 transitions unavoidable. 



One of the prettiest rockeries I ever beheld was made in an old 

 stone quarry, which in its original condition was not only dan- 

 gerous, but a serious disfiguration to the place. Trees were planted 

 on the margin, and threw their dependent branches irregularly down 

 the face of the rocks. Ferns and other plants were planted in niches 

 and clefts made in the rocks in ditferent places ; paths were also cut 

 for walking along the steep sides ; groups were arranged in different 

 forms and of different heights ; jets were introduced in different 

 places, in small basins, and formed the most enchanting spot 

 imaginable. 



It is not, however, absolutely necessary to deprive a small garden 

 of rockwork. The monotony and tameness of a villa-garden may be 

 considerably relieved and diversified by the introduction of rocks, 

 especially if the grounds afford a position naturally favourable, such 

 as natural rocks, or a secluded corner, or water in any form ; for 



• Abridged from Mr, Downing's American Horticulturist. 



