scenery. To tliis source we may trace trees paired off like vases upon a mantel -piece; 

 walks laid out like the entries and passage-ways of a dwelling-house; garden plots with 

 little circles in the middle, suggestive of the idea of a center-table in a drawing room, &c., 

 &c. — all evincing an uncultivated, childish taste, which ever delights in the lowest forms 

 of beauty, preferring whimsical conceits, unmeaning and ridiculous combinations, rather 

 than the infinitely varied, but always graceful manifestations of nature. 



In regard to that class of country residences of which the ornamental grounds consist 

 of less than an acre, it is difficult to say much upon paper. Such small places require to be 

 managed with great skill. Into their narrow limits, regular forms will almost force them- 

 selves. Lines of walks and trees seem almost to claim to be straight; and it is only by 

 the exercise of patience and skill, that the appearance of art can be concealed. Yet even 

 here, the necessity is not entirely' absolute. A refined taste can do much to give an air of 

 natural beauty to a ver}^ small residence, particularly where the genius of the place is fa- 

 vorable. 



A gracefully curved drive or walk, (from the public street to the buildings,) entering 

 through an irregular group of trees, and forced into its curvature by another little group, 

 will of itself impart to a rural home charms far more pleasing than ten times their cost 

 could infuse into the stiff, old straight-lined primness of the ancient style. 



So where a fine cluster of half a dozen elms, oaks, chestnuts, or other beautiful indige- 

 nous trees, grow near the sight of the house, the buildings may be located as it were, be- 

 neath the protection of these forest guardians, so that the whole place shall at once pro- 

 duce an effect which would otherwise cost the labor of years. Yet few New-England men 

 understand this, and consequently all the beauty of the location falls beneath the axe, and 

 JoxATHAN "puts up" his shingle palace in their stead, while Mrs. Jonathan fixes her 

 admiring gaze upon its bleak and gawky proportions, and exclaims "il/y gracious me .'" 



Even so small a spot as half an acre, may be made one little snug home scene of rural 

 beauty. Abandoning all ideas of a kitchen-garden, to men occupying such places, gene- 

 rally a thing of no pecuniary value, let the entire grounds be filled with groups of orna- 

 mental trees, and shrubs, and flowers, upon a ground-work of smooth grass. Let Avood- 

 bine, honej'^-suckle and climbing roses, here entwine themselves around a column, and 

 Avreath themselves there over a window. Here place a rustic seat, half hid among the 

 shrubbery; there lead a short walk, carelessly curving towards a little vine-clad arbor. 

 How trifling the expense! The cost of a single article of extravagant furniture will defray 

 it. How permanent and beautiful the result! How gratifying, not only to the occupant, 

 but to the passing traveller! And more than that; for whatever tends to cultivate a re- 

 fined taste, improves the heart, and elevates the better nature of man. 



It is for lack of taste, and not on account of a want of room, or deficiency of resour- 

 ces, that we have so little of this in New-England. 



Suppose a lot no larger than sixty by a hundred feet. Is it not capable of being made 

 at a most trifling expense, to express features of natural beauty.' Certainly; for a bit of 

 green lawn, and one bold group of ornamental trees, will produce this. An eagle's nest 

 on a rocky cliff may be highly picturesque, and yet, together with its surroundings, it 

 costs less, and occupies more limited space, than the smallest habitation of man. A gigan- 

 tic weeping elm, standing in front of a New-England farm-house, is but a single and not 

 expensive object, while it gives a charm of graceful beauty to the whole place. It is not 

 then, an inexorable law of nature that scenery must be extensive in order that it may be 

 beautiful or picturesque. Taste in designing, skill in executing, are the requisites, and 

 Itogether extent of territory or large pecuniary resources. And yet it is said, " every 



