GENKKAL OBSERVATIONS. 301 



exquisite eye for the sublime, tlie grand, the pictur- 

 esque, and tlie beautiful in nature. He has delineated 

 and interwoven them, with the highest efi'ect, into his 

 various writings, giving to them much of their striking 

 effect and beauty ; and to his essays on this subject we 

 commend the scholar who is solicitous to learn in so 

 interesting a subject. 



To the American, working on American soil, and 

 under an American sun, the practical labors of cloth- 

 ing the ground with wood should be widely different 

 from the teachings of British authors. The humid 

 climate of the British Isles will tolerate a far different 

 treatment in plantations than in America. Sir Henry 

 Stuart, of Allanton Park, in Scotland, many years 

 ago published an elaborate and interesting book upon 

 giving immediate effect to park scenery, by transplant- 

 ing large trees. It was read with much interest by 

 many an American, and unfortunately fallowed in 

 practice by some of them, with calamitous results — 

 our American climate being unfitted for such a system 

 of transplanting as Sir Henry found so successful in 

 Scotland. In all else were his instructions valuable. 



It will doubtless be some years before our country 

 will exhibit many striking evidences of skill and con- 

 tinued care in the cultivation of parks and pleasure- 

 grounds. We are too imstable in our pursuits, and 

 our landed tenures too fitful in possession, save in iso- 

 lated cases, to show those striking features of interest 

 which belong to the more permanent estates of Euro- 

 pean landholders. Yet much may be done, in a com- 

 paratively short time, by choosing a favorable spot 

 and treating it with taste and judgment. The very 

 improvement of such places, properly appreciated, will 



