226 PARKS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS. 



warrant his attempting their improvement in the way 

 of decoration, can have little difficnlty in making plans 

 and specifications for the general arrangement of the 

 place and for the particular execution of many of the 

 details, such as may be put into the hands of competent 

 individuals with the assurance that they will be duly 

 executed without his continued attendance on the 

 grounds. There are, however, things which must be 

 done under his own eye, or at least must be frequently 

 inspected by him during their progress. This remark 

 holds especially true in the extending and remodelling 

 of old places. The opening of views, the grouping of 

 trees and shrubs, and some other nice operations, can 

 be effected neither by plans nor by delegation. The im- 

 prover ought, if possible, to give them the benefit of his 

 personal direction ; otherwise he may find that in his ab- 

 sence a few trees, ay, a single tree, has been cut down, to 

 the most serious injury of one of his best pictm^es. Even 

 in such cases, however, it is beneficial for the sake of the 

 improvements as a whole to have a general plan con- 

 structed. Undoubtedly, when little time is allowed, the 

 artist may at once stake out some hurried designs on the 

 ground ; and this he may do with less expense of thought 

 and contrivance than the proper treatment of the case 

 demands, and with much less labour than is necessary 

 to that minute survey of the locality which is required 

 for the formation of a plan upon paper ; but the proba- 

 bility of his erring mil on that very account be propor- 

 tionally greater, and the likelihood of his directions 

 being mistaken or forgotten may be regarded as amount- 

 ing to certainty. 



In connection with this part of the subject, we take 

 the liberty of remarking that it is not advisable, for 



