46 LANDSCAPE GARDEXIXG. 



cious manner as to heighten the charms of nature. Large 

 and costly hot-houses were erected by Dr. Hosack, with 

 also entrance lodges at two points on the estate, a fine 

 bridge over the stream, and numerous pavilions and seats 

 commanding extensive prospects ; in short, nothing was 

 spared to render this a complete residence. The park, 

 which at one time contained some fine deer, afforded a de- 

 lightful drive within itself, as the whole estate numbered 

 about seven hundred acres. The plans for laying out the 

 grounds were furnished by Parmentier, and architects from 

 New York were employed in designing and erecting the 

 buildings. For a long time, this was the finest seat in 

 America, but there are now manv rivals to this claim. 



The Manor of Livingston, the seat of Mrs. Mary Living- 

 ston, is seven miles east of the city of Hudson. The 

 mansion stands in the midst of a fine park, rising gradually 

 from the level of a rich inland country, and commanding 

 prospects for sixty miles around. The park is, perhaps, 

 the most remarkable in America, for the noble simplicity of 

 its character, and the perfect order in which it is kept. 

 The turf is, everywhere, short and velvet-like, the gravel- 

 roads scrupulously firm and smooth, and near the house 

 are the largest and most superb evergreens. The mansion 

 is one of the chastest specimens of the Grecian style, and 

 there is an air of great dignity about the whole demesne. 

 (Fig. 2.) 



Blithewood, the seat of R. Donaldson, Esq., near Barry- 

 town on the Hudson, is one of the most charming villa 

 residences in the Union. The natural scenery here, is • 

 nowhere surpassed in its enchanting union of softness and 

 dignity — the river being four miles wide, its placid bosom 

 broken only by islands and gleaming sails, and the horizon 



