32» LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



upon ground in this country, will generally be limited 

 to the neighborhood of the house, or the scenery directly 

 under the eye. ' Here, by judicious levelling and smooth- 

 ing in some cases, or by raising gentle eminences with 

 interposing hollows in others, much may be done at a 

 moderate expense, to improve the beauty of the surround- 

 ing landscape. 



It is, however, fortunately the case, that in the modern 

 style of landscape improvement, extensive and costly 

 operations upon ground are very seldom needed. By 

 the aid of plantations arranged as we have alread}^ 

 suggested, much may be done to soften too great 

 inequality of surface, as well as to heighten the apparent 

 magnitude of gentle undulations. The art of the 

 improver, when employed upon this material, will, 

 therefore, be directed to the production of negative, 

 rather than positive effects, — to the removal of existing 

 faults or blemishes, rather than to the creation of an 

 entirely new and artificial surface. 



To pursue this method with success, it is necessary 

 that he should refer constantly to the principle which 

 we suggested in the commencement of our remarks : the 

 preservation of the natural character of the scene, or, we 

 may here add, the heightening of the character intended 

 for the form of the surface. We have already remarked 

 that scenes abounding in natural beauty were chiefly 

 characterized by gentle undulations of surface, and smooth 

 easy transitions from the level plain to the softly swelling 

 hill or flowing hollow ; and that, on the contrary, highly 

 picturesque scenes exhibited a more irregular and broken 

 surface, abounding with abrupt transitions, and more 

 strongly marked elevations and depressions. 



