12 Landscape Gardening 



these disposed by nature, seems to appropriate the whole 

 scenery round, and to be a thousand in extent. 



At the present time, our handsome villa residences are 

 becoming every day more numerous, and it would require 

 much more space than our present limits, to enumerate 

 all the tasteful rural country places within our knowledge, 

 many of which have been newly laid out, or greatly im- 

 proved within a few years. But we consider it so important 

 and instructive to the novice in the art of Landscape Gar- 

 dening to examine, personally, country seats of a highly 

 tasteful character, that we shall venture to refer the reader 

 to a few of those which have now a reputation among us 

 as elegant country residences. 



Hyde Park, on the Hudson, formerly the seat of the late 

 Dr. Hosack, now of W. Langdon, Esq., has been justly 

 celebrated as one of the finest specimens of the modern 

 style of Landscape Gardening in America. Nature has, 

 indeed, done much for this place, as the grounds are finely 

 varied, beautifully watered by a lively stream, and the 

 views are inexpressibly striking from the neighborhood of 

 the house itself, including, as they do, the noble Hudson 

 for sixty miles in its course, through rich valleys and bold 

 mountains. But the efforts of art are not unworthy so 

 rare a locality; and while the native woods, and beautifully 

 undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the 

 pleasure-grounds, roads, walks, drives and new plantations, 

 have been laid out in such a judicious 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 pros- 

 pects; in short, nothing was spared to render this a com- 

 plete residence. The park, which at one time contained 

 some fine deer, afforded a delightful 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, 



