PREFACE BY THE EDITOR 



The present Tenth Edition of Downing's famous Land- 

 scape Gardening takes extensive liberties with the original 

 materials, rearranging and recombining them with little 

 regard to their early relationships. The intention, how- 

 ever, has been, not so much to make the usual revision of 

 an old book as to bring together from all Mr. Downing's 

 writings the best portions of his work bearing directly on 

 the subject of Landscape Gardening. 



There are two principal sources of these materials. Eirst 

 there are the early editions of the book on Landscape 

 Gardening; second are the Rural Essays, written first as 

 editorials for the Horticulturist and afterward collected by 

 Mr. George William Curtis and published in book form. 



Naturally it has been necessary to eliminate many chap- 

 ters and some few passages in other chapters, and such 

 eliminations have, of course, been difficult. The matter is 

 all good - - all interesting. But some of it has been out- 

 grown by changed conditions and a good deal of it does not 

 pertain to the main theme. Mr. Downing w : as a pomolo- 

 gist and an architect as well as a landscape gardener, and 

 he wrote informingly also of general agriculture and of his 

 travels in Europe. The student who desires to study this 

 great American writer and genius will of course consult his 

 original works in full; but it is hoped that the one who 

 merely wants the benefit of Mr. Downing's view's on Land- 

 scape Gardening \vill find these fully set forth and logically 

 arranged in the present edition. 



The lovers of Downing have always been numerous and 

 urgent in America. To those now living the editor oilers 

 this present book with much trepidation. To them it must 

 seem presumptuous to cut and fit so freely with the works 

 of the revered master. Let such remember, however, that 

 the editor has been actuated by the same deep love and 



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