142 Landscape Gardening 



Those of our readers who may have visited the delightful 

 garden and grounds of M. Parmentier, near Brooklyn, some 

 half a dozen years since, during the life-time of that amiable 

 and zealous amateur of horticulture, will readily remember 

 the rustic prospect-arbor, or tower which was situated at 

 the extremity of his place. It was one of the first pieces 

 of rustic work of any size and displaying any ingenuity, 

 that we remember to have seen here; and from its summit, 

 though the garden walks afforded no prospect, a beautiful 

 reach of the neighborhood for many miles was enjoyed. 



On a fcrme ornee, where the proprietor desires to give a 

 picturesque appearance to the different appendages of the 

 place, rustic work offers an easy and convenient method 

 of attaining this end. The dairy is sometimes made a 

 detached building, and in this country it may be built of 

 logs in a tasteful manner with a thatched roof; the interior 

 being studded, lathed, and plastered in the usual way. Or 

 the ice-house, which generally shows but a rough gable and 

 ridge roof rising out of the ground, might be covered with 

 a neat structure in rustic work, overgrown with vines, 

 which would give it a pleasing or picturesque air, instead 

 of leaving it, as at present, an unsightly object which we 

 are anxious to conceal. 



A species of useful decoration, which is perhaps more 

 naturally suggested than any other, is the bridge. Where 

 a constant stream, of greater or less size, runs through the 

 grounds, and divides the banks on opposite sides, a bridge 

 of some description, if it is only a narrow plank over a 

 rivulet, is highly necessary. In pieces of artificial water 

 that are irregular in outline, a narrow strait is often pur- 

 posely made, with the view of introducing a bridge for 

 effect. 



When the stream is large and bold, a handsome archi- 

 tectural bridge of stone or timber is by far the most suitable; 

 especially if the stream is near the house, or if it is crossed 

 on the approach road to the mansion; because a character 

 of permanence and solidity is requisite in such cases. But 

 when it is only a winding rivulet or crystal brook, which 



