Hints to Rural Improvers 189 



beginners, who rather know how to enjoy beautiful grounds 

 than how to go to work to produce them. 



For that species of suburban cottage or villa residence 

 which is most frequent within the reach of persons of mod- 

 erate fortunes, the environs of Boston afford the finest ex- 

 amples in the Union. Averaging from five to twenty acres, 

 they are usually laid out with taste, are well planted with a 

 large variety of trees and shrubs, and above all, are ex- 

 quisitely kept. As a cottage ornee, there are few places 

 in America more perfect than the grounds of Colonel Perkins, 

 or of Thos. Lee., Esq., at Brookline, near Boston. The 

 latter is especially remarkable for the beauty of the lawn, 

 and the successful management of rare trees and shrubs, 

 and is a most excellent study for the suburban landscape 

 gardener. There are many other places in that neighbor- 

 hood abounding with interest; but the great feature of the 

 gardens of Boston lies rather *in their horticultural than 

 their artistic merit. In forcing and skilful cultivation, 

 they still rank before any other of the country. Mr. Gush- 

 ing's residence, near Watertown, has long been celebrated 

 in this respect. 



An amateur who wishes to study trees, should visit the 

 fine old places in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. A 

 couple of days spent at the Bartram Garden, the Hamilton 

 Place, and many of the old estates bordering the Schuylkill, 

 will make him familiar \vith rare and fine trees, such as 

 Salisburias, Magnolias, Virgilias, etc., of a size and beauty 

 of growth that will not only fill him with astonishment, but 

 convince him what effects may be produced by planting. 

 As a specimen of a cottage residence of the first class, ex- 

 quisitely kept, there are also few examples in America more 

 perfect than Mrs. Camac's grounds, four or five miles from 

 Philadelphia. 



For landscape gardening, on a large scale, and in its best 

 sense, there are no places in America which compare with 

 those on the east bank of the Hudson, between Hyde Park 

 and the town of Hudson. The extent of the grounds, and 

 their fine natural advantages of wood and lawn, combined 



