228 Landscape Gardening 



- in fact what could, with very trifling expense be turned 

 into a natural park - - at $60 per acre, while the improved 

 sites will readily command 3200 or $300 per acre. 



Considerable familiarity with the country-seats on the 

 Hudson, enables us to state that, for the most part, few 

 persons keep up a fine country place, counting all the 

 products of the farm land attached to it, without being 

 more or less out of pocket at the end of the year. And yet 

 there are very few of the large places that can be looked 

 upon as examples of tolerable keeping. 



The explanation of this lies in the high price of all kinds 

 of labor, which costs us nearly double or treble what it 

 does on the other side of the Atlantic, and the compara- 

 tively small profits of land managed in the expensive way 

 common on almost all farms attached to our Atlantic coun- 

 try-seats. The remedy for this unsatisfactory condition of 

 the large country places is, we think, a very simple one - 

 that of turning a large part of their areas into park meadow, 

 and feeding it, instead of mowing and cultivating it.* 



The great and distinguishing beauty of England, as every 

 one knows, is its parks. And yet the English parks are 

 only very large meadows, studded with oaks and elms - 

 and grazed - - profitably grazed, by deer, cattle, and sheep. 

 We believe it is a commonly received idea in this country, 

 with those who have not travelled abroad, that English 

 parks are portions of highly-dressed scenery - - at least that 

 they are kept short by frequent mowing, etc. It is an 

 entire mistake. The mown lawn with its polished garden 

 scenery, is confined to the pleasure grounds proper - - a spot 

 of greater or less size, immediately surrounding the house, 

 and wholly separated from the park by a terrace wall, or an 

 iron fence, or some handsome architectural barrier. The 

 park, which generally comes quite up to the house on one 

 side, receives no other attention than such as belongs to 



* Although condilions have changed greatly for the better since 

 Mr. Downing wrote these lines, the practice of pasturing park lands with 

 cattle or sheep has not become popular. It seems quite possible that 

 this practice might still be extended, and the recommendation of Mr. 

 Downing to that effect may now be renewed. -- F. A. W. 



