8o The Art of Landscape Gardening 



taste of former times, and who, by opening the valleys 

 and taking away a great depth of earth from the stems 

 of the largest trees, which had been formerly buried, 

 is, by degrees, restoring the surface of the ground to 

 its original and natural shape. 



As connected with the subject of moving ground, 

 I shall extract from my Red Book of Wentworth the 

 following observations concerning the great work at 

 that place which had so long been carrying on under 

 the direction of the late Marquis of Rockingham. 



Of the view from the portico at Wentworth House 

 [Figs. 7 and 8], my opinion is so contrary to that of 



Fig. 7. View from W'entworth House, before it was improved, and while the im- 

 provements were going forward. 



many others who have advised a farther removal of 

 the hill that I hope it will not be improper to state 

 very fully the reasons on which 1 ground this opinion, 

 viz. that so far from such an operation being equi- 

 valent to the trouble by which it must be executed, 

 I would not advise its removal, if it could be much 

 more easily effected, because — 



1. The outline of the horizon beyond this hill is 

 almost a straight line, and would be very offensive 

 when shewn over another straight line parallel to it. 



2. The view of the valley beyond, however rich in 

 itself, is too motley to form a part of the proper 



