JUNE. 261 



To ascertain these principles, we must take note, in the 

 first place, of the course of nature in the wilderness, where 

 she has been left, from immemorial time, to her own sponta- 

 neous efforts : secondly, of her course in clearings, where, 

 after man has removed the trees and shrubs, she is left, un- 

 disturbed, to replenish the space : thirdly, in land Avhich has 

 been once entirely subjugated by the tiller of the soil, and 

 then le(t to nature to overcome the effects of tillage in her 

 efforts to restore her original creation : lastly, of the course 

 of nature in those places in which man, acting as an im- 

 prover, has endeavored to regulate her operations. In each 

 of the three first cases, the work of nature may be consid- 

 ered legitimate : and although, under each of these circum- 

 stances, the results may be widely dilferent, they all equally 

 indicate the laws of nature, when left to those apparent 

 chances by which the indigenous vegetation of any land is 

 restored. 



Before I proceed further in this inquiry I will allude to the 

 importance of imitating the ways of nature, when creating 

 landscapes and laying out pleasure grounds, with the design 

 of obtaining from them the greatest amount of enjoyment. 

 It has been denied that the pursuit of this course will ensure 

 a more favorable result than to follow one that is strictly ar- 

 tificial, as in the Dutch gardens. I would freely admit that 

 in horticultural operations, as in the planting of nurseries, 

 arboretums, and beds for florists' flowers, any attempt to imi- 

 tate nature would be as absurd as to attempt it in the corn- 

 field or the kitchen garden. The objectors remark that the 

 tangled wilderness is far from agreeable, either as a place for 

 recreation or as a scene for the entertainment of the eye ; that 

 it is destitute both of beauty and comfort, and that we al- 

 ways take more pleasure in a garden that is well kept than in 

 one that is overgrown with weeds. These objections are 

 based on a misconception of the true meaning of the natural 

 as distinguished from the artificial in landscape. There is a 

 vagueness in the signification of these terms which it is diffi- 

 cult to clear up. I am disposed to apply the epithet natural 

 to all those scenes in which art has wrought in harmony with 



