32 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



fully developed American elm. In water, by the placid lake, spread 

 out between gradually sloping banks, or by the gently flowing, 

 winding river or brook. 



The Picturesque, on the contrary, is marked by the very opposite 

 qualities. The ground is characterized by abruptness, and by ir- 

 regular outlines. The trees by boldness and ruggedness as in the 

 oak, and by a certain rigidity, as well as wildness, as in the moun- 

 tain pine. The lake is bordered by steep and rocky shores, the 

 river, with precipitous banks, is hurled along in a tumultuous 

 course, while the very brook partakes of the same uncontrollable 

 nature. 



Price says,* " It is evident that picturesqueness and beauty are 

 founded on very opposite qualities ; the one on smoothness, the 

 other on roughness — the one on gradual, the other on sudden va- 

 riation — the one on ideas of youth and freshness, the other on 

 that of age and even of decay." 



Such are some of the chief distinctions between these two ex- 

 pressions as exhibited in natural scenery. It remains for us to 

 determine how far these expressions can be reproduced, or at least 

 how far art can exert her sway without fear of their violation or 

 disfigurement. 



Modern Landscape Gardening may be divided into three styles 

 or forms, which may be described as the Mixed or Gardenesque, 

 the Picturesque, and the Formal, Geometrical, or Ancient style. 



The first or Mixed style is characterized b^'^ the freedom of 

 nature, restrained by and blended with art. In this form we may 

 have the regularity and grace, the polish and refinement, which 

 properlj^ belong to the Beautiful alone, or we may have it mingled, 

 or rather adroitly losing itself, in the Picturesque. In its produc- 

 tion we shall suppose the surface of the ground to already possess 

 those gentle undulations, which characterize the Beautiful in na- 

 ture, for there can be no more foolish expenditure of time and 

 money than for private individuals to undertake to effect this by 

 artificial means, except perhaps to the most limited extent. The 

 plantations should be so grouped and arranged as to give free de- 

 velopn.ent to the trees and shrubs, which should in themselves 

 possess both luxuriance and symmetry. The same remarks apply 

 also to the thinning out of belts or plantations of native growth. 



* An Essay ou the Picturesque. By Uvedale Price. 



