Rockwork in Garden Scenery. 443 



the roots ; In consequence of which, some of the limbs were 

 dead. 



Trees and plants sent from Europe to America are, in 

 ordinary cases, from fifty to sixty days out of the ground, and 

 are exposed to the weather before and after being on board 

 ship. They should be so packed as to preserve a degree of 

 moisture to the roots, and to prevent, from careless handling 

 or ordinary casualty, the exposure of these to the weather. 

 These objects may be effected by a free use of moss about the 

 roots, which should be compactly interlaid, the bundles well 

 tied and covered with straw and mats, or boxed, with occa- 

 sional holes for the circulation of air. The moss employed 

 should be but slightly moist, and for georginas and other herb- 

 aceous plants perfectly dry. Budded roses, weak plants, and 

 recent layers should not be sent, except by request, as they 

 seldom survive the voyage ; and it would be well if the grower's 

 name were in every case to accompany his plants. It would 

 be a recommendation to the fair dealer, and a salutary guard 

 against imposition. Yours, &c. 



J. BuEL, 

 Albany, New York, May 11. 1831. 



Art. VII. An Essay on Rochxvorh in Garden Scenery. 

 By S. T. P. 



The use of rockwork in gardens may either be as a distinct 

 feature ; as a situation for cultivating certain plants ; as a screen 

 for concealing objects ; or for two, or more, or all of these pur- 

 poses combined. As the expense of collecting large stones is 

 considerable, rockworks, in general, are made on too small a 

 scale, and more resemble heaps of stones, with the interstices 

 filled with weeds, than the protrusion from the soil of a portion 

 of real rock, decorated with ornamental plants. In a grand 

 place, every thing ought to be on a grand scale; and few 

 objects produce a more striking effect than immense masses of 

 stone, piled together in such a way as at once to give a par- 

 ticular character of rocky mass, and to form a proper nidus 

 for valuable plants. 



The grand difficulty in rockwork is to form and maintain 

 a particular character or style in the disposition of the masses ; 

 and the only way to conquer this difficulty is to observe the 

 manner in which masses of rock are disposed in nature, or 

 rather in such natural scenes as are admired by men of taste, 

 and especially by painters. And here the study of geology 



