62 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. 



THE LITERATURE OF GARDENING. 



BY WILSON FLAGG. 



No. I. Price's Essay on the Picturesque. 



The revolution that took place in the latter part of the 

 last century in the general style of laying out grounds gave 

 origin to a new species of literature which was unknown to 

 the ancients. The first works of this description which re- 

 late to the general beauties of nature and of landscape, and 

 of the art of arranging the different objects of nature and 

 art so as to produce an agreeable picture, were Avritten by 

 Englishmen. The art of embellishing landscape is truly an 

 English art, as the works that treat of its principles are of 

 English origin. Our horticultural magazines and newspapers 

 are full of essays which consist chiefly of the repetition of 

 ideas contained in these works. I have thought, therefore, 

 that I could not perform a more acceptable service to the 

 readers of this journal, than by giving a series of papers, 

 each containing an account and general abstract of some one 

 of the most important works invrfiis department of literature. 

 I shall commence with Sir Uvedale Price's Essay on the 

 Picturesque, as one of the most important and earliest works 

 on these subjects. It is not my intention to controvert the 

 ideas and opinions he advances, but simply to explain the 

 objects of the work, and to give a general abstract of its 

 contents. 



The " Essay on the Picturesque " was published for the 

 purpose of controverting the general opinions respecting the 

 new style of gardening, introduced by Kent and Brown, and 

 to check some of its excesses in practice. In the first chap- 

 ter the author states the general reasons for studying the 

 works of eminent landscape painters, and the principles of 

 their art, with a view to the improvement of rural scenery ; 

 and to show that these principles were not understood, nor 

 applied by Mr. Brown to his far famed improvements. For- 

 merly the park, with all its timber and thickets, was left in 

 a state of wealthy neglect. As embellishments are now ex- 



