Improvements in Laridscape. 295 



opposite. A wealthy man cannot tolerate the growth of any- 

 thing in his grounds that would seem to convey the im- 

 pression of a want of neatness. Actuated by this spirit, he 

 roots up thousands of native vines and shrubs, which, in their 

 tangled confusion, are so pleasing to the sight about a rustic 

 farmyard. By so doing, he exhibits in the aspect of his 

 grounds the evidence of much expensive labor. The very 

 neatness of their appearance mars their picturesque effects. 

 No man who visits his place can fail to observe what is often 

 termed an aristocratic expression, or the evidence, in one way 

 or another, of a great deal of cost. 



Let this landscape garden suddenly become the property of 

 a poor farmer, who, with the assistance of his cattle and one 

 hired man, performs all the work of his farm. If there was 

 no geometrical precision in laying out the walks and planting 

 the trees, the place quickly recovers the naturalness of its 

 appearance. The Dutch myrtle and the sweet fern reappear 

 on the sides of the hills, and the rocky places are again over- 

 grown with blackberry vines and the low blueberry. The 

 button-bush springs up in wet places, and the red-winged 

 blackbird builds his nest in the forks of the branches. Along 

 the sides of the fences the viburnums and wild roses are seen 

 again, with an undergrowth of low laurel, and white and 

 purple spirasa; and mixed with the greensward, in their 

 season, you behold a crowd of anemones, cornels, saxifrages 

 and wild geraniums. 



The old gravelled walks have almost entirely disappeared, 

 the grass has grown over them, and the ruts of the farmers' 

 cartwheels, and the middle path made by the feet of men and 

 horses, are all that remains of the ancient aristocratic walk. 

 The grandeur of the old park is increased by the more an- 

 cient appearance of the trees, and the evidences of former 

 expense and human labor are buried beneath an undergrowth 

 of miscellaneous wild vines and shrubbery. The natural 

 appearance of the grounds is at length fully restored ; and 

 their general aspect would, I believe, affect the minds of the 

 majority of spectators more agreeably than when the estate 

 was in the most improved condition, in the hands of its 

 wealthy owner. 



