mth regaj-d to Practical Gardeners. 353 



garden, it is but seldom that his care or attention extends 

 farther than the ha-ha. Hence it is, that, being accidentally 

 and oftentimes voluntarily confined to his own, perhaps narrow, 

 field of action, from neglect in making himself acquainted 

 with the principles of taste as laid down in the writings of 

 Longinus, Burke, Walpole, Price, Addison, &c., he has unwit- 

 tingly slumbered at his post ; his natural genius, whatever its 

 value, has been a talent buried in the earth, left unproductive, 

 unexpanded, by never being brought into action, further, 

 perhaps, than arranging the beds of a flower-plot. 



Brown, it is true, was an exception ; and he, it appears, 

 was, from his situation as royal gardener at Hampton Court, 

 thrust forward into the business of ground-work, more from 

 the invitations and persuasion of friends, and the change of 

 style in his time, than for any very superior ability which he 

 possessed over the generality of his brethren of the like class 

 in those days : and, though but few have trodden in his steps, 

 and been attended by the great good fortune which he deserv- 

 edly enjoyed, yet, doubtless, many since his time, as now, 

 possess as fine taste and as much practical tact as would enable 

 them to do creditably whatever they might be called on to 

 execute, and especially on the estates where they reside. Such 

 men, however, remain unknown only because they are unac- 

 quainted with the language of the picture-gallery, or, perhaps, 

 have shown no fruits of either their pencil or their pen. This 

 is probably as great a loss to their employers as to themselves. 

 Their diffidence and unassuming manners succumb to the 

 agency of a stranger who retails ready-made taste, and who, 

 perhaps, will have the credit of executing what has suggested 

 itself to, or been pointed out by, the gardener a hundred times 

 before. 



It is perfectly true, that a sufficient knowledge of what is 

 commonly called fine taste, as it has been defined by poets, 

 painters, and other artists, is absolutely necessary to be acquired 

 by those who may wish to excel in the art of forming real 

 landscape. Such knowledge is within reach of every gardener. 

 Your own, and other contemporary works on the subject, leave 

 no excuse for ignorance ; but, as many of your readers may 

 not have had the advantage of seeing such books, I judge that 

 a few plain practical papers (in addition to what other corre- 

 spondents may contribute) on this part of the gardener's busi- 

 ness, may neither be unsuitable for your Magazine, nor unac- 

 ceptable to your young readers. I shall, therefore, as leisure 

 allows, forward to you an outline, which I shall leave for abler 

 hands to fill up. 



