4)7'i .Lcmdscapc-Gardening, 



a constant supply for domestic purposes, for fountains, reser- 

 voirs, and fish-ponds. In landscape it may be presented as a 

 river, brook, or rivulet, expanded into lakes, formed into canals, 

 or precipitated in cascades. For all or any of the above pur- 

 poses, it is under the control of the improver ; and its con- 

 stituent properties fix the processes, and always must sanction 

 the dispositions made of it. 



All hydraulic expedients are also auxiliai'ies of the im- 

 prover; objects may be gained, and operations facilitated by 

 the use of them. Whether the object be to introduce water 

 on the surface, or drain it away. A knowledge of geology is 

 necessary to distinguish the qualities of the subsoils, so as to 

 be able to determine which are, and which are not, retentive 

 of water. 



Of Wood. — This is the third and most transformable mate- 

 rial of the landscape-gardener. With this he acts either 

 positively or negatively : positively when he has to plant, and 

 negatively when he has only to clear away. In the latter case, 

 the effect is almost instantaneous ; in the former, the effect is 

 prospective. In both a thorough knowledge of future con- 

 sequences is particularly necessary. The effects of his dis- 

 positions, after the lapse of a hundred years, ought to be as 

 clearly conceived by him as those which are immediate. To 

 be able to apprehend this, his botanical knowledge must be 

 exercised ; he must know the vai'ious characters of trees, and 

 shrubs, and even herbs ; their mature magnitude, height, habit, 

 tints, whether constant or variable; their place in natural 

 scenery, their favourite soils, aspects, and duration. He must 

 be acquainted with their effect, value, and character, in thickly 

 planted woods, in open groves, and as single trees. From 

 the myrtle or camellia before the windows of the drawing- 

 room, to the wild forester on the heath, the grades of wood- 

 land should be naturally disposed. The children of art or 

 cultivation should not be placed in the distant native woods ; 

 the gay exotic should not appear in places choked with fern 

 or brambles. Such should have a more dressed station, a 

 more domesticated or polished place. 



A valley may be injudiciously filled up by trees, and an 

 eminence may be as judiciously crowned and strikingly raised, 

 by planting a thick and sufficiently extensive wood. The face 

 of a hill clothed with wood is a delightful feature ; and where 

 a distant slope can be seen, detached groups, and single trees 

 descending in irregular order, are its highest ornaments. Trees 

 may be employed as arms of shelter in exposed situations, as 

 screens to conceal ugly or too obtrusive objects. From their 

 manner of growth, they may be too formal for some situations, 



