Retrospective Criticism. 611 



impress on the employer (and generally accomplish it at his expense), that a 

 gardener ignorant of every thing but the drudgery of his profession is all that 

 is required; whilst they themselves creep in sometimes, to the total ruin and 

 disgrace of the employer. I am fully persuaded, that if a nobleman would 

 condescend to converse half as familiarly with his gardener as he gene- 

 rally does with his land agent, his estate, and consequently his pocket, 

 would be benefited. — Jno. Newman. R. B. Garden, Mauritius, March 12. 

 1830. 



M. Ruiz's Criticisms on Landscape-Gardening in England. — Sir, I could 

 not help being struck with M. Rinz's criticism (Vol. VI. p. 31.) on the 

 English style of landscape-gardening, while making his tour in England. 

 Although I have but little leisure tune, and no doubt you are furnished 

 with matter much more profitable than this subject will afford, yet I think 

 M. Rinz's efforts to exhibit the English artist as void of taste should not 

 pass unnoticed. Under this impression 1 venture to offer a few brief re- 

 marks on the subject, and probably, if you think them worthy of a place 

 in your Magazine, you will do me the favour to insert them. M. Rinz 

 says, " It seems that the taste is by no means improving in this country 

 (England), but rather remains in its first or old principle; while we in Ger- 

 many endeavour to improve on them." Is not this a bold, or rather an 

 assuming, assertion ? What are we to understand by it ? Must it not be 

 allowed that much was done to abolish the " old principle" in the days of 

 Wheatley and Brown : and is it possible to suppose that this particular 

 branch of art has not improved since then, after the long practice and valu- 

 able publications of Repton, Loudon, and numerous other eminent men, 

 some of whose works must have been seen by M. Rinz ; unless he made 

 a determination while on his tour to wink at them, and bias his mind with 

 the defective, of which, undoubtedly, much yet exists in all countries 

 as well as in England, and more or less even in Germany, where the pro- 

 prietors happen to have no taste for improvements, or to deviate from the 

 " old principle" I need not dwell more on this point, as it will be per- 

 ceived M. Rinz has travelled too far amongst the defective parts of land- 

 scape-gardening in England, and stepped too little into its beauties. If I 

 understand the plan right, which appears in the same Number with his re- 

 marks, and which he says " his father executed," I must confess it shows 

 no extraordinary specimen of good taste or style. An English artist, I am 

 sure, would blush to exhibit a plan like that as a design of " one of the 

 first places in " England. In the first instance, I should say the combination 

 which M. Rinz endeavours to establish is much destroyed by a public road, 

 dividing the fields, vineyards, &c, from the pleasure-grounds, as it seems to 

 pass at least three parts round it. The walks, seats, and temple are too 

 near the public road to afford retirement. Perhaps it is a taste peculiar to 

 the Germans to hear and see all they can. The junction of four walks, 

 broad spaces of gravel, and too many entrances, are bad ; the dug patches, or 

 beds, in the lawn are too stiff, and also too much alike in their formation. 

 The flower masses diverge principally from the walks in right angles, instead 

 of being contiguous and more parallel to them. Instead of the formal 

 flower masses, it would be much more characteristic to have various-sized 

 groups naturally blending with the shrubs, so that the lines between them 

 and the flowers may not be traced as we see them in the plan, allowing the 

 large and most conspicuous kinds to range backwards. There should also 

 be various-formed masses of flowers surrounded with grass lawn, of different 

 breadths, broken or varied with groups of shrubs in order to produce effect, 

 as well as to afford convenience of approaching the flowers for inspection. 

 What M. Rinz means by saying, " We commit a great fault in dividing the 

 park from the pleasure-grounds, and the pleasure-grounds from the flower- 

 garden," I must confess I am quite at a loss to understand. Is it that we 

 should have no fence betwixt the park and the pleasure-grounds t If so, 



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