December 20, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



523 



tures of the design, and are inserted for similar purposes 

 and regulated by similar laws of composition to those of 

 the gardener. Here the green or leafless tree, the tumble- 

 down building or group of cattle is replaced by a speci- 

 men tree, flower-bed or building serving in both picture 

 and pleasure-ground the same purposes : to measure dis- 

 tances, to set off by their strong lights and shadows the 

 tints of the subordinate parts softened into breadth and in- 

 definiteness by aerial perspective ; to give force to the 

 foreground and tenderness to the mystery and recession to 

 the distance. They are all important in the work of both 

 painter and gardener, and the hand of a novice in either 

 art is constantly shown by the presence of too many of 

 them, until the sense of repose conveyed by a good com- 

 position of any kind vanishes in the contemplation of un- 

 meaning repetitions of handsome Conifers or groups of 

 sub-tropical plants placed as though the planter's conscience 

 could never be at rest so long as a stretch of turf of any 

 size lay open ; or sometimes from a desire to get in as 

 many varieties of trees and shrubs as possible — a sentiment 

 arising from a genuine love of them, but which too often pro- 

 duces results disastrous both to the parts and to the whole. 

 This kind of work is usually produced when the mind of 

 the designer is in the experimental stage, and when he 

 strives to introduce into his composition the element of 

 completeness which he feels to be wanting by filling in a 

 number of details which are not subordinate, but in their 

 nature constructive, and therefore not to be used but as 

 primary and integral parts of the whole plan. In no art 

 more than in landscape-gardening is the sense of repose so 

 necessary to good composition. To this nothing will con- 

 tribute but the conception of the whole, essentially com- 

 plete from the first. Each addition must be made with 

 restraint and without uncertainty of purpose, or it will de- 

 stroy the unity it is intended to create, and so fatally injure 

 the realizing of a consistent and complete design. 



It is this art of composition which eludes rules that is 

 most necessary to the forming of an outdoor artist, who, if 

 he would do original and artistic work, must have some of 

 that instinct that will enable him to read the ideas of cre- 

 ators in their works and understand their language when 



they try to explain them. 



Piltsbuig, Pa. 



H. A. Caparn. 



American Parks. 



MOUNT ROYAL, MONTREAL. 



ONE hears Montreal so often compared slightingly with 

 Quebec, that I was agreeably surprised by its variety and 

 beauty, by its terraced streets, rising one above another, its 

 thronged port filled with vessels from every land, its hand- 

 some buildings and fine open squares gay with flowers, like 

 the old French town it is. But, above all, was I unprepared 

 for tlie beauty of the wooded mountain rising directly behind 

 the town, with cleanly defined slopes such as befit a mountain, 

 and its splendid crown of forest. 



It is not a lofty peak, being, I believe, not more than five or 

 six hundred feet high, but as it rises almost directly from the 

 level of the River St. Lawrence, it gets the advantage of its 

 full height, and is very imposing, indeed, and looks at a little 

 distance so wild and inaccessible, that it was with surprise that 

 I discovered that it was really a planted and cultivated park, 

 and that there was a comfortable drive-way to its summit, of 

 which travelers were expected to avail themselves. There- 

 fore, after carefully exploring in the early morning the Frencli 

 and English quarters of the venerable town, and listening to a 

 mass in the beautiful old church of Notre Dame, while its 

 magnificent bell tolled a requiem for a departed soul, we 

 wound our way in a carriage up the gently graded slope, 

 scarcely prepared for what was in store for us. 



In the first place, the size and height of the trees was a sur- 

 prise. Early June is spring in Montreal, and our driver told 

 us that there were no leaves at all the last week in May, so 

 that the verdure we beheld on June i6th had all the freshness 

 of new birth upon it. Knowing, then, that many of the trees 

 were the result of cultivation, I was astonished at the great 

 variety to be found here. Tfie Basswood-trees, especially, 

 were most vigorous in growth, and the Maples had shot up to 



a great height. The Cork Elm, which abounds in Toronto 

 was freciuent here, with its brown wing-like excrescences, re- 

 sembling blossoms, on every twig. Oaks were to be seen in 

 plenty, and fine Hemlocks, and Pines, and Spruces, while in 

 the less densely wooded spaces were flowering shrubs, such 

 as the Tartarian Honeysuckle, the Hawthorn and the Deutzia, 

 growing as freely as if they were wild, in the shelter of the sur- 

 rounding forest. 



From the road l)y which we ascended, which was here and 

 there accompanied or intersected by britUe and foot paths, 

 there was no outlook, only a dense wall of green. After a 

 long time we came to an open space, where there is a broad 

 expanse of sloping meadow, used in winter for a toboggan 

 slide, but this was also enclosed by trees. Not far from this is 

 a large two-story building, surroimded by gardens and nurse- 

 ries, which is the dwelling of the superintendent of the grounds. 

 Tiiis dwelling, which is substantial and comfortable in its ap- 

 pearance, is not concealed from the drive-way, and seems con- 

 sequently rather incongruous in the park. Indeed, what strikes 

 one particularly is such an absence of studied effect, that only 

 the exotic shrubs suggest that the whole scene is not the work 

 of Nature alone. 



Finally the road issues upon the summit of the mountain, 

 where is a wide level plateau, half-surrounded by Pines, and a 

 large rustic pavilion with benches, from which the unrivaled 

 prospect bursts suddenly upon the sight. The descent is so 

 abrupt that the tops of trees make a foreground, behind which 

 the gigantic panorama stretches away. There lies the valley 

 of the St. Lawrence, with the majestic river flowing around its 

 islands, the opposite horizon bounded by the beautiful sweep 

 of the Laurentian mountains, with their blue peaks firmly out- 

 lined against the soft haze of a summer sky. In extraordi- 

 narily clear weather the peaks of the White Mountains and tiie 

 Adirondacks are said to be visible from this elevation, but light 

 clouds hid them from our view during our stay. 



At our feet lay the old French city, its harbor crowded with 

 masts, its ancient spires rising from its groups of venerable 

 houses. Steamships bound for Britain smoked in the harbor; 

 others almost as large, -used for the service of the Great Lakes, 

 were lying at the piers. One took in at a glance the great com- 

 mercial activity of this city, which, though so far from the 

 Atlantic, is really the greatCanadian seaport, and five hundred 

 miles nearer Liverpool than is New York. 



A more imposing view it would be hard to find, combining 

 at once the beauty of broad and fertile plain wiih the pic- 

 turesque slopes of mountains and the stately sweep of a noble 

 river by its bordering towns. Some of the peaks rose isolated 

 and distinct, one beside the other ; others rolled away in grace- 

 ful lines of undulation. Masses of trees and meadows of vivid 

 green announced tlie fat deep soil that nourished them, and 

 the whole scene bespoke opulence and comfort, and had a 

 touch of imperial power, which made one feel that annexation 

 would not prove quite so simple a job as some enthusiasts 

 would represent it to be. England will not lightly part with 

 this fine jewel of her crown one may be sure. Apparently, 

 the Montreal people are satisfied with this view at the end of a 

 long and rather monotonous drive up the steep mountain- 

 side, but in the design originally furnished to the Commis- 

 sioners by Mr. Olmsted, provision was made for outlooks at 

 intervals upon the surrounding scene, so that the mind could 

 be gradually prepared for the fine spectacle to be ultimately 

 revealed. But, either from a lack of money, or of befitting 

 sense of the requirements of a park, the most well-considered 

 features of that scheme of his have been neglected, and the 

 great opportunity wasted. 



The Mount Royal property was purchased in 1874, and at 

 that time Mr. Olmsted drew a plan which was designed to 

 utilize all the fine natural advantages of the situation, while 

 supplementing them with a new and vigorous growth of trees. 

 In 1887 he published a little work showing that his design had 

 not been followed in many respects, naturally to the disadvan- 

 tage of the grounds, on account of the difficulty of shaping 

 public opinion to a proper recognition of the artistic capabili- 

 ties of the spot, so that the views of the Commissioners were 

 frequently overruled by the City Council. 



It has been impossible to obtain any reports of what has or 

 has not been done by the Park Commission, so I only know 

 that the original map provided for an extent of 550 acres, part 

 of wliich was to be set off for reservoirs and streets. The 

 property of Sir Hugh Allan, now occupied by his family, is, I 

 understand, ultimately to be incorporated in the park' from 

 which it is at present separated by walls. On this side of the 

 mountain is a rocky precipice (the Crags), which, according to 

 the original design, was to have formed an effective feature, 

 but they are not noticeable from the carriage-drive, being con-. 



