282 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 491. 



ready for such an emergency, and be able to check the 

 outbreak at its very beginning. 



Mr. William Robinson dedicates the fifty-first volume of 

 The Garden to the Rev. G. H. Engleheart, who is best 

 known for his work in hybridizing Narcissi. In a note 

 accompanying a good portrait it is stated that Mr. Engle- 

 heart has devoted his leisure for the improvement of 

 Narcissi for sixteen years past with even more remarkable 

 success than characterized the work of his kinsman, the 

 Hon. and Rev. Dean Herbert, sixty years ago, for, besides 

 enriching our gardens with new creations, he has stu- 

 diously traced and verified the almost unrecorded labors 

 of other workers in this field, such as Backhouse, Leeds, 

 Horsfield and others, until the rearing of Narcissi has been 

 brought almost to the precision of an exact science. Mr. 

 Engleheart has remade these seedling forms, so that now, 

 for the first time, we know their pedigree, and in a similar 

 way he has verified the parentage of many wild hybrids 

 and seedlings which have until lately ranked as true spe- 

 cies, although Herbert surmised long ago that some of 

 them were of hybrid origin. Many of his hybrids and 

 seedlings have received first-class certificates and many 

 more have received medals and other rewards. The 

 Trumpet Daffodil, Ellen Willmott, is spoken of as the very 

 finest seedling raised, and White Queen, one of the new 

 peerless forms, is almost equal to it. In Red Prince, 

 Beacon, Southern Star and Oriflamme we have intense 

 color added to perfect form and good substance, with cups 

 almost scarlet and crimson. The seedlings of Narcissus 

 poeticus are genuine improvements on that admirable 

 plant, being better in form, size and color, while the 

 rather tender hybrids of N. triandrus seem to be the per- 

 fection of daintiness and grace when grown in pots or in 

 the house. 



The Landscape-gardener and his Work. 



MR. O. C. SIMONDS, of Chicago, who prefers the title 

 of Landscape-gardener to that of Landscape-engineer 

 or Landscape-architect, published an article in a recent 

 number of Park and Cemetery which contains a good state- 

 ment of certain elementary principles in his art. Some of 

 the more important passages in this paper are here re- 

 produced : 



When one considers engineering in connection witli land- 

 scapes, instead of thinking of any artistic production, one 

 is more apt to think of the scars along mountains sides, of the 

 destruction of beautiful scenery along river banks, of the 

 changing of watercourses into sewers, of railway embank- 

 ments, canals and dams. The term "architect" brings to 

 mind a man who aims to design artistic structures. His mate- 

 rials are stone, brick, the various metals, wood, glass, paint, 

 etc. If the term landscape-architect had not been used by 

 some of the foremost landscape-gardeners in this country one 

 would imagine it to designate a man who designed summer- 

 houses, pavilions, balustrades, fences, hedges and things with 

 stiff and formal lines. On the other hand, the term landscape- 

 gardener has, first, "landscape," which, as defined by Ham- 

 erton, implies a consistent picture, and "gardener," which 

 indicates that the materials used will be those found in a gar- 

 den. The objections made to this term come primarily from 

 those who regard a garden as a place in which to raise veg- 

 etables for the kitchen, but garden, which meant originally an 

 enclosure, has long signified a place that gives pleasure by the 

 arrangement and beauty of its trees, shrubs and flowers. Mrs. 

 Van Rensselaer has happily called the pleasing effects pro- 

 duced by judiciously arranged masses of foliage, flowers, 

 lawns, water and varied land surfaces, Ait Out-of-Doors. 

 To become acquainted with the principles and literature of 

 this art one must read what Repton, Loudon, Downing, Kemp, 

 Robinson, Olmsted, Parsons, Mrs. Van Rensselaer and others 

 have written on landscape-gardening. So far as I am aware 

 no one has written a book on landscape-architecture. 



What are the attainments of a skillful landscape-gardener? 

 He follows a fine art which appeals to the eye and has to do 

 with what we see as we pass along residence streets, boule- 

 vards and parks. His art applies to any outdoor scenery which 

 can be affected by the hand of man. It is of the first impor- 



tance, therefore, that he should know how to arrange the 

 ground surface, the trees, shrubs and other plants, the ponds 

 and streams, the points of view and the open spaces or vistas, 

 so that the general effect will be pleasing. No matter how 

 great his knowledge of soils, of drainage, of road construction, 

 and of the structure and characteristics of the various species 

 of plants may be, if he fails to make an artistic arrangement he 

 is not a landscape-gardener. 



Next in importance to a knowlege of arrangement comes 

 the ability to produce a result which, with a reasonable amount 

 of attention, will continue to improve with added years of growth. 

 This ability will rest in part on an acquaintance with the habits 

 and life-history of the plants used and of the situations to 

 which they are adapted. 



The proper location of the points of view will require a study 

 of the relations of buildings, drives and walks to the landscapes. 

 Where the landscape is an important feature the landscape- 

 gardener should work with the architect in the preparation of 

 the preliminary sketches. Unfortunately, architects frequently 

 design residences and other buildings without any regard to 

 the site and the characteristic features which may have at- 

 tracted the owner. Cases are not unknown where houses 

 have been so designed and placed that the kitchen and 

 servants' rooms shut off the very best views from the family 

 living-rooms. 



A landscape-gardenershould be skilled in what Mr. Olmsted 

 calls " the anatomical plan." He should not only be able to 

 place drives where they will command good views while not 

 interfering with the landscape, but he should know how to 

 place them so they will be convenient, with easy grades and 

 proper drainage, and how to construct them in a durable 

 manner with a satisfactory wearing surface. He should know 

 how to economize in regard to space and the cost of the work 

 coming under his direction. While he should have no pecu- 

 niary interest in any work that is carried on — that is, should 

 have no interest in any nursery or greenhouse or act as agent 

 for any firm — he should usually purchase the material fur- 

 nished by nurserymen on account of his knowledge of what is 

 required, the prices that should be paid and the standing of the 

 various nursery firms. He will often be able to save an owner 

 several times the amount of his fees by his knowledge of the 

 value of plants. His work should commence with a study of 

 the adaptability of a given piece of ground for the purpose 

 intended, especially when that purpose is the making of a 

 park, a botanic or public garden, a cemetery, home grounds 

 or the location of a public street. The ground in question may 

 have features which would lie of great importance in the de- 

 sign to lie worked out, such as an important view of a large 

 body of water, a valley or a distant stretch of country, a grove 

 of trees which would require many years to grow, a rocky 

 ledge, a steep bluff ora ravine, or it may lack valuable features 

 which could be secured by the selection of another piece of 

 ground. When the site is finally selected, a thorough study 

 should be made of its characteristic features and of all the sur- 

 roundings, and after such study the landscape-gardener should 

 have as clear a conception of the effect he wishes to produce, 

 of its appearance when the first planting shall have been done, 

 when one, two, three, ten years have elapsed, as a painter has 

 when he begins work on a canvas. Not only that, but he 

 should have in his mind the various effects of spring, summer, 

 autumn and winter. 



Having made his design, and perhaps sketched it on paper 

 ("perhaps," because a sketch is not always necessary, and 

 there are cases in which the best result will lie produced by 

 working directly on the ground), he proceeds to execute it just 

 as his brother artist proceeds to paint a picture, but instead of 

 putting a background on canvas he shapes the actual ground, 

 mixing with it compounds of nitrogen, potash, phosphorus, 

 etc., which, dissolved in the rain, by the aid of the warmth and 

 light of the sun, will afterward produce the desired colors. 

 The landscape-gardener, however, does not select his colors 

 directly. If he wishes a dark green carried up from a given 

 place on the ground he chooses a Maple, or if the green is to 

 continue through the winter he chooses a Pine as his servant 

 to gather the materials already found or placed in the ground. 

 If he wishes a red in winter he chooses a Dogwood, which 

 will put this color in its bark, or if he wishes a red in summer 

 he may choose a Rose. By choosing the right number and 

 kind ot such helpers a great mass of color may be carried high 

 into the air, or spread out on the ground like a carpet. 



Whether the living picture, as a whole, will be satisfactory 

 or not will, however, depend upon the choice of material 

 made by the landscape gardener, provided his supervision is 

 continued for a long enough time. The continued super- 

 vision is required because it takes time — in some cases years — 



