16 



INTRODUCTION. 



picturesque planting, and the conveniencies peculiar to a country 

 seat. These may be called the elementary branches of the art 

 of forming or improving rural residences, and therefore they 

 constitute the first book* of this work. 



The second book treats, 1. Of the union or application of 

 these elementary branches to different subjects, with a view to 

 the formation or further improvement of different styles of resi- 

 dences ; 2. Of the preservation and future management of 

 residences agreeably to the same principles; and, 3. Of the dif- 

 ferent styles which have been used, in laying out the grounds of 

 residences. 



The third book treats, 1. Of the choice of a situation for a 

 country seat, analogous to the mind and object in view of 

 every class of purchasers; and, 2. Of the motives to the intro- 

 duction of good or natural taste in rural improvement. 



* In treating each of the different parts in this Book, I have first endeavoured to 

 lay down its fundamental principles; next, their general application to practice; and, 

 lastly, the particular relation or application of the art to country residences. This 

 appears to me much the best way to enlarge the mind, and lead from the study of 

 particulars (which too much engross thejseveral followers of each of those arts) 

 to habits of generalizing and abstract reasoning. The power of ascending from 

 particulars to generals — from the soil and culture of a plant, or the mouldings of a 

 cornice, to the design of a garden, or the elevation of a house ; and from the design of 

 a garden or a house, to that of a whole residence, constitutes the highest degree of 

 professional excellence in this art. It is this power alone which can unite beauty, 

 utility, and economy : the partial study of the art, and the neglect of some of the 

 useful elementary branches, has occasioned such ignorance in regard to planting, 

 convenience, expense, and execution, as often to have produced the most serious 

 consequences to proprietors. 



