350 
LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
from desiring to do things on a smaller scale 
for the purpose of increasing the number of 
features, we should strive to make the limited 
space we. have produce one grand feature, 
rather than lessen the effect to produce two. 
If there be, in a noble and extensive estate, 
a little nook that seems more inviting than 
the rest, and perhaps hardly contains, in that 
particular spot, half an acre, and an apparent 
opening to the rest, it would be a lesson to 
us for the laying out of half an acre, and, 
therefore, to attempt too much on a limited 
space, is to destroy all ; for it is impossible to 
view anything upon a small scale, without the 
conviction that it is artificial. The whole 
science may be expressed in a few words, and 
the carrying of it out is that which may be 
called the practice. The theory is the imita- 
tion of nature, the practice is the working it 
out. The remarks of all modern writers on 
this science assimilate very much, and savour 
little of originality ; they have all something 
to say of "Capability Brown" and some 
other of those employed in the early days of 
English gardening. They all admire the 
same things, which says much for the pro- 
priety of the early writers' notions, but little 
for the necessity of followers in the way of 
authorship. We have had our say upon the 
subject, but we have followed nobody's foot- 
steps. We have simply endeavoured to lay 
down principles that should be adopted by all 
gardeners : we have laid down no plans ; wehave 
endeavoured to show, in a few short rules, 
what is to be avoided in laying out a garden 
landscape-fashion, and left the details to taste. 
In the volume before us, we have many ob- 
servations on individual estates, and some 
excessively coarse illustrations of American 
domains, none of which give us any favour- 
able impression of the authoi-'s talents. There 
are a few which certainly appear inviting, but 
the advantages are natural, and not created 
by art. American cataracts and cascades are 
effective auxiliaries in scenery. The author, 
however, has some observations, in which he 
draws the distinction between what he calls 
the beautiful and the picturesque, the sub- 
lime, and so forth ; and. these, perhaps, are 
the best we can select in justice to him. 
The special pleading is pointed, and if not 
such as to convince the reader of the facts, 
they are plain enough to indicate what the 
author himself thinks upon the subject. There 
is some merit in this, for some authors hardly 
convey enough to tell us what they mean by 
what they say. Upon the whole, we do not 
think the book any useful addition to the 
works on landscape gardening in England ; 
what it may be in America, is another matter. 
They may be far behind us in landscape gar- 
dening ; if so, what has been borrowed from 
our English works may be acceptable. The 
work praises Mr. Loudon in the highest terms, 
but, although it is impossible to say too much 
of him as an industrious, useful, and amiable 
public writer, landscape gardening was the 
least successful of his labours, and his writings 
on the subject not the most useful of his 
works. In stating this, we claim no right to 
arrogate to ourselves that we have a better 
taste, but we insist on principles which are 
consistent every where, whether right or 
wrong, whereas Mr. Loudon never has pre- 
served a consistency in landscape gar- 
dening, either in theory or practice. Our 
American friend has a right to praise Mr. 
Loudon, because he has made great use of 
him. It is hardly fair to say that the author 
is not in some respects original, because some 
of the illustrations are contrary to every prin- 
ciple of landscape gardening. Fig. 7, p. 51, 
gives a carriage sweep to a mansion without 
the slightest excuse for the bending of the 
road ; not a tree or shrub to show why the 
road was not Straight* The same occurs in 
Fig. 10, p. 54. At p. 73 we have. Fig. 15, 
"an example of the beautiful in landscape 
gardening," which, for want of planting in the 
bends of the road to the house, is as bare and 
as ugly as we could expect to find a spot 
where a landscape gardener had never been 
seen or heard of. " An example of the pic- 
turesque," is better from natural advantages ; 
stately timber, and abrupt broken ground, 
help it considerably ; but, in the hands of a 
tasteful operator, it might have been won- 
derfully improved. In Fig. 19, p. 99, we 
have "the view of a country residence as 
frequently seen," which has a straight road 
up the left side of the picture, and a short 
turn to the right, the house standing in the 
corner ; and the next page exhibits, Fig. 20, 
" the same residence improved.'' In this, 
which, being imaginary, gives us the author's 
real taste, we have the road forming a half 
circle to the left of the picture, but nothing 
on the inside of the curve as an excuse for 
bending it, except two trees in the fore- 
ground. So far as the bending of the road 
goes, it is an improvement, but as it is natural 
that all persons should make the shortest cuts, 
we hold that obstacles such as in nature pre- 
vent a road from being straight, ought to be 
placed to reconcile us to the deviation. In 
the ground plans of two or three places, there 
is a much better notion, so far as the roads 
are concerned, but the planting is in the worst 
possible taste ; the space is spotted all over 
with trees, nothing bold or striking, the roads, 
the groupings and general plans, adapted to 
curtail the space instead of showing it to the 
best advantage. All this, however, is simply 
our notion opposed to the author's ; we differ 
also from Loudon. The author says, page 75 : 
" The recognition of art, as Loudon justly 
