DOWNING ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
5-17 
was introduced from its native country, Gua- 
temala, about 1848. 
It is described as a very graceful and beauti- 
ful perennial plant, of upright habit, growing 
from six to eight inches high, or more, with 
round crimson-coloured dichotomous stems or 
branches, issuing immediately from the base, 
and having opposite oblong lanceolate leaves, 
which measure from two to three inches long ; 
they are deflexed, and partially turned in- 
wards, of a deep green colour, sharply acu- 
minate at both extremities, and connected to 
the stem by means of short crimson-coloured 
petioles. On their upper surface they are 
marked by three concave lines, which run 
longitudinally from the base to the apex, and 
which are simply the direction of the veins 
convexly formed on the under side, which is 
pale green, the veins being reddish. The 
upper surface of the leaves, as well as the 
stems, is freely studded with short cilia, or 
hairs. The flowers, which are arranged in 
the form of a branched panicle at the extremity 
of the shoots, are borne on foot-stalks, from a 
quarter to half an inch long, of the same colour 
as the stem. The calyx is campanulate, four- 
toothed, ciliated, and of a pale-green colour ; 
the petals of the corolla are four in number, 
uniform, obtuse, entire, and spreading, some- 
times partially notched at the apex, a little 
more than a quarter of an inch in length, and 
of a rosy lilac colour. The rosy filaments are 
arranged cylindrically round the pistil, which 
partakes of the same hue, and is a little pro- 
duced beyond the anthers, which are yellow, 
globular, and bent outward-;. Tlii- disposition 
of the sexual organs, their rich colour, and the 
chaste outline of the petals, the rich crimson 
stems, and the deep green leaves, all impart 
to this species much grace and beauty. The 
flowers are produced in the spring months. 
These Centradenias should be grown in a cool 
stove, the day temperature of which may range 
from sixty degrees upwards, through the spring 
months, the night temperature being kept about 
fifty degrees. They propagate very readily 
from cuttings, which may be planted in sand, 
and placed in a hot-bed frame. They must 
be potted singly into small pots, as soon as 
sorted, and shifted on into larger ones, from 
time to time, as their roots increase. Light 
sandy loam, mixed with an equal quantity of 
leaf-mould, or of peat earth, forms a proper 
compost for them at any period of their growth. 
They require no tying, nor seldom any stop- 
ping, the natural habit being densely branched 
and slightly drooping. During the summer 
season the plants do well in a greenhouse, 
which is kept closed, except so far as to admit 
of a moderate degree of ventilation ; at that 
season they require no fire-heat, which is only 
essential during winter, in the early part of 
which they should have but just enough to 
preserve them ; and in spring, when they 
should have made considerable growth, and 
be commencing to develope their blossoms. 
DOWNING ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING* 
The recognition of art, as Loudon justly 
observes, is a first principle in Landscape 
Gardening, as in all other arts ; and those of 
its professors have erred who supposed that 
the object of this art is merely to produce a 
fac-simile of nature, that could not be distin- 
guished from a wild scene. But we contend 
that this principle may be fully attained with 
either expression — the picturesque cottage 
being as well a work of art as the classic 
villa ; its baskets, and seats of rustic work, 
indicating the hand of man as well as the 
marble vase and the balustrade : and a walk, 
sometimes narrow and crooked, is as certainly 
recognised as man's work, as one always 
regular and flowing. Foreign trees of pic- 
turesque growth are as readily obtained as 
those of beautiful forms. The recognition of 
art is, therefore, always apparent in both 
modes. The evidences are indeed stronger 
* From " A Treatise on the Theory and Practice 
of Landscape Gardening." By A. J. Downing. Lon- 
don : Longman and Co. — An American book. 
and more multiplied in the careful polish of 
the Beautiful landscape ; and hence many 
prefer this species of landscape, not, as it 
deserves to be preferred, because it displays 
the most beautiful and perfect ideas in its 
outlines, the forms of its trees, and all that 
enters into its composition, but chiefly be- 
cause it is also marked by that careful polish, 
and that completeness, which imply the ex- 
penditure of money, which they so well know 
how to value. 
If we declare that the Beautiful is the more 
perfect expression in landscape, we shall be 
called upon to explain why the Picturesque 
is so much more attractive to many minds. 
This, we conceive, is owdng partly to the im- 
perfection of our natures by which most of us 
sympathise more with that in which the 
struggle between spirit and matter is most 
apparent, than with that in which the union is 
harmonious and complete; and partly because, 
from the comparative rarity of highly pic- 
turesque landscape, it affects us more forcibly 
when brought into contrast with our daily 
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