LANDSCAPE GARDENING, 
449 
larity of the architecture. Very fine examples of this style of gardening 
may be seen at both Oxford and Cambridge. 
Public gardens are those attached to cities and towns for the amuse¬ 
ment and recreation of the inhabitants, who support them by voluntary 
subscriptions. They may be either regular or irregular; for, as their 
purpose is only to afford pleasant pedestrian exercise, and the exhibi¬ 
tion of beautiful and curious herbs, shrubs, and trees, it matters not 
whether their plan be regular for the sake of order, or irregular for the 
sake of variety. It is quite practicable, however, to unite these cha¬ 
racters in public gardens, as the principal features may be symme¬ 
trical, and the subordinate parts may be as varied as pure and legitimate 
taste will allow. 
In the arrangement of these gardens there are a few leading prin¬ 
ciples which should- govern the designer in furnishing them, after full 
provision, in the first place, has been made for perambulation. 
The vegetable kingdom is naturally divided into three descriptions 
of plants, on which one of the earliest systems of botany tvas founded. 
Tournefort’s grand divisions were, herbs , shrubs , and trees; and, 
according to this classification, a public garden may be laid out in 
concentric zones, in either a semicircular, or circular, or rectangular 
area. But such an arrangement would be neither scientific nor satis¬ 
factory, because it is not quite practicable, inasmuch as there is really 
no natural distinction between a large shrub and a small tree; neither 
is it at all times, or in all cases, possible to say whether a suffruticose 
plant be herbaceous or shrubby. 
If a later and more popular system be chosen to form the ground¬ 
work and character of a public garden, viz. the Linnaean, a symmetrical 
subdivision of the area into compartments for the classes and orders 
would only be necessary. This, I believe, has been already attempted 
in various places, particularly on the Continent, with various success. 
But such an arrangement, however systematically executed, would be 
“ behind the age as this celebrated system is in its last stage of exist¬ 
ence, and gradually dying a natural death. 
In our train of thought on this subject, we naturally arrive at the 
question. Can the Jussieuan system be moulded into the form and 
features of a public garden ? It is u a consummation devoutly to be 
wished,” because it would blend pure science with pleasant recrea¬ 
tion ; and, while enjoying the freshness and fragrance of both native 
and foreign plants, we should be, at the same time, imbibing pure 
draughts of botanical lore from a practical source. 
There are two grand divisions, four classes, two subdivisions, three 
VOL. V —NO. LXVI, 3 M 
