REVIEW. 
255 
u 
previously to laying out and planting a Villa Residence ; second, Ground Plans, for laying out and planting 
Country Houses and Villas of various kinds, which 
is again divided into Suburban Residences, Country 
Villas, and Country Mansions; third, Plant Houses; 
and, fourth, Lists of Ornamental Plants suitable 
to Villa Gardens, with their Culture.” The above, 
however, only contains a very meagre outline of the 
contents of the work, inasmuch as each book is 
divided into many sections and sub-sections, each 
of which, could we spare the space, would amply 
repay a separate notice; but, with the hooks now 
before us for review, we must rest satisfied with a few 
extracts and specimens of the engravings, which have 
kindly been placed at our disposal by Mrs. Loudon. 
As a specimen of the style in which the work is written, the foHowing extracts on the application of the 
principles of the recognition of art, will he instructive :—- 
Art is easily recognised in all walks and roads; but not always artist-like art. The uniformity of the breadth, 
and the evenness of the surface, of a walk may 
secure it the character of art, while this character 
may be counteracted by the footpath-like junction 
of one walk with another, as in fig. 1, while the 
artist-l ik e junction is shown in fig. 2. The same re¬ 
mark wiR apply to the forms of flower-beds on gravel 
or turf: they are always easily recognised as belong¬ 
ing to art, but not always to high art; that is, the 
shapes of the beds are not always artist-like. In 
fig. 3, the forms of the beds resemble those of common 
cordate leaves, thrown down in a natural manner, some in one direction, some 
in another, as if they had dropped off from a dried specimen in a herbarium. 
In fig. 4, the same leaves are disposed of, as a whole, in an artist-like manner. I nfig- 5, the shapes, considered 
separately, are artist-like ; but they are thrown down without the slightest regard to symmetry. In fig. 6, they 
are disposed of symmetricaRy, that is, according to art. Even a straight line, in gardening and in architecture, 
may be laid out or formed in an unartist-like manner ; for example, a line of box, or a brick edging, to a 
walk, or to a bed or border, which, instead of being perfectly straight, is bent to one side, will be much more offen¬ 
sive to the eye of an artist, than a line perfectly straight in the direction of all its parts, but some parts of which are 
wanting. It is not that either line could have been formed by nature, but that the evidence of art is more decided 
in one case than in the other. The imagination easily supplies the parts which are wanting ; but it wiR not so easfly 
set that part of the line straight which is bent to on3 side. If, indeed, the line were bent equally to both sides, 
the absence of rigid art would be less offensive, because the imagination 
would form a middle line for itself.” 
Here a great principle is made plain, yet how much it is sinned 
against or not understood, those who use their eyes as they travel about 
our great cities may readffy perceive. The rude forms and inharmonious 
combinations of beds generaRy introduced into suburban gardens, are 
generaRy too pecuRar to need 
special enumeration; and hence 
the engravings wiR not, we trust, 
be without then - use. 
Art is easRy recognised in aR 
walks and roads, &c. As a farther 
iRustration of the same principle, 
we give an extract on Gardenesque 
imitation, on which Mr. Loudon 
remarks : — “ Where the gar¬ 
denesque style of imitating nature 
is to be employed, the trees, shrubs, 
and herbaceous plants must be sepa¬ 
rated; and, inst ead of being grouped 
together as in forest scenery (where two trees, or a tree and a shrub, often appear to spring from the same root, 
and this root is accompanied by large rampant herbs), every gardenesque group must consist of trees which do not 
touch each other, and which only become groups by being as near together as is practicable without touching, and 
by being apart from larger masses, or from single trees or rows of trees. It is not meant by this, that in the gar¬ 
denesque style the trees composing a group should all be equaRy distant from one another; for in that case they 
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