THE CULTIVATOR. 
33 
“ Those nations which have been most distinguished for 
their love of Husbandry, whether of the garden or the field, 
have been the most prosperous.” 
Remarks on Ornamental Gardening:, 
WITH A PLAN OF A FRUIT, FLOWER AND VEGETABLE 
GARDEN. 
Horticulture, after all that has been said and written, de¬ 
servedly, in its commendation, is but an embraced depart¬ 
ment of the more enlarged science of Agriculture. It is the 
great, on R reduced scziIg i to zi certain extent, it is the practi - 
cal cyclopedia, as well as the model-farm of the agriculturist. 
Alas, how few properly study, how few in our country 
through want of merited reflection, duly appreciate the value 
of the kitchen garden. It has not been so in all places or 
times; though necessarily imperfect, because, like mathemat¬ 
ics, its utmost point of excellence seems forbidden to human 
attainment. Our great proto-father enjoyed in his first gar¬ 
den, a satisfaction denied to the most fortunate of his descend¬ 
ants, a happiness unattainable by his children; for the garden 
of Eden was made, not by human hands,—it was the work of 
God. When Adam was driven from his first home of inde¬ 
scribable bliss, he, by the labor of his hands and the sweat of 
his brow, made his little garden in other and less fruitful 
soil. In all times, and by all generations since, the hardy 
husbandman has had his garden. It is a matter of surprise, 
that while sciences of later birth have advanced almost to 
E erfection, horticulture, perhaps the most necessary to man, 
as been comparatively so neglected and unimproved, and to 
our shame, so especially in this land of freedom. “Sat prata 
biberant,” said the Mantuan bard, in allusion to the practice 
of irrigating land, which prevailed in Italy, near two thousand 
years ago, as a means of fertilizing the soil; yet how little is 
it at this day pursued, even in the land of Cincinnatus. 
The inhabitants of Holland, proverbially industrious, have 
indeed almost made their country a garden; and to the appli¬ 
cation of irrigation, above all other causes, they owe that 
great abundance which is the almost invariable reward of 
great assiduity. The Hollanders have brought their industry 
to the land of their adoption, but they have left much of their 
skill at home. 
In Britain, the attention of the people, is by the peculiarity 
of the general policy of that nation, much diverted from the 
cultivation of the soil, yet agriculture has not been much neg¬ 
lected there; and, so far as attended to, it has been honora¬ 
ble to the nation. Industry has been greatly aided by the ap¬ 
plication of scientific principles. In the application of these 
principles to horticulture, the Englishman has, in very many 
instances, approached a perfection worthy of the imitation, 
and still more of the rivalry of the American. 
How happens it, that so little attention is given to Horticul¬ 
ture in the United States ? The people are industrious; they 
are intelligent; and much is done for the promotion of sci¬ 
ence in its various departments ; but it must be confessed, al¬ 
though it may cause a blush, that horticulture is shamefully 
neglected. True, every farm-house has as its adjunct, a 
kitchen garden; but what a garden ? Would you walk through 
it ? There is no walk there ; or if there be, it is hidden by the 
crops, perhaps of vegetables, perhaps of weeds, or more pro¬ 
bably, an unseemly commixture of both. Would youpartake 
of some desired portion of its fruits, the chance is, you cannot 
reach it without trampling on some other fruit which you do 
not need. Over beds of earth carelessly piled up, seeds of va¬ 
rious kinds , are frequently thrown, as if the entire crop, like 
that of the field, were to be reaped during a single gathering 
time. Neither ornament nor convenience, nor even actual 
profit, seems to enter into this garden without a plan. The 
farmer acts as if he would not waste on the “ little -patch ,” the 
labor which would be more profitably employed in the wide 
extended meadow, or the large corn-field. Here rests the er¬ 
ror. There is no other acre on the farm, which produces so 
large a return as that of the kitchen garden, nor is there any 
other acre on the farm, which will produce so large a return 
of profit in proportion to the labor and capital expended. The 
farmer instead of saying, “ I am expending too much on this 
spot,” might better say, “I am expending too little.” The 
kitchen garden in truth, is the proper school of the Agricultu¬ 
rist. There he will learn the great value of properly prepared 
compost, without which his garden will produce a scanty 
crop ; he will there learn that manure, in order to secure its 
utmost benefit, must be buried beneath the surface, and not 
thrown loosely on the surface; he will there learn the great 
value of irrigation. The principles of the kitchen garden, are 
in many instances applicable to the farm generally, and may 
often be adopted with great advantage. 
A well furnished garden embraces the choice specimens 
of both nature and art, carefully selected and judiciously and 
harmoniously blended together—assisting nature to improve 
her own productions. 
The amateur will not only collect from every quarter, the 
beauties of nature, and arrange them to the best advantage ; 
but, calling to his aid the ornamental arts, he will heighten 
their effect by suitable displays of rural architecture—he will 
embellish his garden with jets and fountains,* and with ap¬ 
propriate specimens of sculpture ; and the pencil of the artist 
will give delight to his evening walks with pleasing transpa¬ 
rencies. He will also avail himself of the treasures of Con- 
chology—“ perhaps none but the department of Flora, can vie 
with this in variety, symmetry of form, and in richness of color¬ 
ing.” 
The head of a family, if he cherishes the social virtues, will 
prefer his home to any other place. It is like a center of gra¬ 
vity to all his pleasures and attachments to life. If you see a 
good vegetable, flower and fruit garden, attached even to an 
otherwise humble cottage, there can scarcely be a doubt but 
that that cottage is the abode of happiness—that home is the 
most pleasing place to its occupant. 
The God of nature paints the flowers of the held most ex¬ 
quisitely, and gives us powers to discover and admire their in¬ 
imitable'beauty. “Do you know,” said the amiable Wilber- 
force, as he was sinking under the infirmities of old age, 
openino- on some flowers shut up in a book, “ Do you know 
that I am very fond of flowers ?—the corn, and things of that 
kind, I look upon as the bounties of Providence—the flowers 
I look upon as his smile.” 
“ Your voiceless lips, oh flowers! are living preachers, 
Each cup a pulpit, and each leaf a book, 
Supplying to my fancy numerous teachers 
From loneliest nook!” 
To conclude:—In gardening, as in all other subjects, a plan 
is necessary to success, and having been frequently solicited 
by Messrs. Cultivator, and by other friends in this and the ad¬ 
jacent counties for something of the kind, and considering 
ihis the proper season to commence preparatory operations, I 
herewith present a diagram and description of a garden, 
which, if it answers no other good purpose, may be the means 
of procuring a better from some other source. 
Little has been published in our country on the subject of 
gardening as an art of design and tasteand the publications 
of Europe not being suitable to our wants, it is proper to 
make a beginning and devise that which may suit our¬ 
selves, our country, and our climate. 
* ALEXANDER WALSH. 
Lansingburgh, February 1, 1841. 
(Plan of a Garden — Fig. 8. 
DESCRIPTION. 
The garden and pleasure ground I would describe, is of an 
oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north 
side of the house, (fig. 8.) A walk 5 feetin width, A. A. of a semi- 
eliptical form, passes from the north hall door to the principal 
rear building on the west, extending; in its course to the north 
60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the center from 
south to north, 159 ft. A. A. and is crossed at right angles by ano¬ 
ther of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; 
walks of 4 feet width C.C.C.C. surround the four squares. The 
walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of 
the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to 
the border, which border is composed of bricks laid edgewise, 
the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a 
half above the lowest part of the walk. H. and I. two mounds 
12 feet diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, 
leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 
6 feet to the centre walk and elipsis; the mounds enclosed 
with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 
3 inches in the ground ; the enclosure filled with soil; each 
mound has growing in its centre, an evergreen tree. H. co¬ 
vered with evergreen periwinkle, Vica minor; and I. covered 
with variegated periwinkle, Vica minor jl. alba. 
At the proper season, green-house plants, and also shells, 
will be prettily accommodated around the mounds; of the lat¬ 
ter, I would recommend, Strombus gigans, Triton variegatus, 
and Haliotis asisna. The more rare and beautiful shells may 
be appropriately assigned to the summer-house. 
* The subject of hydraulics in domestic economy, is but re¬ 
cently beginning to be developed in our country; but it is to 
be hoped that the great interest which every one must feel in 
possessing a supply of water, both for use and ornament, will 
awaken the attention of the public more extensively to the 
subject. 
(Fig. 9.) (Fig. 10.) 
X. X. two seats, each occupying two feet—J. and K. pas¬ 
sages leading to summer-house and green-house—L. sum¬ 
mer-house—M. green-house. (Designs for summer-house 
and green-house, as also plans for ornamental gates, &c., 
in a future number.) N. N. N. N. four Grecian pe¬ 
destals for urns, statues, and heavy mineral specimens—R. 
R R. R. four small columns, 9 feet high, connected in the 
centre at the top, with a hook under the centre (fig 9,) for 
suspending a lamp or bird-cage—grapes trained over the 
frame—S. S. two fixtures for transparencies—T. 1. two seats 
(fim 11,) surrounded by an arched arbor 10 ft. high, thrown over 
the walk, ornamented on one side with honeysuckle, on the 
other by climbing Boursaut rose-U. U. two ornamental 
frames, the square 4 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. 6 in. (fig. 10) may be co¬ 
vered with a variety of our native clematis—V. V. two struc¬ 
tures 9 feet high, and 3 feet six inches wide, (fig. 12,) 4 feet from 
east fence, covered with American Bitter-sweet, Celaslrus 
(Fig. 11.) (Fig- 12.) 
The ground on the outside of the eliptical walk, east, a 
grass lawn, diversified with fruit and ornamental trees, com¬ 
mencing next the walk with the lowest shrub, and rising to 
the east in gradation to the largest tree. Many of our beauti¬ 
ful native flowers and shrubs are found to thrive under the 
shade and drip of lofty trees, and may here be planted in oc¬ 
casional groups. 
The ground on the west side of the eliptical walk, grass 
lawn, shrubbery and filbert bushes, to the extreme west of the 
areen-house.—O. & P. fruit and ornamental trees and native 
shrubs—R. native flowers—Q. tulips and late flowering exot¬ 
ic plants—O. O. diminutive rustic alcoves from thrifty growing 
plants of upright privet, Liguslrum strictum, formed by placing 
a platform of light boards two feet six inches from the ground, 
and three feet long, and one foot six inches wide, on the twigs 
of the privet; those in the centre of the platform to be trim¬ 
med off close to its under side, and those on the back and 
sides to be led up round the platform, entwined and arched; 
the door to be constructed from the twigs in front, and an 
opening left two feet six inches high, which is the height of the 
dome. 
This described ornamental pleasure ground, containing some 
hundreds of trees and shrubs, possessing the color of green in 
common, yet differing in both the shape and shade of the leaf, 
add much to adorn this spot by their variegated moving foli¬ 
age, light and shade. 
D. E. F. and G. four principal compartments, each 43 feet 
6 inches by 43 feet—D. has a circle in the centre 26 feet in 
diameter, a parterre for annual flowers ; in the centre, a sun 
dial; a walk 4 feet wide surrounds the circle, and from it 
north and south ; the residue of the ground D. allotted to 
Dahlias, &c.—E. F. and G. compartments for culinary vege¬ 
tables, strawberries, and an occasional plum tree—B. B. B. 
outside borders 6 ft. wide for currants, gooseberries, raspberries, 
&c.; in the centre of the north border a small board supended, 
labelled, “ Wastenot , want not," nearwhich bee-hives.— ...... 
borders for small flowers on the south and north side of D. 
and F.-borders south side of E. and G. for 
foreign grape vines and herbaceous perennial flowering 
plants. On each side of centre walk, I::::::::::::::::::: trellis 
for native grape vines; posts 7 feet high with 5 rods of 
wire crossed at equal distance; at the southern extremity of 
trellis, a light arch, on the back or north side of which, may 
be inscribed, “ With clustered grapes He crowns the vine." At 
the northern extremity of trellis, an arbor thrown over the 
walk 12 feet long, more for ornament than use ; grapes in our 
northern latitudes ripen better on the open trellis. 
Candytuft, Ibris umbclluta, a good annual border flower; 
Dwarf Iris, Iris pumila, and yellow flowering stone crop, Se- 
dum aizon, pretty biennial bordering. 
On a subject embracingsuch variety,it is not best to be more 
minute on border or other plants, as the collection and select¬ 
ion of plants, and the invention of other ornamental decora¬ 
tions will afford amusement to the man of taste, and to him 
this pleasing occupation must be left. 
“ Oh sages ! think on joy like this, 
And where’s your boast of apathy.” 
“American Society of Agriculture,” 
“ To elevate the character and standing of the cultiva¬ 
tors of the American soil.” 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —My worthy friends— 
You and many of your readers, will recollect the article 
published in No. 3, vol. 5, May, 1838, upon this sub¬ 
ject. It was designed to call the attention of the public 
to the subject, and Judge Buel, in a note says—■“ Mr. 
Robinson’s proposition meets our hearty approbation; 
and should it be favorably responded to by our cotempo¬ 
raries ^vho conduct agricultural journals , and whose 
opinions upon the subject voe respectfully solicit,—we 
shall give it our cordial support,—and devise some means 
if others do not do it, to organize an association,” for 
one of the noblest purposes ever devised, having in view 
the sole object “ To elevate the character and 
STANDING OF THE CULTIVATORS OF THE AMERICAN SOIL.” 
Well, so far as I am able to judge, the proposition 
met with an almost universal approbation. The article 
was extensively published in the papers of the country. 
The comments of many editors were highly flattering. 
From the tone of the press, and numerous private let¬ 
ters, I felt strongly encouraged that this great beneficial 
project to this nation was about to be accomplished. I 
pictured to myself one of our happy meetings, when the 
friends of agricultural improvement from every State, 
county and principal town in the United States, should 
