House and Garden 
and although he could not design, himself, 
there exist many pictures of scenery, made 
under his instruction, which his imagination 
alone had painted. 
Since the art of landscape gardening re¬ 
quires the combination of certain portions of 
knowledge in so many different arts, it is no 
wonder that the professors of each shoidd 
respectively suggest what is most obvious to 
their own experience; and thus the painter, 
the kitchen gardener, the engineer, the land 
agent, and the architect, will frequent¬ 
ly propose expedients different from 
those which the landscape gardener 
may think proper to adopt. The 
difficulties which 1 have occasionally 
experienced from these contending 
interests, induced me to make a com¬ 
plete digest of each subject proposed 
to my consideration, affixing the 
reasons on which my opinion was 
founded, and stating the comparative 
advantages to the whole , of adopting 
or rejecting certain farts of any plan. 
To make my designs intelligible, I 
found that a mere map was insuffi¬ 
cient ; as being no more capable of 
conveying an idea of the landscape, 
than the ground-plan of a house does 
of its elevation. To remedy this de¬ 
ficiency, 1 delivered my opinions in 
writing, that they might not be mis¬ 
conceived, or misrepresented, and I 
invented a peculiar kind of slides to 
my sketches. 
CONCERNING DIFFERENT CHARACTERS 
AND SITUATIONS 
All rational improvement of 
grounds is, necessarily, founded on a 
due attention to the character and 
situation of the place to be im¬ 
proved ; the former teaches what is advis¬ 
able, the latter, what is possible, to be done ; 
while the extent of the premises has less 
influence than is generally imagined; as, 
however large or small it may be, one of the 
fundamental principles of landscape garden¬ 
ing is to disguise the real boundary. 
In deciding on the character of any place, 
some attention must be given to its situation 
with respect to other places ; to the natural 
shape of the ground on which the house is, 
or may be, built: to the size and style of the 
house, and even to the rank of its possessor; 
together with the use which he intends to 
make of it, whether as a mansion or constant 
residence, a sporting seat or a villa ; which 
particular objects require distinct and oppo¬ 
site treatment. To give some idea of the 
variety that abounds in the characters and 
situations of different places, it will be proper 
to insert a few specimens from different sub¬ 
jects. 1 shall begin this work, therefore, by 
a remarkable instance of situation, only two 
miles distant from the capital. 
Brandsbury is situated on a broad swelling 
hill, the ground gently falling from the house 
(which looks on rich distances) in almost 
every direction. Except a very narrow slip 
of plantation to the north, two large elms 
near the house, and a few in hedge rows at a 
distance, the spot is destitute of trees : the 
first object, therefore, must be to shelter the 
house by home shrubberies, as on land of 
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