ivillow trees appeiu'iug in the middle distance, and tlic sound of a distant watcifall
heard through the trees. Here, to picturesque beauty we have an idea ot ivater — ot an
immense body of it in the lake or river which supplies the waterfall— and of the locks,
which oppose their powerful obstruction to a body of water, ih e reader wiU Jicre
remark, how much of the sublime beauty of this scene depends _ on sound,-which can
never be included under picturesque beauty. The leading expression is that of sublimity,
accompanied by varions associations of dignity produced by the rocks, and of grandeur
suggested by the stream, after the waters have renewed thefr tranquil course, and are
rolling, as we imagine, majestically along under the shade of the line of willow tiees.^
1494. Other examples, of a more striking natm-e, might be adduced ; but tliese ni-
stanccs we consider as better adapted to show the difference between a composition
mei'oly pictm-csquo, and one expressive of general or natural beauty, and to prove our
position, that both poetry and painting enter into the principles of imitative landscape-
gardening.
Chap. II.
Materials o f Landscape-Gardening.
1495. The materials o f landscape-gardening, ivith ivhich we work in order to obtain
the desb-ed effect, are tho same, whatever style ive adopt. Those of nature, ai-e gi-ound
wood water, and ro ck s; to these, art has added bmldings, roads, walks, fences; and
aumiated or moving objects, sounds, &c., may be considered as aceompamments only
pai-tially under onr control.
Sect. I. Operating on Ground.
1496. The operations o f art on this ponderous material ai-e necessarily of a veiy limited
description. The most extensive and costly operations to restore or create natural surfaces,
even when attended with the desired effect, afford less permanent gratification
to personal focliii g tban most other' improvements. I f a deformed space bas been restored
to natural beauty, we ai-e delighted with the effect, while ivc recollect tbe difference
between the present and tbe former sm-facc; but when this is forgotten, though the
beauty remains, tbe credit for having produced it is lost. In this respect, tbe operations
on groimd, under the ancient style, have a gi'cat and striking advantage ; for an absolute
pertection is to be attained in the formation of geometrical surfaces, and tbe beauty created
is so eutireiy artificial as never to admit a doubt of its origin. Long, therefore, after
the improvement is finished, the credit and the beauty remain to gratify and charm the
owner. Improvements on snrfaces, whatever may be their object, ought to be made m
scenes which ai'e near the eye, or intended to be frequently seen ; at a distance they
are lost, if the effect be on a smaU scale ; and often better effected by wood, if on one
of considerable magnitnde. Attempts to remove distant inequalities, by loivering
hcio-hts and filling up hollows, arc veiy seldom attended by results sufficient to justify
the'cxpense incun-ed; but when art is employed to heighten distant eminences, the success
is greater ; m the last case, art may be said to act positively ; in the former, negatively
— to produce or increase a beauty, instead of only romoving or lessening a defoi-mity.
AU operations on ground may be included under— 1. Thosewhich have for their object
the beauty of a rt or desig n ; and, 2. Those where natural beauty is intended to be
1497. Operations with a view to relative or artijieial beauty. The forms in use for this
purpose' ai-e few and simple. They originate in, and are influenced by, those of the
house ; and are, for the greater part, bounded by right Unes ; tbe surfaces bemg levels
or slopes of different degrees of abruptness. The magnitude as well as form of each of
the figures in the ground immediately adjoming a house, or in a detached -walled enclosure,
should be regulated chiefly by the magnitude of the mansion, or the extent and
grandem.' of tho whole place, though they are often ohUged to oonfoi-m, in some degree,
to tho Iiatm-al surface. When the ground slopes ft-om the house in all directions, nairow
parallelograms should be the prevailing forms both of the levels and slopes. The broadest
level, and greatest perpendicular depth of slope, should generally he placed next the house,
and the next broadest level, &c., in succession, till, after three or four levels, and as many
slopes, are obtained, the artificial surface finally blends with tho n a tu ra l; unless, as is
fi-equently the case in the geometric style, a kitchcn-gai'den wall, or some similar work
of art, forms the termination. In this case, separation by some architectural or other
accompaniment will, hy making a break in the order of fonns, admit of adopting, in
continuation o fth e artiflcial surface, such levels and slopes as the character of the scene
may require, or a due regard to economy dictate. Wlien the mansion, or scene of operations,
is on a smface natm'ally flat, the levels should be of greater dimensions, and the
Book III. OPEKATING ON GEOUND.
slopes smaller ; and both should he fewer in numher. But though parallclogi'ams are
the common figures employed, sections of polygons, trapeziums, circles, and curvilinear
flgm-es, arc frequently admitted. They are used in architcctiii'al elevations, and in fortifications,
which arc the prototypes of this part of ancient gardening ; and, therefore,
when apparent in the mansion, should ho reflected, as it were, by the grounds. The
fonns to he used are easily determined. The principal difficulty is to an-ange them
together so that they may concur in producing a whole, or a good effect. In disposing,
connecting, relating, and contrasting them for this purpose, the ai'tist will preserve regularity
and uniformity in the complex view of tho wholc, vai-ying and harmonising the
detail according to the degree of beauty and variety he intends to produce. I f ho has
duly prepared his mind by theoretical studies, and practised architectural and landscape
drawing, his oivn feeling of then impression will suggest when he has attained the desired
effect ; for the models of artificial surfaces which remain of ancient gardens are poor
productions compared to what might be created in this way, through the judicious application
of the principles of relative beauty. A good deal depends on adjusting the
extent of geometrical or architectm-al surface to tho size of the house and siiri'ounding
grounds ; and in this matter much depends on the reg-ularity or in-egnlarity of the groimd-
jilaii of the former, and on the evenness or variation of the sm-face of the latter. A
aiuare house on a level, or on a gentle swell, wiU require least extent of architectural
platform ai'oimd it, and a straggling Gothic castle on an ii-regiilar declivity the greatest
extent of terraces, angles, ramps, and slopes.
1498. Natural beauty o f ground. As the right lines and geometrical forms of the
ai'chitcct take the lead in grounds of artiflcial beauty, so the flowing and broken lines
and undefined fom s o fth e landscape-painter take the lead in those of natural beauty.
To create them in ground, is generally impracticable and iinadvisahle ; hut where they
exist concealed by accidental deformities, or incomplete in expression through dulness in
their loading features, art may relieve from the impediments to beauty, evon^ though the
situation may be at some distance from the eye. In recluse scones immediately under
view, art may aspire to create beauty oven from a tame flat, hut especially from its opposite,
a flat abounding with deformities. Li effecting all these purposes, the same
principles apply. The first thing to fix in the mind is tho desired surface, or that style
of natural ground which is best to be imitated. The next thing is to examine on what
parts, forms, and lines, the natural beauty of this gi'Ound chiefly depends ; if undulating,
whether the concave or the convex prevails ; if broken gi'oimd, whether horizontal and
perpendicular, or curved and inclined lines prevail. The.se are then to he imitated in
tho improvement, ever keeping in view the important principle of forming a whole.
1499. In heightening natural beauties the first thing to be considered is, what will harmonise
with the general character of the situation. “ The shape of gronnd,” says
■Whately, “must be either a convex, a concave, or a plane ; in teims less technical called
a swell, a hollow, and a level. By combinations of these are fonned all the iiTcgularitics
of which ground is capable ; and the beauty of it depends on tho degi'ecs and tho proportions
in which they are blended.” (Obs. on Modern Gardening, p. 2.) I t is obvious
that swells and hollows are much better materials to work with than a flat surface. In
situations of this kind, hy studying the character indicated by nature, it will gcnevally he
found, that the deficiency of expression is owing to tho hollows hcing in part clogged
up, either naturally or by long continuation under the plough ; and the swells lowered
in a correspondiiig degree hy the same process. In this case, the obvious improvement
is to remove earth from the hollows and place it on the eminences, ever keeping in view
the natural expression, and avoiding to end the improvement, hy leaving the hollows
gutters and tho eminences pointed ridges. This improvement is often attended with sur-
prisino-’effects ; for every foot of depth taken from a hollow, and laid on an adjoining
hill, adds two feet to the height of the latter ; and thus the landscape-gardener, particularly
it he calls in the aid of planting, judiciously disposed, may produce the effect of
a romantic glen, in a situation which natui-ally possessed no distinctive character. But
a dead flat is, of all situations, the most unpromising for a landscape-gardener to work
with if he wishes to produce any thing like picturesque sceneiy. Every thing has to be
created by art, and there is always a degree of stiffness and a want of fitness where art
has been struggling against nature, which produces a most unpleasant effect upon the
mind. Where? therefore, the situation is perfectly flat, it is safest for the landscapo-
gardoner to abandon all ideas of producing pictm-esque beauty, and to confine himself to
gcoraetrical or regular forms, the beauty of wliich is entirely independent of situation.
1500. The removal o f accidental deformities forms one of the commonest operations on
ground.' Old quarries and other pits, useless cattlo-ponds, open drains, mounds of earth,
and marks of ridges, are to be considered of this description. As they have been raised
by art so in dispersing them, the best general lule is to restore the natural sm-face ; but
sometimes the remains of fences are so numerous, that advantage may be taken of the
earth to be removed, and some vai'iety given to a surface othenvise dull and featureless.