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464
directions as tlie natnie ot tlie „losses, whether on a fliit or an
charaeter of the t a Z — L Z c h ? quantify of lawn or turf
irregular surfece, fi-ee circulation of air, give breadth of light, and display
as shall, at all events, admit TTniformitv and variety, as a wholc, and use as
the forms of the large masses of wood. irrém ta Avenues, alloys, and
well as beauty iu the P " / > o f fences,’or scrLiis of
vistas, should serve as much as_ , ’ - gjiould point to some distant
shelter or shade; / t a y " ? c t Z \ n e e L a t oi h e y o L their The outer
» e r é ' L r é ; r i " S ^ ^ ^ either join n i t r a l woods, other artificud seeues.
cultivated Lauds, or hawen heaths or commons. „renuos alleys, and circular
1609. Wlien artificial plantations join 2 that the point
i Z L l t t e » i T t s of the a r M c i a l ^ ,
artificial scenes, iiothmg can .h® “ Z ¿ ^ boundaries of each, while
; Z i o " n ’s Z l i r e Z spiendom T " o ? L , f i c i ;
though the last mansion is ncaily ten miles c is an enclosed, broad
is lo . When artificial y ^ t ^ “^ h L ^ t e s S l U Z s ,
strips, hedgerows, square or round clumps in the au les character of arti-
" " f t l T m r o H ^ Z p l a n t a ^ ^ ^
L r é r L i t e : » r s » / u
may promote the idea. , On other o e e a sim ^ ^ struck ont entirely
as to oouvcy no agreeable ^ pe given, by advancing strips or rows
ploying species of trees different h°™ ‘ t t e spruce aud silver firs
surroundmg countiy, is °hi mus. p epn,s chestnuts, limes, and planes,
mm^BSSBBsSsS:¡E$
destroy the breadth of colour of the m a s^ however be planted with different species
masses, avenues, and more minute paits, m.ay, howcvo , p
of trees; rare sorts may be also
raiiffcd alonff stars, crosses, &c. ilic snowciiop ucc, lui ilo ,, PQ^nlntcd
OPERATING W ITH WOOD.
as respects form. The colours and character of the heads of the trees must be connected,
and, at the same time, to a certain degree contrasted, in order to produce an artificial
and yet hai-monious effect.
1513. Fences. Here the ancient style has a great advantage over the modern, in
winch, as far as respects tho imitation of nature, all fences arc to be considered as temporary,
and, therefore, to a certain degree, looked on as nuisances to be afterwards
removed. Besides, tlicir in-cgular and circuitous line is displeasing to many who do not
understand ground-plans, with a view to pictm-esque beauty, when the trees are grown
up. In geometric gardening, fences ai-e to be considered in many cases as objects, and
wlicn not regarded in this light, their directions and limits ai-e so minutely pointed out
by the determined outline of the plantations, that the eye acquiesces in thcir situation
and use. Eences of any common and economical description are employed to protect
the trees of open avenues, open groves, and single open rows. Tlie more common kind
arc walls, which in the prominent parts ought to be well built of hewn stone, and substantially
finished by raised or flat copings, bearing some relation to the copings of the
simpler parapets of the-house. The gates necessary in these walls, as well as in some
sorts of permanent verdant fences, supply occasion for such architectm-al forms and
lines as are advantageous iu reflecting tliose of the mansion, and strengthening the prevailing
idea of dignity, art, and design. Every sort of fence belonging to the modern
style may be occasionally employed in the ancient; and besides walls, half-sunkeii walls
aud raised mounds with a walk at top, we may cnnumcrate hedges of holly, yew, laurel’
and other shrubs, eitlier simple, or chequered by alternate deciduous or evergreen ’species!
varied by arcades and standards, shorn into shapes, or in thcir natural growth. Hedges
of flowering shrubs may also be introduced; of creepers on open palisades; and various
others of great beauty may be invented, or arc to be found in books on this style of
gardening.
1514. Management In this respect, also, t e advantage is greatly in favom- of the
ancient s ty le; for as aU operations of pi-iming and thinning in t e other style should be
(lone tinder t e eye of the landscape-gardener, so all thoso operations may be performed
in the ancient style hy any labourer; the object being simply to produce a straight, upright,
smooth stem, to a certain height accordmg to cii'cumstances, and to allow each particular
tree to attain its full size. Shearing or cUpping is always a merely mechanical
operation ; plain hedges and close alleys require only a line for a guide ; and, in the case
of arcades or verdant sculpture, there is, or always should be, a frame of trelliswork of
coiTect design to guide the operator.
1615. In planting with a view to natural leautij, the effect of t e whole is also the first
and the grand consideration. AU planting, as respects the formation of a coimtry residence,
must nocessarily be materially influenced by t e character and situation of the
house, as the capital featme in t e composition. To tliis feature, the leading masses of
wood and laivn, answering the end of light and shade in painting, must invite and direct
the eye in the general -view of the place. Each must embrace it on one or on more sides,
and diverge from it in masses suitable to its magnitnde, and t e extent of t e gi'ounds ;
aud in forms and chai-acters of woody sm-facc suitable to the natural situation aud the
expression to he created. I f the mansion is on a declivify, the principal light should
embrace the front which looks down, rather than those which look up, or on either side.
The -views from the windows suggest this aiTangement, and will point out in every other
situation (whether a flat, a hill, or an nregular surface), on which side or sides the leading
masses are to have their origin. To determine their magnitude, form, and number,
would be impossible, without a particular case to refer to. To point out their sfyle is
sufficient; this must always be in-egulai- like natm-e, generally stretching along such
rising ground as the situation affords; and, like her, always combining a certain degree
of miiformity or recognisable shape, even amidst the greatest seeming deviations from
this qualify of figures. As the house indicates the commencement of the mosses, so tho
character of the country sun-ounding tlic scene of improvement must determine the limits
and style of their termination. If the lands are laid out in regular enclosures, bounded
by hedges, and hedgerows, fragments of these must prevail in t e margin of t e pai'k ;
at least in as many places, and to such a degree, as -will produce connection, and, if possible,
as much f a r t e r as will harmonise the scene within, with the country -without. If
it be entirely or in part sim'ounded by forest sceneiy, the termination is easily and completely
effected, by attending to t e sfyle of wood and species of trees prevailing without,
for a moderate distance within the boimdary. I f bounded by the sea, or a large lake,
an abrupt tci-mination will be as natural as it would be formal on t e margin of a cultivated
surface. Abrupt terminations, however, arc often unavoidable, as iu examples of
villas, where t e owner, having no demesne, has no control beyond his boundaiy fence.
All that can be done, therefore, in such oases, is, to create as mnch beauty and interest
as possible within the given limits. lYIicre one villa joins another, this sort of isolated
ahniptncss is avoided or lessened ; and, in the case of suburban villas, it is seldom felt
H II