centre of the south front has been taken down, and a bow added, with pilasters in the style of the house: the entrance is changed from the south to the north side, and some new rooms to the west have been added. Of the useful and modern appendages to this house, the drawing can give little idea: the more essential part of landscape gardening is apt to be overlooked in the general attention to the picturesque, which has often little affinity with the more important objects of comfort, convenience, and accommodation.*

FRAGMENT VIII.

ON BLENDEN HALL, KENT.

A VILLA BELONGING TO JOHN SMITH, ESQ., M.P.

FROM the relative situation of this place with respect to the capital, it must be treated as a villa, rather than a constant residence. This distinction is necessary to explain the principle of improvement, because, in the art of landscape gardening, two things are often confounded which require to be kept perfectly distinct, viz. the landscape and the garden. To the former belong the lawns, the woods, the water, and the prospect; these may be improved by imitating nature, but a garden, as I have often repeated, is a work of art. At Blenden Hall, the lawn is beautiful in shape, and its surface enriched with venerable trees, which are sufficiently numerous,

* In speaking of Harlestone Park, I cannot omit mentioning a remarkable fact, connected with its improvement. This park abounded in large oaks, irregularly scattered over its uneven surface; but amongst them were everywhere intermixed many very tall elms, not all planted in avenues, but some in single rows, casting their long shadows over the lawn, oppressing the venerable oaks by their more lofty growth, and spreading shade and gloom over the surface of the park. I could not help observing, that the greatest improvement of which the place seemed capable, might be deemed too bold for me to advise, as it was no less than the removal of almost all the elms, to shew the oaks, and diffuse sunshine over the lawn. A few days after having delivered this opinion, on the 10th of November, 1810, a furious storm of wind tore up by the roots eighty-seven of the largest elms, and only one oak; producing exactly the effect of improvement which I had anticipated, but had not dared to recommend. This occurrence is recorded on a tablet inscribed-GENIO LOCI. [To the genius of the place].

without the aid of firs and Lombardy poplars; and the boundaries are generally well concealed, or blended with distant woods.

The water, at present, consists of two distinct pools; these may be united in appearance, without altering the levels, which would sacrifice too many good trees, if the lower water were raised; and make the banks too steep, if the upper water were sunk. A bridge, however, may be so constructed as to give continuity to the water, making it resemble a river: and this idea would also be assisted by extending the water to the east, as marked on the ground. With such alterations, the water will become a very important feature in the scenery, which, without it, would require some more distant views beyond the place; but a river is always sufficient in itself to form the leading feature of a natural landscape; and with such interesting objects of lawn, wood, and water, in the home scenery, the distant prospect may be dispensed with.

It has been suggested, that the approach from Eltham ought to be removed to the corner of the premises, in conformity with a commonly received practice in landscape gardening but I prefer the present entrance for the following reasons: I seldom advise entering at the corner of the premises, and, in this case, the house would present itself almost immediately; a road would cut up the lawn, and oblige us to continue the water, as a river, along the whole valley, which is not otherwise advisable, because there are no rooms in this front of the house to require such waste of lawn and expenditure. Perhaps the fence ought to be kept very low at the corner, to give the public a view into the lawn, which would increase the importance of the place more than by leading a road through it. And, lastly, the cottage is well placed to act as a lodge, and may easily be ornamented for that purpose.

The entrance may serve as an example for a general remark, which will frequently be applicable to other places. The gate, at present, being in the continued line of the paling, there is hardly room left to enter commodiously. If the gate be set back a few yards, the trees, thrown out into the road, will give that degree of importance to the place, which we may suppose belongs to the manorial right; while a pale,

enclosing every tree and bush near the road, counteracts this impression. One other general remark may be useful, however trifling, viz., although the interior fences (to be less visible) may be dark green, yet the entrance gate, and its immediately detached fence, should be white, a little subdued, to avoid the offensive glare of paper whiteness, yet sufficiently white to prevent accidents, which an invisible gate is apt to occasion after sun-set.

THE HOUSE.

The house having adopted a new character, from its late alterations, I have subjoined a sketch of its south and east fronts [figs. 168 and 169], combined in perspective, which

may serve to explain the effect of removing some tall trees, by which it is now oppressed, and deprived of that consequence which its Gothic character has assumed. This sort of comparative influence of trees, on a building, deserves attention; and the sketch presents a favourable specimen of that species of architecture which has already been mentioned as Wyatt's Gothic, because introduced by that ingenious architect; although not strictly in conformity with the abbey, castle, or collegiate characters, or even with that of the old manor-house; but, since it evidently belongs rather to the Gothic than the Grecian style, it will be advisable to adopt such expedients as best assimilate with buildings of the date of Queen Elizabeth, all which relate to the appendages; especially as they add, not only to the comfort, but to the picturesque effect of

the mansion among these may be reckoned the fore-court, which extends a degree of neatness a little farther into the lawn, and this, being fenced by a dwarf-wall, should be entered by a gate in the centre.

There is an old building at the south-west corner of the house, which may form the back wall of a conservatory; and a similar wall may serve to form a correspondent wing at the north-west corner; but, if these were laid open, it would rob the house of its importance, the pleasure-ground of its privacy, and the character of the place would take no benefit from the

Gothic style, because such walls add greatly to the shelter in winter; and there are many plants, such as jasmine and creepers, requiring the support of a wall, which, so clothed, forms a luxuriant decoration to a garden in summer; and by ivy, and other evergreens, may partly be extended through the year. This naturally leads to the consideration of the gardens, and their improvement.

Under this head must be included every part of the grounds in which art, rather than nature, is to please the eye, the smell, and the taste. Each part will require fences, and, perhaps, of various kinds.

First, near the house, a walled terrace, to keep cattle from the windows, and protect a border of flowering plants near the eye. Secondly, an iron fence may be sufficient to exclude cattle from the pleasure-ground; but, in that part which contains fruit, a more substantial guard against man must be provided, and brick walls are the best security.

I will here make some remarks on the occupation of land

belonging to a villa. It is surprising how tenacious every gentleman is of grass land, and with what reluctance he increases his garden, or contracts his farm; as if land were only given to produce hay, or to fatten cattle. He forgets the difference in value betwixt an acre of pasture, and an acre of fruit-garden; or the quantity of surface required to grow a load of hay, or a load of currants, cauliflowers, or asparagus, with the prodigious difference in the value of each. For this reason, the gardens of a villa should be the principal object of attention; and at Blenden Hall, the ground betwixt the fruit trees in the orchard, which produces hay, small in quantity, and bad in quality, might be turned to more advantage by planting currant bushes, or sowing garden crops; which, even if sent to market, will yield five times the value of the feed for cattle. There is a clipped quickset-hedge, which forms the south boundary of the garden; this is as secure as a wall, and, therefore, worth preserving. I must also advise retaining the lofty wall to the west, as the greatest protection against the west winds: but a screen of trees, or, rather, filberts and fruit trees, should be planted, to hide the wall from the approach, and to secure a slip on the outside, and make both sides of this lofty wall productive. If more walls be required, they may be added as described on the map, so as to shelter each other from blights; for it is not necessary that the garden should be a square area within four walls. A fruit-garden may be so blended with flowers and vegetables as to be interesting in all seasons; and the delight of a garden, highly cultivated, and neatly kept, is amongst the purest pleasures which man can enjoy on earth.

The pleasures of a garden have, of late, been very much neglected. About the middle of the last century, the introduction of landscape operated to the exclusion of the old gardens of England, and all straight gravel walks. Glades of grass and clipped hedges were condemned as formal and old fashioned; not considering that where the style of the house preserved its ancient character, the gardens might, with propriety, partake of the same. After this, a taste, or almost a rage, for farming superseded the delights of a garden; in many cases, for the mercenary reason, that a sack of potatoes would sell for more than a basket of roses or lavender. It is with peculiar satisfaction that I have occasionally observed