Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/636

 512 The Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal. [Feb., LANDSCAPE, DECORATIVE, AND ECONOMIC GARDENING. No. 5. On Choosing a Situation for a Country House and Grounds. "The measure of choosing- well is, wheiher a man likes what he has chosen." THERE are but few men, in active business, who do not look forward to the time, when they can possess them- selves of a comfortable country home, where they may, when inclination prompts, retire from the bustle and excitement of the city, to enjoy the beauties of nature and all the pleasures and comforts of rural domestic life. The labors and enjoyments of the country are anticipated pleasures, for of all the various pursuits that may occupy the attention, there are few that afford so much genuine pleasure, as that to be derived from the culture of the soil. This was the first employment of man ; and all Adam's posterity seem to have an instinct to attempt for themselves the creation of an earthly paradise, where they can cultivate and adorn, and repose peacefully under their own vine and fig-tree. The force of circumstances — love of power and riches — and pride of place, may confine men to crowded cities ; but, as the day of life passes its meridian, these actuating influences gradually subside ; and the desire for the quiet calm of rural enjoyment be- comes stronger, so that the evening of life may be spent in the contemplation of nature, as presented in fields and gardens. Every change that we make in our habits of life is, to some extent, an ex- periment : it does not always happen that our ardent wishes are realized, and sometimes when they are, the realiza- tion is little short of disappointment. Before we can live in the country, and heartily enjoy all its delights, we must first love it, must feel a greater degree of pleasure in roving over the green fields than in treading the carpeted saloon, learn to take an interest in all that belongs to its society and occupa- tions, and enter intelligently upon its culture and improvements. Cowley, the "amiable poet," in a let- ter to his friend Evelyn, author of Sylva, says : " I never had any other desire so strong, and so like to covet- ousness, as that one which I have had alwaj-s, that I might be master at last of a small house and a large garden, with very moderate conveniences joined to them, and there dedicate the remainder of my life, only to the culture of them, and study of nature." In his biography we are told that every remove he made he got further and further from town, until at last his desire was gratified in the possession of a country estate, which he failed to enjoy. Writing shortly afterwards he says : " The first night that I came hither, I caught so great a cold, as made me keep my chamber ten days ; and two days after, had such a bruise on my ribs with a fall, that I am yet unable to turn in bed. This is my personal fortune here to begin with. And besides, I can get no money from my tenants, and have my meadows eaten up every night by cattle put in by my neighbors. What this signifies, or may come to in time, God knows ; if it be ominous, it can end in nothing less than hanging." This kind of disappointment has been experienced by many persons, since Cowley's time; and assuming it to be a truth with but few exceptions, that the amount of pleasure derived from these rural pursuits will be in an exact ratio to the degree of the successful realiza- tion of previous anticipations, the neces- sity for careful reflection, and exercise of judgment, in selection of position,