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History of Early American Landscape Design

Difference between revisions of "Wood/Woods"

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See also: [[Clump]], [[Copse]], [[Grove]], [[Thicket]], [[Wilderness]]
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==History==
 
==History==
  
Wood, as defined by Thomas Whately in 1770, referred to a planting feature composed of trees and shrubs, a description that made the feature quite similar to clump, grove, shrubbery, thicket, and wilderness. A.-J. Dézallier d’Argenville (1712), had described “Groves of a middle Height . . . groves opened in Compartiments, [and] Groves planted in Quincunce” as kinds of woods (see Grove). Whately, however, attempted to clarify the potential confusion that arose from such similarities. He stipulated that a wood contained both “trees and underwood,” and extended over “a considerable space.” It was the extent of a wood, for George William Johnson (1847), that distinguished it from a clump, which also contained trees and undergrowth (see Clump). In his drawing for the grounds of the White House in Washington, D.C., Benjamin Henry Latrobe indicated two distinct areas for clumps and for wood. The larger wooded area served as a perimeter border [Fig. 1].  
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[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the President's House, c. 1802–05 “Wood” is inscribed at the lower right perimeter border.]]
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Wood, as defined by Thomas Whately in 1770, referred to a planting feature composed of trees and [[shrub]]s, a description that made the feature quite similar to [[clump]], [[grove]], [[shrubbery]], [[thicket]], and [[wilderness]]. A.-J. Dézallier d’Argenville (1712), had described “[[grove|Groves]] of a middle Height. . . [[grove]]s opened in Compartiments, [and] [[grove|Groves]] planted in Quincunce” as kinds of woods. Whately, however, attempted to clarify the potential confusion that arose from such similarities. He stipulated that a wood contained both “trees and underwood,” and extended over “a considerable space.” It was the extent of a wood, for George William Johnson (1847), that distinguished it from a [[clump]], which also contained trees and undergrowth. In his drawing for the grounds of the White House in Washington, DC, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] indicated two distinct areas for [[clump]]s and for wood. The larger wooded area served as a perimeter [[border]] [Fig. 1].  
  
Whately’s descriptions of woods, which were quoted in the treatise literature for the next century, corresponded to American gardeners’ descriptions and treatment of woods. Samuel Vaughan, when mapping the grounds of Mount Vernon in 1787, used Whately’s terminology—a hanging wood—to describe the clustering of trees on the steeply sloping bank that lay between the lawn and the river [Fig. 2]. Thomas Jefferson, who was anxious to design the grounds of Monticello in imitation of a modern-style English garden, struggled to render his “native” woods into a form acceptable to English design concepts while accommodating the harshness of Virginia’s summers. Unwilling to give up the expansive view created by a lawn, Jefferson (1806) recommended trimming his trees so as to create the illusion of open space while still retaining shade.  
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[[File:0069.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of [[Mount Vernon]], 1787. A “hanging wood” is indicated on the slope from the house to the river.]]
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Whately's descriptions of woods, which were quoted in the treatise literature for the next century, corresponded to American gardeners’ descriptions and treatment of woods. [[Samuel Vaughan]], when mapping the grounds of [[Mount Vernon]] in 1787, used Whately's terminology—a hanging wood—to describe the clustering of trees on the steeply sloping bank that lay between the [[lawn]] and the river [Fig. 2]. [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was anxious to design the grounds of [[Monticello]] in imitation of a [[modern-style]] [[English style|English]] garden, struggled to render his “native” woods into a form acceptable to English design concepts while accommodating the harshness of Virginia’s summers. Unwilling to give up the expansive view created by a [[lawn]], [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] (1806) recommended trimming his trees so as to create the illusion of open space while still retaining shade.  
  
A sense of expanse is integral to many discussions of woods. J. C. Loudon, in An Encyclopaedia of Gardening (1826), established that a wood—“a large assemblage of trees”—was more extensive than a thicket or clump (see Thicket). Rev. Manasseh Cutler’s 1787 description of Gray’s Tavern in Philadelphia, in which he gave account of a “tall wood interspersed with close thickets,” reveals that he identified a difference of size, and specifically height, in his understanding of the two features.  
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A sense of expanse is integral to many discussions of woods. [[J. C. Loudon]], in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), established that a wood—“a large assemblage of trees”—was more extensive than a [[thicket]] or [[clump]]. [[Manasseh Cutler|Manasseh Cutler's]] 1787 description of Gray’s Tavern in Philadelphia, in which he gave account of a “tall wood interspersed with close [[thicket]]s,” reveals that he identified a difference of size, and specifically height, in his understanding of the two features.  
  
Dézallier d’Argenville stipulated that woods be shaped with alleys or paths into such forms as a star or cross, which could house decorative objects, such as statues or waterworks. According to Hannah Callender’s 1762 description, the wood at Belmont Mansion, near Philadelphia [Fig. 3], was marked by avenues that gave access to internal spaces, in which were found a Chinese temple and an obelisk. These avenues also framed views beyond the garden, including “a fine prospect of the city.” At the Friends Asylum of the Insane, near Frankford, Pa. (1826), a winding walk led the visitor through the woods to a “Temple of Solitude,” shaded by tulip, oak, chestnut, and beech trees.  
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[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, William Russell Birch, “[[View]] from [[Belmont_(Philadelphia,_PA)|Belmont]] Pennsyla. the [[Seat]] of Judge Peters,” 1808, in William Russell Birch, ''The Country [[Seat]]s of the United States'' (1808), pl. 16.]]
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Dézallier d’Argenville stipulated that woods be shaped with [[alley]]s or paths into such forms as a star or cross, which could house decorative objects, such as [[statue]]s or waterworks. According to [[Hannah Callender Sansom|Hannah Callender Sansom's]] description of 1762, the wood at [[Belmont (Philadelphia)|Belmont]] Mansion, near Philadelphia [Fig. 3], was marked by [[avenue]]s that gave access to internal spaces, in which were found a [[Chinese_manner|Chinese]] [[temple]] and an [[obelisk]]. These [[avenue]]s also framed [[view]]s beyond the garden, including “a fine [[prospect]] of the city.” At the Friends Asylum of the Insane, near Frankford, Pennsylvania (1826), a winding [[walk]] led the visitor through the woods to a “[[Temple]] of Solitude,” shaded by tulip, oak, chestnut, and beech trees.  
  
Alleys and paths were key to one of the chief functions of woods, as defined by Stephen Switzer (1718); they provided a place for walking. Philip Miller (1754) expounded upon the “Necessity of twisting of the Walks.” He argued that the intricate patterns allowed more pathways to be compressed into a space than a straight walk. Complex pathways necessitated careful attention, Miller explained, to the turns of the walks so that a balance was struck between open view or prospect and sheltered privacy, and between artfulness and naturalness.  
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[[Alley]]s and paths were key to one of the chief functions of woods, as defined by Stephen Switzer (1718); they provided a place for walking. Philip Miller (1754) expounded upon the “Necessity of twisting of the [[Walk]]s.” He argued that the intricate patterns allowed more pathways to be compressed into a space than a straight [[walk]]. Complex pathways necessitated careful attention, Miller explained, to the turns of the [[walk]]s so that a balance was struck between open view or prospect and sheltered privacy, and between artfulness and naturalness.  
  
Whether planted or natural, a wood could contribute greatly to an overall garden design. Dézallier d’Argenville, in his chapter entitled “Of Woods and Groves in general,” encouraged planting woods as a means of offering “Relievo” [his italics], in contrast to the “flat parts” of gardens, such as “Parterres and Bowling-greens.” Later, even as the lawn replaced these “flat parts,” writers remained concerned with the juxtaposition of the verticality of the wood and the horizontal sweep of flat elements of the garden or landscape.  
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Whether planted or natural, a wood could contribute greatly to an overall garden design. Dézallier d’Argenville, in his chapter entitled “Of Woods and [[Grove]]s in general,” encouraged planting woods as a means of offering “''Relievo''” [his italics], in contrast to the “flat parts” of gardens, such as “[[Parterre]]s and [[Bowling-green]]s.” Later, even as the [[lawn]] replaced these “flat parts,” writers remained concerned with the juxtaposition of the verticality of the wood and the horizontal sweep of flat elements of the garden or landscape.  
  
The outline of the wood, Whately stipulated, should be varied by selectively placing a few trees or groups of shrubs at a slight distance from the main plantation. The wood might then offer a diverse and light effect while maintaining much of its mass and desired grandeur. Humphry Repton (1803) concurred when he cautioned against a strict contrast between wood and lawn for a “want of unity,” and instead advocated blurring the boundaries so that the “eye cannot trace the precise limits” of each feature. Many instances can be found of what Jefferson referred to as the English method of bounding lawn with woods, thus creating variety and contrast. John P. Sheldon reported in 1825 that at the Fair-
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The outline of the wood, Whately stipulated, should be varied by selectively placing a few trees or groups of [[shrub]]s at a slight distance from the main [[plantation]]. The wood might then offer a diverse and light effect while maintaining much of its mass and desired grandeur. Humphry Repton (1803) concurred when he cautioned against a strict contrast between wood and [[lawn]] for a “want of unity,” and instead advocated blurring the boundaries so that the “eye cannot trace the precise limits” of each feature. Many instances can be found of what [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] referred to as the [[English style|English]] method of bounding [[lawn]] with woods, thus creating variety and contrast. John P. Sheldon reported in 1825 that at the Fairmount Waterworks in Philadelphia the juxtaposition of woods and [[lawn]] added to the “pleasing variety of the scene.” [[A. J. Downing]], in 1849 argued that managing the convergence of woods and [[lawn]] was one of the most important components of the landscape garden. The proper arrangement of these two features—their light and dark shades—should “lead the eye to the mansion,” the central element of the entire design.  
mount Waterworks in Philadelphia the juxtaposition of woods and lawn added to the “pleasing variety of the scene.” A. J. Downing, in his 1849 discussion of the treatment of woods, argued that managing the convergence of woods and lawn was one of the most important components of the landscape garden. The proper arrangement of these two features—their light and dark shades—should “lead the eye to the mansion,” the central element of the entire design.  
 
  
While Dézallier d’Argenville, Switzer, and Miller were all proponents of woods, they cautioned against allowing a wood to block or interrupt a view. Whately argued that woods could be used to enhance views from commanding eminences or prospects. One of the “noblest objects in nature” he insisted, was “the surface of a large thick wood,” observed either from an elevated point, such as a hill, or from the foot of a hill looking upward. Whately referred to the latter as a “hanging wood,” where the feature appeared to loom above the viewer. All forms of wood should, he explained, follow aesthetic principles. Specifically, he argued against monotony in color and height in favor of variety achieved by a “judicious mixture of greens” and “grouping and contrasting trees very different in shape from each other.”  
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While Dézallier d’Argenville, Switzer, and Miller were all proponents of woods, they cautioned against allowing a wood to block or interrupt a [[view]]. Whately argued that woods could be used to enhance views from commanding [[eminence]]s or [[prospect]]s. One of the “noblest objects in nature” he insisted, was “the surface of a large thick wood,” observed either from an elevated point, such as a hill, or from the foot of a hill looking upward. Whately referred to the latter as a “hanging wood,” where the feature appeared to loom above the viewer. All forms of wood should, he explained, follow aesthetic principles. Specifically, he argued against monotony in color and height in favor of variety achieved by a “judicious mixture of greens” and “grouping and contrasting trees very different in shape from each other.”  
  
Downing echoed Whately’s concern for the placement of woods. In his chapter entitled, “Wood and Plantations,” he explained how the feature could be used to conceal topographical defects in walks and roads or around unsightly edifices. With respect to the latter, however, he warned against planting trees so near the building that air circulation would be impeded. If the structure was “the mansion or dwelling-house,” the wood should function more as a backdrop to the house. The house, for Downing, was to be treated as the primary focus of the composition, and the woods—with their connotations of grandeur—should underscore the magnificence of the dwelling. This precise effect was depicted in a drawing by A. J. Davis of Montgomery Place, where the deep shadows of the wood were set in contrast to the lawn and the tall lines of the hemlock, lime, ash, and fir trees, thereby enhancing the stateliness of the mansion [Fig. 4]. Downing further argued that the internal organization of woods should be defined by planting trees in loose groupings as opposed to rectilinear formations, in keeping with the modern or natural style (see Modern style), repudiating the geometrical, ornamental forms advocated by seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century treatise authors.  
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[[File:0843.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], ''Montgomery Place'', n.d.]]
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[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing]] echoed Whately's concern for the placement of woods. In his chapter entitled, “Wood and [[Plantation]]s,” he explained how the feature could be used to conceal topographical defects in [[walk]]s and roads or around unsightly edifices. With respect to the latter, however, he warned against planting trees so near the building that air circulation would be impeded. If the structure was “the mansion or dwelling-house,” the wood should function more as a backdrop to the house. The house, for [[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing]], was to be treated as the primary focus of the composition, and the woods—with their connotations of grandeur—should underscore the magnificence of the dwelling. This precise effect was depicted in a drawing by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] of [[Montgomery Place]], where the deep shadows of the wood were set in contrast to the [[lawn]] and the tall lines of the hemlock, lime, ash, and fir trees, thereby enhancing the stateliness of the mansion [Fig. 4]. [[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing]] further argued that the internal organization of woods should be defined by planting trees in loose groupings as opposed to rectilinear formations, in keeping with the modern or natural style (see [[Modern style]]), repudiating the [[geometric style|geometrical]], ornamental forms advocated by 17th- and early 18th-century treatise authors.  
  
Downing’s recommendation to frame the house with woods also promoted a vision of the North American landscape very different from that described by Frenchman FrançoisAlexandre-Frédéric, duc de La Rochefoucauld Liancourt, who observed a half century earlier that Americans rarely surrounded their houses with trees. He offered the explanation that early settlers were so often forced to clear land in order to build that the appearance of open space around the house was a sign of improvement. Although Americans reveled in the abundance of trees and forests in the landscape, by 1799 at least, native forests were dwindling. Isaac Weld conveyed this concern with the statement that woods were “now beginning to be thought valuable.”  
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[[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing's]] recommendation to frame the house with woods also promoted a vision of the North American landscape very different from that described by Frenchman François Alexandre-Frédéric, duc de La Rochefoucauld Liancourt, who observed a half century earlier that Americans rarely surrounded their houses with trees. He offered the explanation that early settlers were so often forced to clear land in order to build that the appearance of open space around the house was a sign of improvement. Although Americans reveled in the abundance of trees and forests in the landscape, by 1799 at least, native forests were dwindling. Isaac Weld conveyed this concern with the statement that woods were “now beginning to be thought valuable.”  
  
By the mid-nineteenth century, as demonstrated by Downing’s treatise as well as by accounts of such estates as T. Lee’s country residence in Brookline, Mass., the cultivation of woods around the home had risen to the level of art. Lee had added a wood to the grounds and carefully maintained it by cutting and thinning out trees, establishing walks and seats, and planting flowering shrubs such as rhododendrons. From this wood, some of the best views of the nearby countryside and the house could be seen. While the 1840 account of Lee’s wood suggests that he planted the entire woods, new plants often were incorporated into a preexisting wood. This was done at Montgomery Place, where, according to Downing (1847), natural wood and planted trees were blended together to create a rich, dense foliage.  
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By the mid-19th century, as demonstrated by [[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing's]] treatise as well as by accounts of such estates as T. Lee’s country residence in Brookline, Massachusetts, the cultivation of woods around the home had risen to the level of art. Lee had added a wood to the grounds and carefully maintained it by cutting and thinning out trees, establishing [[walk]]s and [[seat]]s, and planting flowering [[shrub]]s such as rhododendrons. From this wood, some of the best [[view]]s of the nearby countryside and the house could be seen. While the 1840 account of Lee’s wood suggests that he planted the entire woods, new plants often were incorporated into a preexisting wood. This was done at [[Montgomery Place]], where, according to [[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing]] (1847), natural wood and planted trees were blended together to create a rich, dense foliage.  
  
-- ''Anne L. Helmreich''
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''Anne L. Helmreich''
  
 
==Texts==
 
==Texts==
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===Usage===
 
===Usage===
  
Callender, Hannah, 1762, describing Belmont  
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* [[Hannah Callender Sansom|Sansom, Hannah Callender]], June 30, 1762, diary entry describing [[Belmont (Philadelphia)|Belmont]], estate of [[William Peters]], near Philadelphia, PA (quoted in Callender 2010: 183)<ref name="Callender 2010">Hannah Callender Sansom, ''The Diary of Hannah Callender Sansom: Sense and Sensibility in the Age of the American Revolution'', ed. Susan E. Klepp and Karin Wulf (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2010), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/33F7ZBKJ view on Zotero].</ref>
Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near  
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Philadelphia, Pa. (Pennsylvania Magazine of History
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: “we left the garden for a '''wood''' cut into [[vista|Visto's]], in the midst a [[Chinese Taste|chinese]] [[temple]], for a [[Summerhouse|summer house]], one [[avenue]] gives a fine [[prospect]] of the City, with a Spy glass you discern the houses distinct, Hospital, & another looks to the [[obelisk|Oblisk]]."
and Biography 12: 455)  
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 +
 
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* Shippen, Thomas Lee, December 31, 1783, describing Westover, seat of William Byrd III, on the James River, VA (1952: n.p.)<ref>Thomas Lee Shippen, ''Westover Described in 1783: A Letter and Drawing Sent by Thomas Lee Shippen, Student of Law in Williamsburg, to His Parents in Philadelphia'' (Richmond, VA: William Byrd Press, 1952), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3IWWPMJ5 view on Zotero].</ref>
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: “You leave the main road from Williamsburg to Richmond about two miles from Westover, and ride a mile and a half thro’ a most charming '''Wood''' which has ever been the hobby horse of its possessor, on account of its beauty, and has always belonged to Westover.”
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“We left the garden for a wood cut into vistas.
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* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Manasseh]], July 14, 1787, describing Gray’s Tavern, Philadelphia, PA (1987: 1:276)<ref>William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9 view on Zotero].</ref>
In the midst is a Chinese temple for a summer
 
house. One avenue gives a fine prospect of the
 
City. . . . Another avenue looks to the obelisk.
 
  
Shippen, Thomas Lee, 31 December 1783,  
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: “At this [[hermitage]] we came into a spacious graveled [[walk]], which directed its course further along the [[grove]], which was tall '''wood''' interspersed with close [[thicket]]s of different growth.”
  
describing Westover, seat of William Byrd III, on
 
the James River, Va. (1952: n.p.)
 
  
“You leave the main road from Williamsburg
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* Tucker, St. George, 1793, “Beautiful Country. Number of Farms, Orchards, & Meadows with Haycocks” (quoted in Martin 1991: 222, fn 39)<ref>Peter Martin, ''The Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N view on Zotero].</ref>
to Richmond about two miles from Westover, and
 
ride a mile and a half thro’ a most charming
 
Wood which has ever been the hobby horse of its
 
possessor, on account of its beauty, and has always
 
belonged to Westover.
 
  
Cutler, Rev. Manasseh, 14 July 1787, describing
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: “How sweet is the landscape before us!—the distant mountains mingle with the azure, and all between is the finest penciling of nature. The verdant [[lawn]], the tufted [[grove]], the dusky tower, the hanging '''wood''', the winding stream and tumbling water fall, compose the lovely picture before you.
Gray’s Tavern, Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 1:276)
 
  
“At this hermitage we came into a spacious
 
graveled walk, which directed its course further
 
along the grove, which was tall wood interspersed
 
with close thickets of different growth.”
 
  
Tucker, St. George, 1793, “Beautiful Country.  
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* La Rochefoucauld Liancourt, François Alexandre-Frédéric, duc de, 1795–97, describing Norristown, PA (1799: 1:5–6)<ref>François-Alexandre-Frédéric, duc de La Rochefoucauld Liancourt, ''Travels through the United States of North America, the Country of the Iroquois, and Upper Canada, in the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797'', ed. by Brisson Dupont and Charles Ponges, trans. by H. Newman, 2nd ed., 4 vols. (London: R. Philips, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SRMDWJ2M view on Zotero].</ref>
Number of Farms, Orchards, & Meadows with
 
Haycocks” (quoted in Martin 1991: 222, fn 39)  
 
  
“How sweet is the landscape before us!—the
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: “Very few of them [country houses] are without a small garden; but it is rare to observe one, that has a [[grove]] adjoining, or that is surrounded with trees; it is the custom of the country to have no '''wood''' near the houses. Customs are sometimes founded in reason, but it is difficult to conjecture the design of this practice in a country, where the heat in summer is altogether intolerable, and where the structure of the houses is designedly adapted to exclude excessive heat. *
distant mountains mingle with the azure, and all
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: “* The ''reason'' is, because the country was universally '''wooded''', when the building of these houses was first begun; and in a country thus '''wooded''', to clear the space round the dwelling-house was just as natural, as to plant round the house in a country otherwise bare of '''wood'''.— ''Translator''.”  
between is the finest penciling of nature. The verdant
 
lawn, the tufted grove, the dusky tower, the  
 
hanging wood, the winding stream and tumbling
 
water fall, compose the lovely picture before you.”  
 
  
La Rochefoucauld Liancourt, FrançoisAlexandre-
 
Frédéric, duc de, 1795–97, describing
 
Norristown, Pa. (1799: 1:5–6)
 
  
“Very few of them [country houses] are without
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* Weld, Isaac, 1799, describing Winchester, VA (1799: 133)<ref>Isaac Weld, T''ravels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797'' (London: John Stockdale, 1799), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7 view on Zotero].</ref>
a small garden; but it is rare to observe one,  
 
that has a grove adjoining, or that is surrounded
 
with trees; it is the custom of the country to have
 
no wood near the houses. Customs are sometimes
 
founded in reason, but it is difficult to conjecture
 
the design of this practice in a country, where the
 
heat in summer is altogether intolerable, and  
 
where the structure of the houses is designedly
 
adapted to exclude excessive heat. *
 
  
“* The reason is, because the country was universally
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: “In the neighborhood of Winchester it is so thickly settled and consequently so much cleared that '''wood''' is now beginning to be thought valuable; the farmers are obliged frequently to send ten or fifteen miles even for their [[fence]] rails.”  
wooded, when the building of these
 
houses was first begun; and in a country thus
 
wooded, to clear the space round the dwelling-
 
house was just as natural, as to plant round the
 
house in a country otherwise bare of wood.—
 
Translator.”  
 
  
Weld, Isaac, 1799, describing Winchester, Va.
 
  
(p. 133)  
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* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], July 1806, in a letter to [[William Hamilton]], describing [[Monticello]], [[plantation]] of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, VA (1944: 323–24)<ref>Thomas Jefferson, ''The Garden Book'', ed. by Edwin M. Betts (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1944), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/8ZA5VRP5 view on Zotero].</ref>
“In the neighborhood of Winchester it is so
 
thickly settled and consequently so much cleared
 
that wood is now beginning to be thought valuable;
 
the farmers are obliged frequently to send
 
ten or fifteen miles even for their fence rails.
 
  
Jefferson, Thomas, July 1806, in a letter to  
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: “Having decisively made up my mind for retirement at the end of my present term, my views and attentions are all turned homewards. I have hitherto been engaged in my buildings which will be finished in the course of the present year. The improvement of my grounds has been reserved for my occupation on my return home. For this reason it is that I have put off to the fall of the year after next the collection of such curious trees as will bear our winters in the open air.
William Hamilton, describing Monticello, plantation
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: “The grounds which I destine to improve in the style of the [[English style|English]] gardens are in a form very difficult to be managed. They compose the northern quadrant of a mountain for about 2/3 of its height & then spread for the upper third over its whole crown. They contain about three hundred acres, washed at the foot for about a mile, by a river of the size of the [[Schuylkill River|Schuylkill]]. The hill is generally too steep for direct ascent, but we make level [[walk]]s successively along it’s side, which in it’s upper part encircle the hill & intersect these again by others of easy ascent in various parts. They are chiefly still in their native '''woods''', which are majestic, and very generally a close undergrowth, which I have not suffered to be touched, knowing how much easier it is to cut away than to fill up. The upper third is chiefly open, but to the South is covered with a dense [[thicket]] of Scotch broom (Spartium scoparium Lin.) which being favorably spread before the sun will admit of advantageous arrangement for winter enjoyment. You are sensible that this disposition of the ground takes from me the first beauty in gardening, the variety of hill & dale, & leaves me as an awkward substitute a few hanging hollows & ridges, this subject is so unique and at the same time refractory, that to make a disposition analogous to its character would require much more of the genius of the landscape painter & gardener than I pretend to. . . .
of Thomas Jefferson, Charlottesville, Va.  
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: “Thither without doubt we are to go for the models in this art. Their sunless climate has permitted them to adopt what is certainly a beauty of the very first order in landscape. Their canvas is of open ground, variegated with [[clump]]s of trees distributed with taste. They need no more of '''wood''' than will serve to embrace a [[lawn]] or glade. But under the beaming, constant and almost vertical sun of Virginia, shade is our Elysium. In the absence of this no beauty of the eye can be enjoyed. This organ must yield it’s gratification to that of the other senses; without the hope of any equivalent to this beauty relinquished. The only substitute I have been able to imagine is this. Let your ground be covered with trees of the loftiest stature. Trim up their bodies as high as the constitution & form of the tree will bear, but so as that their tops shall still unite & yeild [''sic''] dense shade. A '''wood''', so open below, will have nearly the appearance of open grounds. Then, when in the open ground you would plant a [[clump]] of trees, place a [[thicket]] of [[shrub]]s presenting a hemisphere the crown of which shall distinctly show itself under the branches of the trees. This may be effected by a due selection & arrangement of the [[shrub]]s, & will I think offer a group not much inferior to that of trees. The [[thicket]]s may be varied too by making some of them of evergreens altogether, our red cedar made to grow in a bush, evergreen privet, pyrocanthus, Kalmia, Scotch broom. Holly would be elegant but it does not grow in my part of the country.  
(1944: 323–24)
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: “Of [[prospect]] I have a rich profusion and offering itself at every point of the compass. Mountains distant & near, smooth & shaggy, single & in ridges, a little river hiding itself among the hills so as to shew in lagoons only, cultivated grounds under the eye and two small villages. To present a satiety of this is the principal difficulty. It may be successively offered, & in different portions through [[vista]]s, or which will be better, between [[thicket]]s so disposed as to serve as [[vista]]s, with the advantage of shifting the scenes as you advance your way.”
  
“Having decisively made up my mind for
 
retirement at the end of my present term, my
 
views and attentions are all turned homewards. I
 
have hitherto been engaged in my buildings which
 
will be finished in the course of the present year.
 
  
The improvement of my grounds has been
+
*Drayton, Charles, November 2, 1806, describing [[The Woodlands]], [[seat]] of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, PA (1806: 54)<ref>Charles Drayton, “The Diary of Charles Drayton I, 1806,” 1806, Drayton Papers, MS 0152, Drayton Hall, http://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/lcdl:27554, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HAARCGXN view on Zotero].</ref>
reserved for my occupation on my return home.
 
For this reason it is that I have put off to the fall of
 
the year after next the collection of such curious
 
trees as will bear our winters in the open air.  
 
  
“The grounds which I destine to improve in the
+
: “The <u>Approach</u>, its road, '''woods''', [[lawn]] & [[clump]]s, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity.
style of the English gardens are in a form very difficult
 
to be managed. They compose the northern
 
quadrant of a mountain for about 2/3 of its height
 
& then spread for the upper third over its whole
 
crown. They contain about three hundred acres,  
 
washed at the foot for about a mile, by a river of the
 
size of the Schuylkill. The hill is generally too steep
 
for direct ascent, but we make level walks successively
 
along it’s side, which in it’s upper part encircle
 
the hill & intersect these again by others of easy
 
ascent in various parts. They are chiefly still in their
 
native woods, which are majestic, and very generally
 
a close undergrowth, which I have not suffered
 
to be touched, knowing how much easier it is to cut
 
away than to fill up. The upper third is chiefly open,
 
but to the South is covered with a dense thicket of
 
Scotch broom (Spartium scoparium Lin.) which
 
being favorably spread before the sun will admit of
 
advantageous arrangement for winter enjoyment.
 
You are sensible that this disposition of the ground
 
takes from me the first beauty in gardening, the
 
variety of hill & dale, & leaves me as an awkward
 
substitute a few hanging hollows & ridges, this subject
 
is so unique and at the same time refractory,
 
that to make a disposition analogous to its character
 
would require much more of the genius of the
 
landscape painter & gardener than I pretend to. . . .  
 
  
“Thither without doubt we are to go for the
 
models in this art. Their sunless climate has permitted
 
them to adopt what is certainly a beauty of
 
the very first order in landscape. Their canvas is of
 
open ground, variegated with clumps of trees distributed
 
with taste. They need no more of wood
 
than will serve to embrace a lawn or glade. But
 
under the beaming, constant and almost vertical
 
sun of Virginia, shade is our Elysium. In the
 
absence of this no beauty of the eye can be
 
enjoyed. This organ must yield it’s gratification to
 
that of the other senses; without the hope of any
 
equivalent to this beauty relinquished. The only
 
substitute I have been able to imagine is this. Let
 
your ground be covered with trees of the loftiest
 
stature. Trim up their bodies as high as the constitution
 
& form of the tree will bear, but so as that
 
their tops shall still unite & yeild [sic] dense shade.
 
A wood, so open below, will have nearly the
 
appearance of open grounds. Then, when in the
 
open ground you would plant a clump of trees,
 
place a thicket of shrubs presenting a hemisphere
 
the crown of which shall distinctly show itself
 
under the branches of the trees. This may be
 
effected by a due selection & arrangement of the
 
shrubs, & will I think offer a group not much inferior
 
to that of trees. The thickets may be varied
 
too by making some of them of evergreens altogether,
 
our red cedar made to grow in a bush,
 
evergreen privet, pyrocanthus, Kalmia, Scotch
 
broom. Holly would be elegant but it does not
 
grow in my part of the country.  “Of prospect I have a rich profusion and offering
 
itself at every point of the compass. Mountains
 
distant & near, smooth & shaggy, single & in
 
ridges, a little river hiding itself among the hills so
 
as to shew in lagoons only, cultivated grounds
 
under the eye and two small villages. To present a
 
satiety of this is the principal difficulty. It may be
 
successively offered, & in different portions
 
through vistas, or which will be better, between
 
thickets so disposed as to serve as vistas, with the
 
advantage of shifting the scenes as you advance
 
your way.”
 
  
Drayton, Charles, 2 November, 1806, describing  
+
*Birch, William Russell, 1808, describing Sedgeley, [[seat]] of James C. Fisher and William Crammond, near Philadelphia, PA (1808: 3)<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, PA: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref>
the Woodlands, seat of William Hamilton,  
 
near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles
 
Drayton Diaries, 1784–1820, typescript)  
 
  
“The Approach, its road, woods, lawn &
+
: “This beautiful gothic structure, which so happily graces the luxuriant banks of the [[Schuylkill River|Schuykill]], is in the neighborhood of Landsdown, which is seen in the distance on the opposite side of the river, whose gentle stream courses lowly and humble, amidst romantic '''woods''', gently descending [[lawn]]s and caverned rocks. The house was erected by Mr. Crammond, from a design by that able architect, Mr. J. H. Latrobe.”  
clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity.”  
 
  
Birch, William Russell, 1808, describing Sedgeley,
 
seat of James C. Fisher and William Crammond,
 
near Philadelphia, Pa (p. 3)
 
  
“This beautiful gothic structure, which so happily
+
*Birch, William Russell, 1808, describing Montibello the [[seat]] of Gen.l S. Smith Maryland, (1808; opposite pl. 13)<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, PA: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref>
graces the luxuriant banks of the Schuykill, is
 
in the neighborhood of Landsdown, which is seen
 
in the distance on the opposite side of the river,  
 
whose gentle stream courses lowly and humble,
 
amidst romantic woods, gently descending lawns
 
and caverned rocks. The house was erected by Mr.
 
Crammond, from a design by that able architect,  
 
Mr. J. H. Latrobe.
 
  
Sheldon, John P., 10 December 1825, describing
+
:"MONTIBELLO,
Fairmount Waterworks, Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted
+
:Handsomely seated amid the '''woods''', a few miles from Baltimore and commanding a [[prospect]] of the Chesapeake and Baltimore Bays. The house was built by Gen. S. Smith from a plan and elevation by Mr. W. Birch, proprietor of this work, and is generally approved."
in Gibson 1988: 5)
 
  
“Delightful seats, surrounded by various kinds
 
of trees and shrubbery, with gardens containing
 
summer houses, vistas, embowered walks, &c
 
meet your view in almost every direction, woods
 
sloping gently to the river’s edge, by the side of
 
smooth lawns, add to the pleasing variety of the
 
scene.”
 
  
Anonymous, 1826, describing the Friends Asylum
+
* Sheldon, John P., December 10, 1825, describing Fairmount Waterworks, Philadelphia, PA (quoted in Gibson 1988: 5)<ref>Jane Mork Gibson, “The Fairmount Waterworks,” ''Bulletin, Philadelphia Museum of Art'', 84 (1988), 5–40, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RZEZDDEN/ view on Zotero].</ref>
for the Insane, near Frankford, Pa. (quoted in  
 
Hawkins 1991: 79)  
 
  
“A shaded, serpentine walk, now skirting the
+
: “Delightful [[seat]]s, surrounded by various kinds of trees and [[shrubbery]], with gardens containing [[summer house]]s, [[vista]]s, [[bower|embowered]] [[walk]]s, &c meet your view in almost every direction, '''woods''' sloping gently to the river’s edge, by the side of smooth [[lawn]]s, add to the pleasing variety of the scene.
edge of the wood, now plunging into its dark and  
 
dependent foliage, and embracing, in its windings,
 
more than a mile, leads over a neat and lightly
 
constructed bridge, to a pleasure house, which
 
might justly termed the Temple of Solitude. It is
 
securely founded on a rock, which juts abruptly
 
forth from the declivity of a steep hill, three sides
 
of which are almost perpendicular, and of considerable
 
height. A chasm, formed by nature, in the
 
rock, to the left of the entrance, affords, with the  
 
assistance of stones transversely arranged, a
 
descent to the small valley beneath. The straight
 
and towering tulip tree, the sturdy oak, the chestnut,
 
and the beech, cast their cool shadows
 
around this wood-embosomed abode of contemplation.  
 
A rapid stream ripples over the rocks, at a
 
  
few yards distance, producing the melancholy, but
 
pleasing sounds of a distant waterfall.”
 
  
Trollope, Frances Milton, 1830, describing
+
* Anonymous, 1826, describing the Friends Asylum for the Insane, near Frankford, PA (quoted in Hawkins 1991: 79)<ref>Kenneth Hawkins, “The Therapeutic Landscape: Nature, Architecture, and Mind in Nineteenth-Century America” (PhD diss., University of Rochester, 1991), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UVDGPDHG view on Zotero].</ref>
Kalorama, estate of Joel Barlow, Washington, D.C.  
 
(1832: 1:330)
 
  
“At about a mile from the town, on the high
+
: “A shaded, serpentine [[walk]], now skirting the edge of the '''wood''', now plunging into its dark and dependent foliage, and embracing, in its windings, more than a mile, leads over a neat and lightly constructed [[bridge]], to a pleasure house, which might justly termed the [[Temple]] of Solitude. It is securely founded on a rock, which juts abruptly forth from the declivity of a steep hill, three sides of which are almost perpendicular, and of considerable height. A chasm, formed by nature, in the rock, to the left of the entrance, affords, with the assistance of stones transversely arranged, a descent to the small valley beneath. The straight and towering tulip tree, the sturdy oak, the chestnut, and the beech, cast their cool shadows around this wood-embosomed abode of contemplation. A rapid stream ripples over the rocks, at a few yards distance, producing the melancholy, but pleasing sounds of a distant [[waterfall]].”  
terrace ground above described, is a very pretty
 
place, to which the proprietor has given the name
 
of Kaleirama. It is not large, or in any way magnificent,
 
but the view from it is charming; and it has
 
a little wood behind, covering about two hundred
 
acres of broken ground, that slopes down to a
 
dark cold little river, so closely shut in by rocks
 
and evergreens, that it might serve as a noon-day
 
bath for Diana and her nymphs. The whole of this  
 
wood is filled with wild flowers, but such as we
 
cherish fondly in our gardens.” [Fig. 5]
 
  
Hovey, C. M., March 1840, “Notes on Gardens
 
and Nurseries,” describing the country residence
 
of T. Lee, Brookline, Mass. (Magazine of Horticulture
 
6: 107)
 
  
“Back of the house, at the time we were here
+
[[File:0251.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, Charles Codman, ''Kalorama'', c. 1820.]]
before, Mr. Lee was cutting away and thinning out
+
*Trollope, Frances Milton, 1830, describing Kalorama, estate of Joel Barlow, Washington, DC (1832: 1:330)<ref>Frances Milton Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 2nd ed., 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher & Co., 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref>
the trees of a dense piece of wood which he had
 
added to his grounds. This has been so judiciously
 
executed, that it is now one of the most interesting
 
parts of the place. A walk has been laid out around
 
it; this in some places leads over and along the
 
highest parts, from which fine views are obtained
 
of the surrounding country; in others it descends
 
into the lower parts, amid groups of rhododendrons,  
 
kalmias, and fine flowering plants, along
 
shady walks and under portions of the wood,  
 
from whence the house and lawn in front, as well
 
as the higher parts of the grounds, are seen to
 
  
great advantage. Rustic seats are erected in several
+
: “At about a mile from the town, on the high [[terrace]] ground above described, is a very pretty place, to which the proprietor has given the name of Kaleirama. It is not large, or in any way magnificent, but the view from it is charming; and it has a little '''wood''' behind, covering about two hundred acres of broken ground, that slopes down to a dark cold little river, so closely shut in by rocks and evergreens, that it might serve as a noon-day bath for Diana and her nymphs. The whole of this '''wood''' is filled with wild flowers, but such as we cherish fondly in our gardens.” [Fig. 5]
places, and the walk is thus rendered one of the
 
most interesting features of the grounds.”  
 
  
Downing, A. J., October 1847, describing Montgomery
 
Place, country home of Mrs. Edward
 
(Louise) Livingston, Dutchess County, N.Y.
 
(quoted in Haley 1988: 45–46)
 
  
“Its richness of foliage, both in natural wood
+
*Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason), March 1840, “Notes on Gardens and Nurseries,” describing the country residence of T. Lee, Brookline, MA (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 6: 107)
and planted trees, is one of its marked features.
 
Indeed, so great is the variety and intricacy of
 
scenery, caused by the leafy woods, thickets and
 
bosquets, that one may pass days and even weeks
 
here, and not thoroughly explore all its fine
 
points. . . .
 
  
“On the south [natural boundary of the estate]
+
: “Back of the house, at the time we were here before, Mr. Lee was cutting away and thinning out the trees of a dense piece of '''wood''' which he had added to his grounds. This has been so judiciously executed, that it is now one of the most interesting parts of the place. A [[walk]] has been laid out around it; this in some places leads over and along the highest parts, from which fine [[view]]s are obtained of the surrounding country; in others it descends into the lower parts, amid groups of rhododendrons, kalmias, and fine flowering plants, along shady [[walk]]s and under portions of the '''wood''', from whence the house and [[lawn]] in front, as well as the higher parts of the grounds, are seen to great advantage. [[Rustic_style|Rustic]] [[seat]]s are erected in several places, and the [[walk]] is thus rendered one of the most interesting features of the grounds.
is a rich oak wood, in the centre of which is a private
 
drive. On the east it touches the post road.  
 
Here is the entrance gate, and from it leads a long
 
and stately avenue of tress, like the approach to an
 
old French chateau. Halfway up its length, the  
 
lines of planted trees give place to a tall wood, and  
 
this again is succeeded by the lawn, which opens
 
in all its stately dignity, with increased effect, after
 
the deeper shadows of this vestibule-like wood.
 
The eye is now caught at once by the fine specimens
 
of Hemlock, Lime, Ash and Fir, whose
 
proud heads and large trunks form the finest possible
 
accessories to a large and spacious mansion,
 
which is one of the best specimens of our manor
 
houses. . . .  
 
  
“On the southern boundary [of the drive] is an
 
oak wood of about fifty acres. It is totally different
 
in character from the Wilderness on the north,
 
and is a nearly level or slightly undulating surface,
 
well covered with fine Oak, Chestnut, and other
 
timber trees.”
 
  
Kirkbride, Thomas S., April 1848, describing the
 
pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania
 
Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (American
 
Journal of Insanity 4: 349)
 
  
“In the pleasure grounds of the ladies, is a fine
+
[[File:0357.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], “Montgomery Place,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ed., ''Horticulturist'' 2, no. 4 (October 1847): pl. opp. 153.]]
piece of woods, from which the farm is overlooked,  
+
* [[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], October 1847, describing [[Montgomery Place]], country home of Mrs. Edward (Louise) Livingston, Dutchess County, NY (quoted in Haley 1988: 45–46)<ref>Jacquetta M. Haley, ed., ''Pleasure Grounds: Andrew Jackson Downing and Montgomery Place'' (Tarrytown, NY: Sleepy Hollow Press, 1988), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SSZXJFSC view on Zotero].</ref>
as well as both of the public roads passing
 
along the premises, and a handsome district of
 
country beyond.
 
  
 +
: “Its richness of foliage, both in natural '''wood''' and planted trees, is one of its marked features. Indeed, so great is the variety and intricacy of scenery, caused by the leafy '''woods''', [[thicket]]s and bosquets, that one may pass days and even weeks here, and not thoroughly explore all its fine points. . . .
 +
: “On the south [natural boundary of the estate] is a rich oak '''wood''', in the centre of which is a private [[drive]]. On the east it touches the post road. Here is the entrance [[gate]], and from it leads a long and stately [[avenue]] of tress, like the approach to an old French chateau. Halfway up its length, the lines of planted trees give place to a tall '''wood''', and this again is succeeded by the [[lawn]], which opens in all its stately dignity, with increased effect, after the deeper shadows of this vestibule-like '''wood'''. The eye is now caught at once by the fine specimens of Hemlock, Lime, Ash and Fir, whose proud heads and large trunks form the finest possible accessories to a large and spacious mansion, which is one of the best specimens of our manor houses. . . .
 +
: “On the southern boundary [of the [[drive]]] is an oak '''wood''' of about fifty acres. It is totally different in character from the [[Wilderness]] on the north, and is a nearly level or slightly undulating surface, well covered with fine Oak, Chestnut, and other timber trees.” [Fig. 6]
 +
 +
 +
* Kirkbride, Thomas S., April 1848, describing the [[pleasure ground]]s and farm of the [[Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane]], Philadelphia, PA ''(American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 349)<ref>Thomas S. Kirkbride, “Description of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, with Remarks,” ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (1848), 347–54, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/9RWM2FH8 view on Zotero].</ref>
 +
 +
: “In the [[pleasure ground]]s of the ladies, is a fine piece of '''woods''', from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.”
 +
{{break}}
  
 
===Citations===
 
===Citations===
  
[Dézallier d’Argenville, A.-J.], 1712, The Theory  
+
[[File:1832.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Michael van der Gucht, “A Great Wood of Forrest trees pierced with a double Star,” in A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' (1712), opp. p. 60, fig. 1 of pl. 1C.]]
and Practice of Gardening ([1712] 1969: 48–49)  
+
*Dezallier d’Argenville, Antoine-Joseph, 1712, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' (1712: 48–49)<ref>A.-J. (Antoine Joseph) Dézallier d’Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening; Wherein Is Fully Handled All That Relates to Fine Gardens, . . . Containing Divers Plans, and General Dispositions of Gardens; . . . ,'' trans. by John James (London: Geo. James, 1712), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8 view on Zotero].</ref>
  
“WOODS and Groves make the Relievo of  
+
: “'''WOODS''' and [[Grove]]s make the ''Relievo'' of Gardens, and serve infinitely to improve the flat Parts, as [[Parterre]]s and [[Bowling-green]]s. Care should be taken to place them so, that they may not hinder the Beauty of the [[Prospect]]. . . .
Gardens, and serve infinitely to improve the flat  
+
: “For what relates to their Form and Design, they may be varied different ways, keeping it as a general Rule, to pierce them with [[Alley]]s as much as possible, not making so many Works and Returns in them, as to waste the whole Area of the '''Wood'''; nor so few, as to leave great [[Square]]s of '''Wood''' naked, and without Ornament. Their most usual Forms are the Star, the direct Cross, S. ''Andrew’s'' Cross, and the Goose-Foot; they nevertheless admit of the following Designs, as Cloisters, [[Labyrinth]]s, Quincunces, [[Bowling-green]]s, Halls, Cabinets, circular and [[square]] Compartiments [''sic''], Halls for Comedy, Covered Halls, Natural and Artificial [[Arbor]]s, [[Fountain]]s, Isles, [[Cascade]]s, Water-Galleries, Green-Galleries, &c. . . .
Parts, as Parterres and Bowling-greens. Care  
+
: “THERE are '''Woods''' of divers Kinds, which may all be reduced to the six following: Forests, or great '''Woods''' of high Trees; [[Coppice]]-'''Woods''', [[Grove]]s of a middle Height, with tall Palisades; [[grove|Groves]] opened in Compartiments, [[Grove]]s planted in Quincunce, or in [[Square]]s, and '''Woods''' of Ever-Greens.” [Fig. 7]
should be taken to place them so, that they may  
 
not hinder the Beauty of the Prospect. . . .  
 
  
“For what relates to their Form and Design,
 
they may be varied different ways, keeping it as a
 
general Rule, to pierce them with Alleys as much
 
as possible, not making so many Works and
 
Returns in them, as to waste the whole Area of the
 
Wood; nor so few, as to leave great Squares of
 
Wood naked, and without Ornament. Their most
 
usual Forms are the Star, the direct Cross, S.
 
Andrew’s Cross, and the Goose-Foot; they nevertheless
 
admit of the following Designs, as Cloisters,
 
Labyrinths, Quincunces, Bowling-greens,
 
Halls, Cabinets, circular and square Compartiments
 
[sic], Halls for Comedy, Covered Halls,
 
Natural and Artificial Arbors, Fountains, Isles,
 
Cascades, Water-Galleries, Green-Galleries,
 
&c. ...
 
  
“THERE are Woods of divers Kinds, which
+
* Switzer, Stephen, 1718, ''Ichnographia Rustica'' (1718: 2:196–200)<ref>Stephen Switzer, ''Ichnographia Rustica, or The Nobleman, Gentleman and Gardener’s Recreation. . . .'', 1st ed., 3 vols. (London: D. Browne, 1718), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UWQEVT5X view on Zotero].</ref>
may all be reduced to the six following: Forests, or  
 
great Woods of high Trees; Coppice-Woods,  
 
Groves of a middle Height, with tall Palisades;
 
Groves opened in Compartiments, Groves planted
 
in Quincunce, or in Squares, and Woods of Ever-
 
Greens.” [Fig. 6]  
 
  
Switzer, Stephen, 1718, Ichnographia Rustica
+
: “The greatest of all the natural Embellishments of our Country-[[Seat]]s, being in '''Woods''' and [[Grove]]s judiciously contriv’d and cut out. . . .
 +
: “When, therefore, we meet with a large '''Wood''' in an open [[Park]], not near, or on the wrong (the North) Side of the House, and the same be a Level, particularly if the '''Wood''' be thick, and it does not destroy the general [[Prospect]] of it by so doing, ’tis there, in my Opinion, a regular Scheme ought to take Place.
 +
: “But when the '''Wood''' is plac’d near the House, it is design’d chiefly for Walking, to be as private as is consistent with its own Nature, as when it is naturally compos’d of several Levels, Hills, and Hollows. This is a Place design’d by Nature, for the Exercise of a good Genius in Gardening.
 +
: “’Tis in large Hollows and low Grounds, and in the Middle or Center of '''Woods''', that we make our little Cabinets and Gardens, of which some are to be found in this Book, and others may be taken out of Mr. ''James’s'', besides an infinite Variety that may be contriv’d; but the Lines extended from them should not be carry’d out too far, for that will make one unavoidably split upon the former Error of Regularity. . . .
 +
: “If the '''Wood''' is thin, ’tis there one may clear it quite away, and make open [[lawn|Lawns]]. And if the '''Wood''' be an [[Eminence]], then all the small Stuff on the Outside ought to be clear’d away, to open the distant [[Prospect]], if it deserve it; but if it be an unsightly, barren [[Prospect]], then let the '''Wood''' remain to blind it.”
  
([1718] 1982: 2:196–200)
 
  
“The greatest of all the natural Embellishments
+
* Bradley, Richard, 1719, ''New Improvements of Planting and Gardening'' (1719: 1.2:38)<ref>Richard Bradley, ''New Improvements of Planting and Gardening, Both Philosophical and Practical; Explaining the Motion of the Sapp and Generation of Plants. With Other Discoveries Never before Made in Publick, for the Improvement of Forest-Trees, Flower-Gardens or Parterres; with a New Invention Where by More Designs of Garden Platts May Be Made in an Hour, than Can Be Found in All the Books Now Extant. Likewise Several Rare Secrets for the Improvement of Fruit-Trees, Kitchen-Gardens, and Green-House Plants.,'' 3rd ed., 2 vols. (London: W. Mears, 1719), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U8DEKNZ4 view on Zotero].</ref>
of our Country-Seats, being in Woods and Groves
 
judiciously contriv’d and cut out. ...  
 
  
“When, therefore, we meet with a large Wood  
+
: “this should be always consider’d by the Gardener, to plant every ''Tree'' in a '''Wood''' which is natural to a '''Wood''', and upon a Plain that which is the Native of a Plain.
in an open Park, not near, or on the wrong (the
 
North) Side of the House, and the same be a Level,
 
particularly if the Wood be thick, and it does not
 
destroy the general Prospect of it by so doing, ’tis
 
there, in my Opinion, a regular Scheme ought to
 
take Place.  
 
  
“But when the Wood is plac’d near the House,
 
it is design’d chiefly for Walking, to be as private
 
as is consistent with its own Nature, as when it is
 
naturally compos’d of several Levels, Hills, and
 
Hollows. This is a Place design’d by Nature, for
 
the Exercise of a good Genius in Gardening.
 
  
“’Tis in large Hollows and low Grounds, and
+
*Miller, Philip, 1754, ''The Gardeners Dictionary'' (1754; repr., 1969: 1533–35)<ref>Philip Miller, ''The Gardeners Dictionary'' (1754; repr., New York: Verlag Von J. Cramer, 1969), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/356Q24EP view on Zotero].</ref>
in the Middle or Center of Woods, that we make
 
our little Cabinets and Gardens, of which some are to be found in this Book, and others may be
 
taken out of Mr. James’s, besides an infinite Variety
 
that may be contriv’d; but the Lines extended
 
from them should not be carry’d out too far, for
 
that will make one unavoidably split upon the former
 
Error of Regularity. . . .  
 
  
“If the Wood is thin, ’tis there one may clear it
+
: “'''WOODS''' and [[Grove]]s are the greatest Ornaments to a Country-[[seat]]; therefore every [[Seat]] is greatly defective without them; '''Wood''' and Water being absolutely necessary to render a Place agreeable and pleasant. Where there are [[Wood]]s already grown to a large Size, so situated as to be taken into the Garden, or so nearly adjoining, as that an easy Communication may be made from the Garden to the '''Wood'''; they may be so contrived by cutting of winding [[Walk]]s thro’ them, as to render them the most delightful and pleasant Parts of a [[Seat]] (especially in the Heat of Summer), when those [[Walk]]s afford a goodly Shade from the scorching Heat of the Sun. . . .
quite away, and make open Lawns. And if the  
+
: “Where Persons have the Convenience of grown '''Woods''' near the Habitation, so as that there may be an easy Communication from one to the other, there will be little Occasion for [[Wilderness]]es in the Garden; since the natural '''Woods''' may be so contriv’d, as to render them much pleasanter than any new [[Plantation]] can possibly arrive to within the Compass of twenty Years. . . .
Wood be an Eminence, then all the small Stuff on
+
: “If the '''Wood''' is so situated, as that the Garden may be contriv’d between the House and that, then the [[Walk]] into the '''Wood''' should be made as near to the House as possible; that there may not be too much open Space to walk thro’ in order to get into the Shade: if the '''Wood''' is of small Extent, then there will be a Necessity of twisting of the [[Walk]]s pretty much, so as to make as much Walking as the Compass of Ground will admit; but there should be Care taken not to bring the Turns so near each other, as that the two [[Walk]]s may be exposed to each other . . . where the '''Wood''' is large, the Twists of the [[Walk]]s should not approach nearer to each other than sixty or eight feet; or in very large '''Woods''' double that Distance will be yet better; because, when the Under-'''wood''' is cut down, which will be absolutely necessary every tenth or twelfth Year, according to its Growth, then the [[Walk]]s will be quite open, until the Under-'''wood''' grows up again, unless a [[Border]] of Shrubs, intermix’d with some Evergreens, is planted by the Sides of the [[Walk]]s; which is what I would recommend, as this will greatly add to the Pleasure of these [[Walk]]s. . . .
the Outside ought to be clear’d away, to open the  
+
: “therefore the great Skill in making of these [[Walk]]s is, to make the Turns so easy as not to appear like a Work of Art, nor to extend them strait to so great Length, as that Persons who may be walking at a great Distance, may be exposed to the Sight of each other. . . . When a '''Wood''' is properly manag’d in this Way, and a few Places properly left like an open [[Grove]], where there are some large Trees so situated as to form them, there can be no greater Ornament to a fine [[seat|Seat]], than such a '''Wood'''.”  
distant Prospect, if it deserve it; but if it be an
 
unsightly, barren Prospect, then let the Wood  
 
remain to blind it.”  
 
  
Bradley, Richard, 1719, New Improvements of
 
Planting and Gardening (1.2:38)
 
  
“this should be always consider’d by the Gardener,  
+
*Whately, Thomas, 1770, ''Observations on Modern Gardening'' (1770; repr., 1982: 35–46)<ref>Thomas Whately, ''Observations on Modern Gardening'', 3rd ed. (1770; repr., London: Garland, 1982), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QKRK8DCD view on Zotero].</ref>
to plant every Tree in a Wood which is natural
 
to a Wood, and upon a Plain that which is the
 
Native of a Plain.
 
  
Miller, Philip, 1754, The Gardeners Dictionary
+
: “'''Wood''', as a general term, comprehends all trees and [[shrub]]s in whatever disposition; but it is specifically applied in a more limited sense, and in that sense I shall now use it.
 +
: “Every [[plantation]] must be either a '''''wood''''', a ''[[grove]]'', a ''[[clump]]'', or a ''single tree''.
 +
: “A '''wood''' is composed both of trees and under'''wood''', covering a considerable space. . . .
 +
: “One of the noblest objects in nature is the ''surface of a large thick '''wood''''', commanded from an [[eminence]], or seen from below hanging on the side of a hill. The latter is generally the more interesting object: its aspiring situation gives it an air of greatness; its termination is commonly the horizon. . . . a '''wood''' commanded from an [[eminence]] is generally no more than a part of the scene below; and its boundary is often inadequate to its greatness. To continue it, therefore, till it winds out of sight, or loses itself in the horizon, is generally desireable; but then the varieties of its surface grow confused as it retires; while those of a hanging '''wood''' are all distinct; the furtherest parts are held up to the eye; and none are at a distance, though the whole be extensive.
 +
: “The varieties of a surface are essential to the beauty of it; a continued smooth-shaven level of foliage is neither agreable nor natural; the different growths of trees commonly break it in reality, and their shadows still more in appearance. These shades are so many tints, which undulating about the surface, are its greatest embellishment; and such tints may be produced with more effect, and more certainty, by a judicious mixture of greens; at the same time an additional variety may be introduced, by grouping and contrasting trees very different in shape from each other. . . .
 +
: “The contrasts, however, of masses and of groupes must not be too strong, where ''greatness'' is the character of the '''wood'''; for unity is essential to greatness: but if direct opposites be placed close together, the '''wood''' is no longer one object; it is only a confused collection of several separate [[plantation]]s; whereas if the progress be gradual from the one to the other, shapes and tints widely different may assemble on the same surface; and each should occupy a considerable space. . . .
 +
: “When in a romantic situation, very broken ground is overspread with '''wood''', it may be proper on the surface of the '''wood''', to mark the inequalities of the ground. ''Rudeness'', not greatness, is the prevailing idea; and a choice directly the reverse of that which is productive of unity, will produce it; strong contrasts, even oppositions, may be eligible; the aim is rather to disjoint than to connect. . . .
 +
: “A ''hanging '''wood''' thin of forest trees'', and seen from below, is seldom pleasing: those few trees are by the perspective brought near together; it loses the beauty of a thin '''wood''', and is defective as a thick one; the most obvious improvement therefore is to thicken it. But when seen from an eminence, a thin '''wood''' is often a lively and elegant circumstance in a [[view]]; it is full of objects; and every separate tree shews its beauty. To encrease that vivacity, which is the peculiar excellence of a thin '''wood''', the trees should be characteristically distinguished both in their tints and their shapes. . . . Differences also in their growths are a further source of variety. . . .
 +
: “Though the surface of a '''wood''', when commanded deserves all these attentions, yet the outline more frequently calls for our regard; it is also more in our power; it may sometimes be great, and may always be beautiful. The first requisite is irregularity. . . . The true beauty of an outline consists more in breaks than in sweeps; rather in angles than in rounds; in variety, not in succession. . . .
 +
: “A few large parts should be strongly distinguished in their forms, their directions, and their situations. . . .
 +
: “Every variety in the outline of a '''wood''' must be a ''prominence'', or a ''recess''. Breadth in either is not so important as length to the one, and depth to the other. . . .
 +
: “Every variety of outline hitherto mentioned, may be traced by the under'''wood''' alone; but frequently the same effects may be produced with more ease, and with much more beauty, by a few trees standing out from the [[thicket]], and belonging, or seeming to belong to the '''wood''', so as to make a part of its figure. . . .
 +
: “The prevailing character of a '''wood''' is generally grandeur; the principal attention therefore which it requires, is to prevent the excesses of that character, to diversify the uniformity of its extent, to lighten the unwieldiness of its bulk, and to blend graces with greatness.”
  
([1754] 1969: 1533–35)
 
  
“WOODS and Groves are the greatest Ornaments
+
*Deane, Samuel, 1790, ''The New-England Farmer'' (1790: 230)<ref>Samuel Deane, ''The New-England Farmer, or Georgical Dictionary'' (Worcester, MA: Isaiah Thomas, 1790), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/S8QQDHP6 view on Zotero].</ref>
to a Country-seat; therefore every Seat is
 
greatly defective without them; Wood and Water
 
being absolutely necessary to render a Place agreeable
 
and pleasant. Where there are Woods already
 
grown to a large Size, so situated as to be taken
 
into the Garden, or so nearly adjoining, as that an
 
  
easy Communication may be made from the Garden
+
: “QUINCUNX ORDER, according to Mr. Miller, is a [[plantation]] of trees, disposed originally in a [[square]], consisting of four trees, one at each corner, and a fifth in the middle; which disposition, repeated again and again, forms a regular [[grove]], '''wood''', or [[wilderness]]; and, when viewed obliquely, presents straight rows of trees, and parallel [[alley]]s between them.
to the Wood; they may be so contrived by
 
cutting of winding Walks thro’ them, as to render
 
them the most delightful and pleasant Parts of a  
 
Seat (especially in the Heat of Summer), when  
 
those Walks afford a goodly Shade from the
 
scorching Heat of the Sun. . . .  
 
  
“Where Persons have the Convenience of
 
grown Woods near the Habitation, so as that
 
there may be an easy Communication from one to
 
the other, there will be little Occasion for Wildernesses
 
in the Garden; since the natural Woods
 
may be so contriv’d, as to render them much
 
pleasanter than any new Plantation can possibly
 
arrive to within the Compass of twenty Years. . . .
 
  
“If the Wood is so situated, as that the Garden
+
* Marshall, William, 1803, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament'' (1803: 1:119)<ref>William Marshall, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament: A Practical Treatise. . . .,'' 2 vols. (London: G. and W. Nicol, G. and J. Robinson, T. Cadell, and W. Davies, 1803), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K48D75JJ/ view on Zotero].</ref>
may be contriv’d between the House and that,  
 
then the Walk into the Wood should be made as
 
near to the House as possible; that there may not
 
be too much open Space to walk thro’ in order to
 
get into the Shade: if the Wood is of small Extent,
 
then there will be a Necessity of twisting of the
 
Walks pretty much, so as to make as much Walking
 
as the Compass of Ground will admit; but
 
there should be Care taken not to bring the Turns
 
so near each other, as that the two Walks may be
 
exposed to each other . . . where the Wood is
 
large, the Twists of the Walks should not approach nearer to each other than sixty or eight
 
feet; or in very large Woods double that Distance
 
will be yet better; because, when the Under-wood
 
is cut down, which will be absolutely necessary
 
every tenth or twelfth Year, according to its
 
Growth, then the Walks will be quite open, until
 
the Under-wood grows up again, unless a Border
 
of Shrubs, intermix’d with some Evergreens, is
 
planted by the Sides of the Walks; which is what I
 
would recommend, as this will greatly add to the
 
Pleasure of these Walks. . . .  
 
  
“therefore the great Skill in making of these
+
: “By a '''''Wood''''' is meant a mixture of timber trees and under'''wood'''.”  
Walks is, to make the Turns so easy as not to
 
appear like a Work of Art, nor to extend them
 
strait to so great Length, as that Persons who may
 
be walking at a great Distance, may be exposed to
 
the Sight of each other. . . . When a Wood is properly
 
manag’d in this Way, and a few Places properly
 
left like an open Grove, where there are some
 
large Trees so situated as to form them, there can
 
be no greater Ornament to a fine Seat, than such a
 
Wood.”  
 
  
Whately, Thomas, 1770, Observations on Modern
 
Gardening ([1770] 1982: 35–46)
 
  
“Wood, as a general term, comprehends all
+
*Repton, Humphry, 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1803: 46)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI view on Zotero].</ref>
trees and shrubs in whatever disposition; but it is
 
specifically applied in a more limited sense, and in
 
that sense I shall now use it.  
 
  
“Every plantation must be either a wood,a  
+
: “In some situations where great masses of '''wood''', and a large expanse of open [[lawn]] prevail, the contrast is too violent, and the mind becomes dissatisfied by the want of unity; we are never well pleased with a composition in natural landscape, unless the '''wood''' and the [[lawn]] are so blended that the eye cannot trace the precise limits of either.
grove,a clump, or a single tree.  
 
  
“A wood is composed both of trees and
 
underwood, covering a considerable space. . . .
 
  
“One of the noblest objects in nature is the
+
* Nicol, Walter, 1812, ''The Planter’s Kalendar'' (1812: 43–44)<ref>Walter Nicol, ''The Planter’s Kalendar'' (Edinburgh: D. Willison for A. Constable, 1812), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NEMUHDCC/ view on Zotero].</ref>
surface of a large thick wood, commanded from an
 
eminence, or seen from below hanging on the side
 
of a hill. The latter is generally the more interesting
 
object: its aspiring situation gives it an air of
 
greatness; its termination is commonly the horizon.  
 
. . . a wood commanded from an eminence is
 
generally no more than a part of the scene below;
 
and its boundary is often inadequate to its greatness.
 
To continue it, therefore, till it winds out of
 
sight, or loses itself in the horizon, is generally
 
desireable; but then the varieties of its surface
 
grow confused as it retires; while those of a hanging
 
wood are all distinct; the furtherest parts are
 
held up to the eye; and none are at a distance,
 
though the whole be extensive.  
 
  
“The varieties of a surface are essential to the  
+
: “It may be proper here to remind the reader of the difference between a '''''wood''''' and a ''[[plantation]]''. A '''wood''', then, is always understood to be either entirely a natural production; or to be sown, not planted, by man; and to consist of a mixture of timber trees, chiefly of oak and ash, with underwood or [[shrub]]s, as willow, hazel, holly, birch, or thorn. Some natural '''woods''', however, particularly in Scotland, consist almost entirely of fir-trees, with, sometimes, a mixture of birch, mountain-ash, and several kinds of [[shrub]]s. The extent of a '''wood''' may be any thing, from an acre, or half an acre, to many [[square]] miles: when of this last size, it assumes the appearance of a forest, and generally receives that denomination. . . .
beauty of it; a continued smooth-shaven level of
+
: “Hence in rearing of a '''wood''' we have a variety of examples, and a choice of situation, set before us. One rule we must invariably adhere to; namely, to ''sow'', and not to ''plant''. All the '''woods''' of nature are raised from the seeds, sown on the spot where the trees grow; and we are certain that her timber trees are never inferior, but often superior to such as have been planted by the hand of man.
foliage is neither agreable nor natural; the different
 
growths of trees commonly break it in reality,  
 
and their shadows still more in appearance. These
 
shades are so many tints, which undulating about
 
the surface, are its greatest embellishment; and  
 
such tints may be produced with more effect, and  
 
more certainty, by a judicious mixture of greens;  
 
at the same time an additional variety may be
 
introduced, by grouping and contrasting trees  
 
very different in shape from each other. . . .  
 
  
“The contrasts, however, of masses and of
 
groupes must not be too strong, where greatness is
 
the character of the wood; for unity is essential to
 
greatness: but if direct opposites be placed close
 
together, the wood is no longer one object; it is
 
only a confused collection of several separate
 
plantations; whereas if the progress be gradual
 
from the one to the other, shapes and tints widely
 
different may assemble on the same surface; and
 
each should occupy a considerable space. . . .
 
  
“When in a romantic situation, very broken
+
* [[J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon|Loudon, J. C. (John Claudius)]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826: 942–43, 1005)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al., 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero].</ref>
ground is overspread with wood, it may be proper
 
on the surface of the wood, to mark the inequalities
 
of the ground. Rudeness, not greatness, is the  
 
prevailing idea; and a choice directly the reverse of  
 
that which is productive of unity, will produce it;
 
strong contrasts, even oppositions, may be eligible;
 
the aim is rather to disjoint than to
 
connect. . . .  
 
  
“A hanging wood  
+
: “6811. . . . The term '''''wood''''' may be applied to a large assemblage of trees, either natural or artificial; ''forest'', exclusively to the most extensive or natural assemblages. . . .
thin of forest trees, and seen
+
[[File:1834.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[J. C. Loudon]], The disposition of the trees within the plantation, in ''An Encyclopædia of Gardening'', (1826), 943, fig. 629.]]
from below, is seldom pleasing: those few trees are
+
: “6813. ''With respect to the disposition of the trees within the [[plantation]]'', they may be placed regularly in rows, [[square]]s, parallelograms, or quincunx; irregularly in the manner of groups; without undergrowths, as in ''[[grove]]s'' (''fig''. 629. ''a, b''); with undergrowths, as in '''''woods''''' (''c''); all undergrowths, as in ''[[copse]]-'''woods''''' (d). Or they may form [[avenue]]s . . . double [[avenue]]s . . . [[avenue]]s intersecting in the manner of a Greek cross . . . of a martyr’s cross . . . of a star . . . or of a cross patée, or duck’s foot (''patée d’oye''). ... [Fig. 8]
by the perspective brought near together; it loses
+
: “7203. '''''Wood''''' produces almost all the grand effects in both style of improvement; for trees, whether in scattered forests, [[thicket]]s, or groups, or in compact geometric [[square]]s, [[avenue]]s, or rows, constitute the greatest charm of every country.
the beauty of a thin wood, and is defective as a  
 
thick one; the most obvious improvement therefore
 
is to thicken it. But when seen from an eminence,  
 
a thin wood is often a lively and elegant
 
circumstance in a view; it is full of objects; and
 
every separate tree shews its beauty. To encrease
 
that vivacity, which is the peculiar excellence of a  
 
thin wood, the trees should be characteristically
 
distinguished both in their tints and their
 
shapes. . . . Differences also in their growths are a  
 
further source of variety. . . .  
 
  
“Though the surface of a wood, when commanded
 
deserves all these attentions, yet the outline
 
more frequently calls for our regard; it is also
 
more in our power; it may sometimes be great,
 
and may always be beautiful. The first requisite is
 
irregularity. . . . The true beauty of an outline
 
consists more in breaks than in sweeps; rather
 
in angles than in rounds; in variety, not in
 
succession. . ..
 
  
“A few large parts should be strongly distinguished
+
* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language,'' 2 vols. (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero].</ref>
in their forms, their directions, and their
 
situations. . . .  
 
  
“Every variety in the outline of a wood must
+
: “'''WOOD''', ''n''. [Sax. ''wuda'', ''wudu''; D. ''woud''; W. ''gwyz''.]
be a prominence, or a recess. Breadth in either is
+
: “1. A large and thick collection of trees; a forest.
not so important as length to the one, and depth
 
to the other. . . .  
 
  
“Every variety of outline hitherto mentioned,
 
may be traced by the underwood
 
alone; but frequently
 
the same effects may be produced with
 
more ease, and with much more beauty, by a few
 
trees standing out from the thicket, and belonging,
 
or seeming to belong to the wood, so as to make a
 
part of its figure. . . .
 
  
“The prevailing character of a wood is generally
+
*Johnson, George William, 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (1847: 156)<ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN view on Zotero].</ref>
grandeur; the principal attention therefore
 
which it requires, is to prevent the excesses of that
 
character, to diversify the uniformity of its extent,  
 
to lighten the unwieldiness of its bulk, and to
 
blend graces with greatness.
 
  
Deane, Samuel, 1790, The New-England Farmer
+
: “[[clump|CLUMPS]] when close are sometimes called ''[[Thicket]]s'', and when open ''Groups of Trees''. They differ only in extent from a '''wood''', if they are close, or from a [[grove]], if they are open; they are small '''woods''', and small [[grove]]s, governed by the same principales as the larger, after allowances made for their dimensions.”
  
(p. 230)
 
“QUINCUNX ORDER, according to Mr.
 
Miller, is a plantation of trees, disposed originally
 
in a square, consisting of four trees, one at each
 
corner, and a fifth in the middle; which disposition,
 
repeated again and again, forms a regular
 
grove, wood, or wilderness; and, when viewed
 
obliquely, presents straight rows of trees, and parallel
 
alleys between them.”
 
  
Marshall, William, 1803, On Planting and Rural
+
* [[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing, Andrew Jackson]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849; repr., 1991: 85–87, 95, 100, 107, 109, 113–15, 116)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America'', 4th ed. (1849; repr., Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1991), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5 view on Zotero].</ref>
Ornament (1:119)  
 
  
“By a Wood  
+
: “AMONG all the materials at our disposal for the embellishment of country residences, none are at once so highly ornamental, so indispensable, and so easily managed, as ''trees'', or '''''wood'''''. We introduce them in every part of the landscape,—in the foreground as well as in the distance, on the tops of the hills and in the depths of the valleys. They are, indeed, like the drapery which covers a somewhat ungainly figure, and while it conceals its defects, communicates to it new interest and expression. . .
is meant a mixture of timber trees  
+
: “''Wood''''',''' in its many shapes, is then one of the greatest sources of interest and character in Landscapes. . . By shutting out some parts, and inclosing others, they divide the extent embraced by the eye into a hundred different landscapes, instead of one tame scene bounded by the horizon. . . .
and underwood.”  
+
: “Edifices, or parts of them that are unsightly, or which it is desirable partly or wholly to conceal, can readily be hidden or improved by '''wood'''; and [[walk]]s and roads, which otherwise would be but simple ways of approach from one point to another, are, by an elegant arrangement of tress on their margins, or adjacent to them, made the most interesting and pleasing portions of the residence. . .
 +
[[File:0376.jpg|thumb|Fig. 9, Anonymous, “Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years’ improvement,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening''  (1849), 114, fig. 24.]]
 +
: “And as the ''[[Avenue]]'', or the straight line, is the leading form in the [[geometric style|geometric]] arrangement of [[plantation]]s, so let us enforce it upon our readers, the GROUP is equally the key-note of the [[Modern style]]. The smallest place, having only three trees, may have these pleasingly connected in a group; and the largest and finest park—the Blenheim or Chatsworth, of seven miles square, is only composed of a succession of groups, becoming masses, [[thicket]]s, '''woods'''. . .
 +
: “Where there are large masses of '''wood''' to regulate and arrange, much skill, taste, and judgement, are requisite, to enable the proprietors to preserve only what is really beautiful and [[picturesque]], and to remove all that is superfluous. . .
 +
: “[In the [[modern style]]&#x200A;] the mansion or dwelling-house . . . should form . . . the central point. . . In order to do this effectually, the large masses or groups of '''wood''' should cluster round, or form the back-ground to the main edifice; and where the offices or out-buildings approach the same neighborhood, they also should be embraced. We do not mean by this to convey the idea, that a thick '''wood''' should be planted around and in close neighborhood of the mansion or villa, so as to impede free circulation of air; but its appearance and advantages may be easily produced by a comparatively loose [[plantation]] of groups well connected by intermediate trees, so as to give all the effect of a large mass. . .
 +
[[File:0377.jpg|thumb|Fig. 10, Anonymous, “Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), 115, fig. 25.]]
 +
: “It must not be forgotten that, as a general rule, the grass or surface of the [[lawn]] answers as the principal light, and the '''woods''' or [[plantation]]s as the shadows, in the same manner in nature as in painting; and that these should be so managed as to lead the eye to the mansion as the most important object when seen from without, or correspond to it in grandeur and magnitude, when looked upon from within the house. . .
 +
: “In the next figure . . . a ground plan of the place is given, as it would appear after having been judiciously laid out and planted, with several years’ growth. . . It will be seen here, that one of the largest masses of '''wood''' forms a background to the house, concealing also the out-buildings; while, from the windows of the mansion itself, the trees are so arranged as to group in the most pleasing and effective manner; at the same time broad masses of turf meet the eye, and fine distant [[view]]s are had through the [[vista]]s in the lines, ''ee.'' . . . The form of these areas varies also with every change of position in the spectator, as seen from different portions of the grounds, or different points in the [[walk]]s; and they can be still further varied at pleasure by adding more single trees or small groups, which should always, to produce variety of outline, be placed opposite the ''salient'' parts of the '''wood''', and not in the recesses, which latter they would appear to diminish or clog up. . . [Fig. 9]
 +
: “''Figure 25'' is the plan of an American mansion residence of considerable extent, only part of the farm lands, ''l'', being here delineated. In this residence, as there is no extensive [[view]] worth preserving beyond the bounds of the estate, the [[pleasure ground]]s are surrounded by an irregular and [[picturesque]] belt of '''wood'''.” [Fig. 10]
  
Repton, Humphry, 1803, Observations on the
 
Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (p. 46)
 
  
“In some situations where great masses of
 
wood, and a large expanse of open lawn prevail,
 
the contrast is too violent, and the mind becomes
 
dissatisfied by the want of unity; we are never well
 
pleased with a composition in natural landscape,
 
unless the wood and the lawn are so blended that
 
the eye cannot trace the precise limits of either.”
 
  
Nicol, Walter, 1812, The Planter’s Kalendar
+
==Images==
  
(pp. 43–44)
+
===Inscribed===
  
“It may be proper here to remind the reader of
+
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
the difference between a wood
 
and a plantation.A
 
wood, then, is always understood to be either
 
entirely a natural production; or to be sown, not
 
planted, by man; and to consist of a mixture of
 
timber trees, chiefly of oak and ash, with underwood
 
or shrubs, as willow, hazel, holly, birch, or
 
thorn. Some natural woods, however, particularly
 
in Scotland, consist almost entirely of fir-trees,
 
with, sometimes, a mixture of birch, mountain-
 
ash, and several kinds of shrubs. The extent of a
 
wood may be any thing, from an acre, or half an
 
acre, to many square miles: when of this last size,
 
it assumes the appearance of a forest, and generally
 
receives that denomination. . . .
 
  
“Hence in rearing of a wood we have a variety
+
File:1055.jpg|Michael van der Gucht, “Four Designs for Cloisters,” in A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening''  (1712), pl. 9.
of examples, and a choice of situation, set before
 
us. One rule we must invariably adhere to;
 
namely, to sow, and not to plant. All the woods of  
 
nature are raised from the seeds, sown on the spot
 
where the trees grow; and we are certain that her
 
timber trees are never inferior, but often superior
 
to such as have been planted by the hand of man.
 
  
Loudon, J. C., 1826, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening  
+
File:1425.jpg|Michael van der Gucht, “The general Plan of a Garden drawn upon Paper” and “The same Plan of Garden mark'd out upon ye Ground,” in A.-J. Dézallier d’Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' (1712), 124.
(pp. 942–43, 1005)
 
  
“6811. . . . The term wood
+
File:1832.jpg|Michael van der Gucht, “A Great '''Wood''' of Forrest trees pierced with a double Star,” in A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' (1712), opp. 60, fig. 1 of pl. 1C.
may be applied to a
 
large assemblage of trees, either natural or artificial;
 
forest, exclusively to the most extensive or
 
natural assemblages. . . .  
 
  
“6813. With respect to the disposition of the trees
+
File:0866.jpg|Anonymous, ''A [[View]] of the Orphan House taken from the Great Garden-Gate & Ground Platt of the Same'', 1739.
within the plantation, they may be placed regularly
 
in rows, squares, parallelograms, or quincunx;
 
irregularly in the manner of groups; without
 
undergrowths, as in groves (fig. 629. a, b); with
 
undergrowths, as in woods
 
(c); all undergrowths,
 
as in copse-woods
 
(d). Or they may form avenues . . . double avenues . . . avenues intersecting
 
in the manner of a Greek cross . . . of a martyr’s
 
cross . . . of a star . . . or of a cross patée, or
 
duck’s foot (patée d’oye). ... [Fig. 7]
 
  
“7203. Wood
+
File:0599.jpg|George Washington, ''A Plan of My Farm on Little Huntg. Creek & Potomk R.'', 1766.
produces almost all the grand
 
effects in both style of improvement; for trees,
 
whether in scattered forests, thickets, or groups, or
 
in compact geometric squares, avenues, or rows,
 
constitute the greatest charm of every country.
 
  
Webster, Noah, 1828, An American Dictionary of
+
File:0069.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of [[Mount Vernon]], 1787. A “hanging '''wood'''” is indicated on the [[Terrace/Slope|slope]] from the house to the river.  
the English Language (n.p.)
 
  
“WOOD, n. [Sax. wuda, wudu; D. woud;
+
File:1295.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], ''Sketch of the Estate of Henry Banks Esqr. on York River'', March 1797. “Light Land in '''Wood'''” is spelled out across the top right quadrant.
  
W. gwyz.]  
+
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the President's House, c. 1802&ndash;05 “'''Wood'''is inscribed at the lower right perimeter border.  
“1. A large and thick collection of trees; a forest.”  
 
Johnson, George William, 1847, A Dictionary of
 
Modern Gardening (p. 156)
 
  
“CLUMPS when close are sometimes called
+
File:0601.jpg|Anonymous, A plan of the section of land on which the Believers live in the state of Ohio, November 7, 1807.
Thickets, and when open Groups of Trees. They
 
differ only in extent from a wood, if they are close,
 
or from a grove, if they are open; they are small
 
woods, and small groves, governed by the same
 
principales as the larger, after allowances made for
 
their dimensions.
 
  
Downing, A. J., 1849, A Treatise on the Theory and
+
Image:0116.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Sketches of [[Belfield]] [detail], 1810.
Practice of Landscape Gardening (pp. 85–87, 95,
 
100, 107, 109, 113–15, 116)
 
  
“AMONG all the materials at our disposal for
+
Image:2298.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Sketches of [[Belfield]], 1810.
the embellishment of country residences, none are
 
at once so highly ornamental, so indispensable,
 
and so easily managed, as trees, or wood. We
 
introduce them in every part of the landscape,—in
 
the foreground as well as in the distance, on the
 
tops of the hills and in the depths of the valleys.  
 
They are, indeed, like the drapery which covers a
 
  
somewhat ungainly figure, and while it conceals
+
File:1834.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], The disposition of the trees within the plantation, in ''An Encyclopædia of Gardening'' (1826), 943, fig. 629.
its defects, communicates to it new interest and
 
expression. . . .  
 
  
“Wood, in its many shapes, is then one of the
+
File:1184.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], '''Woods''', in ''An Encyclopædia of Gardening''  (1826), 943, fig. 629c.  
greatest sources of interest and character in Landscapes.  
 
. . . By shutting out some parts, and inclosing
 
others, they divide the extent embraced by the
 
eye into a hundred different landscapes, instead of
 
one tame scene bounded by the horizon. . . .  
 
  
“Edifices, or parts of them that are unsightly,
+
File:1185.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], "''Copse-'''woods'''''", in ''An Encyclopædia of Gardening''  (1826), 943, fig. 629d.  
or which it is desirable partly or wholly to conceal,
 
can readily be hidden or improved by wood; and
 
walks and roads, which otherwise would be but
 
simple ways of approach from one point to
 
another, are, by an elegant arrangement of tress
 
on their margins, or adjacent to them, made the
 
most interesting and pleasing portions of the
 
residence. . . .  
 
  
“And as the Avenue, or the straight line, is the
+
File:0823.jpg|Joshua Barney, ''Map of Hampton'', 1843. Courtesy: Hampton National Historic Site, National Park Service.
leading form in the geometric arrangement of  
 
plantations, so let us enforce it upon our readers,  
 
the GROUP is equally the key-note of the Modern
 
style. The smallest place, having only three trees,
 
may have these pleasingly connected in a group;
 
and the largest and finest park—the Blenheim or
 
Chatsworth, of seven miles square, is only composed
 
of a succession of groups, becoming masses,
 
thickets, woods....  
 
  
“Where there are large masses of wood to regulate
+
File:0019.jpg|Anonymous, House Lot, Gardens, and [[Orchard]] of Bacon's Castle (after an 1843 survey plan), 1911, in Peter Martin, ''The [[Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden|Pleasure Gardens]] of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson'' (1991), 10. fig. 5.
and arrange, much skill, taste, and judgement,  
 
are requisite, to enable the proprietors to
 
preserve only what is really beautiful and picturesque,  
 
and to remove all that is superfluous. . . .  
 
  
“[In the modern style] the mansion or
+
File: 2299.jpg|Benjamin Henry Latrobe, ''Plan of the Camp, Methodist camp meeting at Georgetown, Virginia'', August 6, 1809.  
dwelling-house . . . should form . . . the central
 
point. . . . In order to do this effectually, the large
 
  
masses or groups of wood should cluster round,
+
File: 0084.jpg|Benjamin Henry Latrobe, ''Sketch of Airy Plain, Estate'' [detail], March 1797.
or form the back-ground to the main edifice; and
 
where the offices or out-buildings approach the
 
same neighborhood, they also should be
 
embraced. We do not mean by this to convey the
 
idea, that a thick wood should be planted around
 
and in close neighborhood of the mansion or villa,  
 
so as to impede free circulation of air; but its
 
appearance and advantages may be easily produced
 
by a comparatively loose plantation of
 
groups well connected by intermediate trees, so as
 
to give all the effect of a large mass. . ..  
 
  
“It must not be forgotten that, as a general
+
</gallery>
rule, the grass or surface of the lawn answers as
 
the principal light, and the woods or plantations
 
as the shadows, in the same manner in nature as
 
in painting; and that these should be so managed
 
as to lead the eye to the mansion as the most
 
important object when seen from without, or correspond
 
to it in grandeur and magnitude, when
 
looked upon from within the house. ...
 
  
“In the next figure . . . a ground plan of the
+
===Associated===
place is given, as it would appear after having been
 
judiciously laid out and planted, with several
 
years’ growth. . . . It will be seen here, that one of
 
the largest masses of wood forms a background to
 
the house, concealing also the out-buildings;
 
while, from the windows of the mansion itself, the
 
trees are so arranged as to group in the most
 
pleasing and effective manner; at the same time
 
broad masses of turf meet the eye, and fine distant
 
views are had through the vistas in the lines,
 
ee. . . . The form of these areas varies also with
 
every change of position in the spectator, as seen from different portions of the grounds, or different
 
points in the walks; and they can be still further
 
varied at pleasure by adding more single trees
 
or small groups, which should always, to produce
 
variety of outline, be placed opposite the salient
 
parts of the wood, and not in the recesses, which
 
latter they would appear to diminish or clog
 
up.... [Fig. 8]
 
  
“Figure 25 is the plan of an American mansion
+
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
residence of considerable extent, only part of the
 
farm lands, l, being here delineated. In this residence,
 
as there is no extensive view worth preserving
 
beyond the bounds of the estate, the pleasure
 
grounds are surrounded by an irregular and picturesque
 
belt of wood.” [Fig. 9]
 
  
==Images==
+
File:0047.jpg|Anna Peale Sellers, after [[Charles Willson Peale]], ''[[Belfield]] Farm, Germantown, PA'', Late 19th century.
 +
 
 +
File:1382.jpg|Batty Langley, “An Improvement of a beautiful Garden at Twickenham,” in ''New Principles of Gardening'' (1728), pl. IX.
 +
 
 +
File:0343.jpg|George Isham Parkyns, ''[[Mount Vernon]]'', 1795.
 +
 
 +
File:0043_2.jpg|John Archibald Woodside, ''[[Lemon Hill]]'', 1807.
 +
 
 +
File:0318.jpg|William Russell Birch, “Montibello the [[seat]] of Genl. S. Smith Maryland,” 1808, in William Russell Birch and Emily Cooperman, ''The Country [[Seat]]s of the United States'' (2009), 67, pl. 13.
 +
 
 +
File:0301.jpg|William Russell Birch, “[[View]] from [[Belmont_(Philadelphia,_PA)|Belmont]] Pennsyla. the [[Seat]] of Judge Peters,” 1808, in William Russell Birch, ''The Country [[Seat]]s of the United States'' (1808), pl. 16.
 +
 
 +
File:0319.jpg|William Russell Birch, “Sedgley the [[Seat]] of Mr.<sup>r</sup> W.<sup>m</sup> Crammond Pennsylv.<sup>a</sup>,” in ''The country [[seat]]s of the United States'' (1808), pl. 15.
 +
 
 +
File:0251.jpg|Charles Codman, ''Kalorama'', c. 1820.
 +
 
 +
File:0300.jpg|Thomas Birch, ''Fairmount Water Works'', 1821.
 +
 
 +
File:0541.jpg|John T. Bowen, ''A [[View]] of the Fairmount Water-Works with Schuylkill in the distance, taken from the [[Mount]]'', 1838.
 +
 
 +
File:0357.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], “[[Montgomery Place]],” in [[A. J. Downing]], ed., ''Horticulturist'' 2, no. 4 (October 1847): pl. opp. 153.
 +
 
 +
File:0358.jpg|Anonymous, “[[Rustic_style|Rustic]] [[Seat]],” [[Montgomery Place]], in [[A. J. Downing]], ed., ''Horticulturist'' 2, no. 4 (October 1847): 157, fig. 26.
 +
 
 +
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, “Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, NY,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. 50, fig. 9.
 +
 
 +
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, “Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country [[Seat]], after ten years’ improvement,” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening''  (1849), 114, fig. 24.
 +
 
 +
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, “Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the [[Modern style/Natural style|natural style]],” in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), 115, fig. 25. ". . .the [[pleasure_ground|pleasure grounds]] are surrounded by an irregular and [[picturesque]] belt of wood.”
 +
 
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
===Attributed===
 +
 
 +
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
 +
 
 +
File:0843.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], ''[[Montgomery Place]]'', n.d.
 +
 
 +
File:0323.jpg|William Russell Birch, “[[View]] from the Elysian Bower, Springland, Pennsylv<sup>a</sup>, the residence of M.<sup>r</sup> W. Birch,” in ''The Country [[Seat]]s of the United States''  (1808), pl. 20.
 +
 
 +
File:1464.jpg|Joseph Jacques Ramée, ''Plan of Union College'', 1813.
 +
 
 +
File:0753.jpg|John Notman, “Plan of Grounds, Fieldwood, near Princeton,” Oct. 19, 1846.
 +
 
 +
File:0007.jpg|Charles H. Wolf, attr., ''Pennsylvania Farmstead with Many [[Fence]]s'', c. 1847.
 +
 
 +
File:1131.jpg|Edward Hicks, ''Leedom Farm'', 1849.
 +
 
 +
File:1232.jpg|Orsamus Turner, Life Cycle of a Pioneer Woodsman (“Third Sketch of the Pioneer”), in ''Pioneer History of the Holland Purchase'' (1850), opp. 565.
 +
 
 +
File: 2286.jpg|Edward Beyer, ''Blue Sulphur Spring, Greenbrier County, VA'', 1857.
  
<gallery></gallery>
+
</gallery>
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
  
 
<references></references>
 
<references></references>
 +
 +
[[Category: Keywords]]
 +
[[Category: Planting Arrangements]]

Latest revision as of 15:19, August 13, 2021

See also: Clump, Copse, Grove, Thicket, Wilderness

History

Fig. 1, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the President's House, c. 1802–05 “Wood” is inscribed at the lower right perimeter border.

Wood, as defined by Thomas Whately in 1770, referred to a planting feature composed of trees and shrubs, a description that made the feature quite similar to clump, grove, shrubbery, thicket, and wilderness. A.-J. Dézallier d’Argenville (1712), had described “Groves of a middle Height. . . groves opened in Compartiments, [and] Groves planted in Quincunce” as kinds of woods. Whately, however, attempted to clarify the potential confusion that arose from such similarities. He stipulated that a wood contained both “trees and underwood,” and extended over “a considerable space.” It was the extent of a wood, for George William Johnson (1847), that distinguished it from a clump, which also contained trees and undergrowth. In his drawing for the grounds of the White House in Washington, DC, Benjamin Henry Latrobe indicated two distinct areas for clumps and for wood. The larger wooded area served as a perimeter border [Fig. 1].

Fig. 2, Samuel Vaughan, Plan of Mount Vernon, 1787. A “hanging wood” is indicated on the slope from the house to the river.

Whately's descriptions of woods, which were quoted in the treatise literature for the next century, corresponded to American gardeners’ descriptions and treatment of woods. Samuel Vaughan, when mapping the grounds of Mount Vernon in 1787, used Whately's terminology—a hanging wood—to describe the clustering of trees on the steeply sloping bank that lay between the lawn and the river [Fig. 2]. Thomas Jefferson, who was anxious to design the grounds of Monticello in imitation of a modern-style English garden, struggled to render his “native” woods into a form acceptable to English design concepts while accommodating the harshness of Virginia’s summers. Unwilling to give up the expansive view created by a lawn, Jefferson (1806) recommended trimming his trees so as to create the illusion of open space while still retaining shade.

A sense of expanse is integral to many discussions of woods. J. C. Loudon, in An Encyclopaedia of Gardening (1826), established that a wood—“a large assemblage of trees”—was more extensive than a thicket or clump. Manasseh Cutler's 1787 description of Gray’s Tavern in Philadelphia, in which he gave account of a “tall wood interspersed with close thickets,” reveals that he identified a difference of size, and specifically height, in his understanding of the two features.

Fig. 3, William Russell Birch, “View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters,” 1808, in William Russell Birch, The Country Seats of the United States (1808), pl. 16.

Dézallier d’Argenville stipulated that woods be shaped with alleys or paths into such forms as a star or cross, which could house decorative objects, such as statues or waterworks. According to Hannah Callender Sansom's description of 1762, the wood at Belmont Mansion, near Philadelphia [Fig. 3], was marked by avenues that gave access to internal spaces, in which were found a Chinese temple and an obelisk. These avenues also framed views beyond the garden, including “a fine prospect of the city.” At the Friends Asylum of the Insane, near Frankford, Pennsylvania (1826), a winding walk led the visitor through the woods to a “Temple of Solitude,” shaded by tulip, oak, chestnut, and beech trees.

Alleys and paths were key to one of the chief functions of woods, as defined by Stephen Switzer (1718); they provided a place for walking. Philip Miller (1754) expounded upon the “Necessity of twisting of the Walks.” He argued that the intricate patterns allowed more pathways to be compressed into a space than a straight walk. Complex pathways necessitated careful attention, Miller explained, to the turns of the walks so that a balance was struck between open view or prospect and sheltered privacy, and between artfulness and naturalness.

Whether planted or natural, a wood could contribute greatly to an overall garden design. Dézallier d’Argenville, in his chapter entitled “Of Woods and Groves in general,” encouraged planting woods as a means of offering “Relievo” [his italics], in contrast to the “flat parts” of gardens, such as “Parterres and Bowling-greens.” Later, even as the lawn replaced these “flat parts,” writers remained concerned with the juxtaposition of the verticality of the wood and the horizontal sweep of flat elements of the garden or landscape.

The outline of the wood, Whately stipulated, should be varied by selectively placing a few trees or groups of shrubs at a slight distance from the main plantation. The wood might then offer a diverse and light effect while maintaining much of its mass and desired grandeur. Humphry Repton (1803) concurred when he cautioned against a strict contrast between wood and lawn for a “want of unity,” and instead advocated blurring the boundaries so that the “eye cannot trace the precise limits” of each feature. Many instances can be found of what Jefferson referred to as the English method of bounding lawn with woods, thus creating variety and contrast. John P. Sheldon reported in 1825 that at the Fairmount Waterworks in Philadelphia the juxtaposition of woods and lawn added to the “pleasing variety of the scene.” A. J. Downing, in 1849 argued that managing the convergence of woods and lawn was one of the most important components of the landscape garden. The proper arrangement of these two features—their light and dark shades—should “lead the eye to the mansion,” the central element of the entire design.

While Dézallier d’Argenville, Switzer, and Miller were all proponents of woods, they cautioned against allowing a wood to block or interrupt a view. Whately argued that woods could be used to enhance views from commanding eminences or prospects. One of the “noblest objects in nature” he insisted, was “the surface of a large thick wood,” observed either from an elevated point, such as a hill, or from the foot of a hill looking upward. Whately referred to the latter as a “hanging wood,” where the feature appeared to loom above the viewer. All forms of wood should, he explained, follow aesthetic principles. Specifically, he argued against monotony in color and height in favor of variety achieved by a “judicious mixture of greens” and “grouping and contrasting trees very different in shape from each other.”

Fig. 4, Alexander Jackson Davis, Montgomery Place, n.d.

Downing echoed Whately's concern for the placement of woods. In his chapter entitled, “Wood and Plantations,” he explained how the feature could be used to conceal topographical defects in walks and roads or around unsightly edifices. With respect to the latter, however, he warned against planting trees so near the building that air circulation would be impeded. If the structure was “the mansion or dwelling-house,” the wood should function more as a backdrop to the house. The house, for Downing, was to be treated as the primary focus of the composition, and the woods—with their connotations of grandeur—should underscore the magnificence of the dwelling. This precise effect was depicted in a drawing by Alexander Jackson Davis of Montgomery Place, where the deep shadows of the wood were set in contrast to the lawn and the tall lines of the hemlock, lime, ash, and fir trees, thereby enhancing the stateliness of the mansion [Fig. 4]. Downing further argued that the internal organization of woods should be defined by planting trees in loose groupings as opposed to rectilinear formations, in keeping with the modern or natural style (see Modern style), repudiating the geometrical, ornamental forms advocated by 17th- and early 18th-century treatise authors.

Downing's recommendation to frame the house with woods also promoted a vision of the North American landscape very different from that described by Frenchman François Alexandre-Frédéric, duc de La Rochefoucauld Liancourt, who observed a half century earlier that Americans rarely surrounded their houses with trees. He offered the explanation that early settlers were so often forced to clear land in order to build that the appearance of open space around the house was a sign of improvement. Although Americans reveled in the abundance of trees and forests in the landscape, by 1799 at least, native forests were dwindling. Isaac Weld conveyed this concern with the statement that woods were “now beginning to be thought valuable.”

By the mid-19th century, as demonstrated by Downing's treatise as well as by accounts of such estates as T. Lee’s country residence in Brookline, Massachusetts, the cultivation of woods around the home had risen to the level of art. Lee had added a wood to the grounds and carefully maintained it by cutting and thinning out trees, establishing walks and seats, and planting flowering shrubs such as rhododendrons. From this wood, some of the best views of the nearby countryside and the house could be seen. While the 1840 account of Lee’s wood suggests that he planted the entire woods, new plants often were incorporated into a preexisting wood. This was done at Montgomery Place, where, according to Downing (1847), natural wood and planted trees were blended together to create a rich, dense foliage.

Anne L. Helmreich

Texts

Usage

“we left the garden for a wood cut into Visto's, in the midst a chinese temple, for a summer house, one avenue gives a fine prospect of the City, with a Spy glass you discern the houses distinct, Hospital, & another looks to the Oblisk."


  • Shippen, Thomas Lee, December 31, 1783, describing Westover, seat of William Byrd III, on the James River, VA (1952: n.p.)[2]
“You leave the main road from Williamsburg to Richmond about two miles from Westover, and ride a mile and a half thro’ a most charming Wood which has ever been the hobby horse of its possessor, on account of its beauty, and has always belonged to Westover.”


“At this hermitage we came into a spacious graveled walk, which directed its course further along the grove, which was tall wood interspersed with close thickets of different growth.”


  • Tucker, St. George, 1793, “Beautiful Country. Number of Farms, Orchards, & Meadows with Haycocks” (quoted in Martin 1991: 222, fn 39)[4]
“How sweet is the landscape before us!—the distant mountains mingle with the azure, and all between is the finest penciling of nature. The verdant lawn, the tufted grove, the dusky tower, the hanging wood, the winding stream and tumbling water fall, compose the lovely picture before you.”


  • La Rochefoucauld Liancourt, François Alexandre-Frédéric, duc de, 1795–97, describing Norristown, PA (1799: 1:5–6)[5]
“Very few of them [country houses] are without a small garden; but it is rare to observe one, that has a grove adjoining, or that is surrounded with trees; it is the custom of the country to have no wood near the houses. Customs are sometimes founded in reason, but it is difficult to conjecture the design of this practice in a country, where the heat in summer is altogether intolerable, and where the structure of the houses is designedly adapted to exclude excessive heat. *
“* The reason is, because the country was universally wooded, when the building of these houses was first begun; and in a country thus wooded, to clear the space round the dwelling-house was just as natural, as to plant round the house in a country otherwise bare of wood.— Translator.”


  • Weld, Isaac, 1799, describing Winchester, VA (1799: 133)[6]
“In the neighborhood of Winchester it is so thickly settled and consequently so much cleared that wood is now beginning to be thought valuable; the farmers are obliged frequently to send ten or fifteen miles even for their fence rails.”


“Having decisively made up my mind for retirement at the end of my present term, my views and attentions are all turned homewards. I have hitherto been engaged in my buildings which will be finished in the course of the present year. The improvement of my grounds has been reserved for my occupation on my return home. For this reason it is that I have put off to the fall of the year after next the collection of such curious trees as will bear our winters in the open air.
“The grounds which I destine to improve in the style of the English gardens are in a form very difficult to be managed. They compose the northern quadrant of a mountain for about 2/3 of its height & then spread for the upper third over its whole crown. They contain about three hundred acres, washed at the foot for about a mile, by a river of the size of the Schuylkill. The hill is generally too steep for direct ascent, but we make level walks successively along it’s side, which in it’s upper part encircle the hill & intersect these again by others of easy ascent in various parts. They are chiefly still in their native woods, which are majestic, and very generally a close undergrowth, which I have not suffered to be touched, knowing how much easier it is to cut away than to fill up. The upper third is chiefly open, but to the South is covered with a dense thicket of Scotch broom (Spartium scoparium Lin.) which being favorably spread before the sun will admit of advantageous arrangement for winter enjoyment. You are sensible that this disposition of the ground takes from me the first beauty in gardening, the variety of hill & dale, & leaves me as an awkward substitute a few hanging hollows & ridges, this subject is so unique and at the same time refractory, that to make a disposition analogous to its character would require much more of the genius of the landscape painter & gardener than I pretend to. . . .
“Thither without doubt we are to go for the models in this art. Their sunless climate has permitted them to adopt what is certainly a beauty of the very first order in landscape. Their canvas is of open ground, variegated with clumps of trees distributed with taste. They need no more of wood than will serve to embrace a lawn or glade. But under the beaming, constant and almost vertical sun of Virginia, shade is our Elysium. In the absence of this no beauty of the eye can be enjoyed. This organ must yield it’s gratification to that of the other senses; without the hope of any equivalent to this beauty relinquished. The only substitute I have been able to imagine is this. Let your ground be covered with trees of the loftiest stature. Trim up their bodies as high as the constitution & form of the tree will bear, but so as that their tops shall still unite & yeild [sic] dense shade. A wood, so open below, will have nearly the appearance of open grounds. Then, when in the open ground you would plant a clump of trees, place a thicket of shrubs presenting a hemisphere the crown of which shall distinctly show itself under the branches of the trees. This may be effected by a due selection & arrangement of the shrubs, & will I think offer a group not much inferior to that of trees. The thickets may be varied too by making some of them of evergreens altogether, our red cedar made to grow in a bush, evergreen privet, pyrocanthus, Kalmia, Scotch broom. Holly would be elegant but it does not grow in my part of the country.
“Of prospect I have a rich profusion and offering itself at every point of the compass. Mountains distant & near, smooth & shaggy, single & in ridges, a little river hiding itself among the hills so as to shew in lagoons only, cultivated grounds under the eye and two small villages. To present a satiety of this is the principal difficulty. It may be successively offered, & in different portions through vistas, or which will be better, between thickets so disposed as to serve as vistas, with the advantage of shifting the scenes as you advance your way.”


“The Approach, its road, woods, lawn & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity.”


  • Birch, William Russell, 1808, describing Sedgeley, seat of James C. Fisher and William Crammond, near Philadelphia, PA (1808: 3)[9]
“This beautiful gothic structure, which so happily graces the luxuriant banks of the Schuykill, is in the neighborhood of Landsdown, which is seen in the distance on the opposite side of the river, whose gentle stream courses lowly and humble, amidst romantic woods, gently descending lawns and caverned rocks. The house was erected by Mr. Crammond, from a design by that able architect, Mr. J. H. Latrobe.”


  • Birch, William Russell, 1808, describing Montibello the seat of Gen.l S. Smith Maryland, (1808; opposite pl. 13)[10]
"MONTIBELLO,
Handsomely seated amid the woods, a few miles from Baltimore and commanding a prospect of the Chesapeake and Baltimore Bays. The house was built by Gen. S. Smith from a plan and elevation by Mr. W. Birch, proprietor of this work, and is generally approved."


  • Sheldon, John P., December 10, 1825, describing Fairmount Waterworks, Philadelphia, PA (quoted in Gibson 1988: 5)[11]
“Delightful seats, surrounded by various kinds of trees and shrubbery, with gardens containing summer houses, vistas, embowered walks, &c meet your view in almost every direction, woods sloping gently to the river’s edge, by the side of smooth lawns, add to the pleasing variety of the scene.”


  • Anonymous, 1826, describing the Friends Asylum for the Insane, near Frankford, PA (quoted in Hawkins 1991: 79)[12]
“A shaded, serpentine walk, now skirting the edge of the wood, now plunging into its dark and dependent foliage, and embracing, in its windings, more than a mile, leads over a neat and lightly constructed bridge, to a pleasure house, which might justly termed the Temple of Solitude. It is securely founded on a rock, which juts abruptly forth from the declivity of a steep hill, three sides of which are almost perpendicular, and of considerable height. A chasm, formed by nature, in the rock, to the left of the entrance, affords, with the assistance of stones transversely arranged, a descent to the small valley beneath. The straight and towering tulip tree, the sturdy oak, the chestnut, and the beech, cast their cool shadows around this wood-embosomed abode of contemplation. A rapid stream ripples over the rocks, at a few yards distance, producing the melancholy, but pleasing sounds of a distant waterfall.”


Fig. 5, Charles Codman, Kalorama, c. 1820.
  • Trollope, Frances Milton, 1830, describing Kalorama, estate of Joel Barlow, Washington, DC (1832: 1:330)[13]
“At about a mile from the town, on the high terrace ground above described, is a very pretty place, to which the proprietor has given the name of Kaleirama. It is not large, or in any way magnificent, but the view from it is charming; and it has a little wood behind, covering about two hundred acres of broken ground, that slopes down to a dark cold little river, so closely shut in by rocks and evergreens, that it might serve as a noon-day bath for Diana and her nymphs. The whole of this wood is filled with wild flowers, but such as we cherish fondly in our gardens.” [Fig. 5]


  • Hovey, C. M. (Charles Mason), March 1840, “Notes on Gardens and Nurseries,” describing the country residence of T. Lee, Brookline, MA (Magazine of Horticulture 6: 107)
“Back of the house, at the time we were here before, Mr. Lee was cutting away and thinning out the trees of a dense piece of wood which he had added to his grounds. This has been so judiciously executed, that it is now one of the most interesting parts of the place. A walk has been laid out around it; this in some places leads over and along the highest parts, from which fine views are obtained of the surrounding country; in others it descends into the lower parts, amid groups of rhododendrons, kalmias, and fine flowering plants, along shady walks and under portions of the wood, from whence the house and lawn in front, as well as the higher parts of the grounds, are seen to great advantage. Rustic seats are erected in several places, and the walk is thus rendered one of the most interesting features of the grounds.”


Fig. 6, Alexander Jackson Davis, “Montgomery Place,” in A. J. Downing, ed., Horticulturist 2, no. 4 (October 1847): pl. opp. 153.
“Its richness of foliage, both in natural wood and planted trees, is one of its marked features. Indeed, so great is the variety and intricacy of scenery, caused by the leafy woods, thickets and bosquets, that one may pass days and even weeks here, and not thoroughly explore all its fine points. . . .
“On the south [natural boundary of the estate] is a rich oak wood, in the centre of which is a private drive. On the east it touches the post road. Here is the entrance gate, and from it leads a long and stately avenue of tress, like the approach to an old French chateau. Halfway up its length, the lines of planted trees give place to a tall wood, and this again is succeeded by the lawn, which opens in all its stately dignity, with increased effect, after the deeper shadows of this vestibule-like wood. The eye is now caught at once by the fine specimens of Hemlock, Lime, Ash and Fir, whose proud heads and large trunks form the finest possible accessories to a large and spacious mansion, which is one of the best specimens of our manor houses. . . .
“On the southern boundary [of the drive] is an oak wood of about fifty acres. It is totally different in character from the Wilderness on the north, and is a nearly level or slightly undulating surface, well covered with fine Oak, Chestnut, and other timber trees.” [Fig. 6]


“In the pleasure grounds of the ladies, is a fine piece of woods, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.”


Citations

Fig. 7, Michael van der Gucht, “A Great Wood of Forrest trees pierced with a double Star,” in A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville, The Theory and Practice of Gardening (1712), opp. p. 60, fig. 1 of pl. 1C.
  • Dezallier d’Argenville, Antoine-Joseph, 1712, The Theory and Practice of Gardening (1712: 48–49)[16]
WOODS and Groves make the Relievo of Gardens, and serve infinitely to improve the flat Parts, as Parterres and Bowling-greens. Care should be taken to place them so, that they may not hinder the Beauty of the Prospect. . . .
“For what relates to their Form and Design, they may be varied different ways, keeping it as a general Rule, to pierce them with Alleys as much as possible, not making so many Works and Returns in them, as to waste the whole Area of the Wood; nor so few, as to leave great Squares of Wood naked, and without Ornament. Their most usual Forms are the Star, the direct Cross, S. Andrew’s Cross, and the Goose-Foot; they nevertheless admit of the following Designs, as Cloisters, Labyrinths, Quincunces, Bowling-greens, Halls, Cabinets, circular and square Compartiments [sic], Halls for Comedy, Covered Halls, Natural and Artificial Arbors, Fountains, Isles, Cascades, Water-Galleries, Green-Galleries, &c. . . .
“THERE are Woods of divers Kinds, which may all be reduced to the six following: Forests, or great Woods of high Trees; Coppice-Woods, Groves of a middle Height, with tall Palisades; Groves opened in Compartiments, Groves planted in Quincunce, or in Squares, and Woods of Ever-Greens.” [Fig. 7]


  • Switzer, Stephen, 1718, Ichnographia Rustica (1718: 2:196–200)[17]
“The greatest of all the natural Embellishments of our Country-Seats, being in Woods and Groves judiciously contriv’d and cut out. . . .
“When, therefore, we meet with a large Wood in an open Park, not near, or on the wrong (the North) Side of the House, and the same be a Level, particularly if the Wood be thick, and it does not destroy the general Prospect of it by so doing, ’tis there, in my Opinion, a regular Scheme ought to take Place.
“But when the Wood is plac’d near the House, it is design’d chiefly for Walking, to be as private as is consistent with its own Nature, as when it is naturally compos’d of several Levels, Hills, and Hollows. This is a Place design’d by Nature, for the Exercise of a good Genius in Gardening.
“’Tis in large Hollows and low Grounds, and in the Middle or Center of Woods, that we make our little Cabinets and Gardens, of which some are to be found in this Book, and others may be taken out of Mr. James’s, besides an infinite Variety that may be contriv’d; but the Lines extended from them should not be carry’d out too far, for that will make one unavoidably split upon the former Error of Regularity. . . .
“If the Wood is thin, ’tis there one may clear it quite away, and make open Lawns. And if the Wood be an Eminence, then all the small Stuff on the Outside ought to be clear’d away, to open the distant Prospect, if it deserve it; but if it be an unsightly, barren Prospect, then let the Wood remain to blind it.”


  • Bradley, Richard, 1719, New Improvements of Planting and Gardening (1719: 1.2:38)[18]
“this should be always consider’d by the Gardener, to plant every Tree in a Wood which is natural to a Wood, and upon a Plain that which is the Native of a Plain.”


  • Miller, Philip, 1754, The Gardeners Dictionary (1754; repr., 1969: 1533–35)[19]
WOODS and Groves are the greatest Ornaments to a Country-seat; therefore every Seat is greatly defective without them; Wood and Water being absolutely necessary to render a Place agreeable and pleasant. Where there are Woods already grown to a large Size, so situated as to be taken into the Garden, or so nearly adjoining, as that an easy Communication may be made from the Garden to the Wood; they may be so contrived by cutting of winding Walks thro’ them, as to render them the most delightful and pleasant Parts of a Seat (especially in the Heat of Summer), when those Walks afford a goodly Shade from the scorching Heat of the Sun. . . .
“Where Persons have the Convenience of grown Woods near the Habitation, so as that there may be an easy Communication from one to the other, there will be little Occasion for Wildernesses in the Garden; since the natural Woods may be so contriv’d, as to render them much pleasanter than any new Plantation can possibly arrive to within the Compass of twenty Years. . . .
“If the Wood is so situated, as that the Garden may be contriv’d between the House and that, then the Walk into the Wood should be made as near to the House as possible; that there may not be too much open Space to walk thro’ in order to get into the Shade: if the Wood is of small Extent, then there will be a Necessity of twisting of the Walks pretty much, so as to make as much Walking as the Compass of Ground will admit; but there should be Care taken not to bring the Turns so near each other, as that the two Walks may be exposed to each other . . . where the Wood is large, the Twists of the Walks should not approach nearer to each other than sixty or eight feet; or in very large Woods double that Distance will be yet better; because, when the Under-wood is cut down, which will be absolutely necessary every tenth or twelfth Year, according to its Growth, then the Walks will be quite open, until the Under-wood grows up again, unless a Border of Shrubs, intermix’d with some Evergreens, is planted by the Sides of the Walks; which is what I would recommend, as this will greatly add to the Pleasure of these Walks. . . .
“therefore the great Skill in making of these Walks is, to make the Turns so easy as not to appear like a Work of Art, nor to extend them strait to so great Length, as that Persons who may be walking at a great Distance, may be exposed to the Sight of each other. . . . When a Wood is properly manag’d in this Way, and a few Places properly left like an open Grove, where there are some large Trees so situated as to form them, there can be no greater Ornament to a fine Seat, than such a Wood.”


  • Whately, Thomas, 1770, Observations on Modern Gardening (1770; repr., 1982: 35–46)[20]
Wood, as a general term, comprehends all trees and shrubs in whatever disposition; but it is specifically applied in a more limited sense, and in that sense I shall now use it.
“Every plantation must be either a wood, a grove, a clump, or a single tree.
“A wood is composed both of trees and underwood, covering a considerable space. . . .
“One of the noblest objects in nature is the surface of a large thick wood, commanded from an eminence, or seen from below hanging on the side of a hill. The latter is generally the more interesting object: its aspiring situation gives it an air of greatness; its termination is commonly the horizon. . . . a wood commanded from an eminence is generally no more than a part of the scene below; and its boundary is often inadequate to its greatness. To continue it, therefore, till it winds out of sight, or loses itself in the horizon, is generally desireable; but then the varieties of its surface grow confused as it retires; while those of a hanging wood are all distinct; the furtherest parts are held up to the eye; and none are at a distance, though the whole be extensive.
“The varieties of a surface are essential to the beauty of it; a continued smooth-shaven level of foliage is neither agreable nor natural; the different growths of trees commonly break it in reality, and their shadows still more in appearance. These shades are so many tints, which undulating about the surface, are its greatest embellishment; and such tints may be produced with more effect, and more certainty, by a judicious mixture of greens; at the same time an additional variety may be introduced, by grouping and contrasting trees very different in shape from each other. . . .
“The contrasts, however, of masses and of groupes must not be too strong, where greatness is the character of the wood; for unity is essential to greatness: but if direct opposites be placed close together, the wood is no longer one object; it is only a confused collection of several separate plantations; whereas if the progress be gradual from the one to the other, shapes and tints widely different may assemble on the same surface; and each should occupy a considerable space. . . .
“When in a romantic situation, very broken ground is overspread with wood, it may be proper on the surface of the wood, to mark the inequalities of the ground. Rudeness, not greatness, is the prevailing idea; and a choice directly the reverse of that which is productive of unity, will produce it; strong contrasts, even oppositions, may be eligible; the aim is rather to disjoint than to connect. . . .
“A hanging wood thin of forest trees, and seen from below, is seldom pleasing: those few trees are by the perspective brought near together; it loses the beauty of a thin wood, and is defective as a thick one; the most obvious improvement therefore is to thicken it. But when seen from an eminence, a thin wood is often a lively and elegant circumstance in a view; it is full of objects; and every separate tree shews its beauty. To encrease that vivacity, which is the peculiar excellence of a thin wood, the trees should be characteristically distinguished both in their tints and their shapes. . . . Differences also in their growths are a further source of variety. . . .
“Though the surface of a wood, when commanded deserves all these attentions, yet the outline more frequently calls for our regard; it is also more in our power; it may sometimes be great, and may always be beautiful. The first requisite is irregularity. . . . The true beauty of an outline consists more in breaks than in sweeps; rather in angles than in rounds; in variety, not in succession. . . .
“A few large parts should be strongly distinguished in their forms, their directions, and their situations. . . .
“Every variety in the outline of a wood must be a prominence, or a recess. Breadth in either is not so important as length to the one, and depth to the other. . . .
“Every variety of outline hitherto mentioned, may be traced by the underwood alone; but frequently the same effects may be produced with more ease, and with much more beauty, by a few trees standing out from the thicket, and belonging, or seeming to belong to the wood, so as to make a part of its figure. . . .
“The prevailing character of a wood is generally grandeur; the principal attention therefore which it requires, is to prevent the excesses of that character, to diversify the uniformity of its extent, to lighten the unwieldiness of its bulk, and to blend graces with greatness.”


  • Deane, Samuel, 1790, The New-England Farmer (1790: 230)[21]
“QUINCUNX ORDER, according to Mr. Miller, is a plantation of trees, disposed originally in a square, consisting of four trees, one at each corner, and a fifth in the middle; which disposition, repeated again and again, forms a regular grove, wood, or wilderness; and, when viewed obliquely, presents straight rows of trees, and parallel alleys between them.”


  • Marshall, William, 1803, On Planting and Rural Ornament (1803: 1:119)[22]
“By a Wood is meant a mixture of timber trees and underwood.”


  • Repton, Humphry, 1803, Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1803: 46)[23]
“In some situations where great masses of wood, and a large expanse of open lawn prevail, the contrast is too violent, and the mind becomes dissatisfied by the want of unity; we are never well pleased with a composition in natural landscape, unless the wood and the lawn are so blended that the eye cannot trace the precise limits of either.”


  • Nicol, Walter, 1812, The Planter’s Kalendar (1812: 43–44)[24]
“It may be proper here to remind the reader of the difference between a wood and a plantation. A wood, then, is always understood to be either entirely a natural production; or to be sown, not planted, by man; and to consist of a mixture of timber trees, chiefly of oak and ash, with underwood or shrubs, as willow, hazel, holly, birch, or thorn. Some natural woods, however, particularly in Scotland, consist almost entirely of fir-trees, with, sometimes, a mixture of birch, mountain-ash, and several kinds of shrubs. The extent of a wood may be any thing, from an acre, or half an acre, to many square miles: when of this last size, it assumes the appearance of a forest, and generally receives that denomination. . . .
“Hence in rearing of a wood we have a variety of examples, and a choice of situation, set before us. One rule we must invariably adhere to; namely, to sow, and not to plant. All the woods of nature are raised from the seeds, sown on the spot where the trees grow; and we are certain that her timber trees are never inferior, but often superior to such as have been planted by the hand of man.”


“6811. . . . The term wood may be applied to a large assemblage of trees, either natural or artificial; forest, exclusively to the most extensive or natural assemblages. . . .
Fig. 8, J. C. Loudon, The disposition of the trees within the plantation, in An Encyclopædia of Gardening, (1826), 943, fig. 629.
“6813. With respect to the disposition of the trees within the plantation, they may be placed regularly in rows, squares, parallelograms, or quincunx; irregularly in the manner of groups; without undergrowths, as in groves (fig. 629. a, b); with undergrowths, as in woods (c); all undergrowths, as in copse-woods (d). Or they may form avenues . . . double avenues . . . avenues intersecting in the manner of a Greek cross . . . of a martyr’s cross . . . of a star . . . or of a cross patée, or duck’s foot (patée d’oye). ... [Fig. 8]
“7203. Wood produces almost all the grand effects in both style of improvement; for trees, whether in scattered forests, thickets, or groups, or in compact geometric squares, avenues, or rows, constitute the greatest charm of every country.”


WOOD, n. [Sax. wuda, wudu; D. woud; W. gwyz.]
“1. A large and thick collection of trees; a forest.”


  • Johnson, George William, 1847, A Dictionary of Modern Gardening (1847: 156)[27]
CLUMPS when close are sometimes called Thickets, and when open Groups of Trees. They differ only in extent from a wood, if they are close, or from a grove, if they are open; they are small woods, and small groves, governed by the same principales as the larger, after allowances made for their dimensions.”


  • Downing, Andrew Jackson, 1849, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1849; repr., 1991: 85–87, 95, 100, 107, 109, 113–15, 116)[28]
“AMONG all the materials at our disposal for the embellishment of country residences, none are at once so highly ornamental, so indispensable, and so easily managed, as trees, or wood. We introduce them in every part of the landscape,—in the foreground as well as in the distance, on the tops of the hills and in the depths of the valleys. They are, indeed, like the drapery which covers a somewhat ungainly figure, and while it conceals its defects, communicates to it new interest and expression. . .
Wood, in its many shapes, is then one of the greatest sources of interest and character in Landscapes. . . By shutting out some parts, and inclosing others, they divide the extent embraced by the eye into a hundred different landscapes, instead of one tame scene bounded by the horizon. . . .
“Edifices, or parts of them that are unsightly, or which it is desirable partly or wholly to conceal, can readily be hidden or improved by wood; and walks and roads, which otherwise would be but simple ways of approach from one point to another, are, by an elegant arrangement of tress on their margins, or adjacent to them, made the most interesting and pleasing portions of the residence. . .
Fig. 9, Anonymous, “Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years’ improvement,” in A. J. Downing, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1849), 114, fig. 24.
“And as the Avenue, or the straight line, is the leading form in the geometric arrangement of plantations, so let us enforce it upon our readers, the GROUP is equally the key-note of the Modern style. The smallest place, having only three trees, may have these pleasingly connected in a group; and the largest and finest park—the Blenheim or Chatsworth, of seven miles square, is only composed of a succession of groups, becoming masses, thickets, woods. . .
“Where there are large masses of wood to regulate and arrange, much skill, taste, and judgement, are requisite, to enable the proprietors to preserve only what is really beautiful and picturesque, and to remove all that is superfluous. . .
“[In the modern style ] the mansion or dwelling-house . . . should form . . . the central point. . . In order to do this effectually, the large masses or groups of wood should cluster round, or form the back-ground to the main edifice; and where the offices or out-buildings approach the same neighborhood, they also should be embraced. We do not mean by this to convey the idea, that a thick wood should be planted around and in close neighborhood of the mansion or villa, so as to impede free circulation of air; but its appearance and advantages may be easily produced by a comparatively loose plantation of groups well connected by intermediate trees, so as to give all the effect of a large mass. . .
Fig. 10, Anonymous, “Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style,” in A. J. Downing, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1849), 115, fig. 25.
“It must not be forgotten that, as a general rule, the grass or surface of the lawn answers as the principal light, and the woods or plantations as the shadows, in the same manner in nature as in painting; and that these should be so managed as to lead the eye to the mansion as the most important object when seen from without, or correspond to it in grandeur and magnitude, when looked upon from within the house. . .
“In the next figure . . . a ground plan of the place is given, as it would appear after having been judiciously laid out and planted, with several years’ growth. . . It will be seen here, that one of the largest masses of wood forms a background to the house, concealing also the out-buildings; while, from the windows of the mansion itself, the trees are so arranged as to group in the most pleasing and effective manner; at the same time broad masses of turf meet the eye, and fine distant views are had through the vistas in the lines, ee. . . . The form of these areas varies also with every change of position in the spectator, as seen from different portions of the grounds, or different points in the walks; and they can be still further varied at pleasure by adding more single trees or small groups, which should always, to produce variety of outline, be placed opposite the salient parts of the wood, and not in the recesses, which latter they would appear to diminish or clog up. . . [Fig. 9]
Figure 25 is the plan of an American mansion residence of considerable extent, only part of the farm lands, l, being here delineated. In this residence, as there is no extensive view worth preserving beyond the bounds of the estate, the pleasure grounds are surrounded by an irregular and picturesque belt of wood.” [Fig. 10]


Images

Inscribed

Associated

Attributed

Notes

  1. Hannah Callender Sansom, The Diary of Hannah Callender Sansom: Sense and Sensibility in the Age of the American Revolution, ed. Susan E. Klepp and Karin Wulf (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2010), view on Zotero.
  2. Thomas Lee Shippen, Westover Described in 1783: A Letter and Drawing Sent by Thomas Lee Shippen, Student of Law in Williamsburg, to His Parents in Philadelphia (Richmond, VA: William Byrd Press, 1952), view on Zotero.
  3. William Parker Cutler, Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1987), view on Zotero.
  4. Peter Martin, The Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991), view on Zotero.
  5. François-Alexandre-Frédéric, duc de La Rochefoucauld Liancourt, Travels through the United States of North America, the Country of the Iroquois, and Upper Canada, in the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797, ed. by Brisson Dupont and Charles Ponges, trans. by H. Newman, 2nd ed., 4 vols. (London: R. Philips, 1800), view on Zotero.
  6. Isaac Weld, Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797 (London: John Stockdale, 1799), view on Zotero.
  7. Thomas Jefferson, The Garden Book, ed. by Edwin M. Betts (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1944), view on Zotero.
  8. Charles Drayton, “The Diary of Charles Drayton I, 1806,” 1806, Drayton Papers, MS 0152, Drayton Hall, http://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/lcdl:27554, view on Zotero.
  9. William Russell Birch, The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them (Springland, PA: W. Birch, 1808), view on Zotero.
  10. William Russell Birch, The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them (Springland, PA: W. Birch, 1808), view on Zotero.
  11. Jane Mork Gibson, “The Fairmount Waterworks,” Bulletin, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 84 (1988), 5–40, view on Zotero.
  12. Kenneth Hawkins, “The Therapeutic Landscape: Nature, Architecture, and Mind in Nineteenth-Century America” (PhD diss., University of Rochester, 1991), view on Zotero.
  13. Frances Milton Trollope, Domestic Manners of the Americans, 2nd ed., 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher & Co., 1832), view on Zotero.
  14. Jacquetta M. Haley, ed., Pleasure Grounds: Andrew Jackson Downing and Montgomery Place (Tarrytown, NY: Sleepy Hollow Press, 1988), view on Zotero.
  15. Thomas S. Kirkbride, “Description of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, with Remarks,” American Journal of Insanity 4 (1848), 347–54, view on Zotero.
  16. A.-J. (Antoine Joseph) Dézallier d’Argenville, The Theory and Practice of Gardening; Wherein Is Fully Handled All That Relates to Fine Gardens, . . . Containing Divers Plans, and General Dispositions of Gardens; . . . , trans. by John James (London: Geo. James, 1712), view on Zotero.
  17. Stephen Switzer, Ichnographia Rustica, or The Nobleman, Gentleman and Gardener’s Recreation. . . ., 1st ed., 3 vols. (London: D. Browne, 1718), view on Zotero.
  18. Richard Bradley, New Improvements of Planting and Gardening, Both Philosophical and Practical; Explaining the Motion of the Sapp and Generation of Plants. With Other Discoveries Never before Made in Publick, for the Improvement of Forest-Trees, Flower-Gardens or Parterres; with a New Invention Where by More Designs of Garden Platts May Be Made in an Hour, than Can Be Found in All the Books Now Extant. Likewise Several Rare Secrets for the Improvement of Fruit-Trees, Kitchen-Gardens, and Green-House Plants., 3rd ed., 2 vols. (London: W. Mears, 1719), view on Zotero.
  19. Philip Miller, The Gardeners Dictionary (1754; repr., New York: Verlag Von J. Cramer, 1969), view on Zotero.
  20. Thomas Whately, Observations on Modern Gardening, 3rd ed. (1770; repr., London: Garland, 1982), view on Zotero.
  21. Samuel Deane, The New-England Farmer, or Georgical Dictionary (Worcester, MA: Isaiah Thomas, 1790), view on Zotero.
  22. William Marshall, On Planting and Rural Ornament: A Practical Treatise. . . ., 2 vols. (London: G. and W. Nicol, G. and J. Robinson, T. Cadell, and W. Davies, 1803), view on Zotero.
  23. Humphry Repton, Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803), view on Zotero.
  24. Walter Nicol, The Planter’s Kalendar (Edinburgh: D. Willison for A. Constable, 1812), view on Zotero.
  25. J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening, 4th ed. (London: Longman et al., 1826), view on Zotero.
  26. Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language, 2 vols. (New York: S. Converse, 1828), view on Zotero.
  27. George William Johnson, A Dictionary of Modern Gardening, ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), view on Zotero.
  28. A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America, 4th ed. (1849; repr., Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1991), view on Zotero.

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