Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-05-19
Public Parks.
No. 2.

tent1On 1or many years, ouu pi
tions of the Roman and italian styles
were poor, leaving but little OF the arts
tic. The Dutch school was at one time
foremost. 1t was revival of the ancient
or geometric style, in which statues,
vases and busts were interspersed with
fountains, and the various forms OF the
vegetable kingdom. DR.. John III. Ranch
adnaira5ze paper on Public Parks.
Landscape gardening is word of mod
ern coinage, first used by the poet shen-
stone. In England but little attention
was paid to the art of gardening until
the time of Addison, when Bridgeman,
the court gardner in the palace grounds
at Kensington followed the Chinese in
their limitations of nature. Pope in his
garden at Twickenham, initiated the
natural, and Addison at Rugby. The
most distinguished English landscape
gardeners that have fourished since the
commencement of the last century, have
been Humphrey Ripton, who died in
1918, and John Clandine Loudon who
died in 1913. They developed and car
ried to its greatest perfection the modern
or natural style of landscape gardening,
as is seen at Blenhein, the seat of the
Duke of Marlborough Chatsworth, the
seat of the Duke of Devonshire, where
there are scenes illustrative of almost
every style of the art ; and also at Wo-
burn Abbey, Ashbridge and Arundel
Castle. More recently the writings of
Paxton and Kemp have done much to
improve and foster this taste among the
English. Soon after the adoption of the
natural style in England, it became fash
ionable upon the continent.
The name Park is derived from the
French parquer---to fold, to inclose, hence
parque, pare large tract of ground in
closed for the keeping of beasts of the
chase, particularly deer. They were gen.
orally grants made by the kings of Eng
land to the mobiles and as the country
became populated, these parks were Sc
lected as residences, and in the course of
time were considered as luxurious ap-
pendages to the dwellings of the rich.
Centuries ago Parks were simply hunting
grounds, but in process of time extensive
buildings and accommodations for festive
parties were provided within the en-
closure, and people took pleasure in them
without regard to the attraction of the
chase, and the original use was lost sight
of. Hagley Park, for many years, was
considered the finest in England,
although there are many there now much
more beautiful, averaging from one to
five miles in diamiter. In the present
century, not only have the old parks
been maintained and improved, but
many new parks have been formed ex-
clusively for the purpose of recreation,
enjoyment and health, especially within
and adjoining considerable towns.
In England nearly all the towns, will.
ages and cities have their pleasure grounds
in some form, or private parks, In addi-
ton, all have their crickets-grounds and
commons, where the old meet to gossip,
and the young for Athletic play.
The public darKs OF Lunao-, ara Kensino.
ton Garden, 262 acres; Hyde Park, 38G
acres; Green Park, 55 acres; St. James
Park, SO acres, all of which are connected
in a chain, though partly separated; Re
gents Park and Primrose Hill, 473 acres
Battersea Park, 175 acres; and Kensing
ton Park containing So acres.
The Royal parks in the vicinity of Lon
don ere also much resorted to Windsor
$500 acres; Hampton Court and Burley
1912 acres; Richmond, 2468 acres and
the Royal Gardens at Kew, 6S4 acres
Epping Forest and and others are easily
reached, making 5000 acres in the city
and about Ii, 900 in the vicinity that are
open to the public.
Then there are the grounds of the Hor
ticultural Society and the Crystal Palace
for which a small entrance fee is charged
Victoria Park is among the most frequent
ed here, 10000 visitors have been counted
in one day.
The fashionable drive of London is the
Ring-Road in Hyde Park, three miles
long and from TIVE nty-seven to sixty feet
wide. The fashionable riding avenue
is in this Park, and is ninety feet wide
and q mile in length. There is not much
room for riding or driving in the other
parks
Birkenhead Park, near Liverpool, con
tains 1872 acres, designed and constructed
by Sir Joseph Paxton and Mr.. Kemp, and
| is one of the best laid out and most com
plete for its age in Europe. Birmingham
has Park recently laid out, where ar
entrance fee of a penny is charged, by
which funds are raised to defray the ex
penses incident to its purchase and main
tenance. AS soon as paid for, admission
will be free. Public promenades are
common in England, among which may
be cited the old city walls and the river
bank, above the old unique town of Ches
ter. The common and old Castle Grounds
at Ludlow, tie Castle Garden and Cathe
dral grounds, at Hereford, the river banks
at Lincoln, and the Cathedral Green a
Salisbury and Winchester. Phoeniz
Park, in Dublin, contains 1852 acres
and is one of the best natural parks il
the world but is not well laid out Of
we'll kept.
England is now full of fine gardens
The English send their gardeners t.
France and Germany to study, and theil
agents to the ends of the earth for plants
shrubs, trees, birds, fish and animals.
Hampton Court Garden, near London
laid out by Cardinal Woolsey, with it
, labyrinth, still exist as monument O
the Grandeur of that day. Pope's fin,
Villa and Garden at Twickenham, ani
Addison's at Billion, near Rugby, were tn,
first examples of gardens in the natura
style in England.