Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1875-11-14

Editors Of the CNrnicLe::

To the Editors Of the CtT7'ic}e:
Much has been said of Mr.. Dickin {
sons farm and farming, and drive
around his grounds this Saturday af
ternOon, has impressed me more than
ever before, with his superior aesthetic
taste and judgment. Mr.. Dickinson
has raised his farming to fine art.
There seems to be designed relations OF
buildings, groves, drives ana fields to
each other. These relations, difficult
of analysis and statement, arrest the
attention of the Observant student OF
nature. There is expression in them
almost thought and feeling. cutli-
waited, imaginative Greek would linger
around such a spot; would see genii
almost every here. There is no other
scenery around Knoxville so fun Of
expression Of soul; not even Lyons
View.
That is good art which quickens and
gratifies our feelings; ana while utii
ty, agricultural skill and physical
good are every where apparent a5 the
basis of Mr.. DickinsOn's agricultural
plans and operations, there is a some
thing higher than these; something
almost intellectual in expression. The
great physical beauty Of his farm has
not been oveTpoweied and destroyed,
as is too often the case in the eXpendi-
Wretched work of expressing the van
ity, pride and eg0tism Of the
owner. The world is full
of natural beauty, but this
beauty more frequently suffers from
mans passions aud pursuits, than is
aided by his taste. Mr.. D.ckinsOn's
object seems to have been to exhibit
living beauties and natural forms aud
not human cOntrivances. His grounds
do not exhibit the man, but the mans
love of lower life. There is hardly
anything that approaches the artificial
and stiff. The outlines of fields, walks
and drives, are generally plain, easy
and open curves, ever seeming to give
free action to the enclosed life, by
yielding an open space to its slightest
pressure The mind is delighted at
every turn, with concurrent beauties
of form, light and shade.
Mr.. Dickinson had a harvest of obvi-
GUS opportunities such as favored
points and OutlOOks in the natural fea-
lures of his farm for the display of Hs-
thetical taste, and these he has so Sc
lected and managed as TO make each
striking object distinct feature, and
the central subject of a distinct treat
ment. His grounds should not be
driven through on a trot, but be quiet
iy, slowly read and communed with.
" To him who in the love of nature,
Communes with her visible forms,
She speaks various language"
And no where about Knoxville,
is this more true, in my judgment,
than on Mr.. Dickinson's farm. Those
contrasts and harmonies that elicit and
interest the feelings are everywhere
apparent. Perception, combination
and conception are happily exhibited. |
And the thanks of this community are |
due to Mr.. Dickinson for opening up |
farm of easy access where there are so |
many natural and improved objects |
ard beauties to refine and correct the |
public taste.
His wheat fields are delight to the
eyes. If there is another man in the
country that has winter wheat fields
of equal beauty and excellence, then l
dare say that there are two men that
have better wheat fields than any other
two. Nj. G. BUTLER.