New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-11-20
THE LANDSCAPE or DAILY LIFE.

"Galdcn and Forest n journal which Is
doing much to elevate the standard OF public
taste. has some thoughtful things TO say about
the landscape Of daily life. Commenting upon
the fact that Americans love wild landscape
and greatly enjoy both travelling in search OF
it and reading the praise Of it, II dcplorcs the
tendency In overlook the beautiful in the sur
roundngs of everyday liic--that is to say, IN
the h,lmanized scenery which il not wild, but
NAV be invested with natural lovolincsS and
restfu charm "IIcrc are orr rich men 1t
remarks. paying enormous sums for painted
landscapes to be hung in their houses, while
they permit the real landscape about them TO
become ugly in the extronc Hero arc poorer
people spending literally for journeys in search
of the picturesque, while what might be tho
picturcsoueness of their own ncghborhood is
unpcrccvcd or destroyed"
The correctness Of these structures will be
evident 10 any one who reflects upon the tlan-
scondcnt beauty Of English rural landscapes.
There is very little Wild scenery in England.
There are few Of those startling effects and
maryelS of Nature over which travcllcS arc
wont 70 rave But wherever the visitor may
be in England, he is impressed with the sense
of humanizcd scenery. Not only is it a land
of flowers and green meadows. but II Is also a
realm where love Of the beautiful and a sense
Of the adaptahility of daily surrounding, 10
human occupations and pleasures are Spontanc-
GUS Landscape art is 50 dcft in it, processes
as to conceal its own operations Every scene
in rural England is finished picture, harnoni
Gus in details and sympathetic in effects. All
the elements fit in together There is no blur
The rustic roads lined with luXurant hedges
the ivy-grown churches the stone barns and
matched cottages with roses climbing over
them, the broad sweeps Of meadow and fem
and the foamng riyulcts with their gray stone
bridges are parts of an artistic whole. Human
life has not merely adapted itself to natural
conditions, but has impaired to them refine
mcnt Of taste and feeling.
II is this touch Of human sympathy and
adaptation which is lacking in the surroundings
of daily life in America. In the suburbs OF
our great cities there are costly houses and
private parks deliberately adorned with trees
and shrubbcry but how seldom is the eye
refreshed with harmonious pictures OF rural
scenery, in which tho landscape gardeners art
is not loudly Haunted without attempt at con-
ccalmcnt, or in which really good effects are
not marrcd and destroyed by unsightly sur
roundings! Whoever passes by. if he have
the dsccrnment required for intelligent re-
Election, is impressed with sense Of ncon-
grnity in an unfinished picture. He admircs
the architecture of the palatial residence and
wonders how many kinds Of trees have been
planted in the private grounds, but never for
one instant is he reminded of that spontaneous
love OF beauty which in England provides
every historic Tudor front and humble farm
er's cottage with a sccnic setting in harmony
with human taste and needs. Alacli for the
rawnoss of a new country
Yet we may hope with "Gardcn and Forest,
that there are signs that better day is COM
ing Within decade village Improvement So
cietics have sprung up all over the land TO
educate public taste, to remove unsightly blcm-
shes from the everyday landscape to save the
wooded tracts and picturesque hooks. and 10
ador with humanizing touch the commons and
school-yardS. A movement for the improve
mcnt of public roads has received a mighty
impulse Railway corporations are making sys-
tematc efforts 10 relieve the barrcnncSS q;
station approaches. Men Of wealth arc begin
ming to understand that their costly houses
must reveal something more than the archi
tccts ambitious art, and that the grounds about
them must he something more than a fu,.y
gardeners ill-calcuated and il-proporiionod
grouping Of clumpS Of trees and partcrrcs Of
foliage, plants and flowers. and thai what ac
cords most closely with the fitness of things is
"A scenic setting outside which will be rs bcauti-
full, as harmonious and as complete as the most
exquisi'ely painted landscape that adorns the
interior walls. Tho day is coming when men
will not need to go far aicld in order TO enjoy
natural scenery, but they will find it at their