noted for its beauties of hill, dale, wood, and water; he sold it in
1768. He translated Gerardin, _De la Composition des Paysages_, 12mo.
1783, to which he prefixed a preface, being, chiefly, remarks on what
the gardens of the Greeks and Romans were; a view of Rosseau's tomb is
prefixed. Mr. Malthus justly observes, that this Essay "is full of the
most insinuating eloquence, that it is wrote by the friend of Rousseau,
and from scenes which realize some of its most beautiful descriptions."
He further observes, that "trifling as this enquiry will appear in
itself, it may add something towards the benevolent purpose of M.
d'Ernonville, which is to make men sensible of the exhaustless charms of
nature, to lead them back to their simple and original tastes, to
promote the variety and resources of a country life, and to unite its
usefulness with its embellishment."[59]
JOHN KENNEDY published a Treatise upon Planting, Gardening, &c. 8vo.
_York_, 1776.
N. SWINDEN, "an ingenious gardener and seedsman at Brentford-End,"
wrote The Beauties of Flora Displayed; 8vo. 1778.
SAMUEL FULMER wrote The Young Gardener's Best Companion for the Kitchen,
and Fruit Garden; 12mo. 1781.
CHARLES BRYANT published Flora Dietetica; or, the History of Esculent
Plants: 8vo. 1785. Also, a Dictionary of Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, and
Plants; 8vo. _Norwich_, 1790.
JOSEPH HEELEY, ESQ. author of Letters on the Beauties of Hagley, Envil,
and the Leasowes; with Critical Remarks on the Modern Taste in
Gardening; 1777, 2 vols. 12mo.
THOMAS KYLE, or KEIL, "one of the first gardeners in Scotland, of his
time," published a Treatise on the Management of the Peach and Nectarine
Trees: to which is added, the Method of Raising and Forcing Vines; 8vo.
_Edinb._ 1785. A second edition in 1787.
WILLIAM MARSHALL, ESQ. who, in his "Planting and Rural Ornament," has
very properly transcribed the whole of that masterly production of Mr.
Walpole's pen, his _History of the Modern Taste in Gardening_. He
observes, that "a pen guided by so masterly a hand, must ever be
productive of information and entertainment, when employed upon a
subject so truly interesting. Desirous of conveying to our readers all
the information which we can compress, with propriety, within the limits
of our plan, we wished to have given the _substance_ of this valuable
paper; but finding it already in the language of simplicity, and being
aware of the mischiefs which generally ensue in _meddling_ with the
productions of genius, we had only one alternative: either wholly to
transcribe, or wholly to reject." Mr. Marshall, alluding to the above
work of his, says, "Wheatley, Mason, and Nature, with some Experience,
and much Observation, are the principal sources from which this part of
our work was drawn; it was planned, and in part written, among the
magnificent scenes of nature, in Monmouthshire, Herefordshire, and
Gloucestershire, where the rich and the romantic are happily blended, in
a manner unparalleled in any other part of the island." In this same
work is preserved, Mr. Gray's letter on the scenery of _Grasmere Water_.
His descriptions of many trees and shrubs are extremely interesting; and
he has rendered them more so by his frequent quotations from Mr.
Hanbury. He also published, in 8vo. The Rural Economy of the Southern
Counties; 2 vols.--of the Midland Counties, 2 vols.--of Gloucestershire,
2 vols.--of Norfolk, 2 vols.--of Yorkshire, 2 vols.--Agriculture of the
Southern Counties, 2 vols.--Minutes of Agriculture--and a Review of the
Landscape, a didactic poem--and of an Essay on the Picturesque. The
Encyclop. of Gardening, after relating varied information respecting
him, says, that he "finally retired to a considerable property he
possessed in his native county, in the Vale of Cleveland, in 1808, where
he died, at an advanced age, in 1819. He was a man of little education,
but of a strong and steady mind: and pursued, in the most consistent
manner, from the year 1780 to his death, the plan he originally laid
down; that of collecting and condensing the agricultural practices of
the different counties of England, with a view to a general work on
Landed Property, which he published; another on Agriculture, which he
did not live to complete, and a _Rural Institute_, in which he was
supplanted by the Board of Agriculture." His observations on the
_Larch_, in vol. i. of his "Planting and Rural Ornament," and the zeal
with which he recommends the planting of it on the infertile heathy
flats of Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire, on the bleak and barren heights
of Yorkshire, Westmoreland, Cornwall, and Devon, and on the Welch and
Salopean hills; and the powerful language with which he enforces its
valuable qualities, merit the attention of every man of property.
WILLIAM SPEECHLY. He wrote Hints on Domestic Rural Economy; 8vo. On the
Culture of the Vine and Pine Apple, with Hints on the Formation of
Vineyards in England. On the Culture of the Pine Apple, and the
Management of the Hot-House; 8vo. He made a tour in Holland, chiefly to
observe the Dutch mode of cultivating the Pine, and the Grape. Mr.
Loudon, in his Encyclop. calls him "the Moses of modern British vine
dressers;" and in the Gardener's Magazine for January, 1828, has given
an interesting and honourable character of him. He died at Great Milton,
in 1819, aged eighty-six.[60] Marshall, in his Planting and Rural
Ornament, has given us Mr. Speechley's sensible letter on the Duke of
Portland's Plantations. Mr. Johnson says "he perhaps surpassed every
practical gardener of his age."
PHILIP LE BROCQ, chaplain to the Duke of Gloucester, wrote,
1, A Description of Certain Methods of Planting, Training, and Managing
all Kinds of Fruit Trees, Vines, &c. London, 8vo. 1786.
2, Sketch of a Plan for making the New Forest, a Real Forest.
_Stockdale_, 8vo. 1793.
WALTER NICHOL, whom Mr. Loudon, in his Encyclopaedia, calls an author of
merit, and informs us that Mr. Nichol, "in the year 1810, undertook an
extensive journey through England, for the purpose of visiting the
principal seats and plantations, with a view, on his return, to compose
the _Planter's Calendar_. This work had scarcely commenced, when he was
seized with an illness which carried him off suddenly, in March, 1811."
His works appear to be the following:--
The Gardener's Kalendar; or, Monthly Directory of every Branch of
Horticulture; 8vo.
The Planter's Kalendar; or, the Nurseryman's and Forester's Guide; 8vo.
The Villa Garden Directory; or, Monthly Index of Work to be done in
Gardens, Shrubberies, &c.; 12mo.
Scotch Forcing Gardener; 8vo.
The Practical Planter.
Mr. Johnson says "his works are of the first authority, and rank as the
equals of those of Abercrombie, being the result of long practice during
an enlightened era of our art."
JAMES MADDOCK, of the Society of Friends, and commercial florist, at
Walworth, where, about the middle of last century, he established the
florist garden there, now belonging to Milliken and Curtis. He died
about 1806. He published the Florist's Directory, and Complete Treatise
on the Culture of Flowers; 8vo. 1792. New editions in 1810 and 1822.
THOMAS S. D. BUCKNALL, Esq. published the Orchardist; extracted from the
Society's Trans. for the Encouragement of Arts, &c.; _with additions_.
8vo. 1797.
I had omitted the following, for which I am indebted to Mr. Johnson's
History of English Gardening:--
RICHARD RICHARDSON. De cultu Hortorum, Carmen. 4to. London, 1669.
Of either of the above enumerated Authors on Gardening, I have not been
able to discover any Portrait.
[Illustration]
Of the following we _have_ Portraits:--
LEONARD MASCALL'S portrait appears at the bottom of the curious title
page to his "Government of Cattle," 4to. and is _scarce_. He published,
in 1572, "The New Art of Planting and Grafting;" 4to. and in 12mo.
Another edition in 1652.
DR. WILLIAM BULLEYN practised physic at Durham. He died in 1576. He had
the misfortune to lose great part of his library by shipwreck. He was
thrown into prison for debt, where he wrote a great part of his medical
treatises. Bishop Tanner says he was a man of acute judgment, and true
piety. He was universally esteemed as a polished scholar, and as a man
of probity, benevolence, and piety. I gather the following from Dr.
Pulteney:--"Of Dr. Bulleyn there is a profile with a long beard, before
his "Government of Health," and a whole length of him, in wood, prefixed
to the "Bulwarke of Defence;" which book is a collection of most of his
works. He was an ancestor of the late Dr. Stukely, who, in 1722, was at
the expence of having a small head of him engraved. He proves that we
had excellent apples, pears, plums, cherries and hops, of our own
growth, (before the importation of these articles into England), by
London and Kentish gardeners. His zeal for the promotion of the useful
arts of gardening, the general culture of the land, and the commercial
interests of the kingdom, deserved the highest praise; and for the
information he has left of these affairs, in his own time, posterity owe
him acknowledgments." In a note to his Life, in the Biog. Dict., 7 vols.
folio, 1748, is a curious account of many fruits, &c. then in our
gardens. The same note is in Kippis. Richardson's portraits to Granger
gives us the above profile. Mr. Johnson, at page 51 of his History of
English Gardening, pointedly says, "Dr. Bulleyn deserves the veneration
of every lover of gardening, for his strenuous advocating its cause, at
a time when it had become a fashion to depreciate the products of our
English gardens." And at page 57, pays him a further just tribute.
THOMAS HYLL, who, in 1574, published, in 4to., "The Profitable Arte of
Gardeninge." Another edition in 1593, 4to. His interesting chapter on
Bees is annexed to these editions."[61] There appears another edition in
small 12mo. imprinted at London, in Flete-strete, neare to St.
Dunstone's Church, by Thomas Marshe, 1658. There are other editions, as
1570 and 1574, 4to.; 1568, 12mo.; and 1563 and 1594, 16mo. Bromley thus
mentions a portrait of him:--"Thomas Hill, wooden cut, prefixed to his
Physiognomie; 12mo. 1571. Aged 42. A friend to Hyll, in a complimentary
letter, prefixed to the above book, thus, in part, addresses the
reader:--
_With painfull pen the writer hath exprest in English plane,
The needfull ayd, and mightie force, that doth in hearbes remaine,
The time to set, the time to plant, the time to raise again,
This man by treble diligence hath brought to light with paine._
The portraits of the Lord Chancellor BACON are well known; but in Mr.
Montagu's late edition of his works, a new or juvenile portrait is
added, namely, a most expressive, intelligent, and beautiful miniature
of him at his age of eighteen, by Hilyard, of whom Dr. Donne said,
----_a hand or eye
By Hilyard drawn, is worth a history
By a worse painter._
This fine edition of his works is illustrated by five portraits, taken
at different periods of his lordship's life; by engravings of his
residence, and monument, fac-similes, and other embellishments. In
Mallett's edition are two portraits, one by Vertue, finely
engraved.[62]
GERARDE'S portrait (a fine one) is prefixed to his own edition of his
Herbal. Two coats of arms are at the bottom. No painter, or engraver's
name, except the initials, W. R. intertwined, which I suppose are those
of W. Rogers, the engraver. There is another good head of Gerarde, a
small oval one, in the title page to Johnson's edition. A portrait, in
oil, of Gerarde, was sold by Mr. Christie, Nov. 11, 1826. Dr. Pulteney
reviews both these Herbals. Gerarde is highly extolled by Dr. Bulleyn,
and indeed attained deserved eminence in his day. Dr. Pulteney relates
that "the thousand novelties which were brought into England by our
circumnavigators, Raleigh and Cavendish, in 1580 and 1588, excited a
degree of attention, which at this day cannot, without the aid of
considerable recollection, be easily conceived. Raleigh himself appears
to have possessed a larger share of taste for the curious productions of
nature, than was common to the seafaring adventurers of that period. And
posterity will rank these voyagers among the greatest benefactors to
this kingdom, in having been the means, if tradition may be credited, of
introducing the most useful root that Providence has held forth for the
service of man. A voyage round the globe, howsoever familiarized in
ours, was, in that age, a most interesting and fruitful occasion of
enquiry. The return of Raleigh, and the fame of his manifold discoveries
and collections, brought over from the continent the celebrated Clusius,
then in the fifty-fifth year of his age. He, who added more to the stock
of botany, in his day, than all his contemporaries united, visited
England for the third time, to partake, at this critical juncture, in
the general gratification. At this eventful period, Gerarde was in the
vigour of life, and, without doubt, felt the influence, and reaped
the advantage of all the circumstances I have enumerated." One
of the editions of Gerarde thus appears in a bookseller's
catalogue:--"Gerarde's Herball; or Generall Historie of Plants, very
much enlarged by Johnson, folio, _beautiful impression of the
frontispiece by Payne, fine copy, old Russia, gilt back, L3. 18s.
1633_.[63]
WALTER BLYTHE'S whole-length portrait (exhibiting a pensive and
penetrating aspect), is prefixed to his "English Improver Improved;" and
which work Professor Martyn terms "an original and incomparable work for
the time." Dr. Beale calls him "honest Captain Blithe."
GERVASE MARKHAM'S portrait is prefixed to his "Perfect Horseman;" 8vo.
It is re-engraved for Richardson's portraits to Granger. Markham
appears to have been a good soldier, as well as a good scholar. He
published in 4to. 1623, "The Country House-Wife's Garden." He wrote
Herod and Antipater, a tragedy. Langbaine speaks very much in his
praise, and seemingly not without reason. Dr. Dibden, in his "Library
Companion," says, "on many accounts does Markham seem entitled to more
notice and commendation." He translated Leibault's Maison Rustique, in
1616, in 4to. or small folio, and augmented it with many additions from
Oliver de Serres, and others. Weston, in his Catalogue, says he
re-printed the editions in 1614 and 1631, of Barnaby Gooche's Husbandry.
He published many books on husbandry, on fowling, on angling, on
military discipline, on horsemanship. Many of their titles are
enumerated in Langbaine, and in Weston, and they appear all to be more
fully stated in Watts's Bibl. Brit. Much information, as to Markham, may
be seen in vol. ii. of the Censura Literaria; and in Sir E. Brydges's
edition of Phillips's Theatrum Poetarum Anglicanorum, appears, perhaps,
the best list of his works, with a brief memoir.[64]
PARKINSON'S excellent portrait, by Marshall, appears in the title page
to his _Theatrum Botanicum_, in 1640. Some one _may_ now possess the
original. In his _Paradisus_, 1635, there is a very scurvy engraving of
his healthy, and hearty-looking old countenance. In this miserable cut,
which is on wood, the graver, Christopher Switzer, does not seem to have
had a strife "_with nature to outdo the life_." Marshall's head is
re-engraved for Richardson's Illustrations to Granger. Parkinson rose to
such a degree of reputation, as to be appointed Apothecary to King
James. He was appointed herbalist to Charles I. Dr. Pulteney speaks
highly of both the above works, particularly of the _Theatrum_. All the
memorials we have of the private history of this most industrious and
zealous herbalist, are very scanty. He died about 1645, aged about 78.
The curious contents of his _Paradisus_ are diffusively narrated in
Johnson's English Gardening. When perusing the pages of either of the
above, one may exclaim,
----"not a tree,
A plant, a leaf, a blossom, but contains
A folio volume. We may read, and read,
And read again; and still find something new,
Something to please, and something to instruct,
E'en in the humble weed."
[Illustration]
The above is scarcely better than Switzer's. There appears no faithful
portrait of Parkinson, but Marshall's, who _had the felicity_ to draw
other portraits besides his.
Hollar's striking portraits of the TRADESCANTS, are well known. On their
tomb, at Lambeth, the following lines form part of the inscription:--
These famous Antiquarians, that had been
Both Gardeners to the rose and lily Queen,
Transplanted now themselves, sleep here; and when
Angels shall with their trumpets waken men,
And fire shall purge the world, these hence shall rise,
And change this Garden for a Paradise.
In the Ashmolean Museum, is a portrait of the SON, _in his garden_, with
a spade in his hand. In Mr. Nichols's "Illustrations to Granger,"
consisting of seventy-five portraits, appear those of the Tradescants,
father and son. Smith also engraved John Tradescant, with his son, and
their monument, 1793. Mr. Weston, in his Catalogue, fully describes the
_Museum Tradescantium_. Dr. Pulteney observes, that "in a work devoted
to the commemoration of Botanists, their name stands too high not to
demand an honourable notice; since they contributed, at an early period,
by their garden and museum, to raise a curiosity that was eminently
useful to the progress and improvement of natural history in general.
The reader may see a curious account of the remains of this garden,
drawn up in the year 1749, by the late Sir W. Watson, and printed in
vol. xlvi. of the Phil. Trans. The son died in 1662. His widow erected a
curious monument, in memory of the family, in Lambeth church-yard, of
which a large account, and engravings from a drawing of it in the
Pepysian Library, at Cambridge, are given by the late learned Dr.
Ducarel, in vol. lxiii. of the Phil. Trans."
SIR HENRY WOTTON, Provost of Eaton. His portrait is given in Isaac
Walton's Lives of Wotton, and others. It, of course, accompanies
Zouch's, and the other well-known editions of Isaac Walton's Lives. In
Evans's Illustrations to Granger, is Sir H. Wotton, from the picture in
the Bodleian Library, engraved by _Stow_. In Sir Henry's Reflections on
Ancient and Modern Learning, is his chapter "On Ancient and Modern
Agriculture and Gardening." Cowley wrote an elegy on him, which thus
commences:--
What shall we say since silent now is he,
Who when he spoke, all things would silent be;
Who had so many languages in store,
That only Fame can speak of him with more.
Isaac Walton published the "_Reliquiae Wottonianae_, or, Lives, Letters,
Poems, &c. by Sir Henry Wotton," 12mo. 1654, with portraits of Wotton,
Charles I., Earl of Essex, and Buckingham. Sir E. Brydges printed at his
private press, at Lee Priory, Sir Henry's Characters of the Earl of
Essex and Buckingham. In the _Reliquiae_, among many curious and
interesting articles, is preserved Sir Henry's delicately complimentary
letter to Milton on receiving from him _Comus_. Sir Henry, when a
resident at Venice, (where he was sent on three several embassies by
James) purchased for that munificent encourager of painting, the Duke of
Buckingham, several valuable pictures, which were added to the Duke's
magnificent collection. Isaac Walton's Life of Wotton thus
concludes:--"Dying worthy of his name and family, worthy of the love of
so many princes, and persons of eminent wisdom and learning, worthy of
the trust committed unto him for the service of his prince and country."
And, in his Angler, he thus sweetly paints the warm attachment he had
for Wotton:--"a man with whom I have often fished and conversed, whose
learning, wit, and cheerfulness, made his company to be esteemed one of
the delights of mankind. Peace and patience, and a calm content, did
cohabit in the cheerful heart of Sir Henry Wotton."