I am very glad to find that you have procured some plants, and that you begin to feel an interest in the cultivation of your flowers. I do not at all agree with you, however, in thinking, that this is merely because gardening has with you, as yet, the charm of novelty; on the contrary, I am quite sure that as you become better acquainted with the subject, you will find your interest in your garden increase; as gardening is one of those happy arts in which there is always some not quite certain change to look forward to, and to be anxious about. Landscape-gardening is, however, the highest branch of the art, and it is the more necessary that you should study it, as, from the view you have sent me of your house, it appears to me that the general aspect of your park is at present very monotonous. An ancient mansion embosomed in tall trees, with a fine broad terrace at the back, having a piece of still water lying like a liquid mirror below it, and a large park beyond, overgrown with majestic trees whose lower branches repose upon the turf beneath them, form a scene which sounds exceedingly well in description, but is very wearying to the eye which is destined continually to rest upon it. It is also not very healthy; as chilly vapours are sure to rise from the water, while the mass of trees beyond will obstruct the free current of air. You must not, however, suppose from these remarks that I admire a house in an open exposed situation, as I think nothing can have a more bleak and naked appearance. Besides, a house entirely unsheltered by trees is sure to be a very uncomfortable residence, from its exposure to the heat in summer, and the cold in winter. It is, therefore, most desirable to have a sufficient quantity of trees near the house to shelter it, and yet to have numerous openings through those trees to admit distant prospects, and a free current of air. If a few openings could, therefore, be made in the plantations near your dwelling, I do not think there would be any danger in leaving the water in its present position; as, from your description, the house is elevated very much above it, and as, notwithstanding its appearance of stillness, there is a current through it. The elevation at which the house is above the water will also prevent the unpleasant consequences which sometimes ensue, when water overflows its banks, and makes its way into the basement story of a house. As to your house being on the ridge of a hill, I do not think that is any objection, as the rise is not very great on either side, and it is a proof that the prospect would be good if you would only cut down a sufficient number of trees to show it. Houses quite in a valley are frequently damp, and if on the summit of a high hill they are apt to be bleak; so that the side of a hill or the ridge of a knoll is, in fact, the best situation that can be imagined. Our ancestors, indeed, rarely went wrong on this subject; and it is