One way to acquire information on the subject of ornamental gardening, is to study books which treat of it. Another is to visit good specimens of such gardening, and examine them somewhat in detail. The last is important as a sequel to the first. It fixes in the mind and illustrates what one has read, and it inspires him with an enthusiasm which never comes from books alone. Whoever visited the home of the late Mr. Downing, at Newburgh, during his life, came away with many new ideas and new impulses. No one who has traversed the grounds of Mr. Kelly, at Rhinebeck, or,of Mr. Sargent, at Fishkill, or of Mr. Hunnewell, near Boston, and other places like them, will fail to remember many things which he then saw, or soon cease to feel the new interest they gave him in the pursuits of refined rural life.

It was the privilege of the writer to visit, last summer, the grounds of Mr. Hunnewell, at West Needham, Mass., and of Mr. Hovey, at Cambridge; we wish, now, to share with others somewhat of the information and pleasure those visits gave us.

The Worcester train from Boston sets you down at Needham, within a short carriage ride of Mr. Hunnewells gate. As you approach the place, the eye catches glimpses of the house, of goodly trees and a well-kept lawn - views which have been opened, it would seem, with an eye to the best effect. The iron gateway, on the Natick side of the premises, passed, we walk up the broad "approach " skirted by white pines and larches. These have been only ten years planted,.and yet are twenty-five or thirty feet high. Notice this carriage-way; how finished the grading, how smooth, hard, and clean it is kept. Here, at the left, is the nursery-ground, where the proprietor planted and trained his trees before setting them in their present positions. And here, now, are many of the newer trees going through a period of probation, in which their hardiness and adaptedness to the American climate will be tested before they can be advanced to conspicuous posts of honor and duty.

Drawing nigh the house, our attention is attracted by a Weymouth pine clipped in the shape of a bee-hive or'small hay-cock. Not an inch of trunk or branch is visible; it is only a round, wavy globe of silvery foliage, soft to the touch as a mass of plumes, and in all respects very singular and beautiful. It seems almost incredible that the lordly pine, which naturally aspires to vault more than a hundred feet into the air, can be so easily subdued to the dimensions of a lowly shrub. Just beyond this, is a circular bed of dwarf evergreens, pigmies by nature. Let us read the names on the labels: Abies Gregorii, A. pumila, A. Clanbraziliana, and A. pygmasa; Pinus strobus pumilis, and P. sylves-tris pumilis. These are all accommodated within a bed some twelve feet in diameter, and have room to spare. The books tell us that these miniature trees will hardly exceed twenty inches in height in as many years. Odd, ar'nt they?

Across the carriage drive are several large magnolias of different species. Here, too, is a handsome climbing plant, covering an ornamental frame of woven wire. It is the Physianthus albus, clothed all over with delicate white blossoms. It is easily manage/1, by treating it like the dahlia, cutting down the stalk in October, housing the root through the winter, and planting out late in spring.

Passing to the north and west sides of the dwelling, we come upon fine collections of exotics, out for a summer airing. The large plants, in tubs ranged upon the lawn, make quite an imposing show. That Pampas Grass, how it sends up its silvery spray! And here is a large oval bed, with a group of Canna Wars-zewicsii in the center, surrounded by a double rowof Calla AEthiopica, the white blossoms of the latter contrasting finely with the dark foliage and scarlet flowers of the former. Beyond, is the French parterre, with its central fountain. But we can not pause to examine these many attractions in detail, as we would like, and so follow our guide to other portions of the grounds.

Stopping for a few moments' rest in the rustic summer-house, overlooking the lake, we next come to the terraced Italian garden. The suddenness and unexpectedness of this view give the stranger quite a start of pleasurable surprise From the shade of overhanging forest-trees you step at once upon an open lawn, and stand upon a parapet overhanging a valley and a beautiful sheet of water. The side of this valley below you, (which is almost crescent-shaped,) has been thrown into terraces, eight or ten feet wide, which are descended, at several points, by broad flights of steps. On either side of these steps, are curious specimens of the topiary art, after the old Dutch methods - Pines, Hemlocks, Spruce and Silver Firs, the English Maple and native Beech submitting to the shears very patiently. Mr. Harris, the intelligent head-gardener, tells us that it requires only two annual clippings to keep these trees in perfect subjection. Along the pillars of the parapet, and by the side of each flight of stairs, are set vases of Aloes and other architectural plants, and near the margin of each terrace are planted rows of Juniper and Yew, the light and dark foliage of the two contrasting finely.

At the foot of the terraces, a neat, little semicircular grass-plot spreads out to the lake, where a pleasure-boat rides moored to the shore, ready for use. The whole scene, as viewed from above, is highly artistic.

Ascending the steps and following the carriage-way to the left, we soon enter a native wood, where, in occasional openings and partial clearings, are set many new and untried trees and plants in soil and exposure suited to their respective wants. Among these are some with curious foliage - gold-tipped, silver-striped, veined, spotted, and copper colored. Here, too, the newly imported conifers find a congenial home while being tested as to their hardiness. Of the latter we noted a few which struck us as particularly fine, such as: Pinus Bentharniana, pinsapo, insignis, nobilis, pyrenaica, and Beardsleyi; Picea Webbiana, Pichta, Nardmaniana, nobilis (beautiful bluish foliage,) Cupressus Lawsoniana, (fine); Abies nobilis, Dovglassii, and Smithiana (good, but seemed to have suffered from frost; ) Chamaecyparis sphaeroida; Thuiopsis borealis; Thuja Hoveyi, (not imported, but finer than many " far-fetched and dear bought;" ) Cephalotaxus For-tunii; Wellingtonia giganlea, (somewhat scorched,) and many others. Along these half-shaded walks, and in this peaty soil, the Rhododendron, Kalmia, Azalea, and Holly flourish very well.