The growing taste of our citizens generally for summer residences, country life, beautiful scenery and rural enjoyments, prompts me to make a few suggestions on a subject which I have earnestly desired to see receiving proper attention in this country, since visiting the splendid examples at Birkenhead, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, and many other towns in England.

Villa parks, in England, consist of groups of villas, with gardens of greater or less extent, surrounding a park of from ten to an hundred or more acres, which is owned, managed, and used exclusively by the residents of the surrounding villas. This arrangement enables the possessors to realize the maximum amount of enjoyment at a minimum cost, and by a little care at the outset, it secures congenial neighbors and good society.

The vicinities of most of our cities, particularly New York, are favored . with many localities admirably adapted for villa parks. Associations of individuals, who would unite in purchasing the land and making the improvements, would not only obtain choice sites at cost, but would secure a greater number of the enjoyments pertaining to private parks, a higher degree of perfection in the improvements, and these permanently. By the united efforts and capital of little communities, parks of considerable dimensions, improved in the best style, can be created, that no individual would accomplish for his own private purpose.

The villa sites should be well wooded, have fine views of the park, and, if possible, command views of fine distant scenery. They should embrace a lawn around the house, a flower garden, a fruit and vegetable garden, large enough to raise all the better sorts of fruits and vegetables for a private family, and if possible pasturage for a cow and horse; in short, they should embody a complete country home, where the owner, if an amateur horti- -culturist, may spend his leisure hours in cultivating and training his favorite trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables.

The park should be centrally situated, well wooded, and if a stream of water is embraced within its limits, which can be expanded into a lake, or made to dash over a ledge of rocks, or play a fountain, it will form one of the greatest attractions. The sight of water in our hot summers always produces a grateful sensation, by imparting at least a semblance of coolness, in addition to the beautiful and varied effects which the influence of atmospheric phenomena beget.

The park should be laid out as the grand central feature of the enterprise, having fine drives, broad walks, verdant lawns, play grounds for the children, etc, and should contain the finest trees and shrubs that can be cultivated.. The improvements should be made to produce the greatest possible number of fine scenes, each having a distinctive character of its own, forming a complete picture of itself. There should be provided shady promenades, cool resting-places, in the form of pavilions, temples, kiosks, rustic covered seats, etc, either commanding fine views or terminating vistas. A healthy locality, contiguous to a railroad or steamboat route, situated in a good neighborhood, having pleasant drives and good building materials are matters of the first importance.

Not the least important point in the success of an enterprise of this nature is the laying out and finishing up of the park at least, in the most skillful and artistic manner (and if the lots are partially improved so much the better), making a complete thing before the sale of a single lot, and not a speculation, or a paper plan only, sold out at auction, leaving the lot purchasers to finish what the land speculator promised and was paid for, but failed to carry out to its accomplishment.