^^: 



gunil 



Ctmtterics, '^a, 2, |ljtntiiig, ^t. 



Art, Glory, Freedom, fail, but 

 Nature still is fair. — Bykox. 



What trees may best adorn the mountain's brow, 



And spread promiscuous o'er the plains below ? 



"What, singly, lift the high-aspiring head, 



Or, mix'd in grouj^s, their quivering shadows shed ? 



What best in lofty groves may tow"r around, 



Or creep in underwood along the ground ; 



Or, in low copses, skirt the hillock's side, 



Or, form the thicket, some defect to hide ? 



I now inquire. 



HE remarks in a former article re- 

 '^ specting iron railings, materials for 

 monuments, &e., apply with force to 

 the selection of trees for a rural ceme- 

 tery ; they should be of a permanent 

 kind, but, as they will grow while the 

 other improvements are perishing, 

 and may attain either a moderate or a 

 great height and bulk of body, discri- 

 mination is eminently required. The 

 planter must look forward to future 

 years. Those trees which maybe en- 

 tirely suitable for ground not intended 

 to be used for interments may be 

 utterly unfitted, by their manner of 

 growth, for a family lot. As instances 

 of this difference, we may cite two of 

 evergreen, and two of deciduous ■\\abit. The hemlock may do very well for either 

 situation ; in a lot it will, without annual shortening, lose its lower branches, grow up, 

 and overshadow the spot ; without its lower limbs, it is an eminently handsome tree ; 

 the Norway fir, on the contrary, has lost its principal beauty when its "feathering 

 near the ground" is removed ; this feathering soon increases to such an extent as to 

 cover any moderate lot ; when a tombstone or a monument is to be erected, it becomes 

 necessary to remove its chief attraction. The same remarks will apply to the Cedar 

 of Lebanon, and many others ; the rule being established to plant, in individual 

 property, only those trees which grow upwards without low-spreading limbs, or 

 trees which sweep from the top downwards, of which there is now a considerable 

 list, no difficulty will be experienced ; the company should adopt trees iv/'fh lower 

 branches, for variety and effect, where the situations are suitable to receive them. 

 Deciduous trees, like the Buttonwood or the native Chestnut, would interfere by 

 their bulk, and their large roots, with individual improvements, while they would 

 be eminently proper in many sites not to be inclosed by individual owners. This 

 rule will be perfectly understood on a little examination, and is a very important 

 one in the first laying out of the grounds of a cemetery. 



Again. Low, round-headed trees will be more permanently ornamental in 

 individual cemetery property than those of tall or fastigiate habit ; the Nor- 

 way or Black Maple is one of the most decided ornaments of a burial plot ; it 

 spreads, in the most beautiful manner, over a large space, while its shade is per 

 the most impenetrable of any we have ; the Lombardy Poplar, on the con 



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Vol. YL — September, 1856. 



26 



