surrounding landscape ; and can you fail to remember the enjoyment of such occa 

 sions ? Then, if your grounds furnish any such point of observation, seize upon it, 

 and either build an arbor there aud cover it with vines, or plant trees upon it and 

 place beneath them a rustic seat. 



Trees are beautiful objects when clustered in groups and mingling their spray to- 

 gether, or when standing singly and developing themselves fully on every side. If 

 you have room in your premises, plant several groups of difl'erent form and size. 

 In one, set the diflferent varieties of the same tree together; in another, different 

 kinds of trees, but those which harmonize in their general outline and branches and 

 leaves ; and in another, those which have a general resemblance, but the color of 

 whose foliage, especially in autumn, is strongly contrasted. And in your groups of 

 round-headed trees, set occasionally larch or fir-trees, whose pointed head shall rise in 

 bold relief to the rest and give an expression of variety aud spirit. Or, without fol- 

 lowing any prescribed rules, search out in field or forest some of natures finest com- 

 binations and endeavor to reproduce them. And whilst arranging your groups, have 

 an eye to the useful, and plant one or more so as to conceal the premises in the rear 

 of your house from the more ornamental grounds in front. At suitable intervals be- 

 tween your groups, plant single trees. And do not in all cases cut away their lower 

 branches. Here and there, let at least one tree grow, from its root to its crown, as 

 the God of nature designed it to grow, and see what a model of symmetry and grace 

 a tree will become where it is let alone. Let it " stretch its boughs upward freely 

 to the sky, and outward to the breeze, and even downwards towards the earth, — 

 almost touching it with their graceful sweep, till only a glimpse of the fine trunk is 

 had at its spreading base, and the whole topis one great globe of floating, waving, droop- 

 ing or sturdy luxuriance, giving one as perfect an idea of symmetry and proportion as 

 can be found short of the Grecian Apollo itself." And there is a great variety of 

 trees for you to select from. Some are desirable for their earliness in spring, as the 

 larch, mountain ash and the maples ; others for their gracefulness of form and the 

 motion of their branches, as the elm and willow ; others for their deep verdure in 

 summer, as the horse chesnut, sugar maple and linden ; others for their brilliaiit 

 colors in autumn, as the ash, dogwood, maple and oak ; others for the tenacity with 

 which their foliage retains its greenness, in spite of frosts, late into autumn ; and 

 others still for their beauty of proportion, the neatness and fine color of their branches 

 and twigs even in winter. 



You will doubtless wish to plant evergreens as well as deciduous trees. They arc 

 desirable for the protection they afibrd and for their cheerful expression during the 

 stormy months of the year. Set a few of them among your groups of deciduous 

 trees ; plant them here and there in seperate masses, mingling the different forms 

 aud shades of color. Reserve your finest specimens for planting singly upon the 

 lawn. By no means cut ofi" their lowest branches, for this class of trees are beauti- 

 ful just in proportion to their geometrical regularity from the branches which sweep 

 the ground to the apex. 



Set the rarest and most delicate trees immediately around your dwelling, an 



