280 THE ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING IN GROUPS 



tions. But it can be often successfully performed by attending to 

 the preceding rules. 



6. Park Belts, Clumps, Groups, and Solitary Trees. — In the 

 arboricultural decoration of most of the ornamental parks and 

 pleasure-grounds that surround country mansions, there is too much 

 unmeaning sameness and want of design. The outer belts, as well 

 as the interior clumps, are usually planted with unseemly mixtures 

 of overcrowded ordinary kinds of forest trees, rising abruptly to full 

 height from their fence enclosures, without any attempt at rounding 

 or sloping them down so as to associate harmoniously with the 

 surrounding turf, by means of intervening ornamental trees of 

 diminishing stature, and shrubby underwood. Not unfrequently 

 some convenient corner is set apart for conifers or other fashionable 

 novelties so near to the mansion-house, that either it or they will 

 have to be removed before they are half grown. Or, if sufficiently 

 remote from it, they are planted so close to one another, that, to 

 prevent the whole becoming unsightly abortions, the axe will have 

 to be freely applied for thinning ere they are half a century old. 

 Others, it may be, are scattered about at more suitable distances; but 

 with such, a too common fate is injury or destruction from the drip, 

 shade, or wind-falling of too near and much older neighbours. This 

 last remark is not to be taken as recommending the removal of fine 

 old park trees, that may have been favourites with their successive 

 owners for centuries, but is, with the others, designed as an argument 

 against planting choice j 7 oung trees in like situations, when, in many 

 instances, better accommodation might be had for grouping them in 

 the belts and clumps before mentioned. Park belts and clumps are 

 admirably adapted for grouping trees and underwood in the different 

 manners before described ; and detached clumps are specially suited 

 for grouping the different families apart. Thus the oak would form 

 one of the largest and most perfect clump groups ; comprising as that 

 genus does not only round and spiry headed trees of the largest sizes, 

 but also many tall as well as dwarf evergreens, and a goodly assort- 

 ment of low and intermediate growing deciduous kinds, together 

 with a wide diversity in the sizes of their leaves. Compare, for 

 instance, those of the common oak, which are by no means the 

 smallest, with this leaf of Quercus macropliylla , brought here by Mr 

 Baxter from Biccarton yesterday, which measures 17 by 7 inches. 

 Clumps of such other families as are deficient in required character- 

 istic particulars might have others of needful forms, colours, &c, 

 tastefully associated with them, both as trees and underwood. Park 



