158 PARKS AND PLEASURE-GKOUNDS. 



object aimed at. They mass more densely together 

 than any other trees, except, perhaps, the Scotch fir ; 

 which, however, in combination, partakes very much 

 of their character. In parks with flat or midnlating 

 sm-faces, the trees planted in forming the woods should 

 be principally of this class. Their broad outlines and 

 massive proportions are more in harmony with the 

 natural contour of the ground than those of a pyra- 

 midal shape. Seen from without, they have often, 

 at certain seasons, a peculiarly silky and slightly tufted 

 expression, which is extremely beautiful. Their inter- 

 nal appearance, too, (that is, their character as groves,) 

 when they have been sufficiently cleared out to afford 

 large, roomy arcades of shade, is finer on such ground 

 than that of the more upright trees. Of course, when 

 we thus recommend the broad round-headed trees for 

 such situations, we do not mean that they are to be 

 planted to the exclusion of all others ; a sprinkling of 

 the other kinds will have a beneficial efiect, in the 

 way of contrasting with the predominating forms, and 

 of adding variety to the scenery. 



Conical or Pyramidal Trees. — With the exception 

 of the larch and the deciduous cypress, these are nearly 

 all evergreen trees. This, in one respect, is an advan- 

 tage ; it enables them to give a permanently clothed 

 and verdant aspect to scenery. On the other hand, 

 when planted in large masses, on flat surfaces, and 

 especially when they have been ill-thinned-out, they 

 have a very somber and monotonous effect, exhibiting 

 a large array of bare trunks below ; and above, a dark, 

 gloomy canopy of boughs and branches, excluding, 

 perhaps, every ray of sunshine. The small, wiry 

 forms, and almost universal rigidity of their foliage, 



