PLANTING. 125 



" same time by want of nourishment and 

 " the severity of the blast, they remain, in- 

 " deed, alive, but make little or no progress ; 

 " but when they experience shelter from 

 " those which occupy a better soil, they seem 

 " to profit by their example, and speedily 

 " arise under their wings. 



" The improver ought to be governed by 

 " the natural features of the ground, in choos- 

 " ing the shape of his plantations, as well as 

 " in selecting the species of ground to be 

 " planted. A surface of ground undulating 

 " into eminences and hollows, forms, to a 

 " person who delights in such a task, perhaps, 

 " the most agreeable of considerations on 

 " which the mind of the improver can be 

 '^ enchased. He must take care in this case 

 *' to avoid the fatal error of adopting the 

 " boundaries of his plantations from the sur- 

 " veyor's plan of the estate, not from the 

 " ground itself He must recollect that the 

 " former is a flat surface, conveying, after 

 " the draughtsman has done his best, but a 

 " very imperfect idea of the actual face of 

 " the country, and can, therefore, guide him 

 " but imperfectly in selecting the ground 

 " proper for his purpose. 



