236 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



The chief, and indeed almost the only value of these 

 willows in Landscape Gardening, is to embellish low 

 grounds, streams of water, or margins of lakes. When 

 mingled with other trees, they often harmonize so badly 

 from their extremely different habits, foliage, and coior, 

 that unless very sparingly introduced, they cannot fail to 

 have a bad effect. On the banks of streams, however, 

 they are extremely appropriate, hanging their slender 

 branches over the liquid element, and drawing genial 

 nourishment from the moistened soil. 



" Le saule incline sur la rive penchante, 

 BalanQant mollement sa tete blanchissante." 



In the middle distance of a scene, also, where a stream 

 winds partially hidden, or which might otherwise wholly 

 escape the eye, these trees, if planted along its course, 

 connected as they are in our minds with watery soils, will 

 not fail to direct the attention and convey forcibly the 

 impression of a brook or river, winding its way beneath 

 their shade. 



The Weeping willow, however, is at once one of the 

 most elegant, graceful, and interesting trees ; elegant in its 

 light and delicate waving foliage ; graceful in the soft 

 flowing lines formed by its drooping branches ; and 

 nteresting by the melancholy, poetical, and scriptural 

 Associations connected with it. Every one will call to 

 mind the captivity of the children of Israel, as connected 

 with this tree : " By the waters of Babylon we sat down 

 and wept, O Zion ! As for our harps, we hanged them 

 upon the willow trees : " Psalm cxxxvii. And the gentle 

 sigh of the faintest breeze through its light foliage, still 

 recalls to the mind the plaintive murmur of those 



