All weave on high a verdant roof 

 That keeps the very sun aloof. 

 Making a twilight soft and green, 

 Within the column-vaulted scene.' 



ARTIFICIAL ADAPTATIONS OF TREES. 



AjL modes of growing trees for decorative or business pur- 

 poses may be considered artificial, but what is here 

 meant by artificial adaptations are those less common 

 forms of culture, by which shrubs and trees are brought 

 by skill, or persistent manipulation, into unusual forms for special 

 purposes. Hedges, screens, verdant arches, arbors, dwarfed trees, 

 and all sorts of topiary work, are examples of such arts. It is 

 sometimes objected to these formally cut trees, that they are un- 

 natural, and therefore inadmissible in good decorative gardening. 

 But houses, fences, and walks are not natural productions, nor are 

 lawns or flower-beds. All our home environments are artificial, 

 and it is absurd to try to make them seem otherwise. The objec- 

 tion arises from a common misunderstanding that all decorative 



