PROTECTING TREES IN FILLED LAND 183 



The natural crown of the plant should be exposed 

 so far as possible. Oaks, maples, and, in fact, 

 most trees will lose their bark near the crown if 

 the dirt is piled against them; and this is espe- 

 cially true if the water tends to settle about the 

 trunks. Fig. 165 shows how this difficulty may 

 be obviated. A well is stoned up about the tree, 

 allowing a space of a foot or two upon all sides, 

 and tile drains are laid about the base of the well, 

 as shown in the diagram at the right. It is often 

 possible to make a sloping bank just above the 

 tree, and to allow the ground to fall away from 

 the roots of the tree on the lower side, so that 

 there is no well or hole about the tree; but this 

 is possible only when the land below the tree 

 is considerable lower than that above it. 



WALKS AND DRIVES. So far as the pic- 

 ture in the landscape is concerned, walks and 

 drives are blemishes. Since they are necessary, 



164. The sunken fence. 



however, they must form a part of the landscape 

 design. They should be as few as possible, not 

 only because they interfere with the artistic com- 

 position, but also because they are expensive to 



