LAWNS AND SHRUBBERY 123 



of its limbs twist down instead of up, is a mistake. 

 There is one elm, however, the Camperdown, which 

 may be classed as an exception. Its graceful growth 

 makes it form a very acceptable arbor. 



As for sheared evergreens, they are monstrosities 

 and nothing else. That does not mean that an ever- 

 green tree should never be trimmed. Rational head- 

 ing-in will thicken the tree, and will not distort it. 



As a rule, your evergreens should sit flat on the 

 ground. Nature devised them in the earlier periods 

 of the world, before there were any deciduous or 

 flowering trees, when the elements were ruder and 

 vegetation must have the very best defence against 

 storms. The natural form of the evergreen 

 was therefore then, and still is, a perfect cone, and 

 it should never be trimmed up, unless the reason is 

 very peculiar and apparent. 



The word lawn probably conveys to most minds 

 a grassy turf a yard of clean grass. Sometimes 

 it means just a front yard over which the lawn- 

 mower is incessantly run from the last of April to 

 the last of October. More of these lawns are grass 

 plots, more or less filled up with miscellaneous flower 

 beds and shrubs. This mixture is well enough to 

 start with, but if your homestead grows and develops, 

 the flowers should have a place for themselves, 

 while the shrubs constitute the retreat I have de- 

 scribed. 



It is not impossible to combine the flowers with 

 the vegetables in a garden by themselves and so leave 



