Theory and Practice 105 



shade. Now it is obvious that, in newly formed places, 

 such a redundance of trees will generally remain from 

 former hedge-rows that there can seldom be occasion 

 to increase the number of single trees, though it will 

 often be advisable to combine them into proper groups. 

 It is a mistaken idea, scarcely worthy of notice, that 

 the beauty of a group of trees consists in odd numbers, 

 such as five, seven, or nine; a conceit which 1 have 

 known to be seriously asserted. I should rather pro- 

 nounce that no group of trees can be natural in which 

 the plants are studiously placed at equal distances, how- 



Artificial Scenery. 



ever irregular in their forms. Those pleasing combina- 

 tions of trees which we admire in forest scenery will often 

 be found to consist of forked trees, or at least of trees 

 placed so near each other that the branches intermix, 

 and by a natural effort of vegetation the stems of the 

 trees themselvesare forced from thatperpendicular direc- 

 tion which is always observable in trees planted at regular 

 distances from each other. No groups will therefore 

 appear natural unless two or more trees are planted very 

 near each other,"' whilst the perfection of a group consists 



