Theory and Practice 109 



greatest stature, this browsing-line will always be par- 

 allel to the surface of the ground, and being just above 

 the eye, if the heads of single trees do not rise above the 

 outline of more distant woods, the stems will appear only 

 like stakes of different sizes scattered about the plain ; 

 this is evidently the effect of those single thorns or trees 

 in the sketch [Plate xi] marked ^, b^ c. 



In the sketches [Plate xi] I have represented a view 

 of that long screen at Milton Abbey which shuts out 

 Castor field, and which is certainly not a pleasing feat- 

 ure, from its presenting not only a straight line at the 

 bottom, but the trees being all of the same age, the top 

 outline is also straight. This screen forms the background 

 of a view taken from the approach, and represents the 

 difference between an attempt to break the uniformity of 

 the plain by open or by close plantations. 



The trees of this screen are of such a height that we 

 can hardly expect, in the life of man, to break the upper 

 outline by any young trees, except they are planted very 

 near the eye, as at ^, because those planted -at f ox g [in 

 the same figure] will, by the laws of perspective, sink 

 beneath the outline of the screen ; it is therefore not in 

 our power to vary the upper line, and if the plantations 

 be open the browsing-line will make a disagreeable par- 

 allel with the even surface of the ground ; this can only 

 be remedied by preventing cattle from browsing the 

 underwood, which should always be encouraged in such 

 situations ; thus, although we cannot vary the upper 

 line of this screen, we may give such variety to its 

 base as will, in some measure, counteract the flatness of 

 its appearance. 



The browsing-line being always at nearly the same 

 distance of about six feet from the ground, it acts as 

 a scale by which the eye measures the comparative height 



