Theory and Practice 113 



nects beauty with those useful supporters, economy and 

 convenience ; and as Coombe Lodge would not be re- 

 lieved by one large wood without a great sacrifice of land, 

 the effect must be produced by planting a part only, 

 whilst the judgement must be influenced by two princi- 

 ples belonging to the sister art, breadth and intricacy. 



Breadth directs the necessity of large masses or con- 

 tinued lines of plantation, whilst intricacy suggests the 

 shape and direction of the glades of lawn, and teaches 

 how to place loose groups of trees and separate masses 

 of brushwood, where the outline might otherwise appear 

 hard ; and by occasional interruptions to the flowing lines 

 of grass, with suitable recesses and projections of wood, 

 intricacy contrives to " lead the eye a wanton chase," 

 producing variety without fritter, and continuity without 

 sameness. 



There is another principle to guide the improver in 

 planting the hill in question, which may be derived from 

 the art of painting and belongs to perspective. It is evi- 

 dent that if the whole bank were planted its efl^ect would 

 be good from every point of view: it is no less evident 

 that where it is necessary to regard economy in planting, 

 and, as in the present instance, to produce the efi^ect of 

 clothing by several lines of wood, instead of one great 

 mass, that effect from some points of sight may be good, 

 from some indifferent, and from others bad ; it is there- 

 fore necessary to consider how those lines of plantation 

 which produce a good effect from the house will appear 

 in perspective from different heights and from different 

 situations, and this question has been determined by 

 various circumstances of the place itself. 



This subject was elucidated by as many drawings as 

 there were stations described ; but as most of them were 

 taken from the public road between Reading and Wal- 



