354 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. 



wildest form of landscape scenery. Nature has only supplied 

 us with the crude materials from which man is to work out by 

 thought and toil, — not objects of inferior beauty, — but sur- 

 passing her own unaided efforts. 



Trees form not only component parts of a landscape, but 

 objects of individual beauty : viewed pictorially as a mass or 

 group, their individual character is of less importance ; but 

 as single objects on lawns or pleasure grounds, or wherever 

 they come near the eye, their individual beauty is then con- 

 spicuous. Their form and outline, their prevailing color, 

 their capacity for light and shade, their mode of branching, 

 their habit of growth, the direction of their spray, and the 

 shape of their foliage, all combine to give every tree a peculiar 

 expression, of whatever kind it may be, — noble, picturesque, 

 stately, airy, light, &c. Variety thus becomes of great impor- 

 tance, and adds to the enjoyment of every ornamental planta- 

 tion or garden landscape. 



These varied characteristics in trees are by the mass of 

 observers overlooked, and few only recognize a limited num- 

 ber of kinds, with but little interest in, and no knowledge of, 

 the great variety that abounds in every woodland. Elms all 

 appear the same, when there are no two trees exactly alike, 

 naturally, though, of course, resembling each other ; yet a 

 familiar acquaintance with this fine tree induces a real 

 lover of beautiful forms to see in every specimen just the 

 difference that really exists, and to appreciate and admire 

 them as they possess more or less of those characteristics 

 that render them beautiful of their kind. The same vari- 

 ety exists, in a greater or less degree, in all trees, but with 

 some sorts more than others, and as they become objects of 

 study and observation, the distinctions become more apparent, 

 and add to the pleasure derived from the inspection of all 

 trees wherever seen. No scattered grove, no forest, copse or 

 glen, but what is invested with a new interest to one who is 

 alive to the variety of form or the peculiarity of foliage 

 that characterizes every tree ; and wherever he may chance 

 to follow nature through any of her varied walks, it Avill 

 prove an inexhaustible source of delight. 



