THE GENERAL PLAN OR THEORY OF THE PLACE 41 



few really useful qualities. It may be used to some advantage in 

 windbreaks for peach orchards and other short-lived plantations; 

 but after a few years a screen of Lombardies begins to fail, and 

 the habit of suckering from the root adds to its undesirable fea- 

 tures. For shade it has little merit, and for timber none. 

 Persons like it because it is striking, and this, in an artistic 

 sense, is its gravest fault. It is unlike anything else in our land- 

 scape, and does not fit into our scenery well. A row of Lom- 

 bardies along a roadside is like a row of exclamation points! 



But the Lombardy can often be used to good effect as one 

 factor in a group of trees, where its spire-like shape, towering 

 above the surrounding foliage, may lend a spirited charm to 

 the landscape. It combines well in such groups if it stands in 

 visual nearness to chimneys or other tall formal objects. Then 

 it gives a sort of architectural finish and spirit to a group; but 

 the effect is generally lessened, if not altogether spoiled, in small 

 places, if more than one Lombardy is in view. One or two speci- 

 mens may often be used to give vigor to heavy plantations 

 about low buildings, and the effect is generally best if they are 

 seen beyond or at the rear of the building. Note the use that 

 the artist has made of them in the backgrounds in Figs. 12, 13, 

 and 43. 



Poplars and the like. 



Another defect in common ornamental planting, which is 

 well illustrated in the use of poplars, is the desire for plants 

 merely because they grow rapidly. A very rapid-growing 

 tree nearly always produces cheap effects. This is well illus- 

 trated in the common planting of willows and poplars about 

 summer places or lake shores. Their effect is almost wholly 

 one of thinness and temporariness. There is little that suggests 

 strength or durability in willows and poplars, and for this reason 

 they should usually be employed as minor or secondary features 

 in ornamental or home grounds. When quick results are de- 



