222 ENGLISH ESTATE FORESTRY 



of an artificial nature can adequately take their place. No 

 doubt, such growth as nettles, thistles, and all that savours 

 too much of the rubbish heap of mankind, is better cleared 

 away ; but there is a vast difference between doing this and 

 aping the prim tidiness of a pleasure ground, or the pain- 

 fully correct details of a London park. The ornamental 

 woodland should rather err on the side of the other extreme, 

 if anything, and, by affording a contrast to all that reminds 

 one of art and artificial beauty, provide that true touch of 

 nature which cannot be obtained elsewhere on a small scale. 



Woodlands of this kind are usually a continuation of 

 the pleasure grounds, gardens, etc., or occupy certain parts 

 of the park or demesne which lie inside the park boundary 

 fence, or within a short distance of the mansion house. 

 They often constitute a link between the trimmed and 

 dressed portions of the grounds, with their mown lawns and 

 gravel walks, and the ordinary woodland and agricultural 

 country which lies outside, and may be said to stand in the 

 same relation to the shrubbery as the park does to the 

 lawn. To a somewhat similar extent they may be also said 

 to stand midway between the timbered park, with its groves, 

 clumps and single trees, and the ordinary plantation or wood 

 which has been formed and thinned for timber production 

 alone. The main features of such woods are, or ought to 

 be, dry, grass-covered rides or drives leading through their 

 most interesting parts, and the grouping or arrangement 

 of the trees in such a way that their most attractive char- 

 acters and habits are able to develop, and can be seen to 

 advantage. They should be characterised more by the 

 presence of indigenous trees and shrubs than by a lavish 

 display of exotics, except in spots where the character of 

 the ground is sufficiently well adapted for their growth, to 

 enable a section of the wood to be planted with them more 

 or less entirely. This statement, of course, applies more 

 particularly to conifers and evergreens, and will be dealt 

 with more fully below. 



The economic importance of such woods is, of course, 

 small, as, when the trees or groups have attained maturity, 

 their ornamental value standing is, in a general way, greater 

 than when felled and sold as timber. Such woods, therefore, 



