254 ENGLISH ESTATE FORESTRY 



a temporary erection, and, when removed at the end of a few 

 years, it matters little what its shape has been ; but, in 

 almost all cases in which this form of fence is adopted, the 

 clump within is given the same shape. This is not only 

 unnecessary, but is positively a disfigurement to the landscape ; 

 for nothing is more unnatural than to see a round compact 

 mass of trees standing on a patch of bare ground. The 

 cause of such unsightly patches is, of course, the method 

 adopted when such clumps are planted. Instead of looking 

 forward and anticipating the growth and development of the 

 trees, the sole idea of the planter is to give his work a 

 finished appearance at the outset. He considers that leaving 

 a few patches of ground bare, or keeping the trees at anything 

 but a set distance from the boundary fence, is an indication 

 of bad workmanship, and certainly inferior to the method of 

 putting in the trees at regular distances apart, and on exactly 

 the same principle as would be followed when forming a 

 plantation. If more than one species are used, the mixing 

 is carefully regulated so that no two individuals of the same 

 species are planted side by side, and to plant thicker in one 

 place than in another is considered evidence of carelessness. 

 The effect of such methodical methods of planting park 

 clumps is the development of a solid mass of stem, branch, 

 and foliage, which presents an unbroken front on all sides, 

 except when gaps are formed by wind or old age. 



When the trees consist of oak, elm, or ash, a certain 

 amount of variety and depth may be present, as these trees 

 naturally possess more broken and irregular crowns than 

 those of beech or hornbeam. But with the latter trees no 

 such relief is possible, and the clump has much the same 

 appearance as a large overgrown bush, or one of those clipped 

 box bushes or yews which the gardener with no taste, but a 

 yearning after the formal style, delights to produce. It is 

 many years since the absurdity of these circular clumps was 

 exposed by Sir Vvedale Price, in his Essays on the Picturesque, 

 published in 1810. At that period, the effect of Brown's 

 style of landscape gardening could be seen in a general way, 

 and, while his ideas had not had time to fully mature, they 

 were sufficiently advanced to allow their results to be seen. 

 So far as position went, the majority of Brown's clumps were 



