HOW TO MAKE A COUNTRY PLACE. 441 



and the natural grouping, which is omitted in this 

 sketch. 



The view from the breakfast-room window (Fig. 89), 

 opened for the purpose of introducing a part of New- 

 burgh and a fine wooded bank below the town, was made 

 in the same way the decapitated forest trees having 

 in a few years become thick and umbrageous, made an 

 admirable back ground for an ornamental facing of the 

 choicest trees, both deciduous and evergreen, while 

 these various masses, all now more or less surrounded 

 with the rarest trees, are connected together and made 

 to harmonize by small irregular groups and single 

 trees, blending the different parts into one whole, but 

 so arranged as not to injure the most striking views 

 ample space being left for the full development of single 

 specimens and loose groups. 



On the other side of the house in the view entitled, 

 "View across the park" (Fig. 90) our intention was 

 to attempt, with no other aid but the axe, a park- 

 like effect by the grouping and massing of certain native 

 oaks, without the aid of any artificial planting. This was 

 effected by selecting the best specimens standing suffi- 

 ciently near to each other for this purpose, and leaving 

 around them a large circle of forest trees as nurses, which 

 we thinned out from year to year, giving the permanent 

 trees more and more light and space, until finally they 

 stood alone, and have since continued to thrive ; though 

 if we had thinned out immediately everything about 

 them, they would probably have perished from the too 

 sudden removal of their accustomed shelter, but by 

 thinning out their nurses gradually in successive years, 

 the trees to remain, became by degrees fortified and 

 strengthened by extended roots, and now stand as well 

 alone as if they had been planted for this purpose. 



The boundaries of the place were treated in a similar 

 manner ; the original trees reduced to half or two-thirds 

 their height, and, when thick and bushy, faced with 



