174 A WHITE-PAPER GARDEN 



joy of being, and in loving praise of the 

 trees. 



The outer hedge should be of arbor vita, 

 tall, old, and heavy with the masses of tiny 

 cones which hang over the fruiting trees like 

 mantles of richest embroidery. I do not know 

 why it should suggest gorgeous priestly vest- 

 ments, but it does. Perhaps the aromatic 

 fragrance that envelops the tree like an un- 

 seen cloud of incense creates the illusion. It 

 is, indeed, one of the most beautiful effects to be 

 imagined, and, as arbor vita is neither costly 

 to buy nor hard to grow, it is nothing less than 

 a shame that we are so poor in the hedges 

 it makes. Not a low hedge, but a high, 

 strong barrier, through which we may, if there 

 is anything worth looking at beyond, cut an 

 archway here and there for a vista. Not 

 many plants care for the close proximity of 

 such a hedge, but within a reasonable dis- 

 tance grass will grow, and hemlocks or cedars 

 or yews, or retinosporas may be set, either 

 for clipping or for specimen growths. Beyond 

 these again, in what long alleys or in what 

 fanciful device we will, box, the eternal, may 

 be grown if the climate be friendly, which, alas ! 



