COUNTRY VILLAS. 171 



house, walled or hedged round. The lesson, therefore, to be learned from the 

 geometrical style is abundantly easy. 



269. Trees. — In every country, the plants which are indigenous, and found 

 there when it is rescued from an uncultivated state, form but a very small 

 number of those which will grow in it. Hence, with the progress of civilisa- 

 tion, an immense accesion has been made, both to the useful and ornamental 

 plants of every country. This, in Britain, has taken place more especially 

 within the last three centuries ; and the mode in which the newly-introduced 

 plants have been distributed by landscape-gardeners, since the introduction 

 of the modern style of art about the beginning of the eighteenth century, is 

 as follows : — The different kinds of trees are distributed over the parks in 

 scattered groups or clumps, as single trees, or in a belt or strip forming its 

 boundary. The order in which the kinds are placed with reference to one 

 another, is considered of little importance ; but, till lately, it has generally 

 been attempted to mix the foreign and the indigenous sorts indiscriminately 

 together throughout every part of the park. In more conspicuous or favour- 

 able situations, such as near the house, or along the approach road, some of 

 the more choice trees were planted singly, and pi'otected with more care than 

 the others. The single trees and scattered groups, or clumps, were all 

 guarded from the cattle by fences ; and the boundary belt, commonly by a 

 wall or close paling on the outside, and a hedge and ditch within. The 

 ground was commonly dug or trenched before planting ; and sometimes it 

 was dug in tlie clumps and belts for two or three years afterwards. After 

 this, the trees were left to themselves ; thinning and pruning being more or 

 less attended to in some cases, and altogether neglected in others. In con- 

 sequence of the mixture of indigenous and foreign trees, and their after neg- 

 lect, the indigenous and more vigorous-growing trees choked up, weakened, 

 and ultimately destroyed the foreign kinds ; so that, when the timber in such 

 plantations arrived at an age to be cut down, there was seldom much which 

 was good for anything that was not produced by the native trees of the 

 country. To counteract the ill effects of this indiscriminate mode of planting, 

 it is best to adopt some regular system of arranging trees in groups ; so that 

 those of the same kind should stand together, and yet a diversity of effect 

 be produced. Mr. Glendinning has proposed a manner of doing this, which 

 he described in the Gardener's Magazine, vol. xi., and which is shown in 

 the diagrams figs. 82. to 85. In fig. 82., a is the English oak; b, the Tur- 

 key ; c, the Lucombe ; and d, the scarlet ; and in fig. 83., e is the Fulham oak ; 

 /, the Ilex or evergreen oak ; g, the variegated English ; and h, the cork tree. 

 In this manner two clumps are formed of oak trees, so arranged as to pro- 

 duce a great variety of foliage, and yet to prevent the stronger kinds from 

 destroying the weaker ones. In the same manner pines and firs may be 

 planted, as shown in figs. 84. and 85., in which " i i may be the Scotch pine ; 

 k, the larch ; I, the spruce fir ; m, the stone pine ; n, the pinaster ; o, the 

 silver fir; p, the Weymouth pine; and </, the Balm of Gilead fir. Where 

 houses are built in the midst of romantic scenery," Mr. Glendinning con- 

 tinues, " by the sides of rivers or ravines, or on rocky eminences, the opposite 

 and surrounding scenery may sometimes be much improved, without absolutely 

 destroying its wild character, by the introduction and grouping of foreign as 

 well as native plants. Thus, in fig. 86., oaks may be planted at /•, pines or 

 firs at s, and the beech at t ; while for low growths there may be hazel at m, 



