ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 45 



in its prime, venerable and picturesque in its old age, it con- 

 stitutes in its varied forms, sizes, and developements, the 

 greatest charm and beauty of the earth in all countries. The 

 most varied outline of surface, the finest combination of pic- 

 turesque materials, the noblest edifice, would be compara- 

 tively tame and spiritless, without the inimitable accompani- 

 ment of foliage. Let those who have passed their whole lives 

 in a richly wooded country, transport themselves for a mo- 

 ment to the desert, where but a few stunted bushes raise their 

 heads above the earth, or those wild steppes where the eye 

 wanders in vain for some "leafy garniture," — where the sun 

 strikes down with parching heat, or the wind sweeps over 

 with unbroken fury, and they will perhaps realize, by con- 

 trast, their beauty and value. 



We are not now to enumerate the great usefulness of trees, 

 — their value in the construction of our habitations, our na- 

 vies, the various improvements in machinery, — in short, the 

 thousand associations which they suggest as ministering to 

 our daily wants; but let us imagine the loveliest scene, the 

 wildest pai/sage, or the most enchanting valley, despoiled of 

 trees, and we shall find nature shorn of her fair proportions, 

 and the character and expression of these favourite 'spots al- 

 most entirely destroyed. 



Wood, in its many shapes, is then one of the great sources 

 of interest and character in Landscapes. Variety, which we 

 need scarcely allude to as a source of the highest kind of 

 beauty, is created in a wonderful degree by a natural arrange- 

 ment of trees. To a pile of buildings or even of ruins, to a 

 group of rocks or animals, they communicate new life and 

 spirit, by their irregular outlines, which, by partially conceal- 

 ing some portions, and throwing others into stronger light, 

 contribute greatly to produce intricacy and variety, and con- 



