222 ORNAMENTAL PLANTING. 



Spreading. This is the form most prevalent in nature, 

 and such must be the staple of ornamental planting. The 

 Ash, the Beech, the Oak, and the Spanish Chestnut, are of 

 this character. Look abroad on the uncultivated land- 

 scape, and the probability is that nothing else will meet 

 the view, unless it be a few Lombardy Poplars whose 

 spire -like tops everywhere break into the blue vault 

 above. 



Round-headed. Of these the Robinia inermis is perhaps 

 the most strongly marked. This beautiful tree is not 

 planted in England half so much as it deserves to be. In 

 France it is met with at every step, and the dense masses 

 of leaves of a fresh bright and beautiful light green, never 

 fail to attract the attention of the traveller. Most of the 

 round-headed trees are, however, of moderate or small 

 growth, and therefore better fitted to fill various positions 

 in the flower garden, than to adorn the distant landscape. 



Pyramidal. Pyramidal trees of large size are more 

 numerous than round-headed ones. The Lombardy 

 Poplar, Turkey Oak, and White Beam tree (Pyrus Aria), 

 are well known examples of these. There are also pyra- 

 midal forms of the Acacia, the common Oak, the Elm, the 

 Elder, and a beautiful new Alder known in nurseries as 

 Alnus asplenifolia. Then among evergreen trees we have 

 the common Cypress, the Red Cedar, and the Irish Yew. 



Weeping. The Weeping Birch and Weeping Willow 

 are both familiar trees, and form good illustrations of this 

 group. They are less common round London than many 

 other kinds, but they are distinct and attractive and not 

 likely to be passed unnoticed. 



2. The colours of the flowers. Trees and shrubs which 

 flower in spring are especially valuable, and fortunately 

 there is no dearth of such. A group composed of Scarlet 

 Thorns, Laburnums, and Lilacs, will furnish an example of 

 what may be effected by the introduction of spring 

 flowering trees. 



