RELATIONS OF TREES TO ORNAMENT. 383 



of their own accord, and never permits the ground be- 

 neath them to be disturbed, or any part of the under- 

 growth to be cleared. Two important advantages, he says, 

 are gained by this management. The winds that sweep 

 across his fields are checked in their force by these bar- 

 riers of trees and shrubbery; so that he gains more by 

 the protection they afford his crops than he loses by leav- 

 ing so much of his land untilled. The second advantage 

 is derived from the shelter they afford to birds, and the 

 consequent diminution of grubs, caterpillars, and other 

 injurious insects. But this is not all ; there is no end to 

 the pleasant walks by these natural hedge-rows, the 

 sunny and protected nooks, the cool shady paths, to say 

 nothiug of the delightful seclusion they afford and the 

 innumerable variety of flowers and fruits which they 

 bear in their proper seasons. 



On a certain part of his farm, encompassing a consider- 

 able space, is a steep ridge, occupying perhaps a furlong 

 in absolute length. It is one of those moraines, popularly 

 denominated an Indian ridge, consisting chiefly of sand 

 and pebbles. It is too steep and narrow to admit of 

 cultivation ; the soil is barren, and the crops, if any could 

 be raised from it, would be frequently destroyed, during 

 showers, by the forcible descent of their waters over the 

 unobstructed surface. My neighbor has kept this ridge 

 covered with its native growth of trees and underbrush, 

 removing a few trees from time to time, for fuel or lum- 

 ber, but only so fast as it could be done without sensibly 

 diminishing the quantity. Strangers visiting the place 

 admire the hanging wood upon this declivity, overlooking 

 the cultivated flelds below, and enclosing them in its de- 

 lightful umbrage. They all praise the taste of the pro- 

 prietor, who has taken such pains to preserve these beau- 

 tiful features of his place. He acknowledges that he is 

 pleased with their beauty, but the visitors are surprised 



