i62 The Art of Landscape Gardening 



another, the world was then told that " Nature abhorred 

 a straight line"; that perfection in gardening consisted 

 in waving lines; and that it was necessary to obliterate 

 every trace of artificial interference. And now many 

 a lofty tree, the pride and glory of our ancient palaces, 

 was rooted up, because it stood on the same line with its 

 fellows and contemporaries; and because these ranks of 

 sturdy veterans could not," like a regiment of soldiers, 

 be marched into new shapes, according to the new system 

 of tactics, they were unmercifully cut down ; not to dis- 

 play beautiful scenery behind them, but merely to break 

 their ranks: while a few were spared which could be formed 

 into platoons: — this was called clumping an avenue. 



The position of all the large trees on the plain near 

 the house at Wimpole shews the influence of fashion 

 in these different styles ; the original lines may be easily 

 traced by the trees which remain, and the later formed 

 clumps are scattered about, like the ghosts of former 

 avenues, or monstrous shapes which could not be sub- 

 dued. 



One great advantage of Wimpole arises from its 

 comparative beauty, or the contrast between the place 

 and its environs. The counties of Cambridge and 

 Huntingdon consist generally of flat ground, while the 

 hills are open corn-fields thinly intersected by hedges. 

 But Wimpole abounds in beautiful shapes of ground 

 and is richly clothed with wood ; it is, therefore, like a 

 flower in the desert, beautiful in itself, but more beau- 

 tiful by its situation. Yet no idea of this beauty can be 

 formed from the approach to the house, because the 

 plain is everywhere covered with lofty trees which hide 

 not only the inequalities of the ground, but also the 

 depth of wood in every direction ; and although the 

 original straight lines of the trees have been partially 



