European and Japanese Gardens 



of a place may simply sen^e as a backgrouiu:!, a ^reat drop- 

 scene, which finishes the view and lea\'es one in doubt as to 

 how much more there may be beyond. Many a small place of 

 two or three acres g'ives an impression at once of seclusion and 

 of size, because the great trees pre\'ent one's seeing what lies 

 beyond. The larger places will, of course, have their copse 

 and woodland ; but e\'en here the marks of axe, mattock and 

 saw show that thoroughness and care, and that e}'e to profit 

 which per\'ade e\'erything ; for dead wood is alwa_\'s cleared 

 out, the spindling trees are felled, the brushwood is cut and tied 

 in fagots. Everywhere there are signs of an old industry, a 

 well-worked country-, where e\'er}'thing must be turned to 

 account. When one wanders through English gardens and 

 feels all their delight, one cannot but be con\'inced that com- 

 mon-sense and thrift are the roots on which the beauty has 

 grown and thrived. 



A HEDGE GATEWAY 



93 



