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on the existence of this feature. Better have no 
vestige of it than the odious expanse of road which is 
often made to take its place. We may consider the 
view from our principal window as divided into fore- 
ground and background, of which we can control the 
first, and, by means of it, modify the second. The 
foreground must be our lawn. Now, just as a sheet 
of water depends for beauty on the broken and 
varied lines of its shore, so does the lawn depend on 
the outline of its enclosing plantations. It is most 
important to keep this distinctly in mind. The 
consequence of neglecting it is that common spotty 
effect where lawn and plantations get thoroughly 
mixed together, to the total sacrifice of the landscape. 
To make this outline picturesque and beautiful our 
materials are the various forms and colors of our 
trees. We are not, however left to the exercise of 
our unlimited fancy. A moment’s thought will show 
us that the landscape will, like everything else, derive 
beauty from its limitations. Looking at the unob- 
structed view, we see at once that some portions of it 
are much less attractive than others — probably that 
some are highly objectionable. These our plantations 
must conceal; and we shall find that, as part of the 
prospect is shut out, the remainder will be enhanced. 
In the composition of plantations, though it is clear 
that true variety is highly desirable, yet it is also 
certain that the nervous attempts to avoid monotony 
are a common cause of failure. On the other hand, 
few effects are more satisfactory, more unwearying 
