GARDEls' WALKS AND ROADS. 



231 



Fashion in trees has so greatly changed within 

 the last few years, that deciduous avenues have been 

 greatly threatened by evergreen ones. The rage for 

 coniferous plants has been so great that it has found 

 an outlet in avenues, and hence one often meets with 

 lines of Wellingtonias, Araucarias, and the finer 

 Silver and other Firs, the majority of which impart 

 but slight shade or beauty to the roadway, and do 

 less in their serried lines of unequal stature to 

 recommend themselves as avenue trees. Where an 

 evergreen avenue is wanted, there are few trees to 

 equal the Douglas and common Spruce, the common 

 Scotch and Silver Firs, and the Cedar of Lebanon 

 and Atlantic varieties 

 of the same, for form- 

 ing it. Marshalled 

 lines of Scotch Fii's, 

 with their ruddy stems 

 and dark, almost black, 

 massive tops, are sim- 

 ply magnificent; and 

 the Silver Fir, from its- 

 free gTOwth, its semi- 

 glaucous hue, and its 

 clear fine boles, is even 

 more effective. 



Width of Ave- 

 nues. — This will, of 

 course, vary consider- 

 ably, according to the 

 character of tree em- 

 ployed and the vital 

 difference between 

 mere lines of trees on 

 either side of the road, 

 and avenues over which 

 the trees are to form 



an arch. Hence, the distance may vary from thirty 

 or forty feet in the case of Limes, to a hundred or 

 a hundred and forty feet in the case of Cedars of 

 Lebanon. 



Then again, there are Poplars and Poplars, Elms 

 and Elms, and so of other species in general. The 

 upright pillar or pyramidal Lombardy Poplar might 

 be planted much more closely than the iPopuliis alba, 

 F. monilifera, or P. Canadensis nova. The former shoots 

 up like a spire or the pyramidal Cypress ; the others 

 spread out broad and wide, as an xunbrageous Oak, 

 Elm, or Horse-chestnut. The distance must vary 

 with the trees employed ; the distance from tree to 

 tree in the row is a matter of far less moment, as 

 in avenue-planting the effect in line or mass, and 

 not of indi\'idual trees, is the one thing desired. 

 When two or more lines are used on either side, 

 these may be planted so closely as four feet, or as 



;^%.. 



Fig. 9.— Avenue of Sycamores, 



distant as forty; the closer almost the sooner will 

 the avenue be formed. 



The former are generally the mere effective, but 

 sometimes the latter may be adopted with excelleni 

 effect ; and as far as the road view and eflect are 

 concerned there is but little difference; but the 

 outside outline of the avenue may be thus infinitely 

 varied, here narrowing into a mere line or double 

 line, and there swelling out into a mass or clump 

 of trees, thus seom-ing all tlie solid advantages of 

 avenues, and at the same time most of the channs 

 of supporting roads with detached clumps or plan- 

 tations of suitable trees. 



Fringing with 

 Belts or Clumps 

 of Trees. — As first 

 impressions are said to 

 be the most durable, it 

 is well that approach 

 and other roads to a 

 demesne should be 

 made as pleasant and 

 fringed with as much 

 beauty as may be. 

 This, however, must 

 never be can-ied so far 

 as to leave little more 

 to be revealed in 

 garden or pleasure- 

 grounds; but a great 

 variety of arboreal and 

 shrub beauty may be 

 displayed on the sides 

 of the carriage-drive 

 without any danger of 

 such a disappointing 

 sequel. 



Laburnums, Thorns, 

 double-flowering Cherries, evergreen Oaks, the flower- 

 ing Ash, the smaller Acacias, common Golden and 

 Silver Tews, Sumachs, Berberries, Guelder Eoses, 

 Syringas, Lilacs, Spireas, Hollies, Laurels, Kalmias, 

 Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Heaths, Laurestinus, Sweet 

 Bays, furnish almost a prodigality of material for 

 these purposes. 



lEidgings to Hoads. — ^As to these, gi'ass is the 

 most natural and best edging for carriage and all 

 other roads; it should never exceed an inch and a 

 half or at most two inches in depth. Where shade, 

 such as passing through thick woods, kills the 

 grass, Ivy, Perivnnkle, St. John's Wort, or other 

 plants, may be substituted. Neither need the gr5,ss, 

 unless in the case of avenues, be of one uniform 

 width. On the contrary, here the shrubs or the 

 trees might advance almost to the gravel, and there 



