138 



ARTIFICIAL ADAPTATIONS OF 



Perhaps the most beautiful of all small trees for such purposes 

 is the weeping Japan sophora. It is grafted from seven to ten feet 

 , high on other stocks,; and for many years its growth is slow ; but if 

 one will have the patience to wait, a more charming and ' curious 

 bower can be made with a circle of sophoras than of any tree we 

 know of. An engraving of this variety may be found in the de- 

 scription of the species, Part II, Chapter III. 



We have named only a few of the trees which may be made use 

 of for growing these artificial bowers. For very small grounds 

 there are many arboreous shrubs which may be used to produce 

 similar effects on the inside, and appear as naturally grown groups 

 on the outside. 



Single apple trees sometimes form great bowers with their own 

 branches alone. There is a beautiful specimen of this kind in the 

 grounds of W. S. Little, Esq., of Rochester, N. Y. It is an old 

 tree of the twenty ounce pippin variety. At the height of seven or 

 eight feet its branches spread horizontally, and finally bend to the 

 ground on all sides, enclosing in deep shadow a circular space forty 

 feet wide ; an ajched opening is made on one side. A sketch of 

 this tree is given in the engraving at the end of this chapter. 



Elms may be used with good effect for arches of a larger 

 growth than those already suggest- 

 ed. The adjoining sketch. Fig. 39, 

 will illustrate one. mode of procedure, 

 where there is room for large trees. 

 Two common weeping elms are to 

 be chosen, each having two diverg- 

 ing branches a<- the height of six to- 

 eight feet from the ground, and to be 

 so planted that the extension of these 

 branches will be parallel with the 

 fence. For a foot-walk gate-way, 

 plant them about two feet back from 

 the fence-line, and the same distance, 

 or less, from the walk. After the trees have grown so that the 

 branches towards the gate are long enough to be connected, as 

 shown in Fig. 39, and upwards of half an inch in diameter, they 



Fig. 39. 



