ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 91 



intuitively by persons who, perhaps, would themseVes be 

 incapable of describing the cause of their gratification, but 

 would perceive the contrary at once ; as many are unable 

 to analyse the pleasure derived from harmony in music, 

 while they at once perceive the introduction of discordant 

 notes. 



We do not intend that this principle should apply so 

 closely, that extensive grounds naturally picturesque shall 

 have nothing of the softening touches of more perfect 

 beauty ; or that a demesne characterized by the latter ex- 

 pression should not be occasionally enlivened with a few 

 " smart touches" of the former. This is often necessary, 

 indeed, to prevent tame scenery from degenerating into 

 insipidity, or picturesque into wildness, too great to be 

 appropriate in a country residence. Picturesque trees 

 give new spirit to groups of highly beautiful ones, and the 

 latter sometimes heighten by contrast the value of the 

 former. All of which, however, does not prevent the 

 ■predominance of the leading features of either style, suffi- 

 ciently strong to mark it as such ; while, occasionally, 

 something of zest or elegance may be borrowed from the 

 opposite character, to suit the wishes or gratify the taste 

 of the proprietor. 



Ground plans of ornamental plantations. To 

 illustrate partially our ideas on the arrangement of plan- 

 tations we place before the reader two or three examples, 

 premising that the small scale to which they are reduced 

 prevents our giving to them any character beyo^ that of 

 the general one of the design. The first (Fig. m) repre- 

 sents a portion, say one third or one half of a piece of 

 property selected for a country seat, and which has hitherto 

 been kept in tillage as ordinary farm land. The public 



