I04 TREES AND SHRUBS 



magnificent specimens. To realise how great that 

 enrichment was, one has only to mention such 

 places as Dropmore, Murthly Castle, Ochtertyre. 

 But Conifer planting, from both artistic and merely 

 cultural points of view, was overdone. Conifers 

 began to fill an undue proportion of space in gardens, 

 and displaced to a large extent the beautiful flower- 

 bearing deciduous vegetation whose seasonable varia- 

 tions give such charm and interest. With all their 

 symmetry and richness of hue, the popular species 

 of Abies and Picea often have a heavy, even sombre, 

 aspect. Heavy masses of Pine, Spruce, and Fir can 

 never give that changing aspect in the landscape that 

 comes with deciduous vegetation. The tender tints 

 of spring, the flowers, the gold and purple of autumn, 

 it is to these that the seasons of our northern 

 latitudes owe their greatest delights. 



Perhaps the worst of all the uses to which Conifers 

 have been put is that of forming long avenues 

 across parks. It is difficult to understand the 

 frame of mind that would prefer rows of Araucaria, 

 Abies nobilis, or other similar things — however well 

 grown and pyramidal they might be — to a noble 

 vista of Chestnut, Oak, or Lime, with its canopy of 

 branch and foliage overhead. Conifers can, however, 

 be used effectively for forming short avenues within 

 the garden itself, especially in the more trimly-kept 

 parts. 



The practice that is frequently adopted of forming 

 a pinetum and bringing together the members of 

 this family in one part of the grounds is a very good 



