40 THE BOOK OF GARDEN DESIGN 
umbrellas, and other stupid shapes. There are many 
reasons, some practical, others sentimental, for refrain- 
ing from this barbarous practice, which is carried on 
mainly at the instigation of the architect, who is appar- 
ently ashamed of associating his walls and terraces with 
any but mutilated forms of plant life. The cost of 
maintenance, as in the case of clipped hedges, is an item 
not to be disparaged; the loss of form and individual 
character is scant compensation for well matched regu- 
larity; and by the absence of varied colour, the rich 
tints of maturity and the delicate green of budding 
branch, the clipped tree is reduced to the level of an 
unresponsive object, dull and inanimate. If formality 
is needed, why not make use of such trees as have a 
naturally well-defined outline—the Irish yew, cupressus, 
and the hardy junipers, they give a better effect with a 
tithe of the trouble. 
The bower walks, once so favoured, are now seldom 
made in gardens, though as an example of formal plant- 
ing they are not without a certain charm. Adequate 
protection from hot sun and cold winds is afforded at 
all times, and the garden scenes are not hidden from 
view, as is the case with evergreen hedges. In the 
neighbourhood of the orchard, a filbert walk would be 
a pleasing object, and even on poor soils, heavy crops 
of nuts may be obtained after a few years. 
The “ mirthful maze” is but a stupid survival, and 
has no place in gardens intended for other purposes than 
beanfeasts, or for the edification of any who would not 
derive equal satisfaction from a Punch and Judy show. 
The pity is that places which have none too much space 
for flowers and the rational arrangement of trees and 
shrubs, should be cumbered with anything so utterly 
unproductive of either beauty or satisfactory achieve- 
ment. 
Natural planting as opposed to that which is guided 
