62 THE BOOK OF TOPIARY 
shapes that are found in the Topiary gardens. The 
adaptation of the tree for the work, and the ease with 
which it can be twisted and bent into almost any 
conceivable shape, places it far before any other for 
the particular work I am describing. Therefore no 
fear need be entertained that there will be any lack of 
variety of shapes in the garden; provided, of course, 
that due care is exercised at the commencement of the 
work, and that each individual tree is clipped and trained 
to represent an entirely different design or figure, as 
the case may be. As a matter of fact, in any garden 
that contains, say, one hundred trees or even more, 
out of all that number no two trees need be exactly 
alike. Each can be made to represent an absolutely 
different shape. Of course there is no reason, except 
as a matter of taste, why each tree should be made to 
represent quite a distinct shape from its neighbour. 
It might be considered a better plan to plant the trees 
in pairs, side by side, or on the opposite sides of a 
walk, and then train and shape them into pairs re- 
sembling each other in every way. ‘Training in pairs 
is an arrangement that might find favour with some, 
and to a certain extent might be adopted with ad- 
vantage in the garden, especially at the ends of paths. 
If it is decided to clip some of the trees in pairs re- 
sembling each other, they should be those that are 
planted near the ends of the path, one on each side. 
If there are two trees planted one on each side of 
the path, the effect is better if they are clipped 
into identically the same shape than would be the 
case if they both represented something different. 
But I think, on the whole, if there is anything to 
choose between the two styles, the one tree one 
shape style should have the preference, if only for 
the sake of variety. 
In the matter of shapes, it is no use trying to lay 
