518 



ON USEFUL AND 



BOOK I. 



SECT. IV. OF THE DISPOSITION OF WOOD, WITH RESPECT TO 

 THE SURFACE OF THE GROUNDS OF A RESIDENCE, AND 

 THE GENERAL SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY. 



The form of surface most desirable to be planted with wood, 

 in the grounds immediately adjoining a gentleman's seat, must 

 be chiefly determined by the character which the place is to 

 assume. In a situation where the grounds are of an even or 

 level surface, there can be nothing to interfere with this rule ; 

 but when the surface is varied with swells, hollows, and abrupt- 

 nesses, the great art is, to combine the natural character of the 

 place with the character to be created ; and when these are un- 

 derstood by the designer, the best effect will be produced. In- 

 dependently, however, of artificial characters, nature always 

 points out rising grounds for plantations. Wood placed on 

 knolls or swells heightens their effect, and gives spirit, force, and 

 intricacy to a scene, otherwise tame and monotonous. On the 

 contrary, wood placed in the hollows only, or in the hollows 

 and eminences indiscriminately, destroys all the expression or 

 natural features of the surface, and often produces deformities. 

 Nothing is more noble than a steep hill clothed with wood: 

 but, imagine this hill perfectly bare, while the surrounding 

 country is wooded, and it becomes a deformity in the general 

 view. To plant the hollows, and leave bare the eminences, is, 



