ARBOURS, &c. 



707 



in this country, more as singularities than 

 places of enjoyment ; but, in warm coun- 

 tries, they are amongst the first of garden 

 luxuries. 



Arbours, covered walks, and shaded 

 resting-places, come within the limits of 

 picturesque grounds, if they are formed 

 of living trees or shrubs. On the Conti- 

 nent, the vine is much used for this pur- 

 pose ; and so it may, to a certain extent, 

 in the south of England; but beyond the 

 midland counties, and in Scotland, the 

 hop, clematis, ivy, honeysuckle, and 

 climbing-roses, must be used as substi- 



fig. 984 



tutes. The above figure, 984, displays 

 the taste of the French and Germans in 

 this matter, who in general place them 

 against walls, and often carry them by a 

 flight of steps to a considerable height, 

 as in our figure. 



In Germany, arbours are often fitted 

 up amongst the branches of very large 

 and old trees, and access got to them by 

 means of a ladder. If study or privacy 

 induce the visitor to ascend, the ladder 

 can be drawn up, and so intrusion be 

 prevented. We may here remark, that 

 in general the terms arbour and bower 

 have been considered synonymous : it 

 appears that properly they are not. Mr 

 Mallet of Dublin, frequently quoted in 

 this work, says: "An arbour is a space 

 covered and enclosed by the interweaving 

 branches of trees, and reticulated stems 

 of living plants, intended to afford shade 

 and retirement. The words arbour and 

 bower are properly very distinct ; the 

 former alone being formed of the living 

 branches and stems of trees, whereas the 

 bower, which is not derived from bough, 

 or any analogous word, means simply any 

 small chamber ; yet they are used indis- 

 criminately by the best writers." 



The term bower seems, as it were, the 



word of poetry, in which it is frequently 

 made use of ; whereas arbour seldom is, if 

 ever. 



With us few natural arbours are to be 

 met with. The least artistical are those 

 formed by slightly arranging the pendant 

 branches of the weeping ash, or similar- 

 growing trees. A few props within, to 

 support a rod or hoop, to carry up the 

 pendant branches, is all that is required ; 

 and if these have too much the appear- 

 ance of art, the smaller branches of the 

 tree may be trained down upon them, or 

 ivy may be planted and trained over them, 

 and allowed to inter- 

 mingle with the branches 

 forming the roof. 



The next kind of ar- 

 bour for simplicity of 

 form is that formed of 

 tall, straight, young trees, 

 of beech, hornbeam, 

 mountain ash, willow, &c. 

 These planted close to- 

 gether in a line, forming 

 the back and sides of the 

 purposed arbour, the 

 front being in general left open, are bent 

 over at the tops to form the roof, and tied 

 together to keep them in their proper 

 places. Sometimes the stems are crossed 

 in trellis fashion, and after a time they 

 unite by a species of natural engrafting, 

 and become exceedingly strong, and will 

 last for years. 



Fig. 985 represents a Gothic rustic 



Fig. 985. 



