The Beauty of Trees 



he is apt to plant what he selects without re- 

 gard to harmony of general effect, and to 

 select in the interests of curiosity rather than 

 of genuine beauty. And here again it may 

 be said that the safest course is the wisest 

 one to follow. Normal shapes can hardly 

 be so distressing, however they may be com- 

 bined, as abnormal ones are sure to be if 

 there is the slightest error in their combina- 

 tion. 



No tree is well understood until it is under- 

 stood in all the stages of its growth. The 

 typical shape of a young tree often differs 

 very greatly from the typical shape of the 

 same tree at maturity, and this again from 

 its typical shape in old age ; and, in plant- 

 ing, regard must be paid to the question 

 whether an immediate effect or a long-post- 

 poned effect ought most to be considered. 

 A tree set in isolation on a lawn, in full 

 view of the house, ought to be beautiful in 

 youth and at the same time give promise of 

 beauty (perhaps of a different kind, but 

 still appropriate) in later years ; whereas in 

 planting a belt of wood in the distance, 

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