Art Out-of-Doors 



gardens, they should Hkewise be used where 

 accentuation is wanted ; and this means, of 

 course, but sparingly and in carefully 

 chosen spots. No one should set a Lom- 

 bardy poplar by itself on an open lawn, as he 

 might set a maple or a beech ; or plant it 

 in groups, five or six Lombardies all by 

 themselves ; or use it as an avenue-tree in a 

 naturalistic scheme j or sprinkle it about at 

 random in a thick plantation, a dozen Lom- 

 bardies to send their peaks up here and 

 there, inconsequently, above the graceful 

 sky-line of their tuftier neighbors. But one 

 or two Lombardy poplars, carefully set in a 

 thick plantation just where their spires are 

 needed to relieve its general softness and to 

 break the sky-line with a touch of asperity 

 and decision — these may be as effective, as 

 beautiful, as one or two real spires spring- 

 ing up through a mass of village trees. On 

 the border of the lake in Central Park, 

 near its western end, there are two or three 

 old poplars standing on a little promontory ; 

 and it is a great pity that they are old, for 

 each new point of view newly impresses us 

 with their inestimable value on just this spot. 

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