208 



SCIENCE OF THE STUDY OF TREES. 



PART II. 



distinctive character in the general form, in the trunk, the ramification, the 

 tufting, and the touch. Any one may be convinced of this by observing any 

 particular species, not of very common recurrence, in the arboretum of the 

 Horticultural Society's garden, or in that of Messrs. Loddiges, and observing 

 the same tree of fifty or sixty years of age, at Syon, Purser's Cross, Chiswick, 

 Upton, or any of the places noted for old American trees in the neighbour- 

 hood of London. At the same time, while we state this, we must remark that 

 there is still a very great difference in the general form, expression, and cha- 

 racter, of even young trees which have been no more than ten years planted. 

 In proof of this, we again refer to the two metropolitan arboretums, and to 

 the engravings of entire young trees, as compared with the full-grown trees, 

 which will be found in this work. We may particularly refer both to the 

 living specimens and to the engravings of the smallest class of trees, such as 

 the thorns, and other ii'osaceae ; which, even in ten years' growth, are remark- 

 ably distinct and characteristic, and supply the landscape-gardener with ad- 

 mirable resources for planting small places, as will hereafter appear. 



To recur to the subject of the touch, we shall here quote from the Maga- 

 zine of Natural H'istorij,\o\. i. p. 244., what Mr. Strutt has said on the subject 



of the touch <Df the oak, and illustrate it by two engravings from his sketches. 

 " The foliage of the oak," he says, " is particularly suited to the pencil. In 

 those portions which are brought nearer to the sight, the form of the individual 

 leaves {fig. 3. a, to the scale of 1 in. to a foot) may here and there be ex- 

 pressed, as shown in the sketch, which also exhibits what is technically called 

 the touch (b, to the scale of the fourth of an inch to a foot), 

 necessary to express its character as it recedes from the 

 eye." As a contrast to the touch of the oak, we shall 

 give that of Pyrus communis nivalis, a variety of wild pear, 

 taken at random from the sketch-book of an artist, M. Le- 

 jeune, in our employment. In fig. 4.,/is a single leaf, drawn 

 to a scale of an inch to a foot ; g, a cluster of leaves to the 

 same scale ; h, the same cluster of leaves to the scale of a 

 quarter of an inch to a foot ; and i, the same cluster to a 

 scale of 1 in. to 12 ft. The last is suited for full-grown 

 trees, and the preceding one for young trees drawn to 

 the larger scale. 



The artist having made himself acquainted with the 

 touch of the tree, may retire to his seat and commence 

 sketching ; unless the tree should have conspicuous flowers 

 or conspicuous fruit, as is the case with the horsechestnut 

 if drawn when it is in flower, or with the laburnum if 

 drawn when it is either in flower or in fruit. In examples 

 of this kind, the artist must use the same means to ac- 

 quire the touch of the flowers, or that of the fruit, as he 

 has done to acquire the touch of the leaves. 



In proceeding to draw the entire tree, the artist will first indicate the out- 



