96 



PARKS AND PLEASXIRE-GROIINDS. 



Most of tliese plants, being of no great height, are 

 better suited for the dressed grounds than for the woods 

 of the park ; their introduction, however, into both of 

 these places is the source of considerable interest and 

 variety. Their proper place is not in the thicket, but 

 on the lawns and on the outsides of the woods. Their 

 graceful forms also render them suitable for decorating 

 the entrance to the villa or cottage orne. 



Of this class the finest is the Weeping Birch. Its 

 upright stem and main boughs, the thread-like drapery 

 of its branches, and its small foliage, give it a peculiarly 

 graceful and airy appearance. It groups well with both 

 the broad and the pyramidal trees, harmonizing well 

 with the former and contrasting finely with the latter. 



It preserves its character in woods, and is seen perhaps 

 to greater advantage on sylvan banlcs, and on the lower 

 slopes of hills. The Weeping Willow is, unfortunately, 

 too tender to be of much use in the colder parts of 

 Great Britain. In other respects it is admirably suited 

 for giving effect to the scenery of the dressed grounds. 

 In warm sheltered places, and in the genial climate of 

 the south, it attains to the size of a medium tree, and 

 combines singularly well with laurels, which, in small 

 groups, are very beautiful when overtopped by a fine 

 weeping wiUow. Its most efiective position is in con- 

 nection with water, overhanging, like a green veil, a 

 stream or lake. The Fine-leaved Ash is an elegant tree, 

 of a broad shape, mth small foliage and pendulous 

 branches. The Cotnmon Weeping Ash is fit only for 

 forming an arbour ; as a tree it is devoid of all grace. 

 There is a variety in WeUhall, in Lanarkshire, which is 

 much finer, being intermediate between the weeping and 

 the common ash. 



