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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