ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 
91 
tion may be kept up by advancing a few groups, or even 
scattered trees, into the neighbouring fields. In the middle 
states, there are but few cultivated fields, even in ordinary 
farms, where there is not to be seen, here and there, a hand- 
some cluster of saplings, or a few full grown trees ; or if not 
these, at least some tall growing bushes along the fences, all 
of which, by a little exercise of this leading principle of con- 
nection, can, by the planter of taste, be made to appear, with 
few or trifling additions, to divaricate from, and ramble out of 
the park itself. Where the park joins natural woods, con- 
nection is still easier, and where it bounds upon one of our 
noble rivers, lakes, or other large sheets of water, of course 
connection is not expected ; for sudden contrast and transition 
is there both natural and beautiful. 
In all cases, good taste will suggest that the more polished 
parts of the lawns and grounds should, in either school of 
improvement, be those nearest the house. There, the most 
rare and beautiful sorts of trees are displayed, and the entire 
plantations agree, in elegance, with the style of art evinced 
in the mansion itself. When there is much extent, however, 
as the eye wanders from the neighbourhood of the re- 
sidence, the whole evinces less polish ; and gradually, 
towards the farthest extremities, grows ruder, until it assimi- 
lates itself to the wildness of general nature around. This, 
of course, applies to grounds of large extent, and must not 
be so much enforced where the lawn embraced is but mo- 
derate, and therefore comes more directly under the eye. 
It will be remembered that in the foregoing section, we 
stated it as one of the leading principles of the art of Land- 
scape Gardening, that in every instance where the grounds 
of a country residence have a marked natural character, 
whether of graceful or picturesque beauty, the efforts of 
