ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 
81 
pruned with great care, and indeed scarcely at all, except 
to remedy disease, or to correct a bad form. Above all, 
the full luxuriance and development of the tree should be 
encouraged by good soil, and repeated manurings when 
necessary ; and that most expressively elegant fall and 
droop of the branches, which so completely denotes the 
Beautiful in trees, should never be warred against by any 
trimming of the lower branches, which must also be care- 
fully preserved against cattle, whose browsing line would 
soon efface this most beautiful disposition in some of our 
fine lawn trees. Clean, smooth stems, fresh and tender 
bark, and a softly rounded pyramidal or drooping head, 
are the characteristics of a Beautiful tree. We need not 
add that gently sloping ground, or surfaces rolling in easy 
undulations, should accompany such plantations. 
Planting and Grouping to produce the Picturesoue. 
All trees are admissible in a picturesque place, but a pre- 
dominance must be used by the planter of what are truly 
called picturesque trees, of which the larch and fir tribe 
6 
