HOW TO MAKE A COUNTRY PLACE, 
441 
and the natural grouping, which is omitted in this 
sketch. 
The view from the breakfast-room window (Fig. 89), 
opened for the purpose of introducing a part of New- 
burgh and a fine w T ooded bank below the town, was made 
in the same way — the decapitated forest trees having 
in a few years become thick and umbrageous, made an 
admirable back ground for an ornamental facing of the 
choicest trees, both deciduous and evergreen, while 
these various masses, all now more or less surrounded 
with the rarest trees, are connected together and made 
to harmonize by small irregular groups and single 
trees, blending the different parts into one whole, but 
so arranged as not to injure the most striking views — 
ample space being left for the full development of single 
specimens and loose groups. 
On the other side of the house — in the view entitled, 
“View across the park” (Fig. 90) — our intention was 
to attempt, with no other aid but the axe, a park- 
like effect by the grouping and massing of certain native 
oaks, without the aid of any artificial planting. This was 
effected by selecting the best specimens standing suffi- 
ciently near to each other for this purpose, and leaving 
around them a large circle of forest trees as nurses, which 
we thinned out from year to year, giving the permanent 
trees more and more light and space, until finally they 
stood alone, and have since continued to thrive ; though 
if we had thinned out immediately everything about 
them, they would probably have perished from the too 
sudden removal of their accustomed shelter, but by 
thinning out their nurses gradually in successive years, 
the trees to remain, became by degrees fortified and 
strengthened by extended roots, and now stand as well 
alone as if they had been planted for this purpose. 
The boundaries of the place were treated in a similar 
manner ; the original trees reduced to half or two-thirds 
their height, and, when thick and bushy, faced with 
