hapter IV. Sec. 15,) of the way in
which mystery and intricacy are carried even into the nearest leaves of
the foreground, and noticed the want of such intricacy even in the best
works of the old masters. Claude's are particularly deficient, for by
representing every particular leaf of them, or trying to do so, he makes
nature finite, and even his nearest bits of leafage are utterly false,
for they have neither shadows modifying their form, (compare Section II.
Chapter III. Sec. 7,) nor sparkling lights, nor confused intersections of
their own forms and lines; and the perpetual repetition of the same
shape of leaves and the same arrangement, relieved from a black ground,
is more like an ornamental pattern for dress than the painting of a
foreground. Nevertheless, the foliage of Claude, in his middle
distances, is the finest and truest part of his pictures, and, on the
whole, affords the best example of good drawing to be found in ancient
art. It is always false in color, and has not boughs enough amongst it,
and the stems commonly look a great deal nearer than any part of it, but
it is still graceful, flexible, abundant, intricate; and, in all but
color and connection with stems, very nearly right. Of the perfect
painting of thick, leafy foreground, Turner's Mercury and Argus, and
Oakhampton, are the standards.[74]

Sec. 25. Universal termination of trees in symmetrical curves.

Sec. 26. Altogether unobserved by the old masters. Always given by Turner.

The last and most important truth to be observed respecting trees, is
that their boughs always, in finely grown individuals, bear among
themselves such a ratio of length as to describe with their extremities
a symmetrical curve, constant for each species; and within this curve
all the irregularities, segments, and divisions of the tree are
included, each bough reaching the limit with its extremity, but not
passing it. When a tree is perfectly grown, each bough starts from the
trunk with just so much wood as, allowing for constant ramification,
will enable it to reach the terminal line; or if by mistake, it start
with too little, it will proceed without ramifying till within a
distance where it may safely divide; if on the contrary it start with
too much, it will ramify quickly and constantly; or, to express the real
operation more accurately, each bough, growing on so as to keep even
with its neighbors, takes so much wood from the trunk as is sufficient
to enable it