s,
beds of rhododendrons, and so on. There are various other foreign shrubs
and trees whose names have not become familiar, and then the next
grounds contain exactly the same, somewhat differently arranged. Had
they all been planted by Act of Parliament, the result could scarcely
have been more uniform.

If, again, search were made in these enclosures for English trees and
English shrubs, it would be found that none have been introduced. The
English trees, timber trees, that are there, grew before the house was
built; for the rest, the products of English woods and hedgerows have
been carefully excluded. The law is, "Plant planes, laurels, and
rhododendrons; root up everything natural to this country."

To those who have any affection for our own woodlands this is a pitiful
spectacle, produced, too, by the expenditure of large sums of money.
Will no one break through the practice, and try the effect of English
trees? There is no lack of them, and they far excel anything yet
imported in beauty and grandeur.

Though such suburban grounds mimic the isolation and retirement of
ancient country-houses surrounded with parks, the distinctive feature of
the ancient houses is omitted. There are no massed bodies, as it were,
of our own trees to give a substance to the view. Are young oaks ever
seen in those grounds so often described as park-like? Some time since
it was customary for the builder to carefully cut down every piece of
timber on the property before putting in the foundations.

Fortunately, the influence of a better taste now preserves such trees as
chance to be growing on the site at the moment it is purchased. These
remain, but no others are planted. A young oak is not to be seen. The
oaks that are there drop their acorns in vain, for if one takes root it
is at once cut off; it would spoil the laurels. It is the same with
elms; the old elms are decaying, and no successors are provided.

As for ash, it is doubtful if a young ash is anywhere to be found; if so
it is an accident. The ash is even rarer than the rest. In their places
are put more laurels, cedar deodaras, various evergreens, rhododendrons,
planes. How tame and insignificant are these compared with the oak!
Thrice a year the oaks become beautiful in a different way.

In spring the opening buds give the tree a ruddy hue; in summer the
great head of green is not to be surpassed; in autumn, with the falling
leaf and acorn, they appear buff and brown. The