But the evils of hedges or walls, as temporary fences, in the district alluded to, are greatly aggravated by the manner of managing the trees within, and by the outline or ground plan of the plantation. The outline is not sufficiently varied of itself, and the clump or mass is most frequently isolated, and unconnected with any thing else. The outline of the belt is generally not less formal than that of the clumps; and what we particularly object to in both is, that they are crowded with trees, so as to present one lumpish opaque mass of foliage, without any appearance of trunks or branches. The trees enclosed ought not only to be thinned every year from the time of planting, as they advance in size, but those left ought to stand in groups, leaving large blank spaces within the fence, covered only with grass, or with furze, ferns, or such like low growths. This would lessen the deformity of clumps, or belts, with formal outlines, whether of hedges or walls; but with suitably varied outlines much less trouble would be necessary in breaking the masses into groups, and none, or very few, naked spaces need be left within the enclosure. Fences of pales, laid out in irregular lines, with the trees within grouped, but not crowded, the trees retiring from the fence when recesses occur in its line, and boldly advancing to it when the line stands forward, the trees every where so thin as to show their trunks, arms, and branches, will never produce a disagreeable effect; on the contrary, the apparent cooperation of purpose between the fence and the trees will be felt as a species of positive beauty. Judging from what is almost every where met with in the west of Scotland, however, there is very little feeling for any kind of beauty connected with park scenery. We ought to except Munches, Closeburn, and perhaps some parts of St. Mary's Isle: but who could tolerate the hedged clumps, and lumpish unconnected masses of thick heavy plantation, in the otherwise fine park at Cally ? What has been done at Munches evinces the greatest judgment; and, indeed, we met no man in Scotland so entirely of our own mind, in matters of taste, as the Reverend Mr. Carruthers of Dalbeattie, by whose assistance Munches was laid out.
