The last tree in the foregoing example [fig. 66], is supposed to be one of those tall elms which, in particular counties, so much disfigure the landscape; it is here introduced for the sake of the following remark. I am sorry to have observed, that when trees have long been used to this unsightly mode of pruning, it is difficult, or indeed impossible, to restore their natural shapes, because if the lower branches be suffered to grow, the tops will also decay; and therefore they must either be continued tall by occasionally cutting off the lateral branches, or they must be converted into pollards by cutting off their tops. Single trees, or open groups, are objects of great beauty when scattered on the side of a steep hill, because they may be made to mark the degree of its declivity, and the shadows of the trees are very conspicuous; but on a plain the shadows are little seen, and therefore single trees are of less use.
