1503. Wood produces almost all the grand effects in both styles of improvement; for trees, whether in scattered forests, thickets, or groups, or in compact geometric squares, avenues, or rows, constitute the greatest charm of every country. Trees improve the outlines of most buildings (fig. 248.), and without them the grounds of a residence would often be nothing more than an unmeaning profusion of winding roads or walks. A tree in itself is, indeed, the noblest object of inanimate nature; it combines every species of beauty, from its sublime effect as a whole, to the individual beauty of its leaves; it exhibits that majestic uniformity and infinite variety which constitute the essence of relative beauty; and the natural expressions of individual species are as various as are their forms and magnitude, their utility to man, and the situations, soils, climates, and other general and accidental circumstances of which they are indications.
