THAT celebrated improver, Shenstone, the poet of the Lea-sowes, occupied and amused himself in beautifying his place with artificial objects, avenues, lakes, and rustic designs. One of his plans was to create avenues in this mode: he planted large trees nearest the point of view, and smaller ones receding in height but approaching each other as the distance increased; the terminus of the view was a piece of water, an obelisk, summer-house, or some object of interest, and the effect was an increase of apparent distance; the object at the end was placed to the eye further off. This play upon the eye is one of the great arts in landscape making; you see its effects in the various daguerreian deceptions, not the least of which is the one by which the sight is made to embrace - to wind round an object - in fact, to deceive itself into a new use of its powers; in some cases to improve and give pleasure to one of our most valued senses. Very much may be done in landscape by a thorough understanding of the principles involved; without the principles, or without great observation of results, planting for beauty is mostly ineffective and paltry.

The neighbors of Shenstone, whom he outshone, and with whom he was not popular, took pains to mortify him by showing company his vistas and avenues from the wrong point! looking through the little end of his telescopic views, which brought the point of view nearer, and the poor poet had to endure the shouts of laughter which resounded through the short tube he had made himself believe, from his own chosen point of view, was vastly longer than the sounds he heard would indicate. So it is: we all of us choose our own point of view, and when some rude body upsets our illusion with facts and figures, we are let down to realities.

As regards the most beautiful tree for deciduous avenues in the middle climate of the United States, or wherever it will grow, the best is the Tulip Poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera, especially if the avenue is a wide one, say eighty feet between the rows, while for an evergreen vista we would employ the Hemlock, Abies Canadensis. For narrower deciduous rows, the Sugar Maple would be our next choice. Two more beautiful trees for such a purpose cannot well be chosen. The Tulip Poplar is too rarely employed for this purpose; we do not know why such a beautiful and unique tree should be so much neglected, unless it be the difficulty of transplanting them of a desirable size. The time will come when purchasers will find it to their advantage to pay nurserymen for removing their young trees in the nursery rows, so that on their final moving a successful growth may be guaranteed; discriminating and experienced planters know the value of those that have been prepared for removal, but the masses do not; and until they do, it will not pay the grower to transplant his young stock annually.

A safe and almost sure practice to pursue with the Tulip Poplar, Sweet-gum, Sour-gum, Hickories, Magnolias, and all trees that are usually found impatient of removal, is, to cut them down to the surface of the soil as soon as transplanted. This seems to be a barbarous method, but we are convinced that many which otherwise eke out a miserable existence for years, would grow up at once into healthy trees; the finest Tulip Poplars we know of have undergone this process.

The Norway and Sycamore Maples are fine for shading walks, forming a dense, clean mass of foliage, and the former one of the best round-headed trees. Much of the beauty of foliage depends upon vigorous and healthy growth. We find that a heavy top-dressing of manure, applied in the fall, increases the depth of color and size of the leaves; once in two or three years this will produce a decidedly beneficial effect.

In the Southern States the Live Oak and Evergreen Magnolia are unrivalled for avenues. Alas! that they are denied to us. We should not forget, too, the hickories; an avenue of the best of these would be superb. It is possible, as Ruskin justly remarks, in this species of trees, to obtain a serene simplicity of grace, which is a better help to the study of gracefulness, as such, than any of the wilder groupings of the hills; so also there are certain conditions of symmetrical luxuriance developed in the park and avenue, rarely rivalled in their way among mountains. But, "the resources of trees are not developed till they have difficulty to contend with; neither their tenderness of brotherly love and harmony, till they are forced to choose their ways of various life where there is contracted room for them, talking to each other with their restrained branches. The various actions of trees rooting themselves in inhospitable rocks, stooping to look into ravines, hiding from the search of glacier winds, reaching forth to the rays of rare sunshine, crowding down together to drink at sweetest streams, climbing hand in hand among the difficult slopes, opening in sudden dances round the mossy knolls, gathering in companies at rest among the fragrant fields, gliding in grave procession over the heavenward ridges".