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There
is a grand error which many fall into in building, looking as
they do only at the extent of wood and timber, or stone and
mortar in the structure, and paying no attention to the
surroundings, which in most cases contribute more to the effect
of the establishment than the structure itself, and which, if
uncultivated or neglected, any amount of expenditure in building
will fail to give that completeness and perfection of character
which every homestead should command.
Trees
properly distributed, give a value to an estate far beyond the
cost of planting, and tending their growth, and which no other
equal amount of labor and expense upon it can confer.
Innumerable farms and places have been sold at high prices, over
those of perhaps greater producing value, merely for the trees
which embellished them. Thus, in a pecuniary light, to say
nothing of the pleasure and luxury they confer, trees are a
source of profitable investment.
If the planter
feels disposed to consult authorities, as to the best
disposition of his trees, works on Landscape Gardening may be
studied; but these can give only general hints, and the only
true course is to strive to make his grounds look as much like
nature herself as possible—for nature seldom makes mistakes in
her designs.
Lewis F. Allen, Rural
Architecture, 1852
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