'■ Oh for a law, originating in the perception of comfort, and self-imposed, which should make the planting of a few trees an operation as certain as the building of a house! Men would live longer and better for the happiness thus given to their homes."-Manse Garden.

IT may appear absurd to the owners of woods and forests that the trees of a villa garden should be thought worthy of remark; and perhaps some persons may consider the leafy monarchs out of place in such a situation, and feel no regret at seeing them levelled low to make way for beds and borders. It is indeed grievous to see the want of taste and feeling shewn on this subject by almost all classes concerned in the building of suburban residences. To judge by the unsparing use of the axe resorted to when a wooded park is "feued" for villas, be they mansions or cottages, one would think that a fine tree or group of trees was a nuisance to be got quit of as quickly as possible, and that no allotment of ground, whether of six acres or only consisting of one, could be ready for either building on or laying out as garden or shrubbery, till every tree had been uprooted and the ground left bare as the blasted heath. Then the roads and pathways, where once we walked under shady sycamores or spreading beeches, alas for their leafy honours now! Poor comfort it is for those who once admired, ay, and loved those noble trees, to be told that now the footpaths will be drier and the roads in better order, for the litter of fallen leaves is at an end, and the sun and wind will now dry up all mud and moisture. How sadly do we now recall the rural beauty of one of those byroads, with its avenue of trees on each side, and bounded on the west only by an old crumbling wall, over which one could see into the sweet green fields, gay with buttercups and daisies, while every here and there, where the road widened, there were irregular grassy knolls covered with whins, where one might sit and rest, even though it was "within a mile of Edinburgh town." First came the repairing of that old mossy wall, so that one could no longer see into the grass or look on the trunks of the tall trees; but still their branches waved overhead, and still the green resting-places remained. But ere long the ground was feued, the old trees were cut down, a staring stone-andlime wall was built, and road and footpath alike were macadamised or paved with little hard stones, the grass pared off, the golden whins dug up, and the once rural country road turned into as dull and uninteresting a highway as ever road-contractor rejoiced in. There may be situations where even a fine tree is in the wrong place, and must be removed - if too close to the dwelling, or where it closes up a fine view, or where too crowded upon other trees; but in general, the enjoyment as well as the beauty of a small place is greatly enhanced by large trees.

"And ye are strong to shelter all meek things; All that need home and covert, love your shade; Birds of shy song, and low-voiced quiet springs, And nun-like violets, by the wind betray'd."

Few in number they must necessarily be, and often in the way, it may be thought, of flower-plots; but, to such things, who that has either eye or heart would sacrifice a horse-chestnut, with its snowy spikes; a beech, with its gray, lichen-covered stem, and its leaves, alike beautiful in their tender downy greenness of spring, or in the red and yellow glory of autumn; a wild cherry, with its wreaths of blossom, and its crimson brightness in decay; or a slender silvery birch, trembling to every breeze, and covering the ground with leaves of gold when autumn winds strip its sprays, leaving them almost as beautiful in their winter bareness as when covered by their fragrant summer foliage?

There is no season when trees are not a source of pleasure, varied and unwearied. You may have but one of each kind, and you may think you know that one well, but watch it. study it, and every season of the year, every change in the weather, will bring out new beauties.

"No plot so narrow, be but Nature there, No waste so vacant, but may well employ Each faculty of sense, and keep the heart Awake to love and beauty."

If, as Arthur Helps truly says, "the moral experiments of the world may be tried with the smallest quantities," so may the pleasures of the woodlands. One tree may afford diversified enjoyment, not only by its form, its shade, its foliage, but by the effects its leaves give to light, whether it be the "cool green light" that is so exquisitely refreshing, or the brilliant glow of carmine or orange seen glinting through the flickering foliage at noon or dewy eve. .

"In this bower, This little lime-tree bower, have I not mark'd Much that has pleased me? Pale beneath the blaze Hung the transparent foliage : and I watch'd Some broad and sunny leaf, and loved to see The shadow of the leaf and stem above Dappling its sunshine! And that walnut tree "Was richly tinged, and a deep radiance lay Full on the ancient ivy, which usurps Those fronting elms, and now, with blackest mass. Makes their dark branches gleam a lighter hue Through the late twilight."

Then there is the tender revival in spring, the green tassels and red cones of the larch, the gummy fragrant buds of the poplar, the catkins of hazel or willow, the black buds of the ash, and the green buds of the sycamore :■ a little later and the hawthorn, the lilac, and laburnum, covered with white, purple, and golden bloom, make the very heart leap up with admiration.

"Come forth, and let us through our hearts receive The joy of verdure! See, the honied lime Showers cool green light o'er banks where wild-flowers weave Thick tapestry; and woodbine tendrils climb Up the brown oak, from beds of moss and thyme; The rich deep masses of the sycamore Hang heavy with the fulness of their prime; And the white poplar, from its foliage hoar, Scatters forth gleams like moonlight with each gale That sweeps the boughs; the chestnut flowers are past, The crowning glories of the hawthorn fail, But arches of sweet eglantine are cast From every hedge. Oh! never may we lose, Dear friend, our fresh delight in simplest nature's hues!"