As it is an undoubted fact that for about one hundred and fifty years Topiary was both fashionable and popular, it follows that, whatever our taste may be, a consideration of the subject cannot be lacking in interest. Never did a horticultural fashion retain its hold upon a gardening public so long as Topiary, but as fashions rarely come spontaneously but are rather arrived at by a kind of evolutionary process, so the art of Verdant Sculpture must have had its Early History, followed by a development of design limited only by the ingenuity of the gardener. Then came what one may call the Golden Age of Topiary, when every garden having any pretensions whatever to importance was more or less notable according to the degree of formality found in its design and furnishing. The inevitable reaction followed next, and had its beginning in a Crusade which found able supporters in those two brilliant essayists and satirists, Addison and Pope. The old order changed, and considering its age, it changed with a rapidity for which there seems to be no parallel in horticulture. No doubt many trees were permitted to grow naturally after years of close cropping and carving, but doubtless also many thousands were uprooted and destroyed by the landscape gardeners who were practising—notably Bridgeman and Kent—when the decline of Topiary set in. And not only were clipped trees destroyed, but many a splendid close trimmed hedge of box and yew was swept away, leaving the garden unsheltered and unsecluded. Extremes met, as was but natural, when once the tide of fashion turned, and it has been left for the present times to properly adjust the balance between extreme formality on the one hand and too close a copy of nature on the other. We can appreciate the shelter and beauty of a well trimmed hedge in the garden, and, in its proper place, we find no fault with a straight terrace walk. Still further, we are collecting old sundials or fashioning new ones on old models, and in some of the best gardens of the day the garden seats have a comfortable old-time appearance. The principle of associating like with like is gaining ground, and in numerous fine establishments the interest of the place is wonderfully increased and extended by gardens devoted to certain subjects. We have Rose Gardens, Rhododendron Gardens, Bamboo Gardens, Michaelmas Daisy Gardens, etc., and lastly, we have Topiary Gardens. These latter do not now as heretofore overpower everything else; they are simply part of a whole scheme for providing a continuation of pleasure, beauty and interest; they serve as a reminder of a quaint stage in the progress of horticulture, and show what a wonderful vitality is possessed by yew, box, and some few other evergreen shrubs. [Illustration: BOX TREE COTTAGE RUSTINGTON ]