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id, Situation: this ought to be fuch an One as is 



wholforhe, in a place that is neither too high nor 

 too low i for if a garden be too high, it will be ex- 

 pofed to the winds, which are very prejudicial to 

 trees ^ if it be too low, the dampnefs of the ground, 

 the vermin, and venomous creatures that breed in 

 ponds and marfhy places, add much to their infa- 

 lubrity. 



A fituation on a rifing ground, or on the fide of a 

 hill, is moft happy, efpecially if the ground be not 

 too fteep •, if the ilope be eafy, and in a manner im- 

 perceptible i if a good deal of level may be had near 

 the houfe ; and if it abounds with fprings of water ; 

 for, being fheltered from the fury of the winds, and 

 the violent heat of the fun, a temperate air will be 

 there enjoyed ; and the water that defcends from the 

 top of the hills, either from fprings or rain, will not 

 only fupply fountains, canals, and cafcades, for or- 

 nament, but when it has performed its office, will 

 water the adjacent valleys, and render them fertile 

 and wholfome, if it be not fufFered to ftagnate in 



them. 



Indeed, if the declivity of the hill be too fteep, and 



if the water be too abundant, a garden on the fide of 



it may often fuffer, by having the trees torn up by 



tJie torrents and floods ; and the earth above tumbling 



down, the walls may be demolilhed, and the walks 



fpoiled. 



It cannot however be denied, that the fituation on a 

 plain or flat, has feveral advantages that the higher 

 fituation has not : floods and rains make no fpoil j 

 there is a continued profpedt of champaigns, inter- 

 fered by rivers, ponds, brooks, meadows and hills, 

 covered with buildings or woods ; and the level fur- 

 face is lefs tirefome to walk on, and lefs chargeable, 

 than that on the fide of a hill ; the terrace-walks and 

 fteps are not neceflary > but the greatefl: difadvantage 

 , ^ of flat gardens is the want of an extenfive profpeft, 

 which rifing grounds affords ■ ■. 

 2dly, The fecond thing to be confidered in chufing 

 : a plat for a garden, is a good earth or foil. 

 - It is fcarce poffible to make a fine garden in a bad 

 I . .foil ; there are indeed ways to meliorate ground, but 

 tney are very cxpenifive ; and fometimes, when the 

 . expence has been beftowed of laying good earth two 

 ; feet deep over the whole furface, which for a large 

 ,' garden is an expence too great for moft perfons ; and 

 after this a whole garden has been ruined, hotwith- 

 ftanding the expofure has been foutherly and health- 

 ful, when the roots of the trees have come to reach 

 the natural bottom. I 



To judge of the quality of the foil, obfcrve whether 

 there be any Heath, Thiftlcs, or fuch like weeds, 

 growing fpontaneoufly in it, for they are certain figns 

 that the ground is poor. Likewife if there be large 

 trees growing thereabouts, obferve whether they grow 

 crooked, ill-ftiaped, of a faded green, and full of 

 mofs, or infefted with vermin ; iffo, the place is to 

 be rejefted : but on the contrary, if it be covered 

 with good Grafs fit for pafture, then you may be en- 

 couraged to try the depth of the foil. 

 To know this dig holes in feveral places, fix feet wide 

 and four feet deep •, if you find three feet of good 

 earth it will do well, but lefs than two will not be 

 fufiicient. 



The quality of good ground is neither to be ftony, 

 nor too hard to'work •, neither too dry, nor too moift j 

 nor too fandy and light, nor too ftrong and clayey, 

 . which is the worft of all for gardens. '] 



3dly, The third requifite is water. The want of this 

 is one of the greateft inconv^eniencies that can attend 

 a garden, and will bring a certain mortality upon 

 whatever is planted in it, efpecially in the greater 

 droughts that often happen in a hot and dry fituation 

 in fummer 5 befides the ufefulnefs of it in fine gardens, 

 for makin& jets d'eau, canals, cafcades, &c. which 



are the greateft ornaments of a garden. 

 4thly, The fourth, thing required in a good fituation 

 is, the view and profp'eft of a fine country 5: and 

 though this is not fo abfolutely neceflTary as water, yet 



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It is one of the moft agreeable beauties of a fine & 

 den :^ befides, if a garden be planted in a low p^T 

 that is buried, as I may fay, and has no kind of prof^ 

 ped, it will be not only dilagrceable butunwhoUom ' 

 by being too much fhaded and obfcUred j as the tre * 

 will rather retain infalubrious damps, than coamiun 

 cate the rcfrcfliing air, that is fo purifying to vto^l 

 table nature. ^ ^' 



In fliort, a garden necefilirily requires (befides ih 

 care of the gardener} the fun, a good foil, a full 

 at leaft an open profpcft, and water, the laft above 

 all i and it would be egregious folly to plant a gardca 

 where any of thefe are v/anting. 



Of the Defigning or Manner of Laying out a Plca- 



fure Garden. 



The area of a handfome garden may take up thirty 

 or forty acres, not more. 



And as for the difpofition and diftribution of tins 

 garden, the following directions may be obfervcd. 

 I ft. There ought always to be a defcent from Ac 

 houfe to the garden not fewer than three fteps, but if 

 there are fix or feven it will be better, Thiselevatioa 

 of the building will make it more dry and whollbtnei 

 alfo from the head of thefe fteps there will be a far- 

 ther profpeft or view of the garden. 

 In a fine garden, the firft thing that ftiould prefcnt 

 itfelf to the fight, fliould be an open lawn of Grafs, 

 which, in fize, fliould be proportionable to the gar* 

 den -, in a large garden it ihould not be lefs than fix 

 or eight acres -, but in middling or fmall gardens, the 

 width of it ihould be confiderably more than the 

 front of the houfe ; and if the depth be one half 

 more than the width, it will have a better effeft. The 

 figure of this lawn need not be regular, and if on the 

 fides there are trees planted irregularly, by way (tf 

 open gfovevforne of which hiay be planted forwarder 

 upon the lawn than the others, whereby the regularity 

 of the lawn will be broken, it will render it more 

 like natvire, the beauties of which fliould always be 

 ftudied in the laying out and planting of gardens; 

 for the nearer thefe gardens approach to nature, the 

 longer they will pleafe ; for what is a garden, but a 

 natural fpot of ground drcfled and properly orna- 

 mehtcd ? there are thofe who have erred in copying 

 of what they call nature, as much as thofe who have 

 drawn a whole garden into ftrait lines, great alleys, 

 ftars, &c. 5y bringing the roughcft and moft deformed 

 part of nature into their compofitions of gardens: as 

 for inftance, where the ground has been naturally 

 level, they have at great expence, made hollows and 

 raifed mole-hills ; fo that the turf has been rendered 

 not only more unpleafant to walk upon, 'but much 

 worfe to keep : and after all the pains that have been 

 taken to ape nature, the whole is as eafily difcovered 

 to be the work of art, as the ftiffcft flopes and the 

 moft finiftied parterres. - 



The great arc in laying out of gardens, is to ad.ipt 

 the feveral parts to the natiiral pofition of the ground, 

 fo as to have as little earth to remove as poffible-, for 

 this is often one of the greateft expences in making 

 of gardens ; and it may with truth be affirmed, that 

 wherever this has been pradlifed, nine times in ten 

 it has proved for the worfe-, lo that if inftead of le- 

 velling hills to form large terraces, ftiff" flopes, and 

 even parterres, as have been too often pradifed-, or 

 the finking of hollows, and raifing of hills, as hath 

 by others been done ; if the furface of the gi"^^"^ 

 had only been fmoothed and well turfed, it would 

 have had a much better effeft, and been more ge- 

 nerally approved than the greateft number of fhcle 

 gardens, which have been made with an infinite ex- 

 pence botliL of time and money. 

 The next thing to be obferved is, to contrive a drf 

 walk, which Aould lead quite round the whole gar- 

 den ; for as gardens are defigned to promote ^^e ex- 

 ercife of walking, the greater the extent of this cr) 

 Walk, the better it will anfwer the intent ^ fi"cc ^" 

 bad weather, or in dewy moriiinj^s and eveningS) 



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