BOMBAY GARDENS. 4o7 



instance, the circulation of air through the house is prevented, a very 

 important consideration for the healthiness of the house; secondly, 

 the view of the garden from the house is hidden, and part of the 

 object of the garden consequently useless ; and, thirdly, the architec- 

 tural features of the house, if of consequence, are entirely 

 obscured from view. Privacy can be much more effectually secured 

 by a moveable screen. Other gardens, happily now-a-days but few, 

 are laid out in the native style with squares, diamonds, &c, and 

 numerous pathways crossing each other at acute angles. This style, 

 no doubt, can be made to look effective, when planted and maintained 

 with great care and attention ; but I must admit that it has not been 

 my fortune to come across a single instance of this kind of garden 

 in Bombay, in which the choice of plants corresponds with the style. 

 Another style, in very bad taste, where statuary, fountains, parapets 

 and other accessories of the garden are the principal features, is 

 fortunately very rarely met with in Bombay, though objection may 

 in many instances be taken to the various kinds of fountains, which, 

 on the other hand, when tastefully designed and appropriately 

 embellished with plants, are often very effective. The lawn is now 

 found in most gardens in Bombay, and as it is easily kept up and is 

 delightfully green throughout the whole of the year, there are very 

 few objects that serve better to give a charming relief to trees and. 

 plants. A few trees, a clump of shrubs, an ornamental grass, a 

 palm or two when considerately placed, greatly add to the beauty of 

 the lawn, and many good examples of this kind are found in Bom- 

 bay gardens. A few flower-beds in the lawn are desirable, when 

 round or oval, plain in shape, but too often the beauty of the lawn is 

 spoiled by the too great number of flower-beds. Shrubberies are 

 commonly separated from the roads either by a bit of lawn, which is 

 undoubtedly the most effective, by a narrow grass border, or by a mixed, 

 border of flowering or foliage plants, edged with suitable plants. 

 The above description refers to the commoner kinds of front garden 

 only; besides this generally at least a small part of the compound is 

 utilised as a garden, either planted with fruit trees, or laid out in so 

 many different fashions, that it is impossible to give a general de- 

 scription of them. Flower-beds, clumps of hardy ferns or various 

 arrangements of plants in pots and tubs, ofton are prominent features 



