Designing Flozvcr Beds 



267 



author's own quaint language to modifying it 

 in any degree : — 



•' Description and Use of a New Invention of 

 more speedy Desig7ung of Garden-plats ; 

 whereby we may produce more Variety of 

 Figures in an Hour's time, than are to be 

 found in all the Books of Gardening now 

 extant. 

 " Since the instrument I now design to treat 

 of has afforded some pleasure to many of my 

 acquaintance, I have been easily persuaded 

 to make it public. It is of that nature that 

 the best designers or draughtsmen may im- 

 prove and help their fancies by it, and may 

 with more certainty hit the humour of those 

 gentlemen they are to work for, without being 

 at the trouble of making many varieties of 

 figures or garden-plats ; which will lose time, 

 and call an unnecessary expense, which 

 frequently discourages gentlemen from making 

 up their gardens. In short, the charge of the 

 instrument is so small, and its use so delight- 

 ful and profitable, that I doubt not its favour- 

 able reception in the world. 



" But, to proceed — We must choose two 

 pieces of looking-glass of equal bigness, of the 

 figure of a long square, 5 inches in length, 

 and 4 in breadth ; they must be covered on 

 the back with paper or silk to prevent rubbing 

 off the silver ; which would else be too apt to 

 crack off by frequent use. This cover for 

 the back of the glasses must be so put on, 

 that nothing of it may appear about the edges 

 of the bright side. 



" The glasses being thus prepared, they must 

 be laid face to face, and hinged together, so 

 that they may be made to open and shut at 



of the two glasses a and b joined together by 

 hinges, c c and d d; so that they may open or 

 shut to any part of a circle. And now the 

 glasses being thus fitted for our purpose, I 

 shall proceed to explain the use of them. 



•• Draw a large circle upon paper, divide it 

 into three, four, five, six, seven, or eight equal 

 parts; which being done, w^e may draw in 

 every one of the divisions a figure at our 

 pleasure, either for garden-plats or fortifica- 

 tions. As for example— In the second figure 

 we see a circle divided into six parts, and 

 upon the di\ision marked a is drawn part of 



(I 



a design for a garden. Now, to see that de- 

 sign entire, which is yet confused, we must 

 place our glasses upon the paper, and open 

 them to the sixth part of the circle— />., one 

 of them must stand upon the line b to the 

 centre, and the other must be opened exacdy 

 to the point c; so shall we discover an entire 

 garden-plat in a circular form (if we look into 

 the glasses) divided into six parts, ^\•ith as 

 many walks leading to the centre, where we 

 shall find a basin of a hexagonal figure. 



" We may more plainly see how the glasses 

 ought to be placed upon the design, by view- 

 ing the third figure. The line L, where the 

 glasses join, stands immediately over the 

 centre of the circle ; the glass A stands upon 

 the line drawn from the centre to the point 

 C ; and the glass B stands upon the line lead- 

 ing from the centre to the point E. The 

 glasses being thus placed, cannot fail to pro- 

 duce, by reflection, the complete figure we 

 look for. And so whatever equal part of a 

 circle you mark out, let the line L stand 

 pleasure, like the leaves of a book. As for always upon the centre; and open your glasses 

 example-The first figure shews us the backs to the division you have made with your com- 



