OAtoEN FURNITURE. 



rustic work: indeed, there is scarcely .iny kind of rrarden ornament to wliidi it may 

 not be ajiplied. I allude,' continues this correspondent, 'more particularly to M'hat I 

 call wood mosaic, which is, I believe, rather a modern invention. It is formed of split 

 sticks, of various Icnc^ths and sizes, and having bark of ditfercnt colors. The pieces 

 are nailed to any flat surface of wood, and very beautiful and elaborate patterns may 

 be produced bv arranginrr the pieces according to their sizes and the various colors of 

 their bark<. Elegant garden seats, and vases of almost any sliape, may be covered 

 with this kind of mosaic work; but as it is not durable when constantly exposed to 

 the weather, it is the most suitable for the inside of summer-houses and garden tem- 

 ples. In such situations, the ricliest specimens may be introduced, and, if varnished 

 over, they would last for a number of years,' 



"In corroboration of this, we may state that there are summer-houses in Dalkeith 

 Park of this description that have stood uninjured for nearly forty years. 



"Structures, such as arbors, moss-houses, (tc, should be always placed in positions 

 to command a perfect view of some object of interest; indeed, this should not be lost 

 sight of in placing seats and. all other appendages, whether for shelter or repose. 

 Some excellent structures of this kind have lately been erected tlirough the very 

 varied grounds at Drumlanrig Castle ; and so spacious are some of them, that not 

 only the family and their visitors, but their attendants also, can find shelter in them. 



Our first figure in frontispiece is "thatched with heath, attached to the timbers of 

 the roof with tarred cord, but, for appearance sake, secured with four bands of rope 

 made of Polytrichium commune, or any other similar strong-growing moss. The 

 interior of the roof is first lathed, as it were, with hazel rods about one inch apart, into 

 the spaces between which mosses of various colors are thrust firmly in ; and by so 

 doing, the whole of the roof is completely covered. The different colors may be 

 placed in concentric circles or zones, or in any other pattern the artist chooses. The 

 back and sides, as liigh as three feet above the seat, are covered with larch, hazel, or 

 other strait-growing rods ; and, if divided into panels, the rods may be so arranged as 

 to produce any device desired ; and for the purpose of effecting this in a proper man- 

 ner, that part to be so covered should be lined with boarding, and tlie device drawn 

 upon it with chalk or black coal. The seat is supported upon rustic legs in front, and 

 to the timbers of the structure behind ; it is tlien covered with i)lanking, and that 

 with small rods similar to the back and sides. The front of the roof is supported 

 upon columns of larch, oak, or any other kind of wood, having the bark on ; the 

 arches at top are easily constructed by using two pieces of curved wood ; creeping 

 plants are planted at their base, and trained over them and round the circular heads 

 of the doorways. The spaces over the doorways may be eitlier filled in with rods 

 placed closely together, or in open lattice-work, according to taste. 



*'Fig. 2 (frontispiece) is constructed much in the same manner, only the supports in 

 front are set upon a stone plinth to insure their durability. The seat and covering of 

 the back and sides are covered with rods, laid in what is called the herring-bone 

 fa-shion, as seen in the sketch. The roof is in two parts, the top part being thatched 

 with reeds, and the lower part, after being boarded over, is covered with rods, so as to . 



