MAJIL HEXAGONS: A NEW MATERIAL FOB GARDEN WALKS. 283 



XXXV. — O/i Marl Hexagons, a new material for Garden 

 Walks, with Slabs of the same for Edging. By Alexander 

 Forsyth, C.M.H.S. 



(Communicated Sept. 10, 1849.) 



Ten or twelve years ago I was at some pains to make calcula- 

 tions regarding the expense of gravel for garden walks as com- 

 pared with slab slate pavement, and I found that at the distance 

 of ten miles from the Kensington gravel-pits, or, in other words, 

 in the suburbs of London, the cost of a highly-kept gravel- 

 walk exceeded that of a slate-pavement, and yet the gravel 

 never was at any time so clean to walk upon nor so rich to look 

 upon as tlie slate, for whilst the slate showed a clean, hard face, 

 comfortable in all weathers, the gravel was unfit for traffic of 

 any kind for nearly one-fourth of the whole year. 



I calculated the first cost of the gravel and tlie keeping of it 

 for 20 years, and balanced the first cost of the slate at the 

 wharf at Isleworth, and the cost of materials and labour in 

 laying it down, and I found that the great depth of gravel re- 

 quired made the cartage an enormous sum m the first instance, 

 and the traffic over the gravel injured so much of it that it 

 required an annual supply to make up for that which had been 

 soiled or swept off, whereas the cost of keeping the pavement for 

 the 20 years was nothing. 



These statements may appear startling, but a reference to 

 figures will easily settle the matter ; and the gentleman who has 

 had his lawn mowed and swept carefully, and has had his hall 

 paved with marble, will no doubt feel startled to find that not 

 only his gravel-walk, but even the highly-kept grass-plat, be- 

 comes in the course of years more costly than a marble pave- 

 ment, and what is still more annoying, the grass and gravel are 

 of no value at last, after all the labour bestowed upon them, 

 whereas good pavement is little deteriorated in value by age or 

 usage. I mention these things in order to show the meanness of 

 the materials generally used in the great bulk of modern gar- 

 dening, and I would propose the following test by which to try 

 the value of a garden. Suppose you were to take away the 

 grass and just see what you would have left. You will find that 

 this mantle has hid the nakedness and poverty of the garden, and 

 given it a name for riches and extent which it never deserved, 

 for the few beds of showy summer flowers scattered over acres 

 would be easily and abundantly accommodated in the garden of 

 the village blacksmith ; by referring to actual measurement, as 

 I have done, you will find that not one-eighth part of an acre 

 of real flower-beds, such as scarlet geraniums or verbenas, is 



