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WALKS. 408 WALKS. 
copy nature exactly as she appears branch drain to some nat 
before us is the province of common is essential at every ch 
art, and may be pleasing to many | face. These drains are not only in- 
minds ; but to minds of culture and tended to earry off the underground 
refinement, nature requires to be | water, but also that which collects 
copied in such a manner or in such | on the surface and finds its way to 
a medium as to show art. If this | the sides; and for this purpose there 
were not the case, and if we were | are small cross drains formed at cer- 
to copy footpaths exactly, then we | tain distances, which communicate | 
should, of course, not gravel them, | from the sides to the. centrey and 
or define them by regular edges. | these side drains communicate with 
Hence, when one walk joins another, | the surface by a small upright tube 
the angles of junction should neyer | or well, covered by an iron grating 
be rounded off in that extreme de- | 
gree which is found in public reads; | 
where in turning out of one path | 
into another, an obtuse or rounded | 
angle seldom fails to be found. The | 
appearance of such anangle in gar- 
den scenery, whether in carriage- 
roads or foot walks, destroys all 
allusion to high art; and hence, 
in all gardens containing winding 
walks which are much frequented, 
the junctions of these walks with 
others should be protected by trees 
and shrubs, or by vases or other | 
architectural objects, in such a 
manner as to render this rounding 
of the angles of junction impossible. 
The construction of walks, more 
sspecially on soils which are not | 
naturally dry, and on surfaces which 
are not level or nearly so, requires 
considerable skill. ‘The inclination 
of the walk from one point to another 
should be so arranwaeds to carry off 
the surface water from rain or melt- 
ing snows along the edges of the 
walks, and the underground water 
by drains beneath the surface. In 
even surfaces, even though not level, 
this is attended with little difficulty ; 
and one drain under the centre of 
the walk, or on one side of it, will 
suffice, for a considerable length, 
without any branch drains to carry 
off the water which accumulates ; 
but where the surface rises and falls 
alternately, it is not only necessary 
to have a drain under the walk 
dtroaghout its whole length, but.a 
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or by a flag-stone pierced with holes 
to admit the water. Sometimes the 
main drain, instead of being formed 
uuder the centre of the walk, is 
made at one side, and sometimes in 
the case of walks through a lawn 
the drain is made under the turf; 
but in this case, as in the other, 
the small cross-drains communicate 
with it, and are furnished with gra- 
tings on a level with the surface of 
the sides of the walk. In general, 
these gratings are placed close to 
the edge of the walk, more especially 
when it passes through dug ground 
edged with box, or where there is 
little ground to spare ; but when it 
passes through a lawn, the gratings 
are best placed in small recesses in 
the turf at the sides. 
of dry soils with a porous subsoil of 
gravel, sand, or rock, drains may he 
dispensed with altogether ; and in 
In the case. 
© 
those parts of the country where the . 
kind of gravel used does not bind 
so as to form a sufficiently smooth 
and compact surface to prevent the 
water from sinking into it, the side 
gratings may be dispensed with. In 
walks on very uneven surfaces, such 
as where they are conducted up and © 
down declivities, considerable care 
in the construction is required, in 
order to prevent the gravel from 
being washed away during heavy 
rains, or the thawing of snow. ‘Two 
things are requisite for this purpose ; 
very complete drainage, with gra- 
tings on both sides, not more than 
e 
