SEATS. 



2S9 



former being either fixed, tempo- 

 rary, or poi'table. Fixed seats are 

 commonly of stone, either plain \ 

 stone benches -without backs, or j 

 stone supporters to wooden benches. ' 

 Sometimes, also, wooden seats are . 

 fixed, as when they are placed round 

 a tree, or when boards are nailed to ' 

 posts, or when seats are formed in 

 imitation of Mushrooms, as in the ' 

 grounds at Eedleaf Fixed seeds i 

 are also sometimes formed of turf, j 

 Portable seats are formed of wood, i 

 sometimes contrived to have the 

 back of the seat folded down when ' 

 the seat is not in use ; so as to i 

 exclude the weather and avoid the 

 dirt of birds which are apt to perch 

 on them. Another kind of portable 

 seat, which is frequently formed of 

 iron, as shown va.fig. 48, is I'eadily 



FIG. 4S.— MOVEABLE GARDEN SEAT. 



wheeled from one part of the grounds 

 to another, and the back of which 

 also folds down to protect the seat I 

 from the weather. There is a kind ; 

 of camp stool, which serves as a ' 

 portable seat, imported from Nor- ! 

 way, and sold at the low price of j 

 2s. 6c/. or 35. ; and there are also : 

 straw seats like half beehives, which ! 

 are, however, only i;sed in garden \ 

 huts, or in anj situations under i 

 cover, because in the open air they ' 

 would be likely to be soaked with 

 rain. — There are a great variety of 

 rustic seats formed of roots and 

 crooked branches of trees, used both 

 for the open garden and under 

 cover, and there are also seats of cast 

 and wrought iron of great variety 



of form. There should always be 

 some kind of analogy betv/een the 

 seat and the scene of which it forms 

 a part ; and for this reason rustic 

 seats should be confined to rustic 

 scenery ; and the seats for a lawn 

 or highly kept pleasure ground 

 ought to be of comparatively simple 

 and architectural forms, and either 

 of wood or stone, those of wood 

 being frequently painted of a stone- 

 colour and sprinkled over with 

 silver sand before the paint is dry, 

 to give them the appearance of 

 stone. Iron seats, generally speak- 

 ing, are not sufficiently massive for 

 effect, and the metal conveys the 

 idea of cold in winter and heat in 

 summer. 



"When seats are placed along a 

 walk, a gravelled recess ought to be 

 formed to receive them ; and there 

 ought generally to be a foot-board 

 to keep the feet from the moist 

 ground, whether the seat is on 

 gravel or on a lawn. In a garden 

 where there are several seats, some 

 ought to be in positions exposed 

 to the sun, and others placed in the 

 shade, and none ought to be put 

 down in a situation where the back 

 of the seat is seen by a person 

 approaching it before the front. 

 Indeed the backs of all fixed seats 

 ought to be concealed by shrubs, 

 or by some other means, unless they 

 are circular seats placed round a 

 tree. Seats ought not to be put 

 down where there will be any 

 temptation to the persons sitting on 

 them to strain their eyes to the 

 right or left, nor where the boun- 

 dary of the garden forms a con- 

 spicuous object in the view. In 

 general, all seats should be of a 

 stone-colour, as harmonising best 

 with vegetation. Nothing can be 

 more unartistical than seats painted 

 of a pea-green, and placed among 

 the green leaves of living plants. 



