734 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION J. 
carried out tree-planting in the streets, and in that respect 
Ballarat may, I think, be awarded the place of honour. In com- 
parison, the attempts made in the other colonies are but half 
hearted, though I hope the time will soon come when they will 
emulate the good example set by Victoria. Moreover, the intro- 
duction of trees in large numbers in the heart of cities is a wise 
sanitary precaution, for the carbonic acid gas human beings 
exhale is absorbed by vegetation, which in turn gives off the 
oxygen we need. Hitherto I have only referred to straight 
streets set at irregular angles, let me now put in a word as to 
the advantages of curved lines. | It is said that ‘“‘ Nature abhors 
a straight line,” and so does art unless relieved by curves. As a 
source of beauty the curved line is of inestimable value. Imagine 
what Collins Street would be without its undulation of surface ! 
It is that which gives it the charm it possesses. On a level or 
nearly level site a curve in plan may often be introduced with the 
greatest advantage. It may be detined formally and regularly as 
in a quadrant or circus, or so gentle in its sweep as to be scarcely 
perceptible at the first glance. Of the former I may instance the 
quadrant in Regent Street, London, and the latter that exquisite 
example the High Street at Oxford. To carry the principle still 
farther, a sinuous line may occasionally be found serviceable 
where local conditions permit, and of this there is no finer speci- 
men in the world than the Grand Canal at Venice, though to be 
sure it is a water-way, but for all that is the chief street of the 
city of the sea. The Strand in London is another example, and 
even in this southern hemisphere I may refer with satisfaction to 
the irregular lines of George and King Streets in Sydney. In all 
these the continual unfolding of fresh views is the great charm, 
and for my part I am devoutly thankful that one or two at least 
of the old Sydney streets were formed by bullock-waggons rather 
than by the surveyor’s chain. Their narrowness I do not defend, 
but that is quite another matter. In planning a new town, 
however, it should never be forgotten that a curve ought only to 
be laid down when it serves a practical purpose, and in more 
cases than at first appear likely it will be found to serve the 
purposes of communication better than a straight line, especially 
in easing off the connections of one street with another. I have 
already alluded to reserves, and on this point there is usually 
little fault to be found with Australian towns, as far as the mere 
amount of them is concerned, but their shape is nearly always the 
prosaic square or rectangle, in which there is no beauty. Further- 
more, the worst is made of them by running roads along the four 
sides, instead of leading up to them. Now, instead of this, in the 
spider’s web plan there is the possibility of introducing reserves 
of all shapes and sizes, and so securing variety of form. Again, 
wherever a number of streets converge there should be an enlarge- 
ment of the area, with a refuge in the centre. What this means 
