THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 295 



into a nook full of freshness, and thence flow to the lake again, or to 

 fill the tanks which supply the garden. 



And, me before, I saw a little well 



That had his course, as I could well behold, 



Under a hill, with quick streamis and cold. 



The gravel goldn ; the water pure as glass, 

 The baukis round the well environing, 

 And 6oft as velvet was theyounge grass 

 That thereupon hastily came springing. 

 The suit of trees, abouten compassing, 

 Their shadow cast closing the well around, 

 And all the herbis growing on the ground. 



It must never he forgotten that the disposal of water-scenes de- 

 mands the exercise of great taste and judgment. Water of itself is 

 always beautiful, but its association with objects of interest enhances 

 its beauty, and supplies also the justification of usefulness. Where 

 the space aud circumstances admit, water should always be enriched 

 by plantations ; ciutnps of trees, rustic buildings, rockeries, and belt3 

 of shrub are appropriate accessories; but they must be adapted in 

 style to other surroundings, and the general character of the place ; 

 and there is a certain point at which to stop in the work of embel- 

 lishment, or the whole iitf'air may be overdone. Architectural foun- 

 tains and the accessories of terrace water-works may be complicated 

 and elaborate, but whenever water is allowed to expand to show its 

 gleaming surface beside green turf and trees there must be breadth ; 

 the eye must be free to range in some one direction over lawns or 

 other open spaces, in order to render the thickening of sylvan scenes 

 and the confusion of bush and brake the more agreeable where the 

 water is conducted away from the dressed grounds and made sub- 

 servient to true rusticity. What a charm would be imparted to 

 many a garden where a still pool, " mantled o'er with green," re- 

 proaches the proprietor with neglect, by the introduction of a clump 

 of trees aud a garden-house, or by the appropriation of one bank to 

 a bee-shed looking south, and a summer retreat in the rear, facing 

 in the opposite direction, where the bees would neither harm nor 

 alarm anybody. Picturesque objects in the vicinity of the water 

 double themselves on its surface, and the shadows and reflections are 

 alone sufficient compensation for the cost of the work when the 

 arranging and grouping have beeu managed with taste. 



Water may be introduced in any part of a garden or wilderness ; 

 but the way in which it is done must be determined by the nature 

 of the locality. Suppose the possessor of a garden wishes for water 

 at the summit of a hill, then if he would have a pond or a lake, the 

 chances are in favour of the affair becoming a source of merriment 

 to critics of landscape. But a bubbling fountain would be very ap- 

 propriate to the top of a hill; and not long since we sat beside a 

 crystal spring on the brow of a heathy eminence at Oakshott, in 

 Surrey, and counted the species of plants the water had coaxed there. 

 Natural springs frequently emerge on high grounds, and in a grand 

 garden the charm of a fountain on the side or summit of a hill may 



October. 



