nOADS, WALKS, AND BRIDGES. 



105 



-3)arallelogram, the gate h c, lying off from the public road a, as in fig. A, the 

 form is improved by giving it the curve at each end of the parallelogram, and 



central grass-plot, whether inclosed or not ; it would be both graceful and 

 rendered easier of approach, by having an elliptical sweep, as in B, from the 

 public road a a to the gate c and carriage-road b. The great points are to 

 secure abundance of space for convenient ingress and egi'ess, and convey, at 

 the same time, the idea of libei'ality in the disposition of private property. 



236. Similar principles ought to govern the shape and extent of the gravel 

 in front of the chief entrance to the house. In the plan given at page 53 this 

 is shown as a circle ; but an ellipsis, square, 



parallelogi-am, the form of a pear, thus, or any 

 other shape, such as an irregular octagon or 

 hexagon, may be chosen at pleasure, provided 

 only the space is large enough. Where a house 

 is close to a public road, the centre of the gravel 

 is often planted with shrubs, as indicated by 



the dotted circle. The size must likewise be in proportion to the magnitude 

 ■of the house and the nature of the traffic expected : a ducal residence might 

 demand 3,000 square yards ; for the house of a quiet country squhe 500 would 

 suffice, — it should never be less than 300; from 400 to 500 3'ards is a good 

 medium. A circular or oval form has the advantage of being easier kept, and 

 of enabling carriages to turn within a smaller compass than any other shape. 



237. In the plan annexed, the carriage-road b h approaches the house A, 

 through a winding 

 shrubbery, which 

 conceals the sta- 

 ble - yard C, on 

 the left. The space 

 in front is an ob- 

 long, sixty yards 

 t)y thirty, sup- 

 ported by a re- 

 taining wall, D D, 

 seven feet high 

 from the park, 

 and three feet of 

 open stone-work, 



with massive coping* from the inside, terminating in the shi-ubbery and wirft 



