72 LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



The basis of the design scheme in every piece of 

 landscape work is geometrical, whether symmet- 

 rical or not, and the first consideration in design- 

 ing the circulation is the handling of the traffic in 

 the most convenient way. Once laid out, the lines 

 of traffic determine the disposition of the x)lanting 

 masses and open areas, and have therefore a dou- 

 ble significance. Particularly is this true of for- 

 mal design, because the interdependence of cir- 

 culation and planting is very evident in this type 

 of work; a formal design looks either right or 

 wrong at first glance. 



Informal divisions allow much more latitude 

 than the formal because experience has sho\\Ti that 

 the number of satisfactory ways in which rectan- 

 gles may be formally divided is few. Although 

 curved lines are sometimes employed in the formal 

 style, straight lines are characteristic, and the an- 

 gles are generally 90°. 



In the accompanying illustrations, rectangles 

 are shown in formal and informal divisions. In 

 Figure 17 the square is divided symmetric- 

 ally. Numbers one and three show ways of di- 

 viding by simple lines, and number two is a com- 

 bination of the motives found in one and three. 

 It will be noticed that all the lines are parallel 



