LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 291 



be made into regular shelves or an even slope, whereas marl 

 can be formed into anything, and slate or stone is as con- 

 vertible as chalk, though perhaps not so easily worked. The 

 planting round such places, to conceal them, often leads to 

 accident to man or beast, and if the soil be very dry, it is a 

 question whether it would not be better to work away the 

 sides into the bottom, and thus convert a dangerous hole into 

 a valley, the more extended the better, although attended 

 with great labour ; all these things must, however, be taken 

 into consideration before we commence, for indecision is fatal. 

 Until we have made up our minds what to do, we must do 

 nothing ; and when we have determined, no ordinary circum- 

 stance should turn us from our object ; not but our coming 

 upon springs, or any other undiscovered change of character 

 in our work, may induce, nay, force us to alter our design ; 

 but we must then reconsider, with the new cii'cumstances in 

 our mind, and not move again till we have again decided. 

 We may have to form a lake, or a rivulet, or fall, where we 

 did not intend, but we should never go on upon speculation 

 as to what we should do next. 



Rock- WORK. — We have already mentioned this subject, 

 and pointed out some cases where its adoption would be 

 judicious. If we could command it, we would have water at 

 the foot, that there may be a seeming consistency in the 

 picture, but, as this may not always be, and the work may in 

 some cases be almost done to our hand, we must not lay 

 down rules too arbitrary. The first thing to impress upon the 

 mind is the necessity of boldness, roughness, extent ; for the 

 idea of rocks which a man can see over, and almost stride 

 over, — and this may be seen at public nurseries, — seems to us 

 to be the height of absurdity : a rock should be noble ; if a 

 man of taste has not to look up at it, he will indeed look 

 down on it ; it is as contemptible as a doll's house, or a child's 

 plaything ; too diminutive to show what it is meant for, it 

 looks like what it is not meant for, and nothing can be more 

 paltry. We have said, ere now, that rock- work may be made 

 of any size, from a barrow-full of stones thrown down on a 

 heap, to the rock of St. Elba, but this was in allusion to its 

 adaptation to plants ; a rock made" of two bricks will do to 

 nourish, and yet to supply the necessary drainage to a plant, 

 as well as if they were heaped mountains high ; but in refer- 

 ence to landscape gardening, rock-work should be twenty feet 



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