58 PARKS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS. 



made full, with a slight rounding in the centre, amounting 

 to from one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch to the foot 

 of breadth : more than this makes them unpleasant to 

 walk on. Small drains along the edges of the walks are 

 needful, especially when the surface of the ground slopes 

 towards them. On iachned ground they should be fur- 

 nished with gratings, to pass the water into the drains, 

 and to prevent it from furrowing the gravel. Various 

 substances have been used to bind the surfaces of walks, 

 and to give them the appearance of pavement, such as 

 Roman cement and coal tar : the latter, when mixed 

 with gravel, composes a hard, firm, smooth surface, but 

 the resulting colour is not agreeable. The favourite hue 

 of gravel is yellow or light sienna : these have a warmth 

 and richness of effect which are never to be found in any 

 dull or dark coloured variety. On the other hand, shell 

 gravel, though clean, is too light and glaring, particu- 

 larly in sunshine. The edging of walks should always 

 be low : a deep border of grass is unsightly, and seems 

 to indicate careless keeping. Box edgings should also 

 be small and low. The only allowable deviation from 

 this rule occurs in the high edgings necessary to mark 

 the figures of a parterre. 



The Formation of Lawns. — A fine sward of grass is of 

 great moment, particularly in terraces, flower-gardens, 

 and bowlhig-greens, and, as such, calls for some notice in 

 this part of our subject. The first requisite is a good 

 surface soil; for where this is wanting no good grass 

 can be obtained to form a fme turf. It is vain to expect 

 a rich and perpetual verdure on stiff clay, or on tilly and 

 heathy soils. From eight to sixteen inches of good loam 

 or of fine light mould, according to the nature of the 

 subsoil, will generally be sufficient for this purpose. 



