NATURAL CHARACTER OF THE GROUND. 63 



disunity may be tlie most favom'able consummation that 

 can be realized. 



Natural Character of the Ground. — Most places bave 

 intrinsically a natm-al character, which is maiiily de- 

 pendent on what may be called the contoui' of sm'face. 

 This, being a matter of great importance, should receive 

 immediate and studious attention, both fi'om the pro- 

 prietor and the artists who may aid him in erecting his 

 house and laying out his groimds. It is obvious that the 

 nature of the sui'face must materially aflfect the style 

 and position of the mansion-house, the adornment of 

 the di'essed gi^ounds, and the extent and character of the 

 park, approaches, and, in short, everything connected 

 with a countiy residence. Xatiu'c affords an almost 

 infinite variety of contom's, each requiring or suggesting 

 a different treatment. For example, the house and its 

 environs may occupy part of a dead flat, a level as 

 imiform as a painter's canvas ; and this situation may be 

 accounted the least felicitous, or certainly the least sug- 

 gestive, of all, as it obliges the designer to create rather 

 than regulate a landscape. Again, the surface may be 

 concave, iacluding the two sides of a valley of moderate 

 width ; or it may be the lower part of the slope of a hilly 

 country, where it gradually descends iuto the plain — in 

 other words, one side of a broad valley. On the other 

 hand, some surfaces ai-e convex — a long and shghtly 

 elevated ridge, we may suppose, or a lower spur of a 

 mountain or range of hills, or a bold promontory run- 

 ning into the sea. Once more, the house may be seated 

 on the shoulder formed by the junction of a primary and 

 a transverse or secondary valley, on a platform over a 

 lake or arm of the sea, or on the winding bank of an 

 inland stream or narigable river ; and of com'se the cha- 



