11 



distance from the house, on the principal fronts, both to give the appearance 

 of firmness and stability to the ground supporting the edifice, and to secure 

 a sufficient breadth of easy surface for walking about the house. In 

 other parts of the lawn, (after allowing the necessary platform, as above), 

 where it is sufficiently extensive, the natural undulations should be studiously 

 preserved, and, where considered deficient, improved as much as possible by 

 art, care being taken, in levelling, to fill up all slight irregularities, or abrupt 

 holes or hollows, so that whatever the nature of the ground may be, whether 

 <*entle or abrupt, the lawn may present one smooth and uniform verdure, and 

 thus be mown and kept in order without inconvenience. 



In situations where the ground about the house is very steep, the 

 introduction of the terrace wall, or balustrades, is essentially necessary 

 (figure 6 a), and in all situations is far more appropriate than a sudden 

 uniform sloping bank, 



which is frequently Figure 6. 



adopted in forming 

 terraces, but is both at 

 variance with good 

 taste, and devoid of 

 beauty. On private 

 fronts the terrace wall 

 should be at least 

 eight yards from the 

 house ; but when the house is of considerable extent, and materials can be 

 procured for filling-up the space between the wall and the edifice, a space of 

 ten or twelve yards may be allowed. A palace should have from fifteen to 

 eighteen yards. In all cases, from the bottom of the plinth of the house 

 (which necessarily guides the level of the lawn) to the dwarf wall, or balus- 

 trades, there should be a very gentle fall, averaging not more than a quarter 

 of an inch in the yard. At this point of level the wall must appear from 

 about twenty inches to two feet above the lawn, on the house side of it. 11 

 the house be of such a style and importance as to require balustrades, their 

 introduction will add much to the appearance, and in that case a greater 

 depth will be necessary, say from two to three feet. The depth of the wall on 

 the outside should appear in proportion to the fall of the ground ; but rather 



c 2 



