126 LANDSCAPE-GARDENING 



two risers and one tread equaling twenty-five 

 inches is a good one when the riser is not less than 

 three or four inches. If the grade is just in excess 

 of that permitted for a walk, a riser of four to six 

 inches with a tread requiring three footsteps from 

 one step to the next is allowable, the odd number of 

 footsteps being used to insure the lifting from one 

 tread to the next being done alternately by the 

 muscles of each leg (Fig. 26). 



A width of five feet is suitable for most walks 

 to private houses. A cross-section with a slight 

 crown gives a better appearance than a flat sur- 

 face. The material used may be concrete, brick, 

 asphalt, or stone. Concrete is smooth and dur- 

 able, but its light color is objectionable. This, 

 however, may be modified by the introduction of 

 coloring matter or by giving the surface a granular 

 appearance with fine gravel. A brick walk is good 

 in color, and if moss or other fine vegetation grows 

 in the joints, it may be unusually pleasing. 



Before the walk is laid, the ground should be 

 drained. If the land is high on one side and low 

 on the other, surface water from the former should 

 be carried to the latter underneath the walk through 

 a pipe or culvert with a good fall to some outlet, 



