LA XDSCA PE GA RDEXIXG. 



91 



Fig. 1749. The Approach. 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING— III. 



jOADS and walks are not in them- 

 W selves objects of beauty ; thev are 

 essential to secure convenient and 

 "S^j^ comfortable access to .the buildings 

 and parts of the grounds. To secure the 

 least amount of road that will serve this pur- 

 pose properh', and to so arrange it that it will 

 not be too obtrusive, or cut up the broader 

 open spaces too much, or destrov important 

 natural features, and at the same time secure 

 easy grades and graceful curves, is one of 

 the most difHcidt problems the landscape 

 architect has to deal with. It is in most 

 cases decidedly better to have the main en- 

 trance to the house on the side away from 

 the lawn. This is contrary to the general 

 practice. The lawn should be the quiet, 

 restful side of the house — the homeside — 

 and should not have an avenue or turn, and 

 the frequent coming and going of carriages 

 and people between it and the house. A 

 main approach direct to the entrance of the 

 house must be provided, atid branching off 

 from this at some distance from the house, 

 or often entirely independent of it, there 

 should be a secondary approach to the 

 kitchen yards and stable. The approaches 

 should be as direct as practicable. When 

 it is necessary to cross the lawn, the grad- 



ing can often be so managed as to hide the 

 road from the house, and give the lawn the 

 appearance of being unbroken. Steeper 

 grades than a rise of one foot in fifteen 

 should be avoided in roads, and one foot in 

 ten in walks. The curves should be gentle 

 and be made with an evident reason. Un- 

 necessary curves in roads or walks are al- 

 ways very suspicious. For some places a 

 straight entrance and formal treatment is 

 preferable to curved lines and a more na- 

 tural treatment. Only such walks as are 

 required should be provided. An approach 

 to the house independent of the drive, and 

 walks in the gardens and to the buildings 

 are usually all that is necessary. A walk 

 around the lawn is often unnecessary and 

 unsightly ; in wet weather it would not be 

 used, and in dry weather the grass is plea- 

 santer to walk upon. Roads should be 

 wide enough for teams to pass each other, 

 or they should be so narrow that it is evi- 

 dent they cannot pass, say ten feet. Twelve 

 feet is deceptive, fourteen feet will do, but 

 sixteen feet is better. Three teams could 

 not pass in eighteen feet ; in twenty-one 

 they could. The width will depend upon 

 the arrangement of roads, the amount of 

 passing, and the character of the passing. 



