364 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



WALKS AND DRIVES IN PRIVATE GROUNDS. 



N all places of sufficient extent or pretension to invite artistic 

 design in the laying out of the grounds, the plan of the 

 necessary walks and drives calls for careful study, in 

 order to combine the greatest convenience in use with 

 harmonious relation to the grounds as a whole. Even 

 on places of only a few acres it is well to consider and 

 sketch in advance of construction the elements of a satis- 

 factory working plan of the roads and walks. Position and alignment depend 

 chiefly on local conditions, but some general rules are more or less applicable 

 to all cases, such as utility, convenience, proportion and construction. 



For walks in nearly constant use, flagstones are preferable to gravel, especially 

 in the immediate vicinity of buildings. Where flagging or concrete is too expensive, 

 gravel is the material most usually available. Such a walk should have a founda- 

 tion of 6 to 9 inches in depth, of stone chips or coarse gravel, to give it proper 

 drainage in wet weather. The surface material should compact readily by roll- 

 ing or by travel. The gravel must be fine enough not to be harsh or gritty 

 under foot, yet not so fine as to be slimy after a shower. A slight crown on the 

 middle is an advantage, and paved gutters should be provided if there be any 

 stretch with a steep gradient. The width should be determined by convenience 

 in use, 4 feet being required for two persons going abreast or passing each other 

 but greater width may be demanded by other conditions. 



Winding walks for pleasure only across open lawns, or along their borders, 

 are unnecessary if the travel on such lines can be sustained by the greensward with- 

 out damage. Walks made for show only are in bad taste because worse than use- 

 less. Such walks are sometimes surfaced with small pebbles of nearly uniform 

 size, round, smooth and clean, but so loose that nobody can walk on them, 

 until by neglect they become encased and cushioned with weedy grasses. All 

 gravel walks in places where frequent hoeing and stirring are necessary to check 

 such weeds are evidently of little use, and are of no value for ornament. 



In private grounds walk and drive are often happily combined in one. The 

 smooth wheel track makes an excellent path, and there is always room to give a 

 vehicle the right of way without any risk of collision. Where no special advan- 

 tage can be gained by using a separate path there is no incongruity in walking 

 on the drive. 



The proper width of the drive is determined by the conditions of its use. 

 On short stretches where vehicles have no occasion to pass each other, eight 

 feet may suffice, but otherwise fourteen to eighteen feet may be necessary, 

 according to the general proportions of the adjacent grounds. Where a drive 

 is so narrow as to confine the travel to one line, a gutter like groove will be 

 worn along its center, if " one boss shays " are in general use on it. 



