SEATS 9 



or a combination of the two latter. Stone seats are 

 somewhat expensive, especially when they are elaborately 

 carved, but in certain gardens they are the only kind 

 which are really suitable, or capable of harmonising suc- 

 cessfully with the general style and arrangement. It 

 cannot be denied that they are somewhat cold and cheer- 

 less, and are in many ways more suited to the gardens of 

 Spain and Italy, than those in our damp and uncertain 

 climate. However, they can always be provided with a 

 lattice wooden seat, which can be removed and stored 

 away in the winter, and their cold appearance may be 

 relieved by planting brightly coloured flowers, in vases or 

 jars, somewhere in the immediate vicinity. The sites for 

 stone seats require to be very carefully chosen, more 

 especially as, on account of their weight, they are nearly 

 always permanencies. This refers particularly, perhaps, 

 to the more elaborate forms, those supplied with a back 

 and side arms. Such seats cannot well be placed in 

 gardens which do not contain some other description of 

 stonework, either in the form of terracing, vases, urns, or 

 edgings. In comparatively small and unpretentious places 

 they look cumbersome, and, being without a suitable foil, 

 the eye is drawn at once towards them, with undesirable 

 effect. The cheaper and less ornate style, that of a single 

 slab resting on a couple of supports, is much easier to 

 place, and looks well in a variety of situations. The 

 base of a low stone wall, beside a clipped yew hedge, or 

 even among trees in the woodland scene, are all spots 

 where a simple form of stone bench will look well. Seats 

 which have no back always look best when placed close 

 against a support ; they have a stiff, uncomfortable 

 appearance when stood out in the open, on grass or 

 gravel. As a rule, they do not harmonise well with brick- 

 work, but if the latter be well mellowed by age, there is 

 less objection. 



On elevated sites, commanding a view of other parts of 



