14 THE BOOK OF GARDEN FURNITURE 



in view, but in any case the village carpenter would have 

 no difficulty in making one which could be lifted from 

 place to place. Made somewhat on the plan of the 

 benches to be seen in country inns, with, of course, rather 

 less solidity, a vastly better effect will be obtained than 

 with those which the ironmonger supplies, and the cost 

 will be little if any more. 



One of the easiest seats for the amateur to make is 

 formed of half a dozen logs, and a few rough slabs of 

 oak. The logs are secured together in two bundles of 

 three, using either long nails or stout wire for the 

 purpose. These are laid on the ground at the required 

 distance apart, and one or two slabs, according to the 

 width, are nailed from one to the other. A few rough 

 pieces of wood will form a back, or it may be left as it 

 is. When grown over with moss and lichen this looks 

 very well in the wilder parts of the garden, where, how- 

 ever, a seat of some kind is very necessary, and it is too 

 far from the house to carry one. A mat of bamboo 

 or laths should be made to fit this kind of seat, which 

 naturally is not calculated to improve the clothes after a 

 few seasons exposure. Occasionally the trunk of an old 

 tree will, after a little trimming, form quite a presentable 

 seat, but when once decay fairly sets in, it is of little 

 further use, and the bark is generally a hiding-place 

 for woodlice and other insects. Where stone exists in 

 plenty, boulders, which have been deftly fashioned by 

 Nature, are not at all inappropriate in gardens ; some 

 of the most comfortable seats I ever saw were rough 

 blocks of stone from a neighbouring quarry, set in the 

 garden and allowed to become moss grown. A stone- 

 mason's yard is very likely to yield some suitable slabs, 

 which may be utilised for excellent seats. Perhaps they 

 contain some flaw, or are not of sufficiently good quality 

 for working, and may therefore be picked up cheaply. 

 A couple of stone supports are all that is necessary, and 



