42 THE BOOK OF TOPIARY 



the work, the ground should be mapped out in six or 

 eight large squares or quarters. These squares need 

 not be all of one uniform size, or of exactly the same 

 shape. As a general rule, the person who is laying out 

 the garden will have to be guided by circumstances as 

 regards the shape and size of these divisions. 



There are so many different designs of garden archi- 

 tecture that it is of very little use trying to describe any 

 particular form. I would recommend, however, that the 

 design chosen be as simple a one as possible. The 

 flower-beds should be made of rather a large size, and 

 afterwards may be planted with roses, and herbaceous 

 and bedding plants ; they will also serve the additional 

 purpose of containing the clipped trees. I do not, of 

 course, mean that all the beds should be of uniform size 

 or shape ; but the beds in which trees are to be planted 

 should be from twenty-five to forty feet in length, and 

 from five to seven feet wide. A bed of these dimensions 

 will be found to answer all purposes fairly well, what- 

 ever be the design adopted, and whatever shape may be 

 given to the beds themselves. 



All the paths, with the exception of the main walks 

 between the quarters or divisions, should be grass ; and 

 those main walks should have a substratum of some 

 hard material and be covered on the surface with loose 

 gravel. Some objection may be raised to grass walks 

 as being of an unserviceable nature for general garden 

 work ; but, if the main walks are made as suggested, 

 the amount of work and trampling on the grass paths 

 will be reduced to very small proportions, and even 

 when necessary to do any heavy work over the latter, 

 such as wheeling manure or other traffic of a similar 

 nature, dry or frosty weather can usually be chosen as 

 the most convenient moment. 



In making the flower-beds, box should always be used 

 for edging ; never stones or ornamental tiles, as any- 



