THE ENGLISH PARKS. 21 



near them ; but no animals attempt to pass them, and, when well 

 taken care of, they are durable, and, it is obvious, may be easily 

 removed from place to place. 



There is another kind of fence often formed, called a sunken 

 fence ; or &quot;ha! ha ! &quot; from its generally taking persons by sur 

 prise, as it does not appear until you reach it. A trench is dug 

 as deep as it is required that the height of the wall shall be from 

 the bottom of the trench ; one side of the trench is perpendicu 

 lar, and against this side the wall is erected ; the other side is 

 made slanting at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and the 

 slanting side is grassed, and may be mowed clear to the bottom, 

 so that no land is lost ; but, in truth, a small amount is gained. 

 The object is to conceal the fence, so that when placed round 

 the grounds of a gentleman s house, the prospect of the lawn or 

 field is not interrupted by an unsightly wall ; and the grounds 

 within the enclosure may be cultivated or embellished in any 

 way with shrubs, or flowers, or fruit, and yet the cattle feeding 

 beyond it, whom no visible obstruction appears to keep at a 

 distance, are effectually excluded, as no animal attempts ever to 

 leap such a fence. 



IX. THE ENGLISH PARKS. 



I will take this occasion to speak of the extensive parks which 

 are to be seen in many parts of the country, and which consti 

 tute a truly magnificent feature in English scenery. These are 

 the open grounds, which surround the houses of the rich and 

 noble in the country. By open, I do not mean entirely free 

 from trees, because many of them are exceedingly well stocked 

 with trees, sometimes standing single, at other times in clumps ; 

 sometimes in belts, sometimes in rows, and squares, and circular 

 plantations j and more often scattered, as if they were caxelessly 

 thrown down broadcast. The ground under them is kept in 

 grass, and depastured by cattle, sheep, and deer ; and affords 

 often the richest herbage. With some exceptions, a plough is 

 never suffered to disturb these grounds ; and in the neighborhood 

 of the house, which is generally placed in the centre of them, 

 the portion which is separated from the rest, as I have observed, 



