THE TECHNICS OF GARDENING. 139 



visitors ; and for the same reason the entrance to the 

 garden should not be from the drive, but from the 

 house. 



The gradient recommended by Mr Milner,* to 

 whose skilled experience I am indebted for many 

 practical suggestions, is i in 14. The width of a 

 drive is determined by the relative importance of the 

 route. Thus, a drive to the principal entrance of the 

 house should be from 14 to 18 ft, while that to the 

 stables or offices 10 ft. Walks should not be less 

 than 6 ft. wide. The width of a grand avenue should 

 be 50 ft., and " the trees may be preferably Elm, 

 Beech, Oak, Chestnut, and they should not be planted 

 nearer in procession than 40 ft, unless they be 

 planted at intervals of half that distance for the pur- 

 pose of destroying alternate trees, as their growth 

 makes the removal necessary." 



The entrance-gates should not be visible from the 

 mansion, Repton says, unless it opens into a court- 

 yard. As to their position, the gates may be formed 

 at the junction of two roads, or where a cross-road 

 comes on to the main road, or where the gates are 

 sufficiently back from the public road to allow a 

 carriage to stand clear. The gates, as well as the 

 lodge, should be at right angles to the drive, and 

 belong to it, not to the public road. Where the 

 house and estate are of moderate size, architectural, 

 rather than "rustic," simplicity best suits the cha- 

 racter of the lodge.. It is desirable, remarks Mr 

 Milner, to place the entrance, if it can be managed, 



* Milner 1 s "Art and Practice of Landscape-Gardening," pp. 13, 14. 



