WATER AND ITS TREATMENT. 83 



impaired by the conventions of civilization. For every 

 reason, then, stress must be laid upon the value of such 

 water views. They must be sought, preserved and sym- 

 pathetically displayed. 



When the point of view is at the water's edge the 

 water forms the entire picture, — excepting, of course, 

 the background of trees or mountains which may be 

 beyond it. But when, as usual, the house, or the path, 

 or the drive is some distance from the shore, the treat- 

 ment of the intervening foreground becomes a delicate 

 and important matter. Tlie gardener who would jilant 

 a coleus bed on the sea beach would properly be sent to 

 the insane asylum ; but any other gaudy or trivial piece 

 of work put into the foreground would be as inexcusable. 

 To give the water best effect the space between it and 

 the observer should be obstructed the least possible. 

 Usually it will be in grass. It will be only moderately 

 undulating. A perfectly flat surface and broken ground 

 are equally to be avoided. The view should then be set 

 off at the sides by large trees, if possible. Nothing else 

 answers quite so well. If they can be arranged so as 

 to be seen in a long and varied perspective, they will 

 be the more satisfactory. It is impossible to give an 

 exact prescription for the treatment of all such cases, 

 for a good result depends on the tasteful management 

 of delicate details ; and yet, in the greater number 

 of these very common water views, the landscape gar- 

 dener has choice of only a limited number of devices, 

 the principal considerations of which have here been 

 pointed out. 



The small pond, comprehended entirely within the 

 grounds under treatment, offers quite another series of 

 problems. If it is large enough to give some pictorial 

 effect, there will naturally be arranged a series o2 

 glimpses and completer views from various advantageous 

 points, mostly near its banks. These will, however, be 



