78 COME INTO THE GARDEN 



uncompromising about cement, so public-seem- 

 ing — and so ugly when brought Into close rela- 

 tion with grass and flowers and the garden gen- 

 erally — that it puts a blight upon beauty, how- 

 ever bravely one may seek to neutralize it. 

 Only by toning it down with a gravel space from 

 eight to twelve inches wide on either side is it 

 possible to qualify its glaring, garish, utilitarian 

 unpleasantness suflSciently to make it anything 

 but an offense anywhere within private grounds. 

 And even with this modification it should never 

 be used except for a main entrance, which is al- 

 ways conceded to be semipublic in its character. 



The material par excellence for interior walks 

 is brick, laid on a bed of sand, this on a bed of 

 cinders. The old-time natural flagstones are 

 next in choice to the bricks, while gravel, prop- 

 erly laid, always makes a walk little inferior to 

 any. This latter must be carefully railed in, 

 however, as old garden beds were railed, to pre- 

 vent its scattering into the turf along its mar- 

 gins; or else the turf must stand well above it. 

 The latter is a more pleasing measure to insure 

 the confinement of the gravel, perhaps, and 

 quite as effective if the walk itself is well 

 crowned and good drainage at either side is 

 provided. 



Across and through the garden, especially if 



