26 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



The proper construction of a garden path deserves some 

 attention at this point. Of what material shall it be made ? In 

 a large garden in which wide herbaceous borders find a conspicuous 

 place, the use of grass for the pathway has much to recommend 

 it. But the foundation must be a good one, the soil must be well 

 drained, and the path must be wide enough to permit of the 

 frequent use of the mowing machine. For the small garden, 

 however, other materials had better be chosen. They may be 

 either gravel, cement, tar paving or cinders to place them in 

 their order of merit. Cinder paths are cheap, but they are suit- 

 able only for the kitchen garden. Tar paving is expensive, it is 

 clean, and it never holds the water after heavy rain if it be pro- 

 perly laid. But it lacks beauty, though a layer of Derbyshire spar 

 rolled in on the surface when the path is made will somewhat relieve 

 the sombre effect. The same objections may be raised against 

 cement, which, while durable enough, is distinctly not beautiful. 

 Thus we are thrown back upon gravel. If it be of the right kind, 

 so that it will solidify and bind well, there is no material that can 

 compare with it either for utility or for attractiveness. 



How then should the gravel path be made ? Diagram 1 

 will afford some valuable hints as to the mode of procedure. 



Figure 1 represents a garden path which has been allowed by 

 neglect to become unsightly. It is not level, and in consequence 

 after every heavy shower the water stands in pools at inter- 

 vals of a few yards. Perhaps the path was the final effort of the 

 enterprising builder in his desire to afford an air of superficial 

 neatness to the garden before his first tenant entered into occupa- 

 tion. Many of my readers, I am confident, are familiar with the 

 kind of path depicted in the drawing. It is presentable for a few 

 months, but after a brief interval its imperfections are made 

 manifest, and nothing remains for the conscientious gardener 

 but to have it dug up and relaid with a view to its permanent 

 utility. 



The first essential is to dig out the path to a depth of nine 

 inches or a foot. It will probably be found that such foundation 

 as there is consists of hard lumps of clay. The clay must be removed 



