3o8 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



often the mown heather itself forms an excellent springy walk, as 

 in parts of Surrey. Such walks want little making, only some care 

 in laying down their lines so as to take them into the prettiest 

 spots and letting them edge themselves with heather, ferns and 

 Whortleberry. But no more than any other should such walks be 

 multiplied beyond what is necessary, and they ought to be broad 

 enough and airy enough to take us in the pleasantest way to the 

 most interesting parts of the garden or pleasure ground or woods. 

 In woody or half shady places we may enjoy the mossy walk as in 

 very sandy or light soils we may have a turf almost of Thyme. 



TAR WALKS. Among the curious mixture of good and bad, 

 ugliness and beauty, we see often in country seats are tar walks, and 

 they are a main " factor " in making many a garden ugly. They have 

 almost every fault that a walk could have, being hideous in colour, hot 

 in summer, and sticky, hard and unpleasant to the feet, wearing into 

 ugly holes and an uneven and unpleasant surface. The only excuse 

 that could ever be made for them was that they offered an escape 

 from continual hoeing, a great labour, but now needless, owing to the 

 weed-killers. If walks are simply made, and not one yard more is 

 made than is required for use, the labour of cleaning is immensely 

 reduced, and one dressing a year of an effective weed-killer often 

 keeps them right. If there were no other objection than the colour 

 of the tar walk, it should be sufficient to condemn it, and gravel 

 in the home counties and about London is so good in colour, that one 

 is surprised that anybody can tolerate a tar walk. In small, close 

 courtyard gardens, where gravel is objected to, we may have a well- 

 made stone walk of good colour. 



CONCRETE AND ASPHALT WALKS. Apart from tar walks, which 

 on hot days may give us the idea that we are stuck in a bog, there 

 are also well-made walks to be had from concrete and true asphalt. 

 These walks have distinct advantages for courtyards and small 

 spaces, or even small gardens in certain places ; they are better in 

 colour than the tar walk, and more enduring if well made. They are 

 clean, but they have certain disadvantages as compared with stone 

 walks. They require a much more expensive and careful setting, 

 and they are certainly not more enduring. Also, they do not allow 

 us the privilege of putting plants between the joints, one of the 

 great charms of the stone walk, which can be easily set to allow 

 Thyme and dwarf rock-plants to come up between them ; and there- 

 fore in all districts in which a warm- coloured stone is procurable, 

 or rough flagstone from quarries, it is very much better to use it, 

 as we can always have gravel for any roads that have to be traversed 

 by carriages or carts ; the space for concrete, asphalt, or stone walks 

 is not considerable, and the natural material should be used wherever 

 it be possible. 



