288 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



upon ground in this country, will generally be limited 

 to the neighborhood of the house, or the scenery directly 

 under the eye. Here, by judicious levelling and smooth- 

 ing in some cases, or by raising gentle eminences with 

 interposing hollows in others, much may be done at a 

 moderate expense, to improve the beauty of the surround- 

 ing landscape. 



Roads and walks are so directly connected with opera- 

 tions on the surface of the ground, and with the disposition 

 of plantations, which we have already made familiar to the 

 reader, that we shall introduce in this place a few remarks 

 relative to their direction and formation. 



The Approach is by far the most important of these 

 routes. It is the private road, leading from the public 

 highway, directly to the house itself. It should therefore 

 bear a proportionate breadth and size, and exhibit marks 

 of good keeping, in accordance with the dignity of the 

 mansion. 



In the ancient style of gardening, the Approach was so 

 formed as to enter directly in front of the house, affording 

 a full view of that portion of the edifice, and no other. A 

 line drawn as directly as possible, and evenly bordered on 

 each side with a tall avenue of trees, was the whole 

 expenditure of art necessary in its formation. It is true, 

 the simplicity of design was often more than counter- 

 balanced by the difficulty of levelling, grading, and altering 

 the surface, necessary to please the geometric eye ; but the 

 rules were as plain and unchangeable, as the lines were 

 parallel and undeviating. 



In the present more advanced state of Landscape 

 Gardening, the formation of the Approach has become 

 equally a matter of artistical skill with other details. of the 

 art. The house is generally so approached, that the eye 

 shall first meet it in an angular direction, displaying not. 



