EMBELLISHMENTS. 371 



ingenious artist in rustic work, which he may call in to the 

 embellishment of rural scenes, without taxing his purse 

 heavily. 



Sundials (Fig. 69) are among the oldest decorations foi 

 the garden and grounds, and there are scarcely any which 

 we think more suitable. They are not merely 

 decorative, but have also an useful character, and 

 may therefore be occasionally placed in distant 

 parts of the grounds, should a favorite walk ter- 

 minate there. When we meet daily in our walks 

 for a number of years, with one of these silent 

 monitors of the flight of time, we become in a 

 degree attached to it, and really look upon it as 

 U V\ gifted with a species of intelligence, beaming out 



|| when the sunbeams smile upon its dial-plate. 

 [Fig. 69.] The Architectural Flower-garden, as we 

 have just remarked, has generally a direct connexion with 

 the house, at least on one side by the terrace. It may be 

 of greater or less size, from twenty feet square to half an 

 acre in extent. The leading characteristics of this species 

 of flower-garden, are the regular lines and forms employed 

 in its beds and walks. The flowers are generally planted 

 in beds in the form of circles, octagons, squares, etc., the 

 centre of the garden being occupied by an elegant vase, a 

 sundial, or that still finer ornament, a fountain, or jet d'eau. 

 In various parts of the garden, along the principal walks, 

 or in the centre of parterres, pedestals supporting vases, 

 urns, or handsome flower-pots with plants, are placed. 

 When a highly marked character of art is intended, a 

 balustrade or parapet, resembling that of the terrace to 

 which it is connected, is continued round the whole of 



