8 THE VILLA GARDENER. 



irregular climate. This is occasioned by the different influence of the sun 

 on surfaces of different degrees of slope ; and by the different degrees of 

 interruption which hills or irregularities of different shapes and sizes give to 

 the wind. There is scarcely such a thing as a perfect calm during bright 

 sunshine in a hilly irregular country ; because, while on one side of the hill 

 the sun generates an intense heat, on the opposite side of it, the soil and air 

 remain cold. For persons of narrow chests and weak lungs, a hilly situation, 

 therefore, is far from being desirable ; for, independently of the irregularity 

 of the climate, the fatigue of walking up and down hills or slopes, is greater 

 to such persons than it is to others. The most even and regular climates are to 

 be found over the most even and regular surfaces. Hence, other circum- 

 stances being favourable, a level plain, at a distance from mountains, gene- 

 rally affords the mildest and best climate for invalids. This is also the kind 

 of situation in which a kitchen-garden is least subject to be injured by winds; 

 and, if the subsoil admits of being thoroughly drained, and is not so near 

 higher grounds, or a large surface of water, as to be liable to be inundated by 

 night dews from them, it is preferable to every other. 



7. The character of the climate of a sittiatiou near the sea, near a lake, or 

 near a broad river, resembles in some respects, that of an irregular surface ; 

 for, the effect of the sun on the dry soil being very different from its effect 

 on the water, a current of wind is created, in consequence of the difference of 

 temperature. The air, in such situations, is milder in winter, in consequence 

 of the heat given out by the water ; and cooler in summer, in consequence 

 of less heat being given out by the water than by the dry ground, and of the 

 breezes which arise from the tendency to an equilibrium in volumes of air of 

 different temperatures. Natural or accidental hollows, when they have an 

 outlet for drainage, and for the escape of the heavy air which accumulates in 

 them, afford sheltered, and sometimes very picturesque, situations for build- 

 ing in. Old stone quarries, gravel pits, and chalk pits are of this descrip- 

 tion ; and, when they are open to the south or south-east, with, perhaps, a 

 prospect in front, the most delightful little places may be made of them that 

 can well be imagined. 



8. Exposure. — All elevated situations are more exposed to the prevailing 

 winds of a country than plains ; but, as the highest winds of any particular 

 locality generally blow from one direction only, situations that are equal in 

 point of elevation may be quite different in point of exposure. In the neigh- 

 bourhood of London, where the most disagreeable winds are from the north- 

 east, a house placed on that side of a hill will Ije more exposed to cold winds 

 than on any other side. The exposure, also, is very much affected, in irre- 

 gular hilly situations, by the influence of other hills, in directing currents of 

 wind out of their natural course ; so that while the north-east side of an iso- 

 lated hill may be the most exposed side, the south or the north side of a hill, 

 situated among other hills, may be equally exposed as, or more so than, the 

 north-east side. Though a situation exposed to the prevailing winds of the 

 district can seldom be considered the most desirable for a dwelling-house, and 

 never for a garden, unless it be one where none but the hardiest plants are to 

 be grown, yet there are exceptions, arising from local circumstances : for 

 example, in the immediate neighbourhood of smoky towns, such as Manchester 

 or Birmingham, any situation on the side of the town most. exposed to the 

 prevailing winds will be the best, as being the most free from smoke. 



