COUNTRY VILLAS. 183 



situations; but no description of garden ornament, unless, perhaps, we 

 except rustic work of the kind mentioned in the preceding paragraph, is more 

 frequently misplaced and mismanaged. Collections of stones should never 

 be heaped up about the roots of trees, at the base of walls, or against a 

 mansion, hot-houses, &c. ; nor should accumulations of fragments of stone 

 ever be piled up on a level surface of turf, without some preparation or accom- 

 paniment indicating that they might have been there naturally. Two of the 

 most remarkable pieces of rockwork in England, are that at the Hoole, near 

 Chester, constructed from the designs, and under the immediate inspection, of 

 Lady Broughton, and that at Elvaston Castle, the seat of the Earl of Harring- 

 ton. There is also a rock garden at Blenheim, one at Chatsworth on a most 

 magnificent scale, one at Redleaf, and one in front of the magnificent botanical 

 conservatory at Syon. The rockwork at Redleaf, near Tunbridge (of which 

 views will be given in an after part of this work), is an excellent example 

 of the best mode of improving a country naturally rocky. At the Hoole 

 (a series of views of which will also be given in a subsequent part of this 

 work), there is a direct imitation of the glaciers of Switzerland, with a level 

 valley between; and on this valley the mountain scenery projects and retires, 

 forming a great variety of prominences, recesses, and sinuosities, aided by 

 scattered fragments of rock, of different dimensions, and by shrubs and herba- 

 ceous plants. At Syon, no particular description of rocky scenery is imitated, 

 and the scene can only be described as a ridge formed by piling up huge 

 masses of stone, of different kinds ; but the base of this ridge is so well united 

 with the turf, and the whole of the ridge is so disguised by trees, shrubs, and 

 plants, that the want of natural character scarcely ever occurs to the mind. 

 Where the base of the ridge joins the level ground, there are at first seen here 

 and there some slight protuberances of turf, each of which seems to indicate 

 that there is a stone below, and quite near the surface. A little farther apart, 

 portions of the stones seem to have burst through some of the protuberances ; 

 and here and there the upper parts of some stones appear quite bare. Near 

 these, are blocks of stones raised in great part above the siuface, and occa- 

 sionally some entirely so; and, farther on, the grouping becomes conspicuous, 

 and two or three stones are seen piled on one another. To groups of different 

 sizes, so formed, is joined the great ridge, rising to the height of upwards of 

 .50 ft. ; and, on climbing up its sides, they are found to be varied by natiu-al- 

 looking paths among the stones, and a profusion of curious little rock plants, 

 unseen from below. At Elvaston Castle, the rockwork is placed on the banks 

 of a long winding lake, and is constructed on a most magnificent scale. The 

 masses of rock appear scattered in a natural manner througli the valley, 

 sometimes rising into steep precipices intersected by winding walks, which 

 lead the visitor easily, and almost imperceptibly, to the summit. AtBlenlieim 

 the object is to ornament rocky scars on the face of a steep bank, and conse- 

 quently there is no difficulty in forming ledges and niches for the plants, as 

 there is abundance of stone of the same kind as the bank in the \icinity. 

 There is nothing particular in the disposition of the stones ; but the stairs 

 which pass obliquely through the scars, and cement them togettier, are verjf 

 well managed. Each part has a separate nidus, with appropriate soil ; and 

 the stones are covered with mosses and lichens, which, by the richness of their 

 colouring, produce a very striking effect. 



280. Position of rockwork. Rockwork or stones, so disposed as to convey 



