LAKGE COUNTRY VILLAS. 315 



require to be noticed. In the first place, a slight scar, or protruding rock, 

 which appeared above the surface before any of the improvements were com- 

 menced, indicated that the same rock was abundant beneath the surface ; 

 secondly, the general slope of the grounds admitted of making a large exca- 

 vation at this scar, and yet preserving the surface perfectly dry ; thirdly, this 

 excavation enabled Mr. Wells to get an extensive flower-garden near the 

 house, which, at the same time, should not be seen from it ; and, fourthly, 

 this lawn was in harmony with the rocky bank in the English garden, and 

 with the ledge or causeway in the rocky valley {jig. 195.); which ledge may 

 be said to form, as it were, the key-note to the place. The suitableness of 

 the stone walk to this rocky garden is worthy of notice ; not only does the 

 material harmonise with the margins of the beds, and the rocky bank, better 

 than gravel would have done, but, being on a steep slope, it is not liable to 

 be washed away, as that material would have been, by every shower of rain. 

 The walk is formed by flat laminae of the sandstone, from six inches to a foot 

 in thickness, not very even on the surface, and joined together in the most 

 irregular forms, like the lava pavements in Portici, and other towns in Italy. 

 The stones rise from 3 in. to 9 in. above the surface of the grass; the width 

 averages from 4 ft. to 5 ft. ; but sometimes, where very large stones occur, the 

 walk is double that height. We are, however, inclined to think that, if this 

 rocky walk only rose an inch or two above the surface, instead of 6 or 8 inches, 

 the effect would be better, and the walk would have the appearance of being 

 more solid and secure, and it would also be less conspicuous at a distance. 

 One practice which is adopted at Redleaf is, that, in every part of the garden 

 scenery where the slope is considerable, the walks are paved with brick, and 

 have brick or stone edgings. Some great advantages result from this prac- 

 tice. The walks are never injured by rain, but rather improved by being 

 washed clean ; and, as no weeds can grow in them, nor can they get soft with 

 rain, nor powdery with dry weather, they never require rolling. Gravel 

 walks must be turned or partially renewed every two or three years ; and the 

 box, which is annually clipped, should also be taken up and replanted, some- 

 times every six or seven years. Brick or flagstone walks, or walks of asphalte, 

 however, with brick or stone edgings, if properly laid at first on a solid foun- 

 dation, and with such drainage as will admit of no water stagnating beneath 

 the bricks, will last ten or twelve years, without any repairs whatever. 



Design XXVIII. Plan and Description of the Grounds at Hoole Hou^e, 

 near Chester, occupied by Lady Broughfon. 



391. General observations. — Hoole is situated about two miles from the city 

 of Chester, on the road to Liverpool. The extent of the place is between 

 twenty and thirty acres ; and it is arranged as a farm, a lawn, a kitchen- 

 garden, and a flower and rock-garden, the latter being one of the most 

 remarkable specimens of the kind in England. 



392. Description, 8fc. — The surface of the ground at Hoole is flat, and the 

 soil a rich loam. In the extreme distance, in one direction, are seen the 

 Welsh mountains ; in another, the Peckforton Hills and Beeston Castle. The 

 general plan of that part of the ground which lies round the house is shown 

 in Jig. 196., to which the following letters refer : — 



a, The house, of which the elevation is given in^jr. 197. 



b, A conservatoiy forming the front entrance, as sliown on a larger scale in Jig. 1!)7. 



c, Camellia house, of which a ground plan is shown in Jig. lyy., an elevation in fy. 198. 



