THE APPROACH. n 



that a curved line looks much straighter on paper than when 

 worked out on the ground. If there is a continuous gradient on 

 a continuous curve, with a dip in the gradient beyond which the 

 drive is again seen, that part of the drive in the hollow should be 

 either straight, or decidedly curved ; otherwise, when seen from 

 either end, the line appears to be broken. 



A straight approach requires very careful treatment. It is 

 artificial in character, and requires, as well as admits of, artificial 

 expression. In undulating or on falling ground it should, if possible, 

 be made at right angles to the slope of the hill. The gradient 

 should be very even, and much flatter than that used for a curved 

 line. Unless it is very even, although a graceful gradient curve 

 be used, the observer looking up such a drive will imagine it is 

 not straight. The slopes, both where cut and where artificially 

 constructed by filling, are better if they are formal and regular ; 

 not with alternate cutting and filling as on a railway, but with 

 uniformity of resource. 



The width of drives is ruled by the character and importance 

 of the traffic they are to take. A breadth of nine feet suffices for 

 the passage of one carriage ; where two carriages may meet, the 

 road should be fourteen feet wide. The above is a minimum 

 dimension, such as may be resorted to when the ground is flat, 

 and on either side of the road is grass, to which a foot passenger 

 can retire, or on to which even a carriage could in case of need 

 be turned ; but in ordinary cases it is better to give eleven or 

 twelve feet for the single drive, and sixteen to eighteen feet for the 

 double road. Economy sometimes rules in regard to these dimen- 

 sions. The width of drives is frequently determined not by the 

 exigencies of the traffic, but by the relatively important character 

 of the route. Thus a drive to the principal entrance of the house 

 would be fourteen feet, or sixteen feet or eighteen feet, while that 



