26 THE ART AND PRACTICE OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



is desirable. Good work of this kind is chiefly shown by attention 

 to minute details. In contemplating such a formal arrangement 

 from the house, there are some noticeable effects : the semicircle 

 a form frequently adopted appears flatter than it really is ; lines 

 from the spectator give an expression of length ; cross-lines shorten 

 the area in appearance. Sunk panels, if adopted, should not be 

 deeper than i ft. 6 in., and the beds in them should not be near 

 the edge at bottom of the slope. 



Stone steps, used in connection with terrace slopes, should be 

 made as plain and as solid in appearance as possible. For a 

 2% to i slope the tread of such would be 14 in., the rise 6 in. ; for 

 a 2^ to i slope the tread would be 15 in., with a rise of 6 in. The 

 best steps are made of solid Portland, or other good stone, built 

 as shown in Plan II. At the Crystal Palace the steps are of 

 granite. When the lateral extent of the step is too great to admit 

 of one stretch of stone being used, the joints should be made to 

 recur alternately, and sub-walls should be constructed to support 

 the stones at each juncture ; and the walls at each end should be 

 built wide enough to carry the plinth, or balustrade that contains the 

 whole flight, as well as the end of each tread. Moreover, there 

 must not be any joint in the plinth at the angles, but it should 

 appear in the slope. The nose of the topmost step should be in 

 line with the upper edge of the slope. The steps and the plinth 

 should range with the slope. The width of the plinth will vary to 

 accord with the dimensions of the whole flight, but the ordinary 

 rule is \y 2 in. for each foot in the breadth of the flight. For any 

 ordinary flight of terrace steps, the plinth should be from 3 to 

 6 in. above the line of the slope, and consequently of the steps. 

 Vases chosen to ornament the structure should be imposed on 

 square pedestals situated on the top and at the bottom of the 



