104 



On Garden Architecture. 



architectural decoration ; the steps being the principal one. These do not 

 admit the use of a balustrade, as in the more perfect architectural terrace, 

 but may be decorated with vases, either solid, or to hold flowers; and, 

 where the flight is on a large scale even figure sculpture is not inappro- 

 priate. These latter cases are, however, so rare, that they need not enter 

 into present consideration. The first question is, how to design a flight of 

 steps for a slope. 



Suppose the lines ab, al>, respectively, to represent the grass-slope, and 

 the problem to be to make a flight of steps to correspond to the slope. 

 By Fig. I, the front angle of the top step is placed at the superior angle of 

 the slope, and the other steps are brought out to the line : the consequence 

 is, that, at the foot of the flight, the slope overruns the steps by the width 

 of a step; and it becomes necessary, in order to complete the steps out to 

 the lower angle of the slope, to set in a stone at the level of the lower walk. 

 This is the English method; but it is obviously open to several objections. 

 The coping at the sides, without which no flight of steps to a terrace 

 should be laid, will run too near the ground on the outside if it is parallel 

 with the slope, and not too high on the inside; and it inevitably gives 

 the steps the appearance of being sunk into the earth, which indeed they 

 are. Then the supplemental step at the bottom will always be dirt}'; and, 

 if the walk is properly graded to shed water, there will be a disagreeable 

 exposure of the face of the stone on either side the centre, giving it the 

 look of being badly set ; thus : — 



The true way is to set the bottom step on the lower angle of the slope, 

 which will throw the upper step forward; and then increase the width of 

 this as a platform-step to suit the design, which may be adopted for the 



