i6 



Landscape Gardening 



ary, such a slope being more perfectly seen from the house, 

 will enlarge the apparent extent ; the general section of 

 such a plot being shown in fig. 2. But any great amount 

 of convexity in the surface of the ground as it slopes from 

 the house would be an evil because it would seriously fore- 

 shorten the whole and r.educe its apparent size materially as 



Improper Grade for a Lawn. 



seen from the windows. A very gentle slope, with only a 

 small portion of roundness in it, will be preferable. 



One of the chief desiderata in regard to the surface levels 

 of a plot of land is to obtain a good platform, which is toler- 

 ably level, as a site for the house and garden. This will give 

 the house the appearance of being more naturally placed. 



Fig. 2. Convex-Concave Grade for a Lawn. 



and will lighten the expense of earthwork and of foundations, 

 while it will, in a hilly country, make the garden more com- 

 fortably accessible. As a general rule the summit of a hill, 

 if it be otherwise than a very low one, with a broad piece 

 of table-land at the top, is not so eligible for a house as the 

 face of an easy slope to the south. In the latter case the 



