General Principles 



83 



is so deep or so remote from the house that its bottom is not 

 seen, keeping it unplanteci will preserve the indefiniteness 

 which is one of its finest effects. If the eye cannot fathom 

 any such dip in the land, there will be a mysterious charac- 

 ter about it which will lead the imagination to paint it much 

 deeper than it actually is. And the full knowledge of its 

 precise limits will not dissipate the pleasure. Knolls, swells, 

 or any trifling elevations may be advantageously selected 

 for groups of trees, as, by giving them thus a greater height, 

 the depth of the intermediate or surrounding depressions is 



Treatment of Grades. 



increased. Even an almost imperceptible rise in the ground 

 should not be lost for such a purpose where its position hap- 

 pens to be suitable. 



The greatest charm about undulations of land lies in their 

 softness and freedom. The lines should all melt into each 

 other. Angularity, sharpness, or straightness, will be un- 

 known in them. In the meeting of two lines (fig. 25a) they 

 should seem as if they had been gradually attracted towards 

 each other for some distance previously. They ought never 

 to unite with apparent reluctance. And however good and 



