ii6 THE FORMAL GARDEN IN ENGLAND v 



adopted in England. Such a treatment would 

 be exceedingly costly to carry out and maintain, 

 in decent order. 



The dislike of regular design entertained by 

 the landscape gardener is shown most conspicu- 

 ously in his treatment of paths. He lays them 

 about at random, and keeps them so narrow that 

 they look like threads, and there is barely room 

 to walk abreast, and he makes a particular point 

 of planting trees and bushes in the way, to give 

 him an opportunity of winding his path, and 

 then taking credit to himself for subordinating 

 his paths to " nature." The width and propor- 

 tion of paths and their relation to the amount 

 of turf on either side is a point of the greatest 

 importance in garden design. In the seventeenth 

 century it was taken for granted that all paths 

 should be straight. Lawson says " One principall 

 end of orchards is recreation by walks, and 

 universallie walks are straight," and the main 

 walks of the garden were always wide enough 

 at the least for two or three people to walk 

 abreast. Markham gives 14 feet as a minimum 

 width for main paths. He advises that the 

 alleys be made in three divisions — a broad walk 

 in the middle, 7 or 8 feet wide at the least, 

 covered with sand or small gravel, or even fine 

 coal-dust, and on either side a width of grass 

 of the same width as the centre alley. Thus, 

 the sandy walk being 7 feet wide, the entire 

 alley, including the grass on either side, will be 



