122 THE FORMAL GARDEN IN ENGLAND v 



foot 6 inches continued to be a common width 

 for the paths inside parterres down to the end 

 of the eighteenth century. At Bellair, in King's 

 County, Ireland, there is a parterre of cHpped 

 box along the upper side of the kitchen garden 

 in which the width is i6 inches. This was laid 

 out in 1790. Rea gives a few particulars of the 

 alleys to the fret of his flower garden. These were 

 to be 2 feet 6 inches between the fret, gravelled 

 and rolled and separated from the beds by a 

 rail 5 inches by i^ thick, carefully gauged and 

 levelled and painted white, kept in position by 

 stout wooden pins about 1 8 inches long, nailed 

 to the rail and driven into the ground. The 

 rail was to be 4 inches above the surface of the 

 path and the grass i inch. This rule for the 

 height of the grass above the path is still given 

 by landscape gardeners. The small alleys 

 running in and out of the diff^erent parts of the 

 fret communicated with a broad path 1 7 feet 6 

 inches wide, running round the four sides of the 

 entire fret. Instead of the plank, Rea says box- 

 edging will do for a border to beds and grass, 

 but all the borders to the walks should be set 

 with these planks. 



A charming walk is described by Lawson in 

 dealing with the fences of his orchard. The 

 best fence, he says, is a hedge with a mount or 

 double ditch ; the ditches are to be 2 yards wide 

 and 4 feet deep. Between them is to be formed 

 a walk 6 feet wide, raised some 5 or 6 feet 



