240 GARDENS : THEIR FORM AND DESIGN 



By studying Italian pergolas and making rough 

 sketches of them, all sorts of original effects may be 

 achieved ; and shade too may be obtained, at all events 

 some degree of shade, until the trees have had time to 

 grow up. Should inexpensive steps be required for 

 gaining access to different levels, railway sleepers are by no 

 means unsightly. They may be embedded in good soil, 

 and little choice rock-plants will find a happy home in the 

 chinks. This idea of an Italian vineyard is by no means 

 to be taken as a representation of a private garden in 

 Italy, where architectural features, stone steps, beautiful 

 fountains, and balustrades involve great expense at the 

 outset. It is a mere suggestion to be worked at by the 

 amateur, who will find amusement in it, and, should he 

 wish it, he may obtain profit by growing paying crops 

 beneath the trees. An example of such a garden, hewn 

 out of chalk, and some twelve years old only, has been 

 described in my book " In a College Garden." When 

 first commenced it had no trees or vegetation, for it had 

 been used as a corn-field ; and the old name of Ragged 

 Lands, which for the sake of association is retained, proves 

 that it was not then a lovely garden. 



We will now set forth a few examples to illustrate how 

 each small terrace can have an original style of its own. 

 Vines in Italy are planted at intervals of two feet apart 

 and are usually trained straight upright, without any 

 espalier to hold them until about five or six feet above the 

 ground. Then they have the support of a stout branch 

 from a chestnut, or sometimes a mulberry or willow tree. 

 These trees are usually planted in their midst, and their 

 branches, running out horizontally, form good espaliers 

 for the vines. The trees to which the vines are trained 

 go by the descriptive name of " Tuteurs " (Fig. 126). 



The bark of the chestnut and that of the vine are 

 almost similar in colour, and when the young chestnut 



