CONSTRUCTION OF WALKS AND DRIVES 95 



coloured with iron oxide (red ochre) to give it 

 a warmer and more genial hue. 



Brick Paths Next to gravel the brick path 

 holds first place: indeed, in my opinion, it is 

 preferable to a gravel path in most circum- 

 stances, its only drawback being its want of 

 flexibility, which unfits it for use in curved 

 lines. Its advantages are the ease with which 

 it may be kept free from weeds, its durability, 

 good colour, and the opportunity it offers for 

 artistic effect. In gardening, the old order of 

 things dies hard, and gardeners are shy of adopt- 

 ing anything savouring of novelty. Yet thebrick 

 path is not altogether a thing of to-day. It 

 may be met with in many old gardens, its 

 cheery red surface worn into hollows, but ever 

 dry owing to the porous nature of its material. 

 From this observation we may take a hint, 

 and, if we decide upon a brick path, be careful 

 to obtain bricks of a kind which are not imper- 

 vious to water. They may readily be tested 

 by plunging one into a pail of water and noting 

 the speed with which the surface water disap- 

 pears after it has been lifted out again. In 

 point of cost, brick paths do not compare un- 

 favourably with gravel, but much depends 



