14 Gleanings in Old Garden Literature. 



draws the line at the Old Testament, and 

 chiefly cites Varro and Columella; and 

 whatever the shortcomings of Hill's work 

 may be, it marked an advance in horticultural 

 knowledge, and presents some valuable sug- 

 gestions for the position and arrangement of 

 a garden. He recommends that the garden 

 should be near to a plain or level field, or 

 should be, if possible, on a slope, with 

 courses of water flowing through it, and in 

 default of this, that there should be either a 

 well or a pond within its limits. We find 

 careful directions for planting, sowing, and 

 other operations; an account of the medi- 

 cinal virtues of certain herbs ; advice as to 

 hedges, of which Hill prefers one composed 

 of briars and thorns ; and two schemes for 

 forming a maze, a round and a square 

 one. We have learned to identify this as 

 a feature peculiar to Hampton Court and a 

 few other historical places ; but it was once 

 considered an ordinary adjunct to pleasure- 

 grounds of any pretension or size. These 

 mazes were contrived by the gardener, and 

 seem to have been very usually rendered 



