VII. SHRUBBERIES. 



and the lowest in front : if one could have one's will, 

 one would go, by slow degrees, from a dwarf Kalmia to 

 a Catalpa or a Horse-chesnut. Such a slope, however, 

 would require the depth of a mile; and, therefore, that 

 is out of the question. If the shrubbery be of narrow 

 space, the best way is to have no very tall shrubs at all, 

 and to be content with an outside border of lilacs or 

 laurels. The walks, to be beautiful and convenient, 

 should be of gravel of a deep yellow, well-sifted and laid 

 down in the substantial manner directed for the walks of 

 the kitchen-garden. Such walks cannot be kept in neat 

 order without box edgings j and every thing relating to 

 box and to edgings has been said in Chapter II. relative 

 to the walks of the kitchen-garden. 



313. Gravel walks are not to be kept in neat order 

 without being broken up once a year ; and that once 

 ought to be about the middle of the month of May. 

 They are broken up with a pick-axe, newly raked over, 

 and rolled with a stone roller immediately after the raking ; 

 and not the whole walk at once j but a bit at a time, so 

 that the top be not dry when the roller comes upon it : 

 for, if it be, it will not bind. So nice a matter is this, 

 thai, if a part be prepared for rolling, and if the hands be 

 called off to dinner before it be rolled, mats are laid on 

 to shade it from the sun until their return to work. This 

 is a matter of the greatest nicety : a very good eye is re- 

 quired in those who rake previous to the rolling, and the 

 rollers must "have a very steady hand, or there will be 

 unevenness in the walk, which, when properly laid, is 

 certainly one of the most beautiful objects in the world. 

 If proper care have been taken in laying the foundation 



