230 



GARDEN CRAFT IN EUROPE 



A LEAD VASE AT CHISWICK HOUSE. 



painted to imitate stone, and where this was 

 the case, in order to carry the imitation 

 even further, sand was thrown on the 

 paint when wet. 



In addition to the vases and statues, 

 sundials occupied a foremost place among 

 the ornamental adjuncts of the eighteenth 

 century garden. It is curious that sundials 

 should be so much more frequently found 

 in England than on the Continent. They 

 are sometimes seen in Holland, but rarely 

 in Italy, France or Spain. They seem to 

 take the place of the fountain of warmer 

 climes in supplying the central motif of a 

 garden scheme. Although, of course, they 

 were originally regarded entirely from the 

 utilitarian standpoint, it was not long before 

 it became the custom to devote considerable 



attention and skill to their design, 

 for which reason they have often 

 survived in their position when all 

 other trace of the garden has disap- 

 peared. The example from Belton 

 in Lincolnshire, dating from about 

 the middle of the eighteenth cen- 

 tury, is particularly pleasing ; the 

 dial is supported by a figure of 

 Father Time assisted by a Cupid. In 

 Scotland, sundials were much more 

 elaborate and monumental than in 

 England ; one situated in the grounds 

 of Holyrood Palace stands on a high 

 wide-spreading base, consisting of 

 three moulded and panelled steps ; 

 the dial support is hexagonal, 

 delicately carved and moulded. 



S' /" HICff 

 SUNDIAL AT BELTON HOUSE. 



