SckeU's Landscape-Gardening. 101 



forming a garden the lovely virtue truth should always be the 

 guide for the landscape-gardener. 



Low banks, besides making the surface of a piece of water 

 appear larger than it really is, have also the advantage of not 

 concealing the water from our view; and, if the appearance of 

 low banks is not romantic, it is at least more agreeable than 

 those that are high, steep, and irregular; they are also less 

 expensive, because low banks seldom give way, or are not so 

 liable to do so. When rowing in a boat they do not intercept 

 the view like those that are high, &c. ; besides it would not be 

 natural to have a piece of water equally surrounded with high 

 banks. It is necessary, therefore, that the ground should be 

 gently elevated here and there, at about 6 or 12 ft. from the 

 water, so that there be no danger from the banks giving way. 

 There should also be masses of rocks here and there along the 

 banks, as they not only dignify, but give more character, power, 

 and romantic effect. 



If hills are formed on the banks of a lake or piece of water, 

 they should be made to appear as natural as possible, so that 

 they may not awaken the idea that they are merely there from 

 the soil being thrown up from the lake when it was formed ; 

 this would weaken the deception of both objects. Of all things 

 do not let the size of the lake deceive you when it is empty, as 

 every piece of water appears smaller when full than when it is 

 empty, and vice versa; and the reason of this is, that the concave 

 line of the bed of the water is really larger than the horizontal 

 line described by the surface of the water. 



The landscape-gardener must therefore be on his guard, and 

 not allow himself to be deceived with the apparent magnitude 

 of an empty lake or pond. A section will convince him, that, 

 as the concave line of the bed of the water is longer than the 

 horizontal line of the water's surface, his lakes and ponds 

 will appear smaller when filled with water than they would when 

 empty. 



3. Lakes admit also of inlets, and these may be allowed to 

 stretch as far into the land as the locality permits. 



These inlets should have such a formation that their termi- 

 nations may not be perceived, so as to give the idea of concealed 

 magnitude and extent of the water's surface, and thus to deceive 

 the imagination. These inlets also produce another very inte- 

 resting effect if formed as has been already mentioned, so that 

 the ends of them be not seen ; and this is, that the belief may 

 thereby be created, that the points of these inlets are perhaps 

 united and thus form islands. When such deceptions are 

 effected, the paths should not pass too near them. 



4. Lakes and ponds should be drawn on the ground and 



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