166 ScJcelVs Landscape- Gar dening. 



j- i 



Fig. 12. M. SckelVs Curve for a Walk. 



fh, 300 ft. long, a noble and graceful curve be drawn, which 

 does not recede from view till after a length of 800 ft., it ought 

 not to be further distant from the middle of the straight Ymefh 

 at <* than 4 or at most 5 feet, and it will then describe a curve 

 by the points J', i, h, which will undoubtedly be pleasing. 



In marking out roads the artist must greatly depend upon his 

 feeling, in the choice of a line which shall at once be inviting 

 and productive of pleasure, as leading to those spots where beau- 

 tiful natural scenes are presented to view. These road lines may 

 be accurately marked out from the plan, or by means of arrange- 

 ments in nature ; but a line of this sort always betrays a com- 

 pulsory course, it wants that free and bold sweep, or, in other 

 words, it wants nature. 



It also frequently happens, that a line which appears particu- 

 larly beautiful on paper is not pleasing in nature. The paper 

 is a flat surface, this is seldom the case in nature ; consequently, 

 the lines must appear different, as we have previously observed. 

 Therefore lines rising from valleys, and ascending over hills, are 

 much more difficult to trace out than those on a level sur- 

 face. In the first case, their appearance is as varied as the 

 forms of the hills and dales over which they are to wind. To 

 overcome this difficulty, I know of no other rule than that these 

 lines should be carefully tested, and by repeated corrections and 

 improvements be brought nearer to nature as well as to beauty. 



Tracing out walks should therefore, 1st, not be considered 

 so trifling, because much more is required from the lines which 

 define them than that they should merely describe curves. They 

 should have a noble, majestic, and graceful curve. 2d, At every 

 new turn, directly opposed to the preceding one, the reason and 

 necessity which occasioned it must be shown. 3d, The objects 

 to which the road leads should account for its existence. 



As the walks in gardens, considered as works of art, and 

 which cannot be confounded with the chance-directed paths over 

 meadows, and through woods and fields, should have a sharp 

 outline, the edges may be defined by very small furrows, half 

 an inch deep, in which a mixture of hay and clover seeds may 

 be sown, and by this means the lines be preserved distinct, clear, 

 and beautiful. To prevent these lines, which can only be formed 

 with much labour, from being obliterated by the frequent cut- 

 ting and renewing of the edges, and by degrees assuming an 

 ungraceful direction, it is requisite that, at the distance of every 

 20 or 30 feet, blocks of oak, the colour of the earth, should be 

 driven in; by which means the original lines are not only pre- 

 served, but can always be refound and easily determined. 



