So/cell's Landscape-Gardening. 205 



rations; because, with the earth, gravel, or sand thus obtained, 

 unsightly hollows may be filled up, hills raised, or roads made 

 and conducted over them. Removing earth is one of the most 

 important and expensive operations in laying out grounds, as 

 every fault committed in doing so can only be remedied at great 

 expense, and the neglect of every advantage, of which there are 

 many that might be taken, but which, from want of experience, 

 cannot be seized, greatly increases the expenditure ; for example, 

 1st, when the earth is carried to a place where it is not to re- 

 main ; 2d, when hills that have been raised, or rivers excavated, 

 must be again changed ; 3d, when carting, which is very expen- 

 sive, is so arranged that the coming and going is interrupted ; 

 or, 4th, when the loading and unloading take place too slowly; 

 5th, when for two horses less than 20 cubic feet of earth is loaded, 

 and at the same time circuitous routes taken ; 6th, when any 

 material is brought from a distance, that can be procured in the 

 neighbourhood ; 7th, when the workmen are so arranged that 

 they hinder each other, or cause unnecessary labour ; 8th, when 

 in trenching, for want of overlooking, the soil is not dug to the 

 proper depth, which very often happens in work undertaken by 

 the piece, and from which great injury accrues to the planta- 

 tions, &c. 



On the Formation of Hills. 



2. Hills may be reckoned among those bold forms of nature 

 which break its uniformity, and communicate variety, effect, and 

 distinction to its pictures. A well-formed hill is of great beauty, 

 and particularly when it is bordering on a wood, or when the 

 wood serves as a distant background to it. Hills belong also 

 to the most imposing features of nature ; we ascend them with so 

 much pleasure to enjoy delightful views from their summits. 

 Buildings erected on these eminences have a greater effect, and 

 command a more extensive view and enjoyment of distant nature. 

 Hills are of as much advantage as foregrounds, as thev are for 

 forming bold and agreeable backgrounds. 



But the choice of the spots where hills are to be placed depends 

 upon the nature of the country, in which also nature must be con- 

 sulted, and her laws followed. It is not sufficient that these hills 

 produce the desired effect in the landscapes to which they belong, 

 nature must also justify their being placed where they are raised, 

 and recognise them as her own work. 



3. A hill raised in an extensive plain, and in a district where 

 nature has formed no obvious eminence, would not have a chance 

 of being taken for one of her works. 



An appropriate passage from the first canto of the Abbe de 

 Lille's poem, Les Jardins, will add weight to this remark : — 



