ScJceWs Landscape-Gardening. 207 



which shall imitate nature so closely as to be mistaken for the 

 reality, and it is effected in the following manner : — 



There are hills in nature which stand isolated, without being 

 united to any other, and which yet produce a very picturesque 

 effect. Others again are united by nature to smaller hills, and, 

 finally, there are hills forming long connected ridges, but which, 

 considered individually with respect to their height and form, 

 appear very different, because nature, as is well known, never 

 repeats the same forms. On these various hills nature exhibits 

 smaller hills, and on these small hills still smaller ones, with 

 their intermediate valleys and hollows in countless variety. 



As the chain of nature descends from large objects to those 

 which are scarcely perceptible, in like manner are the various 

 forms of hills presented to our view. 



6. In staking out it has already been observed, that with hills no 

 outline can be drawn with stakes, nor ought it to be so; because, 

 in nature, the outline is never clearly defined, but passes over 

 imperceptibly into other forms, and we cannot, therefore, perceive 

 where the beginning or end of the hill is. Hence only the 

 highest points of the hills should be indicated with posts, and no 

 further outline be shown by stakes. As soon as the artist has 

 determined on and arranged the essential forms, the height, and 

 situation of his hills, by means of a landscape and elevations 

 drawn on paper, and small models, and committed these to me- 

 mory, then the earth may be raised round the poles. The 

 workmen who are employed in raising these hills should receive 

 no other directions but these, viz. to assist in unloading, and to 

 separate the heaps laid down in such a manner as to prevent the 

 returning carts from being upset, or hindered from approaching 

 the spot. They should never undertake, therefore, to fill up or 

 level the hollows between these heaps, nor to level the chance 

 prominences which may appear. Workmen who have this pro- 

 pensity ought not to be employed in making these hills. With 

 these irregularities, which appear at the same time as the hills, 

 and soon vanish with the continued accumulation of earth, again 

 to appear, the labourers should give themselves no concern ; it is 

 precisely these chance inequalities which cause artificial hills to 

 be considered as natural ones. In forming these hills, or in 

 raising and lowering certain places, no orders should be given 

 them at a distance from the spot; therefore the mere common 

 labourer, who knows nothing of the art of levelling and measur- 

 ing, is usually the best to be employed in such operations. 



7. The artist, who thus undertakes the formation of hills, 

 should never be long absent from his work, as he can depend on 

 no one but on his own creation, which should always be present 

 to his mind's eye. At first, however, he must only make his hill 

 a great mass of earth of a rough shapeless form ; and then he 



