132 The Art of Landscape Gardening 



addition to this, an iron rail on the top, only three feet 

 high, becomes a sufficient fence, and forms a sort of 

 terrace in front of the house making an avowed separa- 

 tion between grass kept by the scythe and the park fed 

 by deer or other cattle, while at a little distance it forms 

 a base-line or deep plinth, which gives height and con- 

 sequence to the house. This will, I know, be objected 

 to by those who fancy that everything without the 

 walls of a house should be natural ; but a house is an 

 artificial object, and, to a certain distance around the 

 house, art may be avowed : the only difference of 

 opinion will be, where shall this line of utility, separat- 

 ing art from nature, commence ? Mr. Brown said, at 

 the threshold of the door, yet he contradicted himself 

 when he made, as he always did, another invisible line 

 beyond it. On the contrary, I advise that it be near the 

 house, though not quite so near : and that the line 

 should be artificially and visibly marked.^' 



When Mr. Brown marked the outline of a great 

 wood sweeping across hill and valley, he might indulge 

 his partiality for a serpentine or graceful curve, which 

 had been then newly introduced by Hogarth's idea 

 respecting the line of beauty ; but it may be observed 

 that a perfectly straight line, drawn across a valley 

 diagonally, appears to the eye the same as this line of 

 fancied beauty, and therefore, in many cases, the line 

 should be straight. I have already hinted in this chap- 

 ter that the fence of a wood or plantation should be 

 considered as merely temporary, that is, till the thorns 

 planted among the trees can supersede its use. Where- 

 fore, it Is of little consequence in what manner a hurdle, 

 or rough posts and rails, without any hedge or ditch, 

 may be placed : a straight line is ever the shortest, and 



