Roads and Paths 8 1 



picture in its entirety and at my ease? This is ] 

 _thepurpose of roads and paths, and while they 

 should not be unnecessarily multiplied, too many 

 are better than too few. Roads and paths are the 

 dumb conductors of the visitor and should serve 

 in themselves to guide him easily toward every 

 spot which can afford enjoyment. Roads and 

 paths, therefore, should_jiot be too conspicuous, 

 but should be carefully laid out and concealed by 

 plantations : I mean too conspicuous in the Eng- 

 lish sense, where a property of one thousand acres 

 has only one or two main roads or paths ; yet the 

 opposite system of our imitation English gardens, 

 where often two or three adjacent paths all show 

 the same points of view and lead to the same 

 spot, is also very objectionable. 



It follows from what I have said elsewhere 

 that the roads and paths should not run in con- 

 tinual curves like a serpent wound round a stick, 

 but should rather make such bends as serve a de- 

 finite purpose easily and effectively, following as 

 far as possible the natural contours of the ground. 

 Certain esthetic rules dictate these bends in 

 themselves, and hence in places obstacles must 

 be set up where they do not naturally occur in 

 order to make the graceful line appear natural. 

 For instance, two curves close together in the same 

 road or path seen at the same time do not look 

 well. If this cannot be entirely avoided, then a 

 sharp turn should be relieved by a larger, more 

 rounded turn, and the former should seem justi- 

 fied by trees or plantations on the inner side, or 



