34 THE BOOK OF GARDEN DESIGN 
quality. Such walks are always permissible and often 
charming if they are made in deference to the natural 
form of the ground. Divergence from the straight line 
is necessary to avoid a group of trees, to skirt a piece of 
water, or to embrace some particular view, but not for 
the purpose of deceiving the visitor as to the extent of 
the property. Twisted walks look very foolish in a 
place which obviously possesses straight boundaries, and 
however delightful it may be to lovers in the twilight 
to linger thus lovingly on their homeward way, the 
majority of us are merely annoyed by the mazelike con- 
tortions which the average ‘“‘iandscape gardener” sees 
fit to inflict upon us. So long as the curves are pleasing 
to the eye, there is no need to make them equal, rather 
the contrary; the great point to avoid is the creation of 
a hard line between two neighbouring bends. 
Grass forms a delightful edging to garden paths, but 
it requires to be well kept, otherwise it is unsightly. To 
afford facilities for mowing, a level breadth of turf suf- 
ficient in width to accommodate the lawn-mower should 
be laid along either side; this is especially necessary if 
sloping banks rise immediately from the sides of the 
walk. In the wild garden, natural edgings, ground ivy, 
cotoneaster, or St John’s wort will look more appro- 
priate than either mown turf or tiles. Walks and path- 
ways must always be considered as part of design, but 
their utility and convenience should be the first point 
studied. It is disappointing to see in many places the 
arid stretches of gravel, walks of more than necessary 
width, and carriage sweeps large enough to turn a coach 
and four: all this lessens the space available for turf and 
flowers, and offers nothing in return, as the cost of up- 
keep is in no way decreased. 
As a recent garden artist has declared, the lawn is the 
heart of the British garden. It is the centre of the 
social life which, in our too brief summer, is enacted out 
