FLOWER-GARDENS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS. 



277 



gravel of the size of horse-beans, smooth con- 

 crete, or it may be paved with moderate-sized 

 blocks of wood set on end, or, if well elevated, 

 the floor may be of boards laid upon wooden 

 joists. Arbours and summer-houses should, if 

 possible, be placed with the entrance facing the 

 south, or nearly so, as in such position they are 

 much more pleasant to sit in. An arbour affords 

 very agreeable shade in hot, dry weather during 

 summer; but in our climate the advantages of 

 a rain -proof roof and dry interior, such as a 

 summer-house affords when properly constructed, 

 are not to be lightly disregarded at any season. 

 The summer-house, moreover, equally with the 

 arbour, may be decorated on the exterior with 

 such flowering climbers as Clematises, Honey- 

 suckles, Roses, &c. 



Temples may be considered as belonging to 

 the more distant parts of the pleasure-grounds 

 or gardens of large extent, where they often 

 form a distinct and attractive feature. They 

 should possess some correspondence in style, 

 and in the material used in their construction, 

 with the mansion. Even the best imitations 

 of stone are only just admissible, always hav- 

 ing a poor appearance. The finest kind of 

 bricks, with the addition of terra-cotta as quoins, 

 jambs, lintels, &c, if their colour is such as 

 will not offend, harmonize with the greenery 

 of a garden, and a building may be made as 

 ornate as the owner pleases. Stone is, in re- 

 ality, the best material to employ in building 

 a temple, as it conveys the idea of durability. 

 The position is another important matter; if 

 the grounds are large, a distant spot, somewhat 

 elevated, especially if partially hidden by trees 

 from the windows of the mansion and its im- 

 mediate vicinity, may be chosen with usually 

 good effect ; or if there happens to be a straight 

 broad walk or vista of turf or gravel, a temple 

 may be set up as a termination to it, thus 

 giving an apparent object for the existence of 

 the latter, without which it might in some cases 

 appear meaningless. 



III. Lawns, Bowling-Greens, etc. 



There is no feature connected with a garden 

 in this country which adds more to its pictur- 

 esqueness, or is more important, than a spacious, 

 well-made, well-kept lawn; we say, well-made, 

 as on this in a great measure depends the pos- 

 sibility of keeping the turf in good condition 

 in after-years, for no amount of labour ex- 

 pended on a badly-made lawn will keep it in 

 a satisfactory state throughout the year. The 



extent and form of the lawn will, as a matter 

 of course, be determined by the circumstances 

 appertaining to each individual place; suffice it 

 to say, that the larger the area of lawn, if well 

 laid out, the finer will be the general effect. 

 The continued close mowing with machines, 

 which lawns are subjected to at the present 

 day, is an additional reason for bestowing great 

 care on the making, an uneven surface offering 

 great obstacles to good mowing. 



Where the soil is naturally of good quality 

 and fair depth, the formation of a lawn presents 

 but few difficulties. If the site be not sufficiently 

 dry, it should be made so by draining, and it 

 will be necessary to complete this operation 

 before anything else is attempted. This drain- 

 ing of the soil of stagnant moisture should at the 

 same time be carried out, so far as is requisite, 

 throughout the whole of the grounds, whether 

 under grass, or planted with trees and shrubs; 

 the work being performed in a similar manner 

 to that indicated for the flower-garden proper. 

 After the drainage has been attended to, it will 

 be necessary to determine the level or levels of 

 the surface; which is indispensable to enable the 

 whole to be dug to a uniform depth. In most 

 cases the level of the ground in the immediate 

 vicinity of the building is regulated by the 

 ground-line of the walls, or terraces if such 

 exist. The general level of the undisturbed 

 ground must then be ascertained, in order that 

 if any difference be found soil may be added or 

 removed as the case may require. Newly moved 

 earth will for a time be higher, but when well 

 soaked with the rains it will settle to the mea- 

 surements taken before it was disturbed. The 

 whole area should then be trenched evenly to a 

 depth of from 15 to 18 inches, where there is 

 this depth of soil of fair quality. 



A lawn should maintain a fresh green appear- 

 ance even in dry weather; and if the natural 

 soil is not at least 1 foot deep, as much should 

 be added as will bring it up to that depth, or in 

 dry seasons the choice will be betwixt a brown- 

 patched surface, or the application of frequent 

 and heavy waterings, which operation (unless 

 where there is a good water supply laid on by 

 means of pipes) becomes costly on account of the 

 labour involved. Where the staple is poor and 

 sandy, a liberal quantity of retentive and better 

 soil should be added. Where a lawn of con- 

 siderable extent has to be formed, this addition 

 of new soil may appear a formidable task, but it 

 should be borne in mind that a lawn is a per- 

 manent feature, and when once the work is well 

 done it will not require redoing. Let the depth, 



