January, 1913 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



247 



alpines, sedum, wallflower, snapdragon and 

 toadflax. Pointing is undesirable; if mor- 

 tar is used, let there be only enough for 

 stability. Any sort of climbing vine, 

 woodbine, English h-y, or ampelopsis, often 

 used to clothe high walls, needs ample 

 spaces between the stones in which to cling, 

 and it will cling to mortar better than to 

 cement. 



All this is true of brick walls also, it being 

 desirable to rake out the mortar joints to a. 

 depth of half an inch or a trifle more. Oc- 

 casional variation of the bond in different 

 courses and the use of both hard and soft- 

 burned bricks lends variety of color and 

 texture to the surface. The best bricks of 

 to-day present splendid rough surfaces with 

 a wide range of color even in uniform de- 

 grees of hardness. 



Some sort of cap is customary along the 

 top of brick and concrete walls and gate- 

 way piers. A brick cap is suitable in either 

 case. It may be flat of top, projecting two 

 inches beyond the width of the wall, or 

 sharp of top, the bricks being set up at an 

 angle of 45 degrees like rafters on a gable 

 roof. Long flat slabs of cut stone of any 

 local sort make a good cap, while on a con- 

 crete wall the Cap may also be of concrete if 

 that is desirable. 



A pleasing uniform finish and slightly 

 rough texture is given to concrete walls by 

 taking off the outer skin of cement which 

 comes to the surface next to the forms while 

 the concrete is still somewhat green so as 

 to expose the sand and stone aggregates. 

 These should be chosen for size and color 

 with this object in view. The simplest way 

 is to remove the forms as soon as the con- 

 crete has set, which will be in 24 to 4S hours. 

 Test by pressure of the thumb. Wet the 

 surface thoroughly and rub with a plasterer's 

 wooden float or a carborundum block. A 

 still rougher finish can be had by the use of a 

 stone cutter's bush hammer after the con- 

 crete has hardened. One part Portland 

 cement, two and one half parts sand and five 

 parts gravel or stone are the proportions for 

 a concrete wall. 



A stucco finish over brick or stone walls 

 is secured by applying first a coat of 

 cement mortar half an inch thick consisting 

 of one part Portland cement, three parts 

 sand, and. not over ten per cent, of the 

 sand proportion consisting of lime putty. 

 Before it sets, this coat is well scratched 

 to secure a bond with the finish coat, con- 

 sisting of one part Portland cement and 

 two parts clean sand. For a rough sand 

 finish the float is covered with burlap and 

 the mortar used rather dry. Throwing the 

 cement mortar on the walls with a wooden 

 paddle produces a dash finish. Pebble 

 dash is secured by applying a rather wet 

 cement mortar and then throwing half-inch 

 pebbles against it alternately coating and 

 pebbling a few square feet at a time. 



Every wall having mortar or concrete in 

 its make-up should rest on a footing or base 

 below the frost line. This is necessary to 

 prevent heaving and cracking of the mortar 

 ioints in winter and spring. Four feet be- 



An embankment wall of local stone laid up Germantown style with a stairway leading from the terrace above 

 to the garden below. Its texture gives a softness akin to that of age 



low the surface is about right except in the 

 southern states where two or three feet is 

 safe. The footing should be six inches 

 thick and sLx inches wider each side than the 

 wall it supports. Rising from this an eight- 

 inch wall of either concrete or brick is 

 usually satisfactory. Stone walls are much 

 wider, often fifteen inches. 



All of this holds true of retaining walls for 

 terraces, except that they are built accord- 



ing to what is known as gravity section. 

 In other words the earth pressure is re- 

 sisted by the weight of the wall, which is 

 thicker at base than top, the inclined side 

 being concealed by the earth. A con- 

 crete retaining wall showing four feet above 

 ground and eight feet high would have a 

 thickness of about 2 ft. 9 in. at the base, 

 1 ft. n in. at the ground level and twelve 

 inches at the top. 



For the small country place there is no more appropriate or picturesque wall than one of loose stones laid up 

 without mortar or pointing. Stones fiat of surface are desirable 



