PART VII. PICTURESQUE IMPROVEMENT. 415 



breadth may vary in a considerable degree. A group of shrubs, 

 or a single tree, may sometimes divide it, and there the breadth 

 must be separated, and, each narrow course taking nearly the 

 same direction, in a short time they may meet in one track, and 

 assume the former width. Some beautiful examples of this 

 kind of walk we find in woody banks or commons. In thickets 

 or woods, whether of natural trees and undergrowth, or of 

 exotics, as in the full grown shrubbery, the edge of the path 

 should often be totally annihilated on both sides, and bounded 

 only by the irregularity of the lowest growths. In walks, the 

 excellent effects and superior economy resulting from these 

 principles is excellently illustrated at Foxley and Dunglass ; 

 and in roads it may be seen in those parts of much frequented 

 approaches which it is not judged necessary to subject to the 

 paring-irons and formal trimming of gardeners. 



The formal, stiff, and harsh edges of made roads and walks, 

 is one of the most striking deformities in picturesque scenery. 

 Though every other part of the scene should be perfect, or 

 though they lead through a natural copse or an unfrequented 

 dell, their edginess and formal manner powerfully distract 

 the eye of the spectator, and frustrate the genuine effect of the 

 scenery. Indeed, the wilder or more natural the ground which 

 the walk passes through, the more anxious is the gardener to 

 shew his labours, either by the frequent addition of fresh gravel, 



