COLOUR OF GARDEN WALLS. 



77 



be wanting. It is not in curves, circles, 

 and ogees, we shall find satisfaction. The 

 walls, if the ground will admit of it, 

 should all run in direct lines. They 

 may be built level, or they may be 

 inclined, so as to suit the general cast 

 of the ground ; but the nearer to a level, 

 the better they will please. The eye is 

 distracted, and the idea totters, in behold- 

 ing any building apparently unstable. 

 We can look upon a mast placed oblique, 

 or on a tree growing aslant, with firm- 

 ness and satisfaction, because we know 

 the one is supported by ropes, and the 

 other by roots; but on a wall running 

 much off the level, we look with a degree 

 of distrust and fear." 



After some remarks regarding shelter 

 and situation, he proceeds : " If the 

 north wall can be placed quite level, and 

 also the south wall on a lower level, 

 and so as that the east and west walls 

 shall fall from north to south a foot in 

 thirty, or in twenty-five — and if the 

 ground be lengthened from east to west 

 in the proportion of three to two, the 

 extent being 2 or 3 acres — on such a spot 

 may be erected a garden that will not 

 fail to please. 



" Next, on a spot of the above, or of 

 similar dimensions, sloping so to the 

 south, and not level from east to west, 

 but sloping a few feet (perhaps one in 

 fifty) to the east — in this case the 

 walls should run directly parallel to each 

 other, both with respect to latitude and 

 to inclination ; otherwise the eye will be 

 displeased with the distorted appearance 

 of the coping when at the full height. 

 Next, all as here described, and the 

 ground sloping to the south and to the 

 west ; and next a dead level spot, — in 

 which case particularly the walls should 

 be of different heights. But ground fall- 

 ing to the north, or very much distorted, 

 should be avoided, as being very unfit 

 for erecting walls or other buildings upon : 

 on which a complete modern garden 

 cannot be formed, without considerable 

 difficulty and a great additional expense. 



" In all cases, the wall should be free 

 and open, especially the south, east, and 

 west walls, that they may be covered on 

 both sides with fruit trees. They are 

 erected at a very considerable expense — 

 and why should a yard of their surfaces be 

 lost 1 They should be sheltered by distant 



plantations, if the ground be not naturally 

 sheltered, and may very properly be 

 surrounded by shrubbery or standard 

 fruit trees, provided these do not come 

 too near them, or shade them from the 

 sun. If a clear border and walk, the 

 breadth of 20 or 30 feet, intervene be- 

 tween the wall and the shrubbery, the 

 trees planted against them will be suffi- 

 ciently free and exposed." 



Many large and excellent gardens, it 

 must be admitted, could be instanced 

 where no regard has been paid to the 

 above rules, but which have been en- 

 closed with walls, without regard to 

 straight lines or parallel heights. These, 

 however, are not models to copy from, 

 but to avoid, if the object is to have a sym- 

 metrical garden claiming any pretension 

 to artistic taste. Nor can such gardens 

 have the same appearance of order and 

 design as those where the rules of art 

 have been attended to. There is an ex- 

 ception, however, to this rule — namely, 

 as regards gardens of irregular outline 

 and greatly diversified undulation of 

 surface. The walls in such cases should 

 run so as to accord with the general lie 

 of the ground ; and of such gardens there 

 are many excellent examples. 



§ 8.— COLOUR OF GARDEN WALLS. 



Walls are in general left of the colour 

 of the materials of which they are com- 

 posed. It appears, however, by experi- 

 ments repeatedly made, that dark-coloured 

 walls absorb and radiate more heat than 

 those of any other colour, and hence are 

 supposed to accelerate the ripening of 

 fruit grown against them somewhat 

 sooner. The property of a black colour 

 to absorb and radiate heat is undeniable : 

 whether, however, blacking walls, when 

 completely covered with the branches 

 and foliage of trees, is likely to have 

 much effect on the fruit, is, we confess, a 

 refinement in gardening we have never 

 been able to feel very fully satisfied re- 

 garding. 



On this subject we extract the follow- 

 ing answer to a correspondent in "The 

 Gardeners' Chronicle," 1842, (p. 161 :) 

 "The quantity of solar heat absorbed 

 and reflected must together be the same, 

 whatever the colour of the materials may 



