CONSTRUCTION OF GARDEN WALLS. 



99 



of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture," 

 (p. 417) — These walls are made 2 feet 

 thick, and are raised upon a foundation 

 of stonework. After a wall is raised to 

 a certain height, it is allowed some weeks 

 to settle before more material is laid on. 

 The first rise is about 4 feet, the next not 

 so much, and so on — the layers diminish- 

 ing in thickness as the work advances. 

 The solidity of cob walls depends much 

 on their not being hurried in the process 

 of making them ; if hurried, they are apt 

 to swerve from the perpendicular. The 

 sides are pared down as each layer is 

 finished, and the building commences 

 early in spring, in order that the roofing, 

 which is of straw thatch, may be got on 

 before winter. Such walls should be fur- 

 nished with long metallic-eyed nails when 

 newly finished, or trellised afterwards, 

 for the purpose of fastening the trees to 

 them. 



In estimating the merits of cob or mud 

 walls, the late Mr Loudon very justly 

 observes, " that earth or mud walls are 

 not in use in any district in Britain 

 which is in an advanced state of improve- 

 ment : they appear to be chiefly suitable 

 to a rude state of society, where every 

 man is his own builder, and where me- 

 chanical skill and good tools for working 

 in timber and stone are scarce." Mud 

 walls are by no means uncommon in many 

 parts of the south of England; and, if 

 properly prepared and kept dry at the 

 top, are known to last for ages. The great 

 principle of their preservation depends 

 on their being built on a solid and dry 

 foundation, kept well thatched on the top, 

 and properly trellised. They are more 

 economical than wooden walls, and no 

 doubt attract a greater degree of solar 

 heat. 



These walls are common in Germany, 

 and are there formed of well mixed clay 

 and straw, used in a state neither very 

 wet nor very dry, and well rammed 

 between two movable boarded sides, re- 

 tained in their position by a frame of 

 timber, which form between them the 

 section of the wall : these boarded sides 

 are placed inclining to each other, so as 

 to form a tapering wall when finished. 



Flint walls are of great antiquity, and 

 are very common in countries where this 

 material abounds. The following descrip- 

 tion of their formation is from the "Land- 



scape Architecture of Italy," by Gilbert 

 Laing Meason. " Build up the flints in 

 frames, and pour cement," (concrete we 

 presume,) " into the interstices : the 

 foundation should be on brick arches"-— 

 this we, however, consider as superfluous — 

 " and the cement may be composed of 

 thoroughly-burned chalk slacked with 

 water, to reduce it to the finest dry powder; 

 and then sifted and added to two parts 

 of rough sharp sand, with small sharp 

 gravelly stones. The whole should be 

 mixed together dry, and a sufficient 

 quantity of water should be poured upon 

 it, to make it into a liquid paste, which 

 should be used immediately. The slack- 

 ing of the lime, the mixture, and the ap- 

 plication to the walling, should follow 

 one another without delay. A quantity 

 of the sand and powdered lime should be 

 at hand to throw into the moulds, in case 

 the mortar should appear too thin. By 

 such management this cement requires 

 not age to harden it." 



From the roughness of the surface 

 such walls require to be trellised, or 

 furnished with eyed studs to fasten the 

 trees to. Flint walls are in common use 

 in many parts of Hampshire, and are 

 there built with common mortar, much 

 in the same way that rubble stone walls 

 are in Scotland. Those who are ac- 

 quainted with the breaking of flints, con- 

 trive with apparently little trouble to 

 make very respectable-looking walls. 



Clinker or scoria walls. — The large 

 clinkers or scoria? formed in furnaces, 

 particularly in those employed in the 

 manufacture of iron or glass, make excel- 

 lent and durable walls. Their construc- 

 tion is in all respects similar to that of 

 flint walls ; and like them they require to 

 be trellised or furnished with eyed nails. 



The following are examples of econo- 

 mical walls, of which fig. 98 represents 



Fig. 



I I I ! | , 1 



what is called the square fret wall. It is 

 4 inches thick, and is formed by joining 

 a series of half squares, " the sides of which 

 are each of a proper length for training 



