CONSTRUCTION OF GARDEN WALLS. 



101 



jurious to the northern, or worst side, 

 by throwing all the rain in that direc- 

 tion. The diagonal line shows the direc- 

 tion of cords, or wooden rods, to prevent 

 the canvass screens from being blown 

 against the trees by the wind. Dur- 

 ing the day the canvass is rolled up, and 

 is fixed under the coping to keep it dry. 



Screen walls are projecting walls placed 

 at right angles with the main ones, and 

 are sometimes carried across the borders 

 at their full height, at other times partly 

 so, and sometimes in a slanting direction 

 from the top of the wall to the walk. 

 When placed at 100 or 200 feet apart in 



exposed situations, they afford advan- 

 tages in breaking the force of the wind. 

 Some have, and with evident success, 

 used boarded projections from 2 to 6 or 

 7 feet, fixed to the wall by massive hinges, 

 so that they could be removed with little 

 trouble, and indeed set to any angle that 

 might be deemed most expedient. Such 

 a mode of shelter was employed in the 

 old gardens at Drumlanrig ; and, we be- 

 lieve, remained till these gardens were 

 dismantled about twenty years ago. 



Conservative walls, fig. 105, owe their 

 origin to Sir Joseph Paxton, who has 

 long most creditably discharged the 



Fig. 105. 



duties of curator of the gardens at Chats- 

 worth, and now discharges the responsible 

 duties of general director of the Duke of 

 Devonshire's immense properties both in 

 England and Ireland. From his excel- 

 lent " Magazine of Botany" we have 

 taken our drawing and the substance 

 of our description. Sir Joseph observes 

 that, in forming a wall of this descrip- 

 tion, a south or south-west aspect is 

 desirable. It is also of importance 

 to give an ornamental character to it 

 by throwing it into compartments or 

 panels, by projections at equal distances 

 from each other, by an appropriate cop- 



ing, and by chimney-tops and vases sur- 

 mounting these projections, as in the 

 accompanying figure. The situation of 

 the conservative wall at Chatsworth 

 requires it to be highly ornamented, or 

 rather to be strictly architectural, as it is 

 so near to the most splendid architectural 

 mansion in England. The principles, 

 however, of a conservative wall having all 

 the advantages of projections and recesses, 

 and suited to situations having few or no 

 architectural pretensions, may be carried 

 out in a plainer manner. 



The above figure " is an elevation of 

 a highly ornamental conservative wall, 



Fig. 106. 



i_i 



which may be extended either way to on a parallel scale. This shows the 

 any required length. By referring to the furnaces at the back, in the form of 

 ground-plan, fig. 106, part will be seen, gratings; the flues a a, which are carried 



