642 



GEOMETRICAL FLOWER-GARDENS. 



them. Even Chatsworth, Windsor, and 

 Trentham are deficient in this respect, 

 while Clumber affords us the only excep- 

 tion. 



Cast-iron vases are now brought to 

 great perfection, as well as ornaments of 

 all kinds in the same metal. Sir Francis 

 Chantrey once declared that this could 

 never be the case, as no casting could ever 

 equal the sculptor's chisel. The enter- 

 prise of the English ironmasters has com- 

 pletely falsified this assertion, as has been 

 abundantly demonstrated, and while as 

 yet this art, in its highest branches, may 

 be said to be only in its infancy. We have 

 specimens without number of cast-iron 

 vases copied from the most elaborate and 

 chaste sculptural works of antiquity, and 

 of themselves as great a triumph in their 

 respective department of the arts as that 

 of the finest chiselled marble in the world. 



Vases of cast-iron are now becoming 

 common, and 

 copies of the ce- 

 lebrated old as 

 well as modern 

 designs can be 

 had little infe- 

 rior in form, 

 execution, and 

 beauty of out- 

 line, to the ori- 

 ginals. They 

 are to be had 

 painted in imi- 

 tation of mar- 

 ble or bronze ; 

 and, if care be 

 taken to paint 

 them regularly 

 with thin coats 

 of anti-corro- 

 sion paint, the 

 beauty and 

 sharpness of 

 the outline will 

 last for ages; 

 but, if neglect- 

 ed, rust will 

 destroy this ; 

 and if careless- 

 ly painted, the 

 same effect 

 will be pro- 

 duced. Painting, however, is a dangerous 

 process, unless carefully executed ; and, 

 of all imitations, bronze is the best. 



In regard to size, great attention ought 

 to be paid to proportion vases, as well as 

 all other sculptural objects, to the size of 

 the garden they are to be placed in. If 

 the garden exceeds one acre, such vases 

 should not be less than 6 feet in height, 

 measuring from the ground ; and in gar- 

 dens of greater extent, they should be 

 even larger, and elevated upon propor- 

 tionable pedestals. For gardens of one 

 quarter of an acre the dimensions may 

 be reduced to 2 feet in height, and 22 

 inches in diameter at their top. This is 

 the true proportion of the celebrated 

 Florentine vase. Figs. 859, 860, will 

 show the proportions when set on cor- 

 responding pedestals. 



Urns differ from vases only in hav- 

 ing a covered top. Their situation in 

 a garden should be one of quiet and 

 repose, or by the approach to, or round 

 a cenotaph or mausoleum. 



Fig. 861, the 

 dove tazza. — 

 We have select- 

 ed this remark- 

 able chaste and 

 superb speci- 

 men of art out 

 of a number 

 of productions 

 kindly put at 

 our disposal by 

 Mr Alderman 

 Copeland, the 

 well - known 

 manufacturer 

 of porcelain 

 and earthen- 

 ware at Stoke- 

 upon- Trent. 

 For elegance 

 in the design, 

 and beauty in 

 the execution 

 of the work- 

 manship, this 

 tazza reflects 

 great credit on 

 the establish- 

 ment of the 

 worthy alder- 

 man, which has 

 long since at- 

 tained a high degree of reputation, not 

 only in Europe, but throughout Asia and 

 America, and also displays the correct 



