TRELLIS-WORK, &c. 



685 



when intended only for the use of the 

 proprietor's establishment, such precau- 

 tion need not be taken unless to prevent 

 accidents from men or beasts falling in. 

 Drifted snow is apt for a time to render 

 them impassable ; but this does not often 

 occur, and, if it does, is only of short 

 duration. 



In carrying private walks past objects, 

 or parts of a domain that may, from 

 various causes, be wished to be excluded 

 from sight, various means may be adopt- 

 ed, such as tunnelling where the ground 

 will admit, carrying the walk over by 

 bridges with high parapets, or trellised 

 coverings interwoven with ivy and other 

 creeping plants, of which fig. 963 may 



Fig. 963. 



serve as an example, or as already alluded 

 to in speaking of covered walks. 



Tunnelling, where the nature of the 

 ground admits of it, is one of the best 

 modes of forming a communication be- 

 tween different parts of the grounds, and 

 may be effected by cutting through rock, 

 which, of itself, will be self-supporting, 

 while, at other times, the ground has to 

 be opened and walled up at the sides, as 

 well as arched over and then covered 

 with the natural soil. The building, in 

 such cases, should be in the rustic style. 

 In forming tunnels, they should, where 

 possible, be carried through in a straight 

 line, so that the light may be seen at the 

 opposite end. To render them tortuous 

 in direction is to render them dark, and 

 to raise in the minds of some an idea of 

 the tricks of the grotto-work so much 

 practised during the seventeenth century. 

 Another way of effecting communication 

 between distant parts of the grounds, or 

 of passing a walk which is wished to be 

 unseen, is by carrying a half rustic bridge 



of stone or wood over it, but so disguised 

 by vegetation as to hide the intention, 

 and not to interrupt the idea of the 

 continuance of the walk. 



Few things contribute more to the em- 

 bellishment of gardens and grounds than 

 properly designed and correctly propor- 

 tioned gates. Hence the necessity of as 

 much care being taken in the selection of 

 the designs as in the execution of the work. 



Gates for walks and footpaths are de- 

 nominated wicket-gates, and are, in gene- 

 ral, even in places of great extent, seldom 

 to be met with in good taste, their con- 

 struction being, in general, left to the 

 village carpenter or blacksmith. 



There can be no economy in using 

 wooden gates for any purpose, as their 

 first cost is nearly as much as that of 

 iron ones, while the durability of the one 

 can bear no comparison with that of the 

 other ; and after fifty years' use, the 

 material of the one is not much lessened 

 in value, while, long before that, the 

 other is either rotten or broken to pieces. 



The previous remarks on wicket-gates 

 apply to those on carriage approaches, 

 drives, and the broader description of 

 walks. With the decay of architectural 

 and geometrical gardens, gates have also 

 shared in the downfall. The beautiful 

 wrought-iron gates at Hampton Court 

 are one example out of many that could 

 be given of the style of gates thought to 

 be worthy concomitants to the geometri- 

 cal gardens to which they lead. 



As house architecture is rapidly rising 

 into repute amongst us, so will garden 

 architecture also be cultivated. As an 

 instance of this, we need only point to 

 the elaborate and elegant entrance-gates 

 to the grounds at Kew, which, had they 

 existed in the days of Pope, Bridgman, 

 and Co., would have been consigned to 

 the foundery as old iron, and wooden 

 hurdles erected in their stead ; and to the 

 beautiful specimens furnished by the Cole- 

 brooke Dale Company, exhibited in the 

 Crystal Palace last year. 



All fences for this style of garden should 

 either be of wire or be ha-ha's — both, we 

 believe, the invention of the Chinese. 

 The ha-ha forms a fence on one side only, 

 unless surmounted by a hedge, or chevaux- 

 de-frise. The wire fence protects on both 

 sides equally, and, in addition, is scarcely 

 seen at a distance ; hence the term " in- 



