MOSS-HOUSES, &c. 



709 



some object of interest; indeed, this 

 should not be lost sight of in placing 



seats and all other appendages, whether 

 for shelter or repose. Some excellent 



Fig. 987. 



structures of this kind have lately been 

 erected through the very extensive and 



highly varied grounds at Drumlanrig 

 Castle ; and so capacious are some of 

 them, that not only p . ggg 



the family and their 

 visitors, but their at- 

 tendants also, can 

 find shelter in them. 

 There is a degree 

 of humanity in hav- 

 ing such shelters dis- 

 tributed through an 

 extensive domain, as 

 they afford shelter 

 to the workmen in 1 

 bad weather. Highly 

 useful and ornamen- 

 tal, however, though 

 they be, care must 

 be taken, particularly 

 in small places, that they do not appear 

 too close together, as structures in any 

 way relating to buildings are 

 far more conspicuous than 

 sculptural subjects. They re- 

 quire to be introduced more 

 sparingly, and never without 

 the appearance of obvious 

 purpose or utility. 



Fig. 990 is thatched with 

 heath, attached to the tim- 

 bers of the roof with tar- 

 red cord, but, for appear- 

 ance sake, secured with four 

 bands of rope made of Poly- 

 trichium commune, or any 

 other similar strong-growing 

 moss. The interior of the roof 

 is first lathed, as it were, with 

 hazel rods about one inch 

 apart, into the spaces between 

 which mosses of various co- 

 lours are thrust firmly in; and 

 by so doing, the whole of the 

 roof is completely covered. 

 The different colours may be 

 placed in concentric circles 

 or zones, or in any other 

 pattern the artist chooses. 

 The back and sides, as high 

 as 3 feet above the seat, are 

 covered with larch, hazel, or 

 other straight-growing rods ; 

 and, if divided into panels, 

 the rods may be so arranged 

 as to produce any device 

 desired ; and, for the purpose of effecting 

 this in a proper manner, that part to be 



