64: 



PARKS AND PLEASURE— GROUNDS . 



principal source of the gate nuisance on the approach. ; 

 but it may be abated by the use of wire fences, used 

 as divisional fences, and made to run parallel to the 

 line of the approach, in which case they interrupt the 

 continuity of the park in a very slight degree. They 

 should be kept back from the road, at least fifteen or 

 twenty feet ; and the grass growing on the intercepted 

 space may be cut for hay or eaten down occasionally 

 by sheep. We have found such an arrangement ex- 

 tremely useful in a park where the approach passed 

 through a wood, pasture-lands, and pleasure-grounds, 

 for the length of a mile, without a single gate. 



Note. — We can see no necessity or propriety for 

 subdivision fences, or gates, within a park, unless on 

 extensive agricultural estates, where they may become 

 indispensable for the conveniences of cultivation, or 

 pasturage ; and in such cases, it is worth some pains 

 to ascertain if they cannot be avoided. All cuttings- 

 up of the grounds, by fences, hedges, or otherwise, 

 mar the dignity of the places. Apparent extent is a 

 chief feature in a park proper; and if this be sacri- 

 ficed to the common checker-work of farm fields, bet- 

 ter make a farm of it at once, and place the house in 

 a well-kept lawn, with its tidy inclosure of wire fence, 

 or paling, to protect the shrubbery and flowers which 

 appertain to it, rather than pretend to park the place, 

 and leave it, after all one's effort, a failure. — Ed. 



Termination of the Approach. — That part of the 

 approach which is nearest to the house, and comes up 

 to the entrance, requires very careful adjustment. 

 "When the ground is level, a suitable termination is 

 comparatively easy; but in other cases, cutting and 

 filling up of the surface may be needful, before access 



