STAIRS ON TERRACES. 



83 



expense, should be wholly or partially covered with 

 shrubs. When there is a considerable height of bank 

 and breadth of slope, several effective terraces may be 

 formed along the bank with walls, borders, and walks, 

 and intermediate slopes planted with laurels, constantly 

 kept down by pruning to the height of two or three 

 feet. The interest and- variety of these terraces are 

 increased by scattering over them a few ornamental 

 trees and shrubs, which may be allowed to assume 

 their natural form, but should not be introduced in 

 such numbers, or be permitted to grow to such a 

 magnitude, as to injure the low shrubs. These banks 

 of low evergreens are more suited for southern slopes 

 than grass is, as they are more permanently evergreen, 

 and, from their greater intricacy, have more variety 

 of light and shade than a closely-mown surface of 

 grass can have. 



Stairs on Terraces. — Flights of steps form an ex- 

 cellent means of decorating terraces. When connected 

 with walls, they are susceptible of a considerable 

 degree of ornament. Stairs, on grass slopes afford less 

 scope, for decoration ; vases placed on their sides may 

 be deemed the most proper objects for this purpose. 

 Stairs should be placed at the ends of terraces, as well 

 as at their centers ; they may be omitted in the latter 

 position, but if they are only found there, they have a 

 sensible effect in diminishing the appearance of length 

 in the terraces, by dividing them into halves. Prop- 

 erly, stairs should be in connection with walks, but 

 they may sometimes be introduced without the latter. 

 In either case, when there is more than one tier of 

 terraces, the flights of stairs should be successively 

 carried from the top to the bottom of the whole 



