ARTIFICIAL LAKES. 



193 



varied. The opposite extreme, however, shjui'd be 

 avoided ; for where there is too little excavation, the 

 boundaries of the lake often seem too feeble for the 

 retention of its contents, and the effect is invariably 

 tame. As a general rule, apparent shallowness should 

 be avoided in artificial water. 



The beauty of lakes depends greatly on their out- 

 line, and this, therefore, is an object of indispensable 

 attention. When they are formed in a hollow, the 

 plane of their waters naturally assumes an outline 

 corresponding with the original configuration of the 

 ground, and this outline can be varied and improved 

 only by the formation of bays, promontories and isl- 

 ands ; and by such means considerable additional effect 

 may often be produced. If the site is on level ground, 

 the outline may be varied at pleasure ; any form may 

 be adopted. It may be either broad, bending, or wind- 

 ing, as the general character of the park or the extent 

 of the lake will allow. In every case, however, the ar- 

 tificial lake should present breadth rather than length. 

 Yariety of outline, and the desirable intricacy of effect, 

 may be secured by the means above alluded to, viz: 

 by bays, and promontories, and islands. Care, how- 

 evi r, must be taken that the projecting masses do not 

 obs iure or destroy the breadth of surface, as is too 

 often the case with small pieces of water. In some 

 instances, what is intended for a lake dwindles down 

 into a winding canal, or palmated pool with an island 

 stuck into it, certainly as unlike a work of nature as 

 a work of man can be. 



Note. — It is the sheerest folly to attempt water, un- 

 less some volume can be given to it. All attempts to 

 make a duck pond in grounds of any extent, are little 



