TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 301 
neighbourhood of the house, or the scenery directly under 
the eye. Here, by judicious levelling and smoothing in 
some cases, or by raising gentle eminences with interposing 
hollows in others, much may be done, at a moderate expense, 
to improve the beauty of the surrounding landscape. 
It is, however, fortunately the case, that in the modern 
style of landscape improvement, extensive and costly opera- 
tions upon ground are very seldom needed. By the aid of 
plantations arranged as we have already suggested, much 
may be done to soften too great inequality of surface, as 
well as to heighten the apparent magnitude of gentle undu- 
lations. The art of the improver, when employed upon this 
material, will therefore be directed to the production of neg- 
ative, rather than positive effects, — to the removal of exist- 
ing faults or blemishes, rather than to the creation of an 
entirely new and artificial surface. 
To pursue this method with success, it is necessary that 
he should refer constantly to the principle which we suggested 
in the commencement of our remarks : the preservation 
of the natural character of the scene , or, we may here add, 
the heightening of the character intended for the form of 
the surface. We have already remarked that scenes abound- 
ing in natural beauty were chiefly characterized by gentle 
undulations of surface, and smooth easy transitions from the 
level plain to the softly swelling hill or flowing hollow ; and 
that, on the contrary, highly picturesque scenes exhibited a 
more irregular and broken surface, abounding with abrupt 
transitions, and more strongly marked elevations, and depres- 
sions. 
In a scene expressive of simple or graceful beauty , 
where the surface is more or less undulating, the first pro- 
ceeding of the improver will be to remove any accidental or 
