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NOTES ON DECOBATIVE GARDENING. 
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NOTES ON DECORATIVE GARDENING.— Rustic Teekaces. 
By H. KOEL HUMPHEEYS, Esq. 
fHAVE cndeavoTii'ed to sliow, in a preceding article, the necessity of blending the hard and 
symmetrical lines of an architectural elevation with the gentle and ii-regular outline of natm-al 
scenery, by means of a terrace, or some feature of the kind attached to the principal front. Even a rustic 
cottage requires to be accompanied, at all events on its principal side, by a moderately broad esplanade 
or terrace, which, however, does not absolutely require any arohitectm-al embellishment of an expensive 
land ; for, when merely raised a few feet above the surrounding g-arden, by means of a neatly tm-fed 
embankment, a terrace imparts, even in that simple form, a very pleasmg air of propriety to the 
site of the dwelling : — first, it suggests at once that a sufficiently high situation has been selected, posses- 
sing due advantage in height over the sm-rouuding ground ; secondly, that an amply sufficient space has 
been carefully levelled a:id prepared for the erection of the building ; and, in addition to these evident 
and agreeable advantages, art, by its means, is carried beyond the mere form of the house itself, 
in a manner that causes its vertical and horizontal lines to blend by degrees with the accidental outline 
of the surrounding vegetation, and undulations of ground. 
With but triflhig increase of expense, a rustic and somewhat more architectural parapet might be 
formed, of which a suggestive sketch is given in the engraving above. This parapet, calculated to 
harmonize with a building in the cottage style, is formed by strong stakes, with the bark left on, to 
which branches, also unbarkcd, are attached. They must be arranged with that attention to a certain 
irregular symnietiy commonly known as " rustic work." Three or fom' steps lead from the terrace to 
the lower gromid, which to accord with the rustic character of the parapet, should not be stone, but 
merely gravel, faced at each rise by short stakes with the tojjs cut off flat, as shown in the sketch on 
the opposite page. 
The turf bank may be terminated at the bottom by a narrow flower-border, not above one foot wide, 
in which compact and trim-growing plants alone should be placed. After this modulation from the 
straight lines of the building, the cui'ved walks of the garden may commence without further restraint. 
Although the design for a terrace fence, here given, is formed of rustic work of an ii-regular cha- 
racter, — effects equally consistent with the style of architectiu'e of a rustic cottage may be produced 
by a symmetrical disposition of the same materials, — the branches might be so arranged as to form 
interlacing ellipses, which produce a geometric pattern, the repetition of which, at regular intervals, 
would be extrcmelj' pleasing. Or, if the style of the cottage should be Gothic, the interlacings of the 
branch-work may be easily made to form a pattern of that character, to which, in fact, the style of 
work lends itself with great I'eadiness. 
The other engraving is a design for a terrace, embellished in a manner to accord with a building 
of somewhat more regular architectural pretensions than the rustic cottage for which the former design 
is suited. It supposes a house of moderately small dimensions, biiilt in the modern suburban villa 
style, with which rugged forms would not agree, but to which a ten-ace with a decorative parapet 
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