Passing along the turnpike-road (a a in fig.314.) indication is given of a gentleman's seat by the triple row of trees within the boundary wall. Arrived at the point b, we there find an open iron gateway, in the centre of a semicircular wall; and, looking through the gateway along the avenue, we observe at its further end a lofty square house (the mansion) on a raised basement Between the centre gateway and the lodges on each hand, there are two openings of the same width as the gateway; and, like it, they are filled in with ironwork, so as also to resemble gates. Through these the eye looks along the avenues c c, which are well calculated to give an idea of extent After passing through the gates, if we look to the right and left, we see the avenues at right angles to the approach avenue (d d), and, on each side of the avenue leading to the house, the side avenues (e e). The centre avenue has a broad gravel road, but all the other avenues are in grass. Arrived at f, which is the entrance to the court of honour, if we look to the right and left, we have the avenues g g; though these are chiefly calculated for making an impression on a stranger when he comes out of the court of honour on returning from the mansion.

Having passed through the court of honour (A) (in the centre of which is a statue, a sun-dial, or an obelisk), and also directly through the hall of the house, we descend the steps from the platform on the garden front, and arrive at a terrace walk, which extends on each side as far as i i. Directly in front, there is an ancient parterre, with a raised terrace walk round it On the right is the kitchen-garden (k); and on the left, the bosquet (l, which is analogous to the modern shrubbery. To the north of the bosquet, there are a conservatory, summer-room, frame-ground, and reserve-garden (m), all of which will hereafter be explained more in detail; and, to the north of the kitchen-garden, there are the stable offices, cow-yard, poultry-yard, laundry, and drying-ground (n); as will also be here-after more fully explained. There are the back roads (o o) to the offices, gardens, etc, proceeding from the main approach at f; so that no servant need ever have occasion to cross the court of honour, except when in attend-ance on his master, or to open the court gates.

From the points i i and p p, and from the walks in the kitchen-garden, and. in the bosquet, leading to these points, vistas are obtained along the avenues in the park; which are shown by the plan so distinctly, that it is unnecessary here to enter into further details. Two of these avenues (q q) are shorter than the others; but, to direct attention from this circumstance, which would show the boundary fence rather nearer than is desirable, obelisks are placed near their termination, at r r. Two other avenues (s s) are interrupted, by omitting the lines of trees in that portion of them which would pass the front of the house, and would have obstructed its view; but this interruption will not materially injure the effect from the points p p in the kitchen-garden and the bosquet Certain avenues are carried through the arable lands exterior to the park or paddock, in order to show that the proprietor's property extends on every side. At t t, these avenues border the natural wood; but, in the other places, they are carried through the middle of corn-fields, the ground under the trees being kept in grass.

At v v are woods, that is, standard trees, with coppice-wood beneath them for the protection of game; at w w are hop-grounds; at x x, orchards; at yy, gardens to the entrance lodges (not shaded by the trees of the avenues, as such gardens too frequently are, but fully exposed to the south); and at z is a single row of trees, which is carried along the public road as far as the property extends. The farmery in this design is supposed to be situated on the opposite side of the road, and is not shown in the plan; but several of the arable fields belonging to it are seen on the east and west boundaries of the park.

a, The court of honour, with three gateways, and an obelisk in the centre.

Fig. 315. shows the house, gardens, and offices of the residence just described, on a larger scale than in the plan fig. 314.

b, The stable-court, on the northside of which are a six-stalled stable, haraness-room; with groom's sleeping-room over, and two coach-houses; and in the north-east angle there is a turret with a clock, a corresponding turret being formed on the opposite side of the court of honour. c, Cow-yard.

d. Open shed, for roots and other food for the cows in winter, and where calves or a pig may be fattened, and one or two donkeys kept.

e, Cow-house for five cows.

f, Wash-house, with laundry over. g, Fruit and root-room.

h, Banqueting-room, or summer-house, for eating fruit in, with rooms on the first-floor. A cistern for supplying the fountains is immediately under the root i. Poultry-yard. k, Kitchen-court.

l, Drying-ground, in the north-west angle of which is a pigeon-house, m. Reserve ground for the kitchen garden. n. Kitchen-garden, o. Grand terrace walk, from which there are several flights of steps; one ascending to the house terrace, one descending to the flower-garden, one descending to the kitchen-garden, and one descending to the bosquet. p, Basin and fountain, in the centre of the flower-garden; the fountain, supplied with water from a, cistern on the roof of the house, q, Terrace, or platform, on which the house stands, r. Veranda, or way covered with a glass roof, which leads to the conservatory and the summer room (t) s, Lobby to the conservatory, communicating with a back room, the forcing-ground, and a water-closet, t, Summer room, which may either be a museum, a room for pictures or statues, a room for reading in, a school-room, or a banqueting-room. On the first-floor are rooms for books or pictures; and immediately under the roof is a cistern for supplying water to the bosquet, the conservatory, and the forcing department. u, Back sheds to the conservatory and potting-ehed, and work-rooms for the forcing-ground, v, Forcing-ground, with two pits, and, at the back, a vinery, peach-house, and house for pines and grapes. to, Gardener's house, and two rooms for lodging under-gardeners. x x.

Reserve-ground for the flower-garden and the flower-beds in the bosquet; having, in the north-east angle, a pigeon-house, or a house for peacocks, to correspond with the pigeon-house in the drying-ground.

y, Four compartments in the bosquet, one laid out as an ericetum, another as a roserisma, a third as an American garden, and the fourth as a flower-garden.

z, The four principal compartments of the bosquet, planted as an arboretum; the largest trees being placed adjoining the central walks, and the smallest shrubs bordering the four side walks. In the ancient style, when there were not above a dozen kinds of trees and shrubs in cultivation in any garden in Europe, the walks of the bosquet were bordered by hornbeam or yew hedges, kept regularly clipped; and the interior of the compartments was kept lull of wood, of the kind most abundant (often of the common hazel, for the sake of the nuts), but cut so as never to rise higher than the hedges which bordered the walks, and often cut quite level on the upper surface. Hornbeam was in most common use for bosquet hedges; but the yew was occasionally employed for the same purpose, both in France and England; and, in Italy, the phillyrea and the ilex, or evergreen oak.

], Boundary fence on the south, east, and west sides of the bosquet, the flower garden, and the kitchen-garden, supposed to be a sunk wall, rising 4 1/2 ft. above the surface, on the side next the bosquet, and showing a sloping ditch on the other side, like that of the modem sunk fence.

9 2, Portions of the boundary fence, both of the bosquet and the kitchen-garden, formed of open iron palisading, in order that spectators within may see along the avenues in the park. 3 3 3, Commencement of the avenues.

4 4 4 Terrace walk surrounding the flower-garden, to which there are four descents by flights of steps. The fountain in the centre may consist of a group of allegorical figures, which will not only be in harmony with this style of gardening, but will require a smaller quantity of water, and less elevation of fountain-head, to produce an effect, than where a single columnar Jet is employed.

5, A covered way, the roof being glazed, with creepers underneath, to correspond with the veranda (r). Underneath this covered way there are two passages; one to the kitchen and other under-ground offices (which are all lighted from windows, only half the height of which is above the level of the platform), and the other up a flight of steps to the terrace; the object of this last passage being to admit of the master or mistress descending to the kitchen-court (k), and thence to the poultry-court (i). and to the fruit-room, banqueting-room, etc., by the most direct mode.

6 6, Situations for sun-dials. 7 7, Situations for statues.

8 8, Situations for obelisks.

9, Peach and fig wall, 12 ft. high, with broad border.

14, Conservative wall, 11 ft. high, with a narrow border.

11, Conservative border, for Cape bulbs, in front of the conservatory.

12, 12, Holly hedges, 10 ft high, with atone piers, surmounted by vases, at the doorways, angles of intersection, to. For the holly hedges, brick walls may be wholly or partially substituted, and covered with fruit trees or ornamental shrubs,

13 13, Stone piers, surmounted by vases.

Fig. 316. is a slight sketch, showing a bird's-eye view of the whole place.

497. Remarks

In this design we have purposely omitted a feature common in the geometrical style; viz., a moat of water round the house, offices, and gardens; and the reason we have done so is, that we suppose the situation to be flat in a flat country, and, consequently, that so much stagnant water would be unwholesome. In many cases, also, a broad straight canal would, in ancient times, have been carried on from that part of the moat which was in front of the flower-garden to the boundary of the park; and this also we have omitted for the same reason. The bosquet, in some caws, would have had one of its compartments laid out as a labyrinth, which we have not shown, because we prefer devoting the whole of the bosquet to a collection of trees and shrubs. We would not, however, omit the labyrinth, not only because it is one of the features of the style, but because we observe that in those few places wk€ie labyrinths at present exist in England, they are always great sources of amusement to the young people who are allowed to visit the grounds. Every one who has been at Hampton Court will recollect the labyrinth there, which is open at all times to all the world, and is the source of perpetual amusement to the public.

There is also a very .well kept labyrinth at Chevening, the seat of Earl Stanhope, where the grounds have been laid out by the present earl, chiefly in the ancient style, and in very correct and appropriate taste; and where, with an example worthy of imitation, they are at all times open to all the public. A labyrinth of hornbeam hedges might be introduced at w in fig. 314. in p. 447, instead of one of the hop-grounds. The woods v v, in the same figure, might be cut into alleys, stars, and pattes d'oie; and it would not be inconsistent with this style, if the two side avenues

(e e) terminated in obelisks. Directly in front of the house, in the boundary row of trees, or immediately within it, a column surmounted by a statue, or an obelisk, might be placed, as an object from the house, and to divert attention from the boundary fence. 498. The park it thrown into compartments by the intersections of the avenues; but, as no hedges or walls are supposed to exist within it, there is a free range for animals and sportsmen over the whole. If, however, it should be desired to make the most of the pasture, by grazing it with cows or sheep, the compartments might be separated, in the direction of the lines of trees, by hurdles, which, joined to the trunks of the trees, and partially concealed by their heads, would not be in the slightest degree offensive to the eye. In planting these avenues, there are only a few kinds of trees that could be employed; such as the oak, elm, beech, sycamore, horse-chestnut, sweet chestnut, and a few others. Some might prefer planting the whole with the black Italian poplar, which would produce a splendid effect in ten yean after planting; others might prefer the Lombardy poplar, which would also soon produce a striking effect, and which would do very little injury to the pasture below.

The young trees should, if possible, be procured from the nurseries with clear stems, not less than 6 or 8 feet high, and not less than 2 in. in diameter at the collar. To insure the possession of plants of this size, it may be advisable to order them a year or more beforehand, or to procure them, and rear them in a private nursery in the ground, till they are sufficiently large for planting out. Whichever mode is adopted, it must be borne in mind that all the trees of the same kind intended for avenues must be of the same site, and of the same vigour of growth, when planted where they are finally to remain; and, also, that no more than one kind of tree can be planted in each avenue. The reasons for these dicta are sufficiently obvious; via., to insure uniformity of progress and appearance in every part of each avenue. For the same reason, the soil, in every part of an intended avenue, must be trenched, or otherwise prepared, to the same depth; and, by the addition of manure or compost, rendered everywhere of the same quality. The trees, after being planted on little hillocks, may be protected in Mr. Lawrence's manner, already described (p. 265.); or, if it be considered less expensive, each avenue may be enclosed by lines of fencing along its exterior sides.

The kitchen-garden will be in strict accordance with the ancient style if surrounded by a hornbeam, beech, holly, or yew hedge; but stone and brick walls were also used in this style, and, in modern times, will doubtless be preferred, on account of the facilities which they afford of growing the more delicate fruits. No slip is shown round the kitchen-garden, because, in the plans, the boundary fences are hedges with stone piers; but the introduction of a regular slip round the walls of the kitchen-garden has nothing in it inconsistent with the geometrical style, and may therefore be adopted at pleasure. The compactness of all the garden scenery in the design before us, and in the geometrical style generally, is attended with some economy in management, because the whole is more immediately, and at all times, under the eye of the master, every part being overlooked from the window of the house; and it may also be more conveniently examined by the female part of the family and by invalids.