The occupier of the villa, the plan of which is shown m fig. 177., took a long lease of seven or eight acres of ground in the parish of Hammersmith. He took about four acres into his own possession, and the remaining part, lying along the public road, he let off in portions of a quarter of an acre each, for the purpose of being laid out and built on. This gentleman's own portion extends along the public road, from a to 6 in the figure. On the left, it is bounded by a brook (b c), beyond which are the grounds of a handsome villa, the two grounds serving mutually to set off each other. On the east, it is bordered by the boundary belt of a gentleman's park; and it extends behind the portion of ground allotted off, in the form of a paddock of upwards of two acres. This portion of the residence, which extends behind the frontage allotments, is kept in pasture, for the purpose of grazing a horse and cow; and, as the soil is rich, and moist rather than dry below, it produces a great abundance of nutritive herbage, and is a source of much comfort and enjoyment to the occupier. The quantity of grass produced is greatly increased by dividing the field by hurdles into -three equal portions, and by only grazing one portion at a time.

This practice might even be unproved on, by dividing it into four equal portions, keeping the cow and the horse always separate, and making one animal always follow the other. The reason why this is advantageous is, that the droppings from bones produce a rank growth, which is not objected to by cows, though it is by bones; and the same thing takes place in respect to cows.

377. Description, Etc

The surface of the ground of this villa is perfectly flat, but fortunately elevated 2 or 3 feet above the level of the brook (6 c). There is a carriage entrance near a, and a private door for domestics near 6. The house consists of two parlours (d e), a kitchen (f), and the usual offices, including a cow-house, stable, and gig-house. The kitchen and stable-court (g) are screened by plantations, as is the carriage road (h), which leads to the field (i) behind the range of front allotments, a portion of one of which is shown at k. The beds of flowers along the pleasure-ground walk, in this design, require no explanation; and the kitchen-garden is evident from its rectangular form. It is surrounded by a holly hedge, and, therefore, requires very little effort on the part of the planter of the pleasure-ground to conceal it From the turn of the pleasure-ground walk at the principal entrance to the kitchen-garden, it is obvious that this garden is not intended as a place to walk in. In short, a kitchen-garden without walls is too like an arable field anywhere, and, in London, too like a market-garden, to be much resorted to as a place of recreation. This is more particularly the case where the plan is a square of limited extent, as in the enclosure before us.

The square form and limited extent give the idea of confinement; whereas a long narrow slip, even though bounded by hedges, has more in it to amuse: on entering the strip at one end, something may be hoped for before we reach the other; but, in the case of a small square, the whole is seen at once the moment of entering; and, all the walks being equally short, and all the boundary fences equally exposed to the eye, there is no desire to proceed farther. These remarks as to the kitchen-garden apply chiefly in the case of a visiter walking round the place for the first or second time: to the occupant, the crops and the cropping are sources of particular interest. The conclusion that we wish to be drawn in the way of principle is, that, for interesting the imagination, and for picturesque effect, a small spot of ground, whether a plot of two or three perches, or a residence of five or six acres, should extend in one of its directions much more than in another: it should be much longer than it is broad, and the direction of its length should be crooked rather than straight.