of them on any spot intended for habitation. Nothing is easier than to thin out and remove them; and there is always a great pleasure resulting from the formation of openings through old plantations, to get views of the outside country. If the trees be not unhealthy, therefore, and are well supplied with branches, the more abundantly they exist, the greater will be the capabilities of a place. Large or aged trees and shrubs are also valuable in destroying all semblance of newness or rawness in a garden, in giving an appearance of age and cultivation, in shutting out bad objects, in improving the outlines and grouping of new plantations, and in supplying an increased amount and play of agreeable shadow.

Available outbuildings, or walls, or fences of any kind, should not be wholly disregarded. A good existing fence, especially if it be a hedge where such a thing would be wanted, will be of the greatest use, as it would take many years to rear it. But it is better that a plot should be wholly without every description of appurtenance, than that things of an improper class, or bad construction, or in a wrong position, should exist to tempt the purchaser to retain them; as the greatest dissatisfaction is commonly experienced from patching up an old house or other building that is not strictly suitable, and which can never afterwards be made so. It is far more pleasureable, and, in the end, more economical, to arrange and erect everything anew, than to submit to great inconveniences for the sake of preserving some relic of things that actually exist, because they happen to be ancient.

9. Whatever kind of view is sought to be obtained from a place, can be best compassed where it is situated on a slight eminence; and the rule will hold good, whether the view be one of the garden itself, as seen from the house, of natural scenery, of an arable and agricultural district, of other estates, of a river, or lake, or the sea, of distant hills, or of good individual objects.

In relation to the garden itself, as viewed from the house, some modification of the principle may perhaps seem necessary.

Although, however, a place, the ground of which rises as it recedes from the house, will appear larger, because more of its surface will be seen, yet the reverse of this would be the case when looked at from the outside of the garden, or from any point just within its boundary; and a slope from the house gives to the latter an appearance of dryness and importance, and enables one to bring in the exterior landscape more easily. This may be better understood by reference to the section fig. 1, which represents a piece of land the form of which is

Fig. 1.

entirely convex, with the house on its summit. If the ground also rises in a gentle bank, just towards the boundary, such a slope, being more perfectly seen from the house, will enlarge the apparent extent; the general section of such a plot being shown in fig. 2. But any great amount of convexity in the

Fig. 2.

surface of the ground, as it slopes from the house, would be an evil, because it would seriously foreshorten the whole, and reduce its size materially as seen from the windows. A very gentle slope, with only a small portion of roundness in it, will be preferable.

One of the chief desiderata in regard to the surface levels of

a plot of land is to obtain a good platform, which is tolerably flat, as a site for the house and garden. This will give the house the appearance of being more naturally placed, and will lighten the expense of earthwork and of foundations, while it will, in a hilly country, make the garden more comfortably accessible. As a general rule, too, the summit of a hill, if it be otherwise than a very low one, with a broad piece of table land at the top, is not so eligible for a house as the face of an easy slope to the south. In the latter case, the hill itself will afford some degree of shelter, and of background, which, with the necessary planting, will soon give a new place a habitable look, such as scarcely any amount of growth in the trees would impart to the crown of a hill.

That the best views of things beyond a garden may be had from a partial elevation will be too obvious to need enforcing. In regard to water, however, which forms such a beautiful and interesting addition to a landscape, a point of view considerably above its level will reveal its outline and extent more distinctly, and is therefore better adapted for large and bold sheets of it than for smaller lakes. Still, it will always be more pleasing and comfortable to be a good deal above a piece of water, that it may seem in a valley, and that the garden may convey the impression of being elevated.

It is far from being desirable that only the features of nature should be seen from a place. The better parts of detached neighbouring houses, good public buildings, places of worship, &c., will, if nicely brought into view, give an air of habitation and sociality to a district. Rows of houses, however, or masses of cottages, unless the latter be pleasing in themselves or picturesquely grouped, will be very unsightly and unsuitable constituents of a landscape. And a spot that overlooks a town, except partially, and from a height, and so as to catch merely the principal buildings, need never be sought. Still, glimpses of a navigable river, in the immediate vicinity of a large town, may, from the variety and motion of the craft employed upon it, give animation and beauty to a scene. So, likewise, a distant

view of a town or of a portion of it, where there is any irregularity of surface, or where the principal buildings serve to compose a picture, which is framed by nearer trees and plantations, may occasionally be rendered attractive and even striking.

10. The principal aspect of a house, like that of the garden, should be as nearly as possible south-east. This will allow of the entrance being on the north-west side, the breakfast-room or library having a south-east aspect, the drawing-room with a south-east and a south-west window, and the dining-room looking north-east or north-west, which is, perhaps, the best arrangement. If the kitchen and offices be on the ground-floor, they can be kept on the north-east side of the house, where the yard will also be situated, and from which last there should be a communication with the kitchen-garden.

A gentle eminence, with the ground sloping a little away from it in all directions, especially towards the south, will be the best site for a house. An approach by a rising road, and command of the outlying scenery, will thus be attained; while the house will be dry, and appear to be so. Its dignity and importance will also thus be enhanced. It should be put rather nearer the north-east than the south-west side of a plot, that there may be some slight breadth of pleasure-garden in front of the side-drawing-room window, and that the offices and yard may not be too much obtruded. The centre of the house should be about one-third the distance from the entrance to the opposite boundary of the pleasure-grounds, that two-thirds of the ground may be devoted to the private garden.

Any other aspect than a south-eastern one will not be nearly so appropriate. The south-west would probably be as good were it not such a stormy and rainy quarter; and views towards the south-east will be most pleasing in the evening of the day, when rooms are generally more used or more enjoyed. An eastern aspect will be cold; and easterly winds are extremely harsh and unpleasant. Westerly rooms, again, would be similarly cold, and exposed to a great deal of rain. Any aspect nearer the north, except for a dining-room, (which should be

free from sunshine at the dinner hour,) would render a house cheerless, damp, and uncomfortable. An abundance of sunshine can alone keep it dry and warm, and pleasantly habitable.

for a

A south-easterly aspect will be the fittest, moreover, greenhouse or conservatory, if that is wished to be added to the front of a house. And when the kitchen-garden-wall is carried out in a direction parallel with the best front of the house, as it may be, the south-east will likewise be the finest aspect for the choicest fruit-trees. In an architectural light, also, if the southeast and south-west are the best elevations of a house, a greater variety of light and shadow will probably be obtained from a nice arrangement of their parts, than could be had on any other side.

I have here introduced the ground-plan of an imaginary house, (fig. 3,) by way of illustrating, generally, what would be a desirable arrangement of the rooms, windows, offices, &c., with reference to both aspect and convenience. Not that I would pretend to such a knowledge of architectural detail as would induce me to design a house that should actually be erected. But, having given the subject a good deal of consideration, and having frequently experienced the difficulty of adapting grounds to what would appear to be great defects in architectural plans, I venture to suggest a hint or two on this point, as viewed chiefly in the light of my own profession.

By the sketch, it will be seen that the entrance to the house is from the north-west, that no important windows are on that side, and that the vestibule (1) projects sufficiently beyond the main line of the building to allow of an easy approach to the door by a carriage. The vestibule is lighted from the southwest side, and has a recess in it (2) for hats, cloaks, &c., and may be separated from the hall (3) by glass doors. The hall is also lighted by a window from the south-west, which would render it cheerful, and give it more of the character of a room. might also have a fire-place opposite the entrance, or against the wall that divides it from the staircase. It opens on to a corridor (4) connected with all the principal rooms, and having a large

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