307. The conservatory, it will be observed, has a south-east aspect; while the conservative wall, and the forcing structures (m) in the reserve garden, front directly to the south. By turning to the plans figs. 107. to 116., it will be seen that the distant views from the lawn front of the house, and from the walk in front of the conservative wall, are equal to any obtained from other parts of the grounds. Several designs for conservatories will be given in an after part of this work.

308. The situation of the circular flower-garden at k in fig. 119., and l in fig. 120., is good in every point of view. It is completely sheltered from the north and east by the conservative wall and the kitchen-garden wall; and the side next the south is open for the free admission of the sun and air throughout the year. The walk from the flower-garden along three sides of the kitchen-garden, and leading to the point n, is made straight, and parallel to the walls; being, as we consider it, governed in direction by the latter. The space between the wall and the walk is a border, which may either be devoted to ornamental shrubs and flowers, the wall being covered with half-hardy. ligneous plants; or it may be planted with culinary vegetables, and the wall covered with fruit-trees. In either case, the exterior space is supposed to he turf, varied with trees and shrubs. The subdivision of the kitchen-gardea into compartments, by walks 6 ft. broad, is so obvious an arrangement as to require no remark. The walls we shall suppose to be of brick, 12 ft. high, and built hollow. The two walls which form the ends, having each one aide facing the south, may be flued.

At o is a rustic building of an architectural character, so as to be ornamental, which serves as a shed in which various articles may be kept, that are required in the pleasure-ground, and partly also in the kitchen-garden. Among these are hurdles for dividing the lawn, or hurdling off portions to be fed by sheep; portable racks, mangers, etc, for feeding sheep and lambs in winter and spring; trees which have been thinned out, and are to be cut up at a convenient season, for poles, or sticks for peas, and other uses; reed-hurdles, canvas and oiled-paper frames, etc,for protecting fruit-trees, and the plants on the conservative wall; and, in short, all articles required in the garden, which are too bulky or numerous to be kept in the reserve ground.

309. The pleasure-ground walk, from the point n to p in fig. 119., is to be lowered by forming an artificial winding hollow, or valley, and placing the walk in the bottom of it. At p, this hollow is supposed to be so much below the level of the approach road as to admit of the walk in it being carried tinder the road through a tunnel. Both sides of this artificial hollow are intended to be densely clothed with evergreens, to prevent any person on the walk from seeing any object on the approach, or discovering that he is at all near it; and also to prevent the sunk wall from being seen by persons driving along the approach. The direction of the tunnel under the road must be perfectly straight, in order that the light may penetrate freely through it; for, if bent so as to obstruct the direct passage of the light, it would appear dark and gloomy while entering from either end. The arch may be of brick or stone, set in cement; and it may be covered with a coating of clay, or of asphaltic mastic, so as to prevent the surface water from sinking into it.

The interior of the arch, if built of stone, may have open irregular joints, in the rustic manner; and something of the same sort may be effected in brickwork, if the arch be first built in the usual manner, but with an extra half brick in thickness, and the soffit afterwards blocked out with the aid of cement so as to resemble large stones, and weather-stained so as to imitate an arch of great antiquity beginning to decay; or the bricks which form the soffit of the arch may remain of their natural colour, but be broken and stained in such a manner as to imitate great age. Both extremities of the arch may terminate in irregular masses of stone, or with vitrified brick, placed according to art, as a finish: but great taste and judgment are required, not to overdo this part of the structure. Above all things, in tunnels of this description, let no attempt ever be made to communicate a grotto-like character, by lining the arch with spars, shells, stalactites, etc, as if it were intended for a place to linger in, and contemplate these, and other grotto-like or hermitage-like objects. In short, no attempt ought to be made to give the tunnel the appearance of being anything else than what it is (that is, an archway thrown over a sunk walk), except with reference to age.

The older such an arch appears to be, provided there be no indication of insecurity or rapid decay, the leas objection is likely to be made to its use, by a stranger, as a place for a walk to pass through. Whatever is very old, and at the same time very strong and secure, commands so much respect on account of these qualities, that other points are not thought of: we cannot hesitate to use a passage that has apparently been so often traversed by others before us; and that we may fancy has been only made for the convenience of exploring what lies beyond. Were such a tunnel to appear to be constructed of raw brick, or stone newly dug from the quarry, the question would arise in the mind of a stranger, why it had become necessary; and suspicions might arise as to some trick or deception about to be played off; or that some advantage had been taken in the way of making the place appear larger or better than it really is.

310. Supposing the subsoil to be very wet, and incapable of being drained to any great depth, then, instead of conducting the walk under the approach in a tunnel, we would carry it over the road on a bridge. In this case, the approach road should be placed in the bottom of a hollow, and the bridge should be sufficiently wide to allow of a plantation being made on each side of the road over it, so as to conceal the approach from the spectator on the walk. In short, the approach should appear rather to pass through a short tunnel than under a bridge; and the same remarks as to age, dryness, light, strength, etc, will apply, as in the case of the sunk tunnel for the walk. Many persons, in such a case as this, would propose to carry the walk over the approach road, on some kind of iron bridge; perhaps even one on the suspension principle; but such bridges, though excellent in themselves, and admirably adapted for useful purposes, are the very reverse of rural or picturesque. Their lightness does not at all harmonise with the forms of trees and shrubs, and of the rough surface of their trunks end stems; and the associations connected with iron and its manufacture are much more at variance with rural life than those which arise from the works of the builder or carpenter, to which mankind have been accustomed from the most remote ages.

Where it is desired that the grounds of a residence should appear truly rural and picturesque, we would allow of no iron gates, iron hurdles, or wire fences; much less of tree guards of iron, iron seats and benches, iron trelliswork, iron stakes for plants, etc. Where, however, a high degree of elegance and finish was to be joined to the picturesque, such as near the house, we would allow of a wire fence, to separate the lawn from the park, paddock, or sheep walk; and, for grand mansions, castles, and palaces, we would admit of highly wrought entrance gates; but this is as far as we could go. Of course, we do not object to iron in the construction of verandas, glazed structures, etc, where it assumes an architectural character, and is, besides, disguised, so as to appear like wood. Our principle is, that we object to iron, where, from the form of the article, the material of which it is composed is obvious to the eye of every spectator; and, consequently, its use interferes with rural and picturesque beauty.