Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/789

 PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING VILLAS. 7^<5 wind is less objectionable than one exposed to driving rains ; since slielter may be afforded from the former by trees, but not from the latter by any means. lf)29. Sui! and Subsoil arc very generally reckoned among the jirimary considerations in the choice of a site for a villa ; and they are undoubtedly the lirst, as far as respects the value of the estate. But it must be recollected that the soil about a house can be totally changed by art, while the previously mentioned requisites of climate, elevation, surface, and aspect, hardly admit even of improvement. Where these circumstances are favourable, the nature of the soil and subsoil, though of secondary importance, have yet still considerable influence, both in regard to the health and enjoyment of the occupant, and the grovi'th of the plantations. A soil which retains moisture on its surface, which is the case with most clays and loams with retentive bottoms, may be considered as the least healthy ; and the one which admits of being walked on without wetting the feet the soonest after a shov,-cr of rain, is the most so. For the present purpose, it will be sufficient to consider all soils as either clayey, sandy, gravelly, or chalky ; and all subsoils as either based on granite, argillaceous rock, sandstone, limestone, or chalk. Soils based <»n rocky subsoils, whatever may be the nature of the stone, may always be considered Ileal thier than alluvial soils, sands, or gravels. Soils supei-incumbent on calcareous and sandstone rocks are found to produce healtliier surfaces than those on chalk or slatestone ; and surfaces, also, which are much better adapted for cultivation and the growth of trees. Unquestionably, the best substratum for the site of a house is a limestone or sandstone rock ; and the worst, soft black peaty soil, or strong tenacious clay. But, in judging of the soil for a villa residence, regard must also be had to its suitableness for garden pur- jioses, and for the growth of trees. In this respect the subsoil is sometimes of more importance than the soil : for the latter, in general, can be improved by draining ; and its susceptibility of this improvement vaiies materially, according to the nature of its subsoil. The most difficult subsoils to undcrdrain are those composed of moist retentive clays; and, when to tliis subsoil is joined a flat surface, the situation, a.s far as respects the enjoyment of walking in the open air, is one of the most hopeless kind. A bad sub- soil is an effectual barrier to the thriving of timber trees ; and, as these constitute the finest ornaments of every country seat, the importance of choosing a subsoil cither natu- rally congenial to them, or capable of being rendered so by art, is eufficicntly obvious. In an economical point of view, it is always more desirable to choose a poor soil than a rich one, provided it be dry, for the immediate site of the house. Rich soils are better re- served for cultivation ; and, indeed, for the purpose of lawns and kept grounds, they only serve to increase the expense of mowing and weeding, by the luxuriant growth of their herbage. On the whole, therefore, the most important consideration, in respect to the soil of the site of a villa, is, that it should be dry, and placed on a subsoil favourable to the growth of trees. 1 G30. Ji'ater is the remaining consideration ; but it is one of very secondary import- ance. For all domestic purj)oses, it can be procured almiost every where by boring or sinking wells; and pieces of artificial water, where expense is not an object, may be supplied by machinery from natural sources, at the distances even of miles. It is singular, that in England, where immense sums have been laid out on the groimds of villas, and where the steairv-engine is familiar to every body, so little should have been- done in the way of bringing water from a distance by underground pipes, and forcing it to higher levels by means of machinery. Some of the noblest parks, with the surface of the soil finely varied, and beautifully enriched with wood, lose half their effect, from the want of as much water as might be sujii-'lied from a distance by an engine of one- liorse i)ower, which might be kept up at a less expense than a footman or a groom. 1631. The Situatinn of a Villa, relative to the Sea, is a consideration that chiefly applies to islands, and countries bordered by the ocean ; but in these it merits particular attention. Some of the differences between an inland and a maritime situation are of a jiermancnt nature, and can never be affected by human improvement. Of these, some of the principal are, the dryness or moisture of the air, its moderate temperature, and the imfitness of most maritime situations for garden purposes. The uniformity of temper- ature on the sea-coast is a great reconnnendation to persons of particular constitutions ; and so is the dryness of the air on the cast coast of our island, and its moisture on the west coast. The grandeur and variety of a marine prospect at every season of the year are powerful considerations ; and, to thase who have little relish for gardening pursuits they may compensate for their absence. In choosing a marine situation, it is an importan point to ascertain whether or not it will admit of the free growth of trees and the cul- ture of garden productions. On the western shores of the British islands, especially when there are hills or mountains at no great distance in the interior, timbci' trees grow freely to the water's edge : on the eastern shores, on the contrary, they will scarc^^ly grow at all. 1G32. Among the teviporary Circumstances which influence the choice of a situation