Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/832

 808 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. tain a quarter of a peck of corn, or whatever quantity may be considered a feed. Loose boxes have been already described, § 755. One, at least, should always be reserved for sick horses. 1721. The Keimelfor Sporting Dogs would be well situated somewhere near the stables, though, as dogs are rather noisy and unsavoury neighbours, some people would place their residence at a greater distance from the house, probably at the keeper's lodge. Their larder and kitchen are certainly great nuisances in many cases. I scarcely need describe a dog-kennel, which consists, in all cases, I believe, of sleeping-houses, with a bed against the wall raised a foot or more from the ground, and filled with straw. In fi-ont of these are yards enclosed by a wall or paling ; and, in the yards, proper troughs for the food and water. The sleeping-houses and yards should both be paved, kept particularly clean, and frequently whitewashed. A stream of water should, if possible, nm through the yards. Adjoining should be a room containing a chest for meal, and a set copper in which to prepare the dogs' food. A pump to supply the troughs and copper with water would also be necessary, if there were no running water near. 1722. Back Yard for Dung, Rubbish, Sfc. Behind the stable should be a yard enclosed by a wall, to contain the stable-dung, wood stacks, and refuse from the gardens and house. Here niight be cisterns to receive the liquid manure from the stables and the contents of the house-tb-ains ; and here would also be the privies for the stable-men and gardeners. As I suppose tliis yard to be bounded on one side by the garden wall, it would form a receptacle for the rubbish from the garden ; so that, all the manure produced about the premises being accumulated in one place, it might be removed, as wanted, to the farm. The fuel, and all the provender required for the stable would be brought in here, the stable-men having a proper lock-up coal-house for their allowance of fuel ; and as I suppose the back entrance to the garden to be through this yard, every thing the gar- dener required, such as coals, earth, manure, &c., would pass this way to the garden gate. All the litter of the premises would thus be confined to the back yard, and nothing unsightly would appear about the house. 1723. Kitchen-garden. I shall not venture to say any tiling of the arrangement of the kitchen-garden ; but, with regard to its situation, as a garden wall is always an ugly object, I would place the garden in a retired sheltered spot, and endeavour to conceal it by plantations and shrubberies. The principal entrance to it should be from the plea- sure-ground, by a handsome gateway. This gateway might be so designed as to appear at the extremity of a lawn or vista, and form an architectural embellishment to the <^rounds. In the situation we suppose, the kitchen-garden would probably be in the form of a long parallelogram, the long sides north and south. The entrance would be in the middle of the east end, and might open upon a broad gravel walk, extending the whole length of the garden, having a border for herbaceous plants on each side of it ; and, beyond this border, the compartments for vegetables. At the end opposite to the entrance might be the gardener's lodge, a comfortable dwelling, showing on this side an ornamental fi-ont, with a few flower-beds, and jierliaps a sundial before it. Beyond the lodo-e would probably be a separate enclosure for the hot-houses, stoves, pits, &c. ; with the seed and store rooms, and labourers' sitting and sleeping rooms, and other necessary buildings of that kind ; beyond this might be the orchard, properly enclosed. The ground for dmig frames would, I suppose, be near the back entrance to the garden, which, as I have already said, would be through the yard behind the stables. To make the most of the wall for fruit trees, there might be a narrow outer gaiden, or slip as it is usually called, round the south and west walls. 1724. The Pleasure-gardens would comprise the enriched parterre before the windows of the drawing-room, saloon, and library ; the pleasure-grounds leaching to the woody eminence behind, and filling the space between it and the back of the house, and the end of the parterre. In this space there would be room for great variety of effect in garden scenery; such as shaded winding walks, open glades, small lawns, &c. &c., with orna- mental scats interspersed. Between the kitchen-garden wall and the woody hill would be a sheltered spot for a small winter-garden, planted with the best evergreen trees and shrubs. On a small lawn, in the centre of it, might be a few beds filled with laurustinus, mezereon, Cydonia japonica, and any early-flowering low shrubs and plants ; with bulbs, such as all the varieties of crocuses, &c., in great abundance. A conservatory on the warm side of it would not be ill-jilaced. 1725. In the Pleasure-grounds, I would have very few clumps or masses of shrubs. Both trees and shrubs have generally the best effect, and attain to greater beauty of form, when .scattered judiciously in groups upon turf; the groups properly connected and mixed with lower growths, so as to form a whole : what is called dotting, I would espe- cially avoid. Masses are, however, sometimes required for boundaries, and to conceal disagreeable objects. One of the most de!ightfd pleasure-grounds I have seen is at Packington Hall, in Warwickshire, in which I do not remember to have observed a clump,