Page:Japanese Gardens (Taylor).djvu/95

Rh the side of a walk, like a milestone; it should be a vertical stone, unsuitable as a seat, and contrasting in character with the ‘Wayside Stone.’ ”

There are also the religious stones, as well as those—long lists of each—for water gardens, stones of lake and river, cascade stones, and stones also for tea-gardens. In this chapter there have been enumerated only those stones that are likely to occur in any garden. Strictly speaking, the various water stones should be given here, for that reason; for seldom does a Japanese garden lack water, or the appearance of water, in its scenery. I feel, however, that it will make for clearness if they are spoken of in later chapters.

This now brings us to the stones that, in this moist land, seem perhaps the most important to the foreigner, namely, stepping-stones. But these stepping-stones, it must be remembered, are not for crossing a stream, nor even for getting through wet grass (for turf is hardly ever used), but they form, in little islands, as it were, the garden paths. The ground having been cleared of every blade of grass, and of weeds, is pounded down firmly and left in that way, or else covered with fine sand or gravel, or perhaps little hard round stones. Nevertheless, with the almost constant rain one could not wander about the garden much without these convenient slabs of stone