The eye sees the ground over the fence at A [in fig. 157]; but, if carried to B, all view of the ground will be lost [to a person standing on the floor-line, c]. If the ground be flat, as at C [in fig. 158], or rises from the house, as at D, the fence will admit of being placed much farther from the house, without obstructing the view of the lawn.* The necessity of a fence, to protect the house from cattle, seems to have been doubted by the followers of Brown, who generally used the ha! ha! supposing that the fence ought to be invisible. On the contrary, it cannot surely be disputed, that some fence should actually exist between a garden and a pasture; for if it is invisible, we must either suppose cattle to be admitted into a garden, or flowers planted in a field; both equally absurd.
*[In some cases, the ground may be sunk near the wall, which should be two or three feet high, with an open fence of two or three feet, or more, if it be a fence against deer. But in Gothic buildings, the wall may be much higher, and the fence on the top may be wholly omitted.]