TRANSACTIONS HORTICL'LTIRAL SOCIETY OF N'ORTIIEHN ILL. 377 



grow to broad proportions, and even darken the light of your windows, 

 and nearly hide your house from view. You group the evergreens 

 mostly off in side directions, to the right and left, only allowing a few 

 of symmetrical form and smaller growth on the grounds in front. You 

 perhaps plant a few trees of large growth at the extreme outer border of 

 your grounds, along the road. You avoid getting your front grounds too 

 much filled up with low shrubbery ; for you prefer that your front views 

 shall consist mostly of a clean, grassy lawn, with only a few scattering 

 trees to afford a pleasing play of sunshine and .shadow. In short, you 

 desire to have your largest trees back of your house, and breaking round 

 in irregular groups towards the road, with only scattering trees in front. 

 When your trees have grown up, your house, when viewed from the road, 

 will appear to stand back in a kind of bay, partially encircled with a rich 

 background of sylvan scenery, and having a breadth of green lawn in 

 front. It is a very common error to plant too many trees in front, and 

 not enough back of the house and off at the wings. 



If a natural grove of young timber should be on the ground you 

 have selected for your homestead, you will consider this very fortunate. 

 The most charming situations are such as are already adorned with a 

 growth of young timber. You will make such improvements on what 

 Nature has supplied at your hands as good taste and landscape effect will 

 suggest. If you can preserve a natural grove of some extent, contiguous 

 to your building groimd, you will consider yourself especially favored. 

 Nothing could add more to the sylvan attractions of a homestead. A 

 country that is divested of its natural groves is bereft of its richest 

 garlands of beauty. 



In planting trees and laying out grounds, you will imitate nature's 

 rounded turns and flowing outlines, so as to make groups of evergreens 

 and masses of shade trees present a scenery of wild diversity. The aspect 

 of your situation, or make of ground, will suggest natural curves or 

 rounded turns to the outside boundary of your grounds. You will 

 determine on the place for your entrance gate — not exactly in front of 

 the house, but off in a side direction, so as to afford a richer view of the 

 architectural forms of the house, and also to afford more changing views 

 in the scenery of your grounds. Perhaps a gate for footmen will enter 

 your grounds, in a side direction, from the one side, and the carriage 

 gate off at the other. Your carriage-drive may cither pass l)y a graceful 

 curve in front of your house, and thence around your house, and off back 

 to the barn, or (what is better) it may curve up near the house, and then 

 wind its way towards the barn. Your walks, also, should take such easy 

 turns or windings as the make of your ground or groups of trees will 

 suggest. There should always be some seeming necessity for such turns 

 in your walks. It is often proper to plant groups of trees to occasion a 

 necessity for such turns in a walk or carriage-drive. 



Fences are obstructions in landscape scenery, and should only be 

 built where absolutely necessary. Where a fence is indispensable, as 

 along the public highway, it should be such as will obstruct the view as 

 little as possible. If swine are excluded from the public highways, (as 



