HOW TO ADORN HOME GROUNDS. 281 
torted; in fact,a line which when drafted seems almost straight, will 
when placed upon the ground, be found by the novice to havea 
surprising amount of curvature in it. 
a The drive, therefore, should be in the line of the most traffic and, 
Re having entered the gronnds, should approach the house in a very 
a nearly direct line, governed by the topography of the ground, and 
Be” passing by the side of the house, proceed onward to the barns or 
es other farm buildings, if located in that direction. 
Paths we will taboo,except where absolutely necessary,for reasons 
of economy and to avoid cutting up the lawn, though in places of 
considerable extent a path winding through the border plantations 
and enclosing the broad expanse of open lawn may be desireable. 
5. Abrupt grades will prove fully as objectionable as distorted lines, 
P and,especially, at entrance and house, the drive should be as nearly 
level as possible with due regard for drainage; and as water is the 
; deadly enemy of good roads, care should be taken that none shall be 
es allowed to remain on or near the driveway. 
: All questions of construction and grading of lawns or roads hav- 
i ing been settled, we now come tothe part of the work which too 
te many have considered more ornamental than useful, the planting of 
By our grounds; and the scheme must be a matter of special consider- 
ae ation in each case. 
There are few locations which do not present us with features in 
: the landscape which we at once divide into two classes, one to be 
a: preserved and incorporated into our design for improvement and 
the other which must be concealed, if possible; and by the proper 
arrangement of our trees and shrubs we must bring about the de- 
sired results. 
If there be some distant lake or tree-crowned bluff or other point 
= of interest which may break the monotony of the view, let us take 
¥ care that no growing tree or shrub is placed so as to at last intercept 
it, even if we have to leave a gap in the windbreak which is so dear 
to the pioneer’s heart, for by a little care in placing the removed 
trees asflankers we can probably save the view and atthe same time 
keep out most of the obnoxious gales; as, however, a picture is un- 
4 finished till properly framed, so we may so arrange our planting 
that the prospect which was pleasing before becomes doubly so if 
seen through an opening guarded by drooping evergreens or under 
the overarching branches of some graceful elm. 
I was much struck a few weeks since by the results obtained by 
the setting out of a couple of large trees in an open field in sucha 
-. way as to enclose a certain portion of what had been before a broad 
, and rather monotonous lake view; the vista of water with the distant 
et wooded shore seemed to start into view as when one focuses a tele- 
a scope or field glass. 
7 If, as sometimes happens, the distant view is attractive, while be- 
tween it and us there are objects disagreeable to look upon, we may, 
perhaps, introduce low growing shrubberies, which, while they blot 
out the foreground, do not interfere with the prospect we wish to 
preserve. 
