24 HOW TO PLAN THE HOME GROUNDS 



possesses more dignity and presents the house to better 

 advantage than the one that leads up to the house and 

 directly away again, by means of a circle or narrow turn. 

 If circumstances will allow — and it is wonderful how much 

 circumstances can be made to allow to the intelligent 

 effort of careful study— it is a good idea to design all 

 curves of roads on different lines of the ellipse, and to 

 avoid arcs of circles, because they are difficult, in most 

 cases, to employ in a practical way. 



Whether the road shall enter in front of the house and 

 come out again at the same point as it entered, or 



A — BAD LINE FOR A ROAD ; B — GOOD LINE FOR A ROAD 



whether it shall leave the place at another and more 

 distant place, are questions which the size of the grounds 

 and other considerations will govern. It is safe to say 

 that, all other things being equal, the best road is the one 

 that takes the shortest line. Sometimes a simple widen- 

 ing of the road in front of the house simplifies mat- 

 ters and gives sufficient room for turning (see page 26). 

 It is impossible and unwise to attempt to say how every 

 special problem of road arrangement should be treated, 

 for we cannot assume to know all the circumstances that 

 will control the result. It is wise, however, to say that 

 the width of the road should be minimized as much as pos- 

 sible, and that its course should lead directly toward a 



