LAWNS 49 



way, they had best be kept some distance away, or 

 located near some mass of foliage, so as not to mar the 

 open character of the space which is really the heart of 

 the home grounds. 



As the expanse of turf leaves the house, the spread 

 and breadth of the lawn should, if possible, increase. It 

 is wonderful how, on a very small place, the landscape idea 

 being kept strictly in view, the most picturesque effect 

 can be obtained by a few skillfully arranged shrubs and 

 trees and a skillfully graded lawn. 



By undulating the surface of the la\Mi toward the trees 

 and shinibs on either side, and keeping the planting ter- 

 ritory elevated, and grouping the bordering foliage into 

 points and bays of green, pictures can be created upon a 

 limited space that would delight the eye of a painter. 



The grading of the lawn is a delicate operation. It is 

 not difficult to grade a lot level, or sufficiently level for 

 good effect, the production of a mathematical level 

 being practically impossible, but where the difficulty 

 commences is when nice modelling of the surface of a 

 territory is directly suggested by the natural scooped- 

 out character of the ground. The thing to do is to 

 catch the idea of the slope and s\ving of the ground, and 

 instead of trying to make it more level, to rather accen- 

 tuate the dip of the general curve of the surface exactly 

 in the trend and direction suggested by the surrounding 

 land. The general curve should be made, of course, 

 continuous, and all little hills and hollows smoothed out 

 into one suave and well-modeled valley. 



Low, marshy ground may be often drained dry instead 



of being raised higher with earth filling, and rock masses 



draped \^ith vines and planted with low shrubs instead 



of being blasted away. In this manner, the lawn and 



4 



