FENCES, BRIDGES, AND SUMMER-HOUSES 187 



or advantage in being in evidence all the time. Per- 

 haps the reason some people in America have been at- 

 tempting to do away with the fence and stone wall 

 altogether, and in their place to carry the la^^'n directly 

 to the sidewalk, is because the stone wall fails to interest 

 them sufficiently, and they desire, instead, to obtain a 

 greater feeling of freedom ; but we believe that if they 

 learned how to design the form and coloring of the wall 

 better, and to ornament its surface with suitable vines, 

 we would not hear so much about making la^\Tis without 

 wall or fence. The author undoubtedly knows residence 



IRON PIPE AND ANCHOR-POST FENCE 



portions of some Western towns where the absence of 

 walls on the sides and front is a most attractive feature, 

 but, as a rule, we are concerned with countr}^ places 

 where the requirements are better met by walls and 

 fences. 



In favor of the erection of fences there is less to be 

 said, though theu' use is sometimes imperative; fences 

 are an advantage to the place only in so far as they afford 

 the seclusion and protection from without. They are 

 less defensible than walls, because they can hardly be 

 made altogether satisfactory in line, contour, or sur- 

 face ; therefore, what we can do with fences to render 



