86 



BUILDING SITES 



face for a deeper and larger lot. Here a space, at least wide 

 enough to swing a scythe easily, is left between the fence and the 

 first grass terrace. It must not be less than six feet wide, nor 

 more than one-sixth of the distance from the fence to the house 

 steps. Another grass terrace around the house is shown at C. 



Two terraces of this kind are as many as any ordinary place will 

 bear. To break a small lawn into a multiplicity of terraces is a 

 sure means of spoiling it. This form of surface is well adapted to 

 be carried around three sides of a block embracing several resi- 

 dences, the fronts of which should be from 80 to 150 feet from the 

 street, and the lower grass plat at a from 10 to 20 feet wide. 



Fig. 4 shows two forms of treating a bank made by a deeper 

 street-cut say from six to eight feet. Owners frequently wall 



FIG. 



such street lines the whole height of the cut. No more foolish ex- 

 penditure can be incurred, both in an economic and artistic point 

 of view. It is difficult to make such a wall that will resist the 

 enormous pressure of the earth when frosts disintegrate, and heavy 

 rains soften it. If constructed so that it can resist for years this 

 interior pressure, it must be by the expenditure of a sum of money 

 that might create ten times the beauty if expended in other ways. 



