56 DWELLINGS, OUTBUILDINGS, 



places enough where we may avail of all their beauties. Fig. 12 

 shows a section of front grounds and street with a hedge on the 

 street line. It will be seen that the line of view from the eye of a 

 man on the sidewalk, over the top of the hedge, isolates him as com- 

 pletely from the view of the grounds as a jail wall ; and even from 

 a carriage, in the middle of the street, one can see but little more. 

 A word, in conclusion, about gateways and gate-posts. Showy 

 posts of carpentry or masonry, which are not of solid wood or solid 

 stone, or which are made higher than the general character of the 

 fence calls for, are apt to seem pretentious. A gateway, whether 

 for a carriage road or a walk, should always be marked in some 

 way, so that one will know at a glance, and at some distance, just 

 where the entrance is. This is generally and properly done by 

 making the gate-posts conspicuous, either by their size or their 

 finish. But it is easy to overdo, by giving them a cheap showiness 

 or massiveness disproportionate to their importance. Stone is far 

 more beautiful than any other material for posts, and for the gate- 

 ways of walks should be used in simple forms and of single 

 blocks, if it can be afforded. Or, after making a suitable founda- 

 tion of cheaper stone, the part above ground may be a single block 

 of sufficient weight not to be jarred on its foundation by the ordinary 

 use of the gates. It is not necessary that the two gate-posts be alike. 

 The one upon which a gate is swung requires to be far heavier than 

 the one into which it latches, and it will not be " out of taste " to 

 make the size of each conform to its use, and to economize by 

 making one heavy post instead of two. Children will swing on 

 gates in spite of all warnings, and the gates must be hung so that 

 they will bear the strain. To insure this solidity, great weight 

 is required, or else the post must be very thoroughly bedded in 

 the ground. There is much less strain on the post into which 

 the gate catches, and therefore no need of making it of the same 

 weight and expense. In making the suggestion that it is not ne- 

 cessary to have the bpposite posts of the gateway fac-similes of 

 each other, it must not be understood that there is any impropriety 

 in it, but only that the means are best adapted to the end when the 

 one which is most heavily taxed shall be provided first to meet the 

 calls upon it. For gateways on drives it is not always practicable 



