62 NEIGHBORING IMPROVEMENTS. 



ought to fence themselves in, thoroughly. Or if they have reason 

 to believe their neighbors are of the same sort, they may well be 

 sure of the height and strength of the divisions between them. 

 But we prefer to imagine the case reversed ; and that our neigh- 

 bors are kindly gentlemen and women, with well-bred families, who 

 can enjoy the views across others' grounds without trespassing upon 

 them. These remarks are intended to apply to those decorative 

 portions of home-grounds which, in this country, and especially in 

 suburban neighborhoods, are usually in front of the domestic offices 

 of the house. The latter must necessarily be made private and 

 distinct from each other. One of the most fertile sources of disa- 

 greements between families having grounds opening together, are 

 incursions of boisterous children from one to another. Now it is 

 suggested that children may be trained to respect and stop at a 

 thread drawn across a lawn to represent a boundary, just as well as 

 at a stone wall. Every strong high barrier challenges a spirited 

 boy's opposition and enterprise, but what costs no courage or 

 strength to pass, and a consciousness of being where he don't be- 

 long, generally makes him ashamed to transgress in such directions. 

 A well-defined line will, in most cases, be all that is necessary. 

 This may be simply a sunk line in the grass, as shown at a, Fig. 17, 



FIG. 17. 

 a 



or it may be a row of low, small cedar or iron posts, with a chain or 

 wires running from one to another, or some very low, open, and light 

 design of woven-wire fencing ; anything, in short, which will leave 

 the eye an unbroken range of view, and still say to the children, 

 "thus far shalt thou go, and no farther." If parents on both sides 

 of the line do their duty in instructing the children not to trespass 

 on contiguous lawns, less trouble will result from that cause than 

 from the bad feelings engendered by high outside boundary walls, 

 that so often become convenient shields to hide unclean rubbish 

 and to foster weeds. 



An interesting result, that may be reached by joining neighbor- 

 ing improvements, is in equalizing the beauties of old and new 

 places. Suppose B. has bought an open lot between A. and C., 

 who have old places. The grounds of A., we will suppose, are 



