A ND GROUNDS. 171 



farther from the walk than the light ones, they will form an in- 

 teresting border, and in time a dense screen. 



Fifteen feet from the end of the veranda towards the front 

 street, and twelve feet from the walk, a pine tree is indicated. 

 This may be either the common white pine, or the more beautiful 

 Bhotan pine, if one is willing to risk the permanence of the latter ; 

 unless the soil of the locality is such that neither of these pines 

 will develop its beauty in which case we would substitute either 

 Nordmanns fir {Picea nordmaniana), or some deciduous tree which 

 branches low. This tree is placed for the purpose of breaking 

 the view from the street to the veranda, so that persons sitting in 

 the latter will have a partial privacy from the street passers. If 

 the soil is deeply fertile, and not too dry, the Magnolia soulangeana 

 may be substituted for the pine, in climates not more severe than 

 that of New York city ; while further north the double white-flower- 

 ing horse-chestnut, allowed to branch low, is admirably adapted to 

 the position. The white birch, in front of the centre line of the 

 house, should be the cut-leaved weeping variety, which is too 

 beautiful and appropriate to the place to allow anything else to be 

 substituted for it. The tree in front of the other corner of the 

 house, in the climate just mentioned, may be the Magnolia 

 machrophylla ; in the northern States, any one of the following : 

 the red-flowering, or double white-flowering horse-chestnut, purple- 

 leaved beech, grape-leaved linden, the sugar, red-bud, Norway or 

 sycamore maple (especially the gold-leaved variety of the latter), 

 the oak-leaved mountain ash, or the tulip tree. While the tree is 

 young a group of shrubs may be planted on an irregular line with 

 the side of the house, so that the tree will form its centre, as shown 

 on the plan. The position of two magnolias on the left may be 

 determined by reference to the scale. In a region too cold, or a 

 soil too thin or dry for the magnolias, we would substitute a 

 group of three beeches the weeping beech in the centre, the cut- 

 leaved nearest the house, and the purple-leaved nearest the street. 

 It will be observed that this side of the lot connects quite openly 

 with the adjoining lot having few trees or shrubs on the margin. 

 If there is no division fence, or only a light and nearly invisible 

 one, and that lot is pleasingly improved, the views across it from 



