8 



lots are purchased in the midst of farm land, the farmer usually prefers for his 

 convenience in farming in the surrounding fields, to sell a long frontage with a 

 shallow depth, rather than the reverse. For a certainty, lots of ample frontage 

 are more desirable than those that are narrow and deep, for they are better 

 adapted to practical and attractive development. And, after all, why go to the 

 country and still live on a narrow lot? If for a cottage home a lot of ample 

 frontage may be assumed, then with this greater latitude for location, the de- 

 sirability of a low-spreading house, will be evident. 



If lots are chosen along or near good roads, for reasons of accessibility, high 

 hedges and heavy border plantings will be necessary to exclude the noise and the 

 dust incident to modern traffic, and may at the same time serve to relate the house 

 less to the road and more to the grounds within. High hedges along the road- 

 way, as well as about the greater part of the boundaries, will contribute mr.ch to 

 the desired character of the cottage home; but usually one need not hesitate to 

 place his house where he prefers. He may even turn it endwise, or in fact at any 

 angle to the road. In short, there does not appear to be any exterior condition 

 that limits or in any way particularly affects the ground plans of isolated proper- 

 ties, unless it be that of fine distant views. 



However, it should be noted that to face a building precisely at right angles to a 

 particular line of view is likely to result in an appearance of conventionality, 

 which is altogether unsuitable for a cottage garden. Furthermore, in a boundary 

 hedge, apertures which are directly opposite the sides of a house, that is, in an 

 axial relation, make a yard appear more open than if they are in an oblique re- 

 lation. An exposed effect is apt to result from too many apertures in the hedges, 

 and furthermore they interrupt the* interior scenery. From the windows of a 

 cottage, a single glimpse of the country beyond one's boundaries is usually 

 sufficient. Walks may lead from the house to points in the yard or along the 

 boundaries whence the country may be seen to best advantage, and at times it 

 may seem worth while to devote one whole side of a cottage to these distant 

 outlooks. A pleasing distant prospect, advantageously frarmd by a narrow 

 aperture in the boundary hedge, will ordinarily be more interesting than a view of 

 wide expanse. However carefully planned, if the view is apparently incidental, 

 it is less obvious and therefore contributes to the unstudied effect of the scheme. 

 Hence, it does not appear that cottages need be turned to any precise angle with 

 respect to the lines of yiew; in fact, the more incidental relation of the cottage to 

 possible views is thought to present those views more interestingly; moreover, 

 the necessity for openings directly opposite the sides of the cottage is thereby 

 obviated, and the enclosed and sheltered effect within is preserved. Thus it is 

 evident that the plans for rural homes are concerned mainly with conditions with- 

 in their boundaries. 



Frequently a cottage set near the highway, even in a corner near one of the 

 side boundaries is the most accessible to the road, as well as allowing the most 

 advantageous and desirable division of the space within. Whether or not a 

 Cottage is much in evidence from the highway, it is usually best to place it nearer 

 to the road than to the rear boundary, for reasons of accessibility and because 

 the quieter area in the rear of the cottage will then be larger. The space be- 

 tween the road and the cottage may be interestingly treated, whether hedged or 

 open to view from the road, and in spite of the fact that the face of the building 



