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home is not felt. Some small area in good turf is a pretty feature and is ordi- 

 narily considered useful. The bordering hedges alone may surround it, or it may 

 be given a gardenlike aspect by means of flowers against the hedges. Small 

 lawns may combine open turf areas with areas of flowers, thus providing that 

 which is necessary for a lawn and gardens while at the same time reducing the 

 size of the area requiring careful maintenance. To be useful, however, a turf 

 plot should be as level as possible; and no more turf should be included than can 

 be thoroughly prepared and beautifully maintained. A small lawn should not be 

 unkempt; but if well cared for, it may be very much of a decoration. 



A considerable extent of land is never undesirable and at times may be very 

 advantageous. Interesting bits of scenery are desirable acquisitions, and at 

 times the interesting features that one may want to include in his purchase do 

 not lie so near as to be included in as small a parcel of land. However, if several 

 acres are purchased, it is not wise to plan extensive gardens and lawns about the 

 house, as the effect which is sought is more consistent with a small than with a 

 large area. With larger lots, one may well devote the space in excess of that 

 needed for the pleasure ground and the service area, to an orchard and a meadow. 

 Small bits of woodland should be allowed to remain in their natural condition 

 and should be devoted to native plants. 



A small orchard is an attractive as well as a useful feature, and furthermore, 

 it is equally attractive and useful even when it is not as carefully maintained as a 

 lawn must be. Likewise it is desirable to include in one's small domain a bit 

 of meadow, especially if it contains fine trees. Somewhere about every country 

 home there sjiould be a variety of nut trees, and while these may be used for shade 

 trees about the house or in the service court, a meadow affords space for more of 

 them and for a greater variety. If orchards or meadows are extensive, or if they 

 are not provided with hedges like those of the gardens, then, near the house, 

 large groups of tall shrubs or massive trees should be so arranged as to permit 

 satisfactory outlooks into these more open parts of the property. However, 

 the effect of too much openness about the house is undesirable. It is unimportant 

 how the ground of these areas lies with respect to the level of the house. Views 

 will be equally interesting if the grade of the surrounding areas is considerably 

 lower, and when this is the case it is easier to drain the gardens and to provide 

 good drainage for the house. But in planning a cottage and its setting, it matters 

 little whether the grounds are very limited, or are more extensive and include an 

 orchard and a meadow. Orchards and meadows are not essential to a cottage 

 setting, as the rural outlook is generally attractive, whether it includes one's 

 own or a neighbor's land. 



The relation of a rural property to the country round about with respect to 

 views might furnish material for considerable difference of opinion. Many 

 persons will say, "Why go to the country and then hedge yourself in?" Those 

 persons who prefer to live on a hilltop and to command an uninterrupted sweep 

 of the horizon will never know the appeal of the intimacy and charm which it is 

 possible to create under some such conditions as have already been described. 

 Those who prefer the hilltop home find it difficult to appreciate the interest and 

 picturesqueness of vistas and restricted views, as compared with an uninterrupted 

 panorama. Limited views of the country through openings in the boundary 

 plantings may very likely be pleasing, although there is some difference of opinion 



