THE SELECTION OF A SITE 27 



encroachments of the jerry-builder. So much depends 

 upon the character of the extended views obtainable from 

 the garden, that it would be extremely unwise to surround 

 oneself with land which, in all probability, will be dotted 

 with ill-designed villas within the course of a few years. 

 It is worth many little inconveniences to ensure that what 

 we have we may hold, and that the view which affords 

 us so much pleasure to-day will be ours for so long as 

 we care to enjoy it. Factories, ugly churches (of which 

 there are many),*and cottage property of every description, 

 are features capable of creating a blot on our vista of 

 landscape, and the ideal site is one on which such objects 

 not only do not now intrude themselves, but have no 

 possibility of doing so in the future. 



The outlines of the property must also be regarded 

 as relevant to the question of site, more especially 

 having regard to the impossibility which exists of 

 making a satisfactory design for gardens of certain 

 shapes. All who have attempted to achieve artistic 

 results with the orthodox villa strip, know the extreme 

 unsuitability of the narrow parallelogram. It is no easy 

 matter, again, to secure a well balanced plan, in which 

 the separate features are not unduly scattered, within 

 boundaries which are square or nearly so, though this 

 form is infinitely preferable to the foregoing. Perhaps 

 the best, certainly the easiest, results are attained when 

 the outline is triangular, though it is highly important 

 that the positions of base and apex be considered. 

 No one desires to curtail the impression of size in their 

 grounds, and it is generally acknowledged that the 

 more open and less contracted are the distant views, 

 the better will be the effect. For this reason the apex 

 of the triangle should concur with the least interesting 

 prospect, the base with that to which it is desired to 

 give prominence. Taking the case of the house and 

 gardens on the southern slope, the residence should be 



