206 LANDSCAPE GAEDENING 



be determined by the number of guests who are to 

 be entertained. If three or four or half a dozen 

 come at one time, one tennis-court will be sufficient, 

 but if twenty young sportsmen are in the habit of 

 spending week-ends there, three or four courts will 

 probably be found necessary. 



Wherever possible, the natural features of the 

 countryside should be retained and emphasized to 

 give an appearance of freedom and naturalness. 

 For instance, if there is a plot of level ground at a 

 short distance from the house, which is placed upon 

 a slope, this plot should be chosen for the location 

 of the tennis-courts rather than spoil the slope 

 nearer the house for the sake of convenience. All 

 these points of purpose as regards sports, gardens, 

 size, and expense of stables and garages must be 

 determined before the house itself is located. The 

 house itself should really appear as a sort of key 

 to the whole scheme, for its position will deter- 

 mine, or appear to determine, the location and the 

 accessibility of all the parts, although these parts, 

 by their relative importance, have actually deter- 

 mined the position of the house. 



The house should be designed so that the rooms 

 which are most often in use will have the most fa- 

 vorable exposure, and take advantage of views. 



