LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. 71 



attractive interest of the city should be left uncared for. 

 Every city should own or control its own nurseries, in 

 which the best varieties of trees for street-planting should 

 be grown at such distance apart as would insure a healthy 

 development, and pruned and trained in symmetrical form 

 till they attained a proper size for planting in their final 

 positions. The whole work of planting, including the 

 selection and arrangement of varieties, should be under 

 the direction of a competent superintendent, who should 

 also be responsible for their subsequent care and culture. 

 The care of all public areas, and their decoration with 

 trees, shrubbery and flowers, should be entrusted to the 

 same officer. If competent to the duties of the position 

 and faithful in their performance, he might confer upon 

 the city a character of refined elegance which is unattain- 

 able without such aid by any degree of architectural display. 

 While on the subject of street decoration it will be in 

 place to allude to the very great addition to their attract- 

 ive appearance, which might be secured, on such streets 

 and avenues as are occupied by residences standing a few 

 feet back from the sidewalk, by the entire abolition of 

 front fences, or area railings. These fences and gates are 

 often very costly and always very ugly, and as it is very 

 rare that two of the same pattern are in juxtaposition, the 

 effect of the whole is only that of an infinite variety of 

 ugliness. If all these fences were removed, and the front 

 area left open to the street, bounded only by a curbing 

 rising a few inches above the sidewalk, the sod inside 

 lying flush with its surface, the view of the houses would 

 be relieved of a feature which never fails to mar the effect 



