THE LAWN. 



During hot weather, when it is not actually raining, we 

 confine ourselves to the foot-paths or carriage-roads of the 

 place where gravel, stone, boards, or asphalt afford safe 

 and convenient promenade almost immediately after a down- 

 fall of rain. Later on, however, when the sun comes out 

 and dries up the moisture, we may enjoy perhaps for days, 

 in the American climate, the great open spaces of green- 

 sward, which we propose to call the lawn. Here, in a 

 sense, the family may be said, during certain seasons, to live 

 for a large portion of the time. As soon as the dew is off, 

 should there be any, some elder member of the family will 

 be found wandering about, looking for flowers, or simply 

 breathing the fresh morning air. Soon little children dash 

 out, chasing butterflies or tumbling over each other in 

 simple glee of existence, revelling in the feeling of the rich, 

 soft, thick turf. Later, perhaps, comes a game of ball or 

 tag among the older boys, which can only be played satis- 

 factorily on the lawn. Finally, in the evening, at sunset, 

 and later, the family may again linger on the lawn to enjoy 

 the soft turf and long shadows on the greensward. 



The pleasures of sight, and varied movement, it is ac- 

 knowledged, are increased a hundred-fold by the studied 

 comfort and adornment of the house itself in the special 

 features of carpets, and walls, and chairs, and tables. Why 

 should we not then seek to extend the sphere of our artistic 

 endeavor to perfecting and ornamenting our lawns ? It 

 should, after all, be considered as much a part of the house 

 domain as the verandah. 



Feeling the importance, therefore, of making the lawn a 

 place for the family to occupy, as though it were a part of the 



