36 How to Lay Out 



fields they will see that there are no harsh lines, and wherever 

 man has made excavations, nature is trying to soften the sharp 

 <Klges and remove the ugly defects. 



The location of a drive is important to its success. It should 

 conform to the topography and shape of the land. It should 

 be planned to save any valuable exist in.-: features or a fine 

 boulder, a good tree, a ledge or a group of desirable shrubs. 

 Drives are means of ingress and egress, and should serve th<-e 

 purposes quickly. The direction should be maM' very simple: 

 unnecessary crooks and turns are only awkward, not beauti- 

 ful. After once entering the property and having >een tin- 

 house, it is a poor plan to make the drive meander about. It 

 should be made as direct as possible. To the moderate home. 

 there should be some reason for building the drive other than 

 for the delivery of coal. The added expense of basketing 

 the coal at 25 cents per ton is more than offset by the en-t (1 f 

 the maintenance of the drive. See Plates X and XVIII. 



It is a poor plan to make the house appear like an oa-i- in 

 the desert by the encircling of the drive. The drive Mirl'ace is 

 not very handsome in itself and should not be made wider or 

 more extensive than is nere ary. l.awn-. -hnibberie-, ami 

 trees arc more to be desired than barren drives. Many a beau- 

 tiful lawn lias been separated from the house and spoiled for 

 enjoyment l>y a poorly located or uimerr.ary drive. If then- 

 are no existing feature- to In- .-aved or as a guidance or excuse 

 for a curve it may be necessary to plant trees and shrubbery 

 to give reason for the direction planned. Never u-e a flower 

 bed or small architectural object or an urn: they are too trivial. 



The width of the drive i- determined by the frequency of 

 use. If the distance i- -hort mid there is but little dnvini: 

 a width of 9 or 10 feet i- ample. If the di-tance i- louder or 

 where there is need for carriage-. pa--inu r each other, the drive 

 >hould le made 11 or Hi feet in width. On no account should 

 a drive be made 1'J feet in width, a- it i- too wide for a single 

 drive and not wide enough for two vehicles to pass without 



