AND GROUND SURFACES. 35 



rising more rapidly near the fence may be an improvement, as 

 shown in section B, of the same cut. 



Sections C and D, of Fig. 2, illustrate three less common, and 

 perhaps more elegant forms for ground surfaces next to the street. 

 Back of the fence, at a, is a strip of ground, level with the side- 

 walk, not more than a foot wide, which should be kept free from 

 grass by the hoe. The grass at the bottom of the terrace slope 

 can then be trimmed to a line parallel with the fence. The effect 

 is very pretty ; and as it would be difficult to keep grass neatly cut 

 at the bottom of such a slope so near the fence, this plan saves 

 labor. The lower line on section C, of the same cut, shows a form 

 that may be substituted for the terrace slope ; and at D is another 

 form more gardenesque than either. 



It is surprising how much larger grounds look which show such 

 surfaces than those which are on a plane, level with the street. A 

 quick rise from the street has the disadvantage, when the distance 

 from the house to the gate is short, of requiring steps to gain the 

 rise near the gate. Though no serious objection in summer, they 

 are often dangerous in winter, especially to old people. In towns, 

 a choice between such surfaces is frequently necessitated by the 

 grading of a street a few feet below the level of adjacent lots. 

 These should never be walled next to the street the full height of 

 the excavation. The cuts just described illustrate appropriate 

 modes of shaping the surface of the ground next to the street 

 where the grade has not cut more than four feet below the general 

 level at the street line. Grass slopes, behind light fences, are 

 not only much cheaper than stone walls, but add more to the 

 beauty of the grounds. 



Fig. 3 shows a more elegant treatment of the same sort of sur- 



