AND GROUND SURFACES. 39 



ful. It is essential, however, that the house site should not 

 have the appearance of being in a basin, much less be so in 

 fact; for the latter would be a miserable inconvenience in wet 

 weather, and the mere supposition of such a situation would make 

 the site seem undesirable even if the soil and drainage were per- 

 fect. Such locations should not be basins with reference to the 

 surrounding land, however dry the soil, as in that case the damp 

 evening and morning air would settle in them. But if the rear 

 ground, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, is the bank of a stream or valley, 

 down to which the damp cool air will flow, then such sites may 

 really be freer from morning and evening damps than much higher 

 ground which is not high relatively to other ground near by. 



A form of ground surface is especially desirable, for small lots, 

 on which side-hill houses, blending the character of city basements 

 and village cottages, will look well. Fig. 7 represents one form 



_]^^^ 



that might be suggested for such a site, and Fig. 9 a mode of treat- 

 ing the ground of a town lot which is below the street level. 



In Fig. 7, nearly all of the lot is supposed to be behind the 

 house, the front being connected by a short, straight walk with the 

 street, and by a diverging curved walk with the basement entrance 

 on the rear plateau, where it is supposed the kitchen and dining- 

 room are located. 



Fig. 9 illustrates the treatment of a corner lot, around which 

 the streets have been graded considerably above the lot surface. 

 Instead of filling the lot to the street level, it should be treated as 

 here shown ; and there is no question that the house is not only 

 better, but the ground improvement is far more pleasing than it 

 could have been made on a level with the street. 



