LITTLE GARDENS 



their neighbors in the ribs with their elbows. A 

 broad house is pleasanter to view from its gar- 

 den than a narrow one, and if only because of its 

 amplitude, needs more of ornamental treatment. 

 This it has from Gothic enrichments in the old 

 English halls, and on the Continent it is begin- 

 ning to take on outside decorations, often painted 

 on gables and blank spaces. Because a large 

 structure fills the eye more nearly, it causes the 

 more discontent if it is ugly. If the garden has 

 area enough, the house is seen at landscape dis- 

 tance, and becomes important as a part of the 

 picture; hence we can devise vistas with the 

 house itself at one end, and a passage of agree- 

 able scenery at the other. These effects, calling 

 for landscape-gardening on a large scale, are 

 hardly to be considered in a book on small 

 grounds. They require at least an acre. The 

 view, however, may be as free to the occupant 

 of a hovel as to the owner of a Biltmore, and 

 where it is present it serves for laying out the 

 guide-lines of a garden composition. Here is 

 a plan, carried into effect in a country place near 

 Philadelphia. The view is supposed to be to- 

 ward the rear. 



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