OUT-OF-TOWN PLACES 



There is another condition of English 

 country life — aside from the climate — which 

 admits of a freer play of sunshine than we 

 may be disposed to admit; it lies in the fact 

 that British houses, whether of brick or stone, 

 are thick- walled (covered, many times, with 

 lichens, if not ivy), and so ward off very ef- 

 fectually the fiercest blasts of July. The 

 thatched roofs of Devon and of Somerset are 

 an even greater protection from the sun. 



ENGLISH AND AMERICAN HEDGING 



Another striking subject of contrast between 

 British and American country road-side, is 

 offered by the numberless array of live hedges 

 which belong to the former, and which probably 

 for generations to come will be wanting in 

 America. In the best-cultivated districts of 

 England, however, hedges are rapidly losing 

 favor for the partition of arable lands, as en- 

 grossing too much space, stealing somewhat 

 from the productive capacity of the soil, and 

 offering shelter for noxious weeds. The sys- 

 tem of soiling is moreover doing away with the 

 necessity for them, and such ground- feeding as 

 is permitted, is more closely and economically 



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