12 



between uniform hills are frequently subjected to sweeping blasts. 

 Even the vicinity of such localities ought to be avoided. A person may 

 drain, cultivate, and otherwise improve his property, and still be sub- 

 jected to the injurious influences of unimproved lauds over which he has 

 no control. 



An elevated situation is generally healthy. The extent of prospect 

 it secures is also an advantage; yet it is not well to place too great a 

 value on distant views. For permanent residence the exposure of ele- 

 vation is a disadvantage. Though cool, airy, and agreeable in summer, 

 they may be bleak, chilly, and exceedingly uncomfortable during win- 

 ter. The tender and delicate varieties of flowers and shrubbery, as 

 well as fruits and culinary products, are less likely to flourish when 

 fully exposed to cold and unbroken winds. 



SELECTING A BUILDING SITE. 



This is too commonly settled by selecting the highest point of the 

 ground, but not always wisely. A modern house set up on a sharp 

 knoll has an isolated appearance which is not readily altered or im- 

 proved by trees, and it is with difficulty approached by roads, if the 

 grounds slope suddenly from it. 



A somewhat level plateau, partially surrounded by higher ground, 

 forms a good position for a dwelling house. The ground should fall 

 from it in all directions, more rapidly in front than back, where the 

 descent may be merely sufficient for drainage. Back of the house, 

 positions should be selected for the vegetable garden, stables, and other 

 buildings, such as greenhouses and graperies, all of which will be shel- 

 tered and protected by the higher ground beyond. 



The nature of the soil should receive attention in selecting a spot for 

 a house. Clay soils are retentive of water, and, even when artificially 

 drained, the surface is disagreeable after rains. Clay, in contact with 

 foundation walls, keeps them damp and cold. The expansion of clay 

 when wet, and shrinkage when dry, unfit it for a safe foundation. If 

 every other condition is secured in a site, art can do much towards 

 ameliorating the physical qualities of the soil ; but, for all the purposes 

 of human comfort and enjoyment, in the immediate vicinity of a house, 

 a light, open, porous soil is decidedly the best. 



It is always desirable to secure the beauty and utility of a natural 

 plantation; but to select the site for a mansion in the center of a grove 

 of old trees, with the intention of making them a nucleus for future 

 landscape effect, will generally prove unsatisfactory. In natural forests 

 the trees grow too closely together ; their trunks are long, slender, and 

 destitute of branches; and if thinning is attempted, those that are left 

 seldom flourish for any length of time. If the thinning out is gradual, 

 and the best of the remaining trees are judiciously pruned, they may 

 ultimately recover and make a satisfactory appearance. 



