6 HOW TO PLAN THE HOME GROUNDS 



happy manner fit into his needs for a comfortable and 

 delightful home ; only let him be sure he has taken into 

 account all his desires and necessities in this respect, for 

 it is all too easy to forget some of them in the presence 

 of a charming valley or distant view. Yet if he is en- 

 tirely convinced that he has found such a place, by all 

 means lose no time in securing it and building a worthy 

 house and home. 



By selecting a comparatively level open lot where the 

 limitations of the surface are not unduly restricted, the 

 exercise of an intelligent imagination and skill is bound 

 to develop a variety of charm of skyline, lawn contours, 

 and groups of trees and flowers that would at first seem 

 impossible. It is wonderful how much can be done, in 

 this way, by erecting the house on a terrace by means of 

 the earth excavated for the foundation, by lifting the 

 plantations on slightly elevated territories, and by keep- 

 ing the roads and paths above or below the surrounding 

 ground. Variety is doubtless indispensable to genuine 

 charm, but, on a comparatively level place, it is evident 

 that it may be readily associated with repose and sim- 

 plicity. On a level lot it is, moreover, easier to shut 

 out disagreeable objects and to develop pleasing vistas 

 and outlooks, and on a square plot the beauty of the 

 exterior as well as the interior effects can be brought 

 out better than on a lot of any other shape. It may 

 take more time to secure the variety and seclusion at all 

 points on a square level lot than on a hilly one, but the 

 trees on a level lot can be placed just where they will 

 produce the best effect as screens and barriers, while the 

 hills, when you commence to plant, are apt to come ex- 

 actly where you do not want them. 



In order to overcome the element of time on the level 



