Landscape Gardening 



and cheapness of land in such districts a wider field of choice 

 is afiforded, and more scope for the exercise of judgment and 

 taste. 



Although, therefore, every person will necessarily have his 

 own peculiar inclinations, and the opportunities of gratifying 

 a refined feeling may be very limited, it is right that a book 

 like the present, which professes merely to be suggestive, 

 should point out those characteristics most generally desirable 

 in a place, and which might not be thought of, or would pos- 

 sibly be but lightly regarded, if not thus specifically presented, 

 leaving every one to the exercise of his individual wishes. 



I. Accessibility. — The question which first arises in the 

 mind of an inquirer after a site for a residence is determined 

 is, how it will be accessible. There may be different opinions 

 as to the kind of road preferable for getting at a dwelling- 

 place, but an actual necessity exists that there should be 

 some convenient mode of access. Many would desire to fix 

 themselves near a well-frequented road, while some would 

 rather be situated on the side of a more retired and private 

 thoroughfare. It will be obvious however, that the road by 

 which a place is approached should be a sound one, likely 

 to be kept in good repair and capable of being used at all 

 times. A bad road that has to be frequently traveled, is not 

 merely an inconvenience and a nuisance, but gives a most 

 unfavorable impression of a place to visitors; and a private 

 road, that is closed at night, may occasion a good deal of 

 trouble and discomfort. 



To settle in a place to which there is no good road already 

 formed, or where one cannot be built, will seldom be other- 

 wise than productive of misery. A mere expectation that a 

 road will be made should never be held sufficient, for a house 

 may stand in a state of isolation several years, cut off, as it 

 were, from all proper connection with the world, if the road 



