The Livable House 



latter, because of its regularity of outline, is difficult to plant in- 

 terestingly, and is apt to be left, except for a tree or bush in the 

 centre, totally unplanted, with the \yhole turn barrenly yisible. 

 But like the failure of the book, whose end is readable from the 

 beginning, to invite us beyond the first chapter, and the picture 

 whose beauties are all apparent in a flash to hold our attention, 

 the turn-around which is to be seen in its entirety lacks the charm 

 which goes along with mystery; the well-designed road, on the 

 other hand, does not reveal at once all that lies ahead, but con- 

 trives bv a combination of form and grading and planting to lead 

 up to the house in an inviting way. Even when the road is 

 squeezed into the smallest possible compass, and there is no longer 

 room left in which to imagine anything but how to get the auto- 

 mobile around in the least damaging way, a few shrubs and a 

 tree or two are desirable, just for the sake of ornament. They 

 may not create an illusion as to what lies ahead, but they take 

 away an otherwise barren look and increase the apparent size of 

 the turn bv concealing somewhat its limitations. 



The "horseshoe" or U-shaped drive is a useful subterfuge which 

 offers an infallible way out of the difficulty of a drive in a shallow 

 yard. It delivers one neatly at the front door and presents no 

 disconcerting sharp turns or awkward necessities for backing, such 

 as the cramped turn-around is apt to abound in. Its very obvious- 

 ness is probably the chief argument to be used against it; this, and 

 the fact that it necessitates two entrances. Like the circular turn, 

 it is more often than not uninterestingly regular in outline, with 

 its end too apparent from the beginning, though this latter objec- 



[14] 



