TEXTBOOK OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING 
the popular churches, the library, the school, the grange hall, the 
post office and the stores, front upon it. This grouping of public 
and semi-public buildings within a single view and fronted by an 
open space of grass and trees is precisely the arrangement best cal- 
culated to give the finest possible effect. At the same time it con- 
tributes best to practical convenience. 
The practical purpose of the town common in present times is, 
therefore, to beautify and dignify the civic center, as well as to 
make it more convenient. As far as practicable all the important 
public buildings should face on this open space. In a few (mostly 
quite rural) towns the common is now used as a public playground. 
It may even support a full-sized baseball diamond. While it is 
certainly better to permit play on the town common rather than 
to make no provision whatever for it, this is quite as certainly not 
the best arrangement, either for the playground or for the common. 
Typical Forms 
Looking over any considerable number of town commons we 
see that they have developed chiefly in three principal forms. The 
first and most frequent is the triangular type, formed between the 
branches of two converging roads. The second is the quadrangular 
type, with more or less definite right angles, formed between four 
intersecting streets. The third is constituted of a wide, long street, 
having rather indefinite termini. The famous streets of Old Hadley 
and Northfield, Mass., are good examples of the last-named type, 
which is more frequent than is generally supposed. 
These old commons vary considerably in size, running from 
one-quarter acre up to eight or ten acres. The triangular ones are 
usually the smaller. Two to four acres may be considered typical 
and satisfactory. Less than two acres is inadequate, — more than 
four is seldom put to effective use. 
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