26 YAED AND GARDEN 



more forethought and search. This is fre- 

 quently followed by another blunder which re- 

 sults in the location of the house on the site 

 in such manner that even the few possibilities 

 for ornamentation which might have existed at 

 first, are almost entirely eliminated. It is not 

 uncommon to observe, as an illustration, the 

 destruction of some splendid tree, cut down 

 without thought of its value, when by setting 

 the house a few feet in one direction or another, 

 the sacrifice could have been easily avoided and 

 a natural ornament requiring perhaps a half 

 century for its growth and development pre- 

 served. 



In this connection it may be well to observe 

 that it is not always either advisable or desir- 

 able to set the house on a line with adjoining 

 structures, and certainly it is not necessary. 

 A neighbor may protest if you suggest pro- 

 jecting your house .beyond his, but surely he 

 will offer no objection to your setting it farther 

 back if you wisli, and often you will be the 

 gainer if you adojit this course. It is difficult 

 to account for the idea, which seems firmly fixed 

 in some cities and towns, calling for the usual 

 military-like alignment of houses. It means 

 frequently a waste of yard possibilities — a neg- 



