17 



center of the town increases. This may be the result of building the houses along 

 the main roads only, and perhaps, with the thought of saving footsteps to the 

 village stores. But it would be better to subdivide the farm land between the 

 main roads and thus accommodate many homes within but a short distance of 

 the village center. No doubt the cost of frontage in villages seems as high to 

 the villagers as does the cost of city frontage to those who live in cities or in sub- 

 urbs. Nevertheless, in most villages in this country the average lot width is 

 sufficiently ample for interesting developments of the yard. And if the frontages 

 are not as wide as might be desired, the lots are at least apt to be deeper thanmost 

 city lots; and while space in this relation to the house, may not be so advan- 

 tageous as if at the side, in village lots this may prove a more convenient arrange- 

 ment. Villages in this country are rarely as closely built up as those in old 

 Eiu-opean towns, or as our American cities. Furthermore, village houses either 

 are, or at least should be, lower than the average city house. Therefore, after 

 one has set aside the space necessary for service courts and a small lawn, the re- 

 mainder, and the greater part, of the yard may well be made into gardens of some 

 kind. 



There should be a reasonable relation between house plan and the yard plan, 

 but very likely the conditions in vfllages are seldom so limiting. If it is possible 

 to conceive of schemes for village homes as combining both city and country 

 characteristics, and if one is free to select ideas and adapt principles from the 

 rules governing either of these conditions, according as his individual problem 

 may require, he should encounter little diifculty in the planning of his property. 

 Some village lots are so restricted that builders are obliged to conform to con- 

 ditions as strict as those prevalent in cities, both in the size of the area purchased 

 and in respect to the proximity of the dwellings on adjoining lots. In other 

 cases, where wider frontages prevail, houses may be scattered and be small and 

 low, — all factors making for an environment very similar to that of the open ' 

 country. 



There are plenty of interesting examples of village homes in the old towns of 

 the East, and while their original gardens have seldom been preserved, a suggestion 

 of their former glory sometimes lingers. Among these examples are to be found 

 many plans which difier widely. Sometimes the houses are placed directly 

 on the sidewalk; and, depending on the width of the lots, either the houses extend 

 across the entire frontage, or sideyard space is left for gardens. There are ex- 

 amples of comer lots with the house directly on the sidewalks of both streets. 

 Theseplansare very economical in the use of space. By this arrangement, the 

 front door of the house may be on the main street, while the doors to the kitchen 

 and sheds may face on the side street; the yard space then remains unbroken, 

 and a small lawn for the laundry and the play-yard may adjoin the kitchen in 

 the rear, leaving the greater part of the yard for gardens. The gardens in these 

 village homes frequently extend to the street fences, and thus contribute greatly 

 to the character of the village streets. When many talUgrowing plants are used, 

 one cannot actually see far into the gardens, and thus for the dooryards at the 

 side, which adjoin the living rooms, and for the greater part of the gardens, there 

 is sufficient privacy. However, privacy in village homes is not as important a 

 factor as it is in city homes. 



There are other examples of houses set back from the street; and frequently, 



