318 BEAUTIFYING THE HOME GROUNDS 



proper distance from the street or road. The distance the 

 house can be located from the street is determined by the 

 size of the lot, the city regulations and the local environment, 

 all of which need consideration. Where the conditions 

 make it possible never place the house closer than 30 feet 

 from the front boundary. The location of the residence on 

 the lot is not so rigidly assigned to a given place by city 

 ordinances, and the individual can usually place it in the 

 center or to one side without any restriction. To produce the 

 most pleasing effects the owner should set the house close to 

 one boundary line and a proportional distance back from 

 the street. 



If the grounds are large the location of the buildings 

 usually becomes more complicated because outbuildings are 

 necessary. The buildings must be arranged so that the 

 grouping will form a unit and placed so they will not cut up 

 the grounds into separate pieces. If the house and other 

 buildings are located near one side of the property a large open 

 lawn will result on the opposite side and in the rear. This 

 arrangement of the building will give open vistas and pleas- 

 ing views from the main rooms. It will also give the impres- 

 sion of increasing the extent of the lawn. On city or sub- 

 urban lots the house should also be located nearer to one 

 side of the lot and not set directly in the center. Such an 

 arrangement does not permit the ground to be cut in half. It 

 also gives a larger lawn, and the planting of the shrubs is 

 much more effective if they are massed along the border, 

 which leaves an open lawn between the house and one 

 boundary. The house should be located so the larger por- 

 tion of the grounds can be enjoyed from the principal rooms. 



Drainage. — The drainage of the soil is very important in 

 the consideration of any property, and it either increases or 

 decreases its value. The injurious effects of drainage are 

 not only seen on the growing of plants, but poor drainage 

 is unhealthy and is entirely unsuited to the development of 

 both the lawn and the trees. It is therefore necessary to 

 drain the land, whenever the location demands it, not only 

 from the esthetic point of view but from the health con- 

 siderations. There are many ways in which a piece of land 



