September, 1906 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



169 



manifold examples of the finest adaptation of shrubs and 

 trees to truly scenic screenwork effects, the character of each 

 growth correctly strengthening, barring, or grading, while 

 the avenues and walks are bordered and friezed with fine 

 trees standing as compact and straight as Prussian soldiers 

 on parade. 



If you are not limited by cost in laying the bed of your 

 drive I would advise the following: Thoroughly underdrain 

 the road by open joint drain tile, laid underground, or by 

 deep side gutters. This will keep the roadbed and its founda- 

 tions dry; a most important factor in road building. First, 

 remove all top soil and loose earth, forming the foundations 



There Must Be Ample Room for Vehicles and, if Possible, Separate Paths for Pedestrians 



to a crown of six inches to each ten feet of road width; lay 

 over this a layer, six inches thick, of broken limestone or trap 

 rock, of a size to pass through a 3-inch ring; over this again 

 a layer three inches thick of broken limestone or trap rock, of 

 a size to pass through a 1 3/2-inch ring; cover the whole with 

 clean limestone screenings, free from dust. Where the 

 bottom is soft it is good practice to roll a thin layer of stone. 

 Crown the surface of the road one and one-half inches for 

 each foot in width of road. 



The best packed and hardest rolled road needs careful 

 draining if its surface is not soon to be washed away, prob- 

 ably involving the destruction of the bordering grass. A 

 dry sand drain along each side may serve the purpose; better 



still, a gutter of pebbles, carefully laid on edge and closely 

 packed together, or a brick gutter, with sides of single rows 

 of brick slanting toward a third course laid flat and forming 

 the bottom. Best of all is a concrete gutter, made of 300 

 pounds of Portland cement to three barrels of coarse, sharp 

 sand, finished with one inch of mortar, mixed of 300 pounds 

 of Portland cement to one and one-half barrels of sand. 

 The bed should be nowhere less than three inches in thickness, 

 its grade not less than one-fourth of an inch to the foot, and 

 its drains not too far apart. Where the grade is steep and 

 the wash liable to be heavy the drains should naturally be 

 closer than for a slight incline. The gratings protecting the 



drains should like- 

 wise be suffciently 

 close to hinder all 

 possibility of the 

 pipes' becoming 

 choked. Protect 

 your grass as far as 

 possible. You are 

 never safe from 

 careless driving. 

 T h e butcher-boy 

 may be dozing as he 

 turns the curve of 

 your entrance, where 

 an ugly gash in the 

 sod is most visible. 



Protect likewise 

 your gate-posts, if 

 they are not of 

 masonry, or if they 

 have sharp o r 

 molded angles and 

 corners. Also pro- 

 tect pedestrians, in 

 case there is no side 

 path. Make the 

 drive sufficiently 

 wide for carriages to 

 pass them in the 

 road without bespat- 

 tering them with 

 mud or coating them 

 with dust. They 

 should never be 

 forced to take ref- 

 uge in the grass, 

 which may be soak- 

 ing wet. 



Placing the name 

 of your "estate" on 

 the gates or gate- 

 posts is a more com- 

 mon custom in 

 England than in 

 America, though we 

 are, and I believe fortunately, gradually ridding ourselves of 

 the idea that there is anything pretentious about it. The most 

 modest dog answers to some name or other, and why not our 

 fireside, however humble it may be? Should your gates be of 

 iron nothing could be more appropriate than to interlace the 

 name with its scrollwork; on wood it should be painted, but if 

 it is to appear on masonry cut it in or raise it as part of the 

 stone itself. Copper, iron or bronze letters will show stains 

 after some exposure to the weather. A name is as capable of 

 expressing to ourselves and the passers-by our individual fancy 

 or pride as the rampant supporters and arms on European 

 gate-posts and much more sensibly, perhaps, and truly more 

 directly. In arriving in front of your house — and especially 



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