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Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



Terraces belong to formal gardening and, for the ordinary home, should be 

 avoided. A gently sloping or rolling lawn is far more restful and natural in 

 appearance than one built of enormous grass-covered steps, and should be given 

 the preference, except in formal styles. Where the home is built on a rugged 

 hillside, as is often the case in our rougii districts, the grading and planting 

 should be given especial consideration. Terracing becomes absolutely necessary 

 in many cases, and often masonry is required. Personally, the writer does not 

 favor stone work except as it becomes an unavoidable j)art of the construction; 

 and then he would clothe it in clinging vines and soften its angles by shrubbery. 



Steep banks can often be treated to great advantage by a covering of 

 Mesembriantliemum, \'inca, ivy geranium or any of the numerous trailing things 

 that love to spread over the ground unmolested. Such a treatment is far superior, 

 in the mind of the writer, to a formal retaining wall that reflects the heat and 

 constantly reminds one of the architectural skill needed for its construction. 



