Art Oiit-of-Doors 



and to the varieties of surface in the ground 

 has been settled, there is nothing left for him 

 but to do the best he can with his approach ; 

 this often means something very different 

 from the best that might have been done ; 

 and upon the character of the approach may 

 depend the success or failure of the place as 

 a whole. 



In places of much size a curved entrance- 

 drive is better than a straight one. Natur- 

 ally, there may be a case when a wide 

 straight avenue can, with advantage, be car- 

 ried in a direct line through a great estate, 

 leading to a house whose architectural maj- 

 esty demands a very dignified approach. 

 But such cases rarely occur in America. 

 As a rule what we call a large place is not 

 large according to English ideas, at least in 

 so far as the ornamental grounds are con- 

 cerned ; and a house which we consider 

 stately, an Englishman would be apt to call 

 merely comfortable. Almost without excep- 

 tion, therefore, wide straight drives are in- 

 admissible in this country, except in pub- 

 lic parks : a curved road is better, because 

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