16 PARKS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS 



such, the best positions for a dwelling cannot be occu- 

 pied until a more rapid flow of the water be effected 

 by clearing the streams, of their obstructions, and the 

 low grounds are drained of their standing water. In 

 an open country, long settled, and its climate defined, 

 every one desirous to build, will readily ascertain the 

 advantages or defects of the site on which he prefers 

 to erect his dwelling. A combination of objects usually 

 control the selection . of the site, and no rule can be 

 laid down which will govern in all cases. To those 

 who have a wide range of choice in this particular, and 

 are not pressed for time, we would suggest the erection 

 of a temporary cottage on one or more sites which 

 please their taste, in which a family might be lodged, 

 with a thermometer to note the ranges of heat and 

 cold, and the currents of wind, as they affect the spot 

 adversely, or otherwise. We have known instances 

 where an apparently well-sheltered valley, by the pe- 

 culiar conformation of the adjacent hills, was swept 

 with stronger and harsher winds than an exposed prom- 

 ontory in its immediate neighborhood. A hilly or 

 a mountainous region requires closer examination to 

 determine accurately the degrees of temperature, and 

 the currents of air to which they are exposed, than an 

 open, flat country, with nothing to break off or interrupt 

 the winds but the occasional shelter of trees. As a 

 general rule, too much importance cannot be given to 

 climate in the selection of the grounds for a park, or 

 the buildings within it. A mistake in this particular 

 may be attended with the most calamitous results, not 

 only affecting the amount of capital invested, but ex- 

 tending even to life itself. — Ed. 

 Soil and Subsoil of the Site. — The nature of the 



