260 PAKKS AND PLEA8DKE-GROTJNDS. 



the valley. We do not object to flat surfaces, pro- 

 vided they are formed of light, porous soils. Deep 

 clay and retentive subsoils ought, by all means, to be 

 avoided. A facility for perfect drainage ought to be 

 regarded as an indispensable property in a villa resi- 

 dence. The soil should be rather light than otherwise, 

 and certainly should not approach to strong clay, as 

 the latter has a tendency to create damp, to make the 

 climate cold and the garden late, to prevent the walks 

 from drying rapidly, and to impart, during most kinds 

 of weather, a raw, uncomfortable aspect to the grounds. 

 It is further to be noted, that direct and immediate 

 proximity to some great frequented thoroughfare is far 

 from being desirable; for in such places the dust, 

 blown from the public road in dry seasons, often 

 amounts to a positive nuisance. 



Note. — A clay soil is easy to drain, and then it is 

 better and stronger, for vegetation generally, than the 

 light, loamy, sandy, or gravelly soils which our author 

 so highly recommends. Therefore, we should not re- 

 gard a clay soil, other things equal, as highly objec- 

 tionable. A crowded thoroughfare is to be avoided, if 

 possible ; but even that may be endured, by throwing 

 the house well back from the street, and planting a 

 thick belt of shrubbery next the line of it. Trees and 

 shrubbery are a great protection from the dust of 

 highways, arising either from winds, or driving over 

 them. — Ed. 



Roads. — At first sight, the reader may suppose that 

 the villa has little to do with public roads, as it seldom 

 requires a long approach, and may seem to have no 

 other connection with the subject. Such, however, is 

 too hasty a conclusion. Public roads are of about as 



