62 
NEIGHBORING IMPROVEMENTS. 
ought to fence themselves in, thoroughly. Or if they have reason 
to believe their neighbors are of the same sort, they may well be 
sure of the height and strength of the divisions between them. 
But we prefer to imagine the case reversed j and that our neigh- 
bors are kindly gentlemen and women, with well-bred families, who 
can enjoy the views across others’ grounds without trespassing upon 
them. These remarks are intended to apply to those decorative 
portions of home-grounds which, in this country, and especially in 
suburban neighborhoods, are usually in front of the domestic offices 
of the house. The latter must necessarily be made private and 
distinct from each other. One of the most fertile sources of disa- 
greements between families having grounds opening together, are 
incursions of boisterous children from one to another. Now it is 
suggested that children- may be trained to respect and stop at a 
thread drawn across a lawn to represent a boundary, just as well as 
at a stone wall. Every strong high barrier challenges a spirited 
boy’s opposition and enterprise, but what costs no courage or 
strength to pass, and a consciousness of being where he don’t be- 
long, generally makes him ashamed to transgress in such directions. 
A well-defined line will, in most cases, be all that is necessary. 
This may be simply a sunk line in the grass, as shown at a, Fig. 17, 
Fig. 17. 
or it may be a row of low, small cedar or iron posts, with a chain or 
wires running from one to another, or some very low, open, and light 
design of woven-wire fencing ; anything, in short, which will leave 
the eye an unbroken range of view, and still say to the children, 
“ thus far shalt thou go, and no farther.” If parents on both sides 
of the line do their duty in instructing the children not to trespass 
on contiguous lawns, less trouble will result from that cause than 
from the bad feelings engendered by high outside boundary walls, 
that so often become convenient shields to hide unclean rubbish 
and to foster weeds. 
An interesting result, that may be reached by joining neighbor- 
ing improvements, is in equalizing the beauties of old and new 
places. Suppose B. has bought an open lot between A. and C., 
who have old places. The grounds of A., we will suppose, are 
