60 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[Febkuabt. 
or yellow Trumpet Honeysuckle at the base, 
and they will trail over the rocks very soon. 
The honeysuckle may be trained and kept as a 
standard five or six feet high, by simply cutting 
oflT the leading shoot every year. It will then 
throw out laterals which will be covered with 
flowers all summer. Set a stout post of cedar 
or other imperishable wood in the center, to 
which the main stem is to be tied, and then the 
branches will hang down and trail upon the lawn 
in a beautiful manner. The species figured 
above, though not fragrant, is very showy, and 
has the merit of being a native. It has fine dark 
green leaves, the upper pairs being united at the 
base so as to surround the stem. The flowers 
are tubular, about two inches long, of a fine 
scarlet outside, yellow within and very brilliant. 
The engraving shows a portion of the plant of 
the natural size. Though the specific name, 
sempervirens, would indicate that it was an ever¬ 
green, it is not so at the North, but it retains its 
leaves during the mild winters of the Southern 
States. The neighborhood of New York City 
is believed to be the northern limit at which the 
plant is found growing wild, but it is abundant 
farther South. Several varieties differing in the 
size of the leaves and size and color of the flow¬ 
ers have been obtained from seed. It may be 
readily multiplied both by layers and cuttings. 
---—«♦ «—--- 
Laying Out the Front Yard. 
Fig. 1. 
The spa-ce between the gate and the dwelling, 
which in large estates is termed the approach, 
is in those of moderate pretensions popularly 
termed “the front yard.” There is to most homes, 
except in densely built cities, a greater or less ex¬ 
tent of ground immediately in front of the house 
which is not devoted to crops, but which is usu¬ 
ally more or less embellished by the occupant— 
though it is sometimes left in a deplorable state 
of neglect. Those who allow the grounds near 
the house to become a hospital for dilapidated 
vehicles and tools, and a ranging place for pigs 
and poultry, need first to practise a lesson in ti¬ 
diness and order; but there are many persons 
desiring to arrange the approach to the dwel¬ 
ling in a neat and tasteful way, who apply to us 
to furnish plans which shall aid them. In sev¬ 
eral instances readers have sent us maps of their 
places as they now are, with a request that we 
furnish them with designs for their improve¬ 
ment. For obvious reasons we can not give 
these applications separate answers. Those 
who are laying out new places, or wish to make 
extended improvements in old ones, should either 
engage the services of a landscape gardener, or 
carefully study the works of Downing, Kemp, 
Smith, or other writers of acknowledged au¬ 
thority. Each situation presents its own pecu¬ 
liar features, and the plan, especially if the place 
is a large one, must be made with regard to the 
nature of the surface, the views to be secured 
or shut out, the trees, rocks and other natural 
objects to be preserved, and other conditions 
which a person of taste will observe, and to 
which he will adapt his plans. There are some 
suggestions however, which apply equally well 
to large and to small places, and which should be 
Fig. 2. 
observed in plans involving the expenditure of 
large sums, as well as in the more economical 
ones. Simplicity, ease and convenience, are to 
be sought, while stiffness, formality and intrica¬ 
cy are to be avoided. The prime essentials in a 
front yard, approach, park, or whatever name 
w’c choose to give it, are, a fine turf and roads or 
paths. A lawn well made, and densely turfed is 
an object of beauty in itself, and serves as the 
setting for trees, clumps of shrubs, and flower¬ 
beds, all of which have their beauty enhanced 
by it. The roads or 
paths must be per¬ 
manent in character, 
W'ell made, well drain¬ 
ed, and with their 
edges well defined. 
These two things be¬ 
ing secured, the minor 
details are easily ar¬ 
ranged. A few plans 
are given as sugges¬ 
tions to those persons 
who wish something 
to start from—it often 
being easier to modify 
a plan than to orig¬ 
inate one. The most 
difficult cases to man¬ 
age are wiiere the 
house is built so near the road that but 
very little space is given in w'hich to work. 
In these the path runs directly from the gate 
to the front door, wiiich gives a stiff and formal 
appearance to the place, as the path divides 
what little ground there is into tw'O equal blocks. 
Fig. 4. 
Fig. 1, shows how this formality may be 
broken up by placing the gate at one side, instead 
of directly opposite the entrance of the house, 
and allowing the path between the two to take 
an easy curve. This will give an appearance of 
greater extent, and it leaves the grass with a 
pleasing outline. A path at the left hand runs 
to the rear of the house. Where the yard is 
very narrow, it is sometimes laid out as in fig. 
2, which requires two entrance gates. The walk 
curves to the front door, and paths reaching the 
grounds at the rear may be made as in the 
drawing. This plan is rather formal, but it has 
the advantage that it saves a considerable un¬ 
broken extent of lawn in front of the house, 
and there are cases in which it will be found to 
be the best that can be adopted. The long and 
narrow lots, common in villages, are quite diffi¬ 
cult to arrange in good taste on account of 
their awkward shape. In these the house is 
usually near the front of the lot, with kitchen 
and fruit gardens and stable, to wdiich it is neces¬ 
sary to have a carriage road in the rear. One 
method of treating these badly shaped places is 
given in fig. 3, which show’s the front portion of 
such a lot. A road, B, is run at one side the 
whole length of the lot, or as far to the rear as 
is necessary, leaving a border about 6 feet wide 
between it and the bonndary. The front por¬ 
tion of this border may be occupied by orna¬ 
mental shrubbery, while at the rear of the 
house it will answer for vines or dwarf fruit 
trees. From near the gate a pathw’ay sweeps 
toward the house, if the place is small, or if the 
size will admit of it, this may be widened to a 
carriage drive. At B, is a grass plot at the 
rear of the house for drying clothes, which is 
shut off by a screen or hedge from the fruit and 
kitchen gardens, parts of which are shown at 
E, E. A place of considerably greater extent 
is given in fig. 4, W’here the carriage drive, B, 
turns around an oval, E, and reaehes the stables 
in the direction of C. This plan is at once 
simple and convenient, and is capable of being 
adapted to large or small places. In this, as in 
the other plans, the trees npon the lawn are put 
in at the fancy of the engraver rather than aa 
indications where we W’ould plant them. We 
have not shown any flower-beds cut into the 
lawn, except in fig. 2. A few masses of flowers 
may be introTluced with good effect, but w’hert 
there is sufficient land the general flower gar¬ 
den should not be at the front of the house. 
•-» I i iW— --- 
The Sheldon Pear—Historical. 
In the description of the Sheldon pear, in the 
Agriculturist for November last, w’e gave the Io¬ 
cs,lity of its origin as cited by Downing. Since 
then we have had several letters from different 
parts of the country, each claiming to give a 
correct account of the history and origin of thix 
pear. As these letters tell very different stories, 
they are quite amusing as illustrations of the 
difficulty in coming at the actual facts in so 
simple a matter as the history of a fruit which 
originated within the recollection of persons 
now living. Mr. P. B. Sheldon, Steuben Co., 
N. Y., writes a very full account of the pear, 
and as he is the son of one of the brothers 
whose name is borne by the fruit, we select his 
narration as most likely to be the correct one. 
According to^Mr. S., the seeds whieh produced 
the Sheldon pear were brought from Connecti¬ 
cut about 50 years ago, and were planted on two 
separate but adjoining farms in Huron, Wayne 
Co., N. Y., by the brothers Wareham and Ral- 
seyman Sheldon. The singular part of the ac¬ 
count is, that from tliis seed, four trees (one 
upon one farm, and three upon the other,) oi 
the variety now called Sheldon, were produced. 
It seems very strange that four trees should be 
produced, the fruit of which was identical in 
character, and it would be interesting to know 
if the trees which have since been propagated are 
