^CULTURe?S£ 
the N 
EXCELSIOR 
>$.1.00 I’EH YEAR. 
('(Single No., Eij;tit Cents. 
NEW YORK CITY AND ROCHESTER, N. Y, 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, MARCH 2D, 1809 
WHOLE NO. IDOO 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in tin; year ISfil), by 1). D. T. Moore, in the Clerk's Offlco of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.] 
lavish embellishment of homes with cut 
flowers, which is just now so commenda¬ 
ble a fashion, and one which wo hope 
will not soon go out of date, renders de¬ 
vices of the character illustrated necessi¬ 
ties. And it is fit that there should be har¬ 
mony in design and the same grace in 
form, so far as the hand of man may 
compass it, in the objects of beauty to lie 
held and the objects which are to hold them. 
The tallest vase in the engraving has 
a greenish gray tint, glazed, the leaves and 
violets retaining their natural color, and re¬ 
lieved by a dark blue ground on the me¬ 
dallion and bands upon which they r<tst. 
The handles are of a yellow, graduating 
into green towards the lower parts. 
The ground of the other is dark 
blue, glazed, the heads gray, I he 
handles yellow, changing to a red¬ 
dish tint, at the upper parts, and to 
green at the lower parts. The 
leaves and flowers of the lily of 
the valley are of the natural colors. 
itnbsnrpt i?5;trircnrng 
HOME DECORATION, 
BY ,J. WI UK IN SON. 
Though it would be injudicious to desig¬ 
nate special varieties of deciduous trees to 
be planted without a full knowledge of the 
soil and climate of the field of labor, yet cer¬ 
tain localities may be named in which it is 
generally admissible that trees of this nature 
should bo planted, und where they arc gen¬ 
erally needed. We will suppose that we 
are decorating a country seat of several acres 
extent, so that a carriage approach 
will be a necessary characteristic in 
the grounds. There are perhaps <^7 
no features in the decoration of a 
country seat which are more im- j 
pressive to the visitor than the !/ 
character of the entrance gate and /ifa 
hence these are 
the carriage-way- 
deserving of special attention, and J2JT 
demand a. liberal share of the fflfi a 
amount, it is the purpose of lln- jfj ( IjjfJk 
proprietor to expend in the whole j ! jifc* 
work of decoration of a rural home, i |u»g7 
The gale should be set not less l % a[' : ) 
than thirty feet back from the mar- \ 
gin of the beaten track of the high- 
way from which it leads, and the A 
curve of the fence of the highway 
on either side of the gate should Nkf 
always be convex toward the main N 
road. The width of the gate should 
never be less than ten feet, and it 
should open either way. The more 
extensive the grounds, the greater 
the length of the carriage approach, 
and the luxuriousness of the decora¬ 
tion proposed, the wider and more 
imposing should be the entrance 
gate; but a width of twelve feet 
should perhaps be the maximum. 
Unless the grounds have more 
than ordinary richness of decora¬ 
tion and extent, more than a single 
entrance gate for the use of both 
the carriage and the pedestrian is 
not commendable. If, on the con¬ 
trary, the place is pretentious and ^ 
luxurious in the main, it will he 
proper to think the carriage gate 
witli a liberal pedestrian gate on 
either side, which latter should always he 
self-shutting, while the carriage gate should 
never he. When there is a gate-keeper’s 
lodge the three gates will always he appro¬ 
priate, and in the use of the lodge no hitch¬ 
ing posts need he supplied within or without 
the gateway, which are indispensable in the 
absence of the lodge. 
The width of the carriage-way, and the 
liberality to he displayed in its construction 
and maintuinance, should always be in keep¬ 
ing with the general character of the im¬ 
provements, bearing in mind the importance 
of maintaining unity and congruity of the 
parts, which, though apparently simple, is 
seldom fully attained. It is always desira¬ 
ble to locate the entrance gate and the car¬ 
riage-way so that, they will be, if practica¬ 
ble, slightly above the adjacent ground. 
This will secure dryness about the gate, and 
inexpensive drainage of the road. Drainage 
to either side is desirable, that surface water 
may be discharged on the grass on both sides 
at intervals, without the use of culverts. 
The writer is governed by i lie character 
of the grounds, as well as the wealth and 
liberality of the proprietor, in deciding the 
width and mode of constructing the car¬ 
riage-way. The extreme limits of width in 
his practice is nine feet as the minimum ami 
twenty feet as the maximum. The margins 
of (lie road should always be sufficiently ele¬ 
vated to admit of the surface water being led 
on the grass with very slight depressions in 
the grass margins. 
COUNTRY SIDEWALKS 
In the suburbs of nearly all coun¬ 
try villages, and upon pretty, well- 
populated Hirer s, leading from out 
of largo towns and cities, little or 
no attention is given to the forma- 
j/d tion of sidewalks for the comfort of 
wfl pedestrians. There is an evident 
IJlf inarch of improveme nt In houses, 
ifiS barns and fences; and year by year 
J&r the main center of the public road- 
r way is gradually improved, or is 
taken possession of by some turn¬ 
pike or plank road company-; hut 
the poor pedestrian, the child, 
young or old, the woman who 
wishes to visit her neighbor, lias to 
struggle along in the, mud or dttst 
of the main road. No sidewalks 
have ever been formed; in fact, 
the road supervisors have appa¬ 
rently ignored knowledge of any 
such requisite', and in many cases 
opened deep ditches for drains of 
the main road, directly across what 
otherwise would, even in its natural 
condition, have been a tolerable 
foot path. 
It is time this old, know-nothing 
system of the amenities and refine- 
- menta of life, by road supervisors, 
was abandoned. It is time that 
each reading, intelligent man of a neighbor¬ 
hood exerted himself toward a part of the 
yearly road tax being expended in tlie for¬ 
mation of good and continuous sidewalks, 
on which his wife and children could walk 
cleanly and free from the risk of teams, when 
visiting from neighbor to neighbor. It is 
time that every country owner of property 
should learn that a neat, and clean street, line, 
a broad foot path, and a few shade trees, add 
more to the popular value of his property 
than anything else he can put upon it at 
more than treble the cost. 
Now is the time to stir up and consider 
this matter, before the supervisor of your 
It is frequently admissible to lengthen the 
carriage way considerably hi order to secure 
a favorable site for it. In no position can a 
road be more economically constructed or 
maintained than in that in which the axis of 
the road follows as nearly as practicable the 
crest of a hill. 
It is, however, not objectionable in liberal 
landscaping, t,o cross moderate ravines at 
right angles with the ravine, which should 
always he provided with a suitable culvert, 
whether there is durable or only occasional 
water. 
Widening out the banks, and properly re¬ 
tracing them, where little water is provided 
for, is generally less expensive and more 
picturesque than carrying up parapet walls, 
or wooden fenders. Where the terrace has 
any considerable height, a row of trees on the 
top of the hank and quite near the road is 
admissible. These should always be decid¬ 
uous trees, and of an umbrageous character, 
as this shade will afford delightful resting 
places whether on foot or in a carriage. 
Such ravines, if properly decorated, and 
seats are provided under the trees by the 
roadside, may he made enchanting by the 
varied scenery up and down the ravine. The 
hanks and tipper terminus of mieh ravines 
are Lite proper places for rockeries and wild 
careless plantations, and, if the flow of wa¬ 
ter is sufficient, the most effective location 
for the cascade, which is never complete 
without its untrimmed, natural growing wil¬ 
lows. 
While it is desirable and more picturesque 
to give to the carriage-way a graceful curvi¬ 
linear, or serpentine course in ornamental 
grounds, labored crooks and unnecessary tor¬ 
tuousness should he avoided. Where curves 
of short radius arc necessary in the carriage 
way, the side towards the center of the circle 
should he densely planted, that the curve in 
the road may appear to be necessary to pass 
around the plantation. 
The circle in the front of the dwelling, 
surrounded by the carriage way is, in the 
opinion of the writer, unsightly and objec¬ 
tionable, on account of its presenting an un¬ 
necessary amount of gravel before the door. 
A more convenient and desirable arrange¬ 
ment is to provide a pear-shaped figure sur¬ 
rounded by the carriage way to serve as a 
carriage sweep. This should be located par¬ 
tially in the rear of the dwelling, and on the 
way towards the stable. 
The carriage sweep should be planted on 
both sides with rapid-growing, wule-spread¬ 
ing, deciduous trees, to provide shade for 
carriages and horses not desiring to go to 
the stable. Pleasant elevated points in the 
grounds, whether near or remote from the 
dwelling, should also he studded with decid¬ 
uous trees; and one or more of the highest 
points, — those commanding the finest dis¬ 
tant, views, and presenting the most mingled 
prospect and the most broken, picturesque 
unci distant horizon in which to view the 
rising and setting sun,— are the proper sites 
for the summer house and prospect tower. 
ORNAMENTAL FLOWER VASES, 
