BUILDING SITES AND GROUND SURFACES. 
H AVING, in the chapter on “Suburban Neighborhoods 
compared with Country Places,” suggested the most 
desirable proportions for suburban lots, we propose in 
this to consider building sites with reference to their 
tree-furniture, their natural surfaces, and the better ways of im¬ 
proving them. But it may not be superfluous to repeat, that where 
the form of the lot can be determined by the purchaser, a propor¬ 
tion where the depth is from three to four times as great as the 
frontage is usually the most desirable. 
A varied surface is, of course, a great desideratum; yet, for 
quite small grounds, abruptness or picturesqueness is seldom com¬ 
patible with the high keeping that is essential near the dwelling. 
