House and Garden 
A close examination of how the garden 
was built may not be uninteresting, and 
figures covering the exact cost ot its execu¬ 
tion, Mr. Walter M. Ostrander, the owner, 
has kindly placed at our disposal. The first 
step at binding the grounds to the house 
was, as it should always be, the marking ot 
the boundaries. This was done by means 
of a fence six feet high on the two rear and 
lower sides of the lot,—a fence built of bean 
poles set vertically close together with a hor¬ 
izontal tie near the top and heavy sustaining 
posts at intervals of eight feet. The cost 
of this construction was $121.50,01- forty- 
five cents a linear foot. Around the re¬ 
mainder of the boundary a privet hedge was 
already in place. Little grading for the 
formal garden was necessary, as this was 
located across the hillside on a naturally 
lower level than the house, from which a 
single earth terrace separates it. Along the 
outer edge of the terrace thus formed a low 
barrier was made of the same fence con¬ 
struction as above but only three feet high. 
The bank between the garden level and 
that of the house is traversed by two sets 
of stone steps. These were built at the 
same time as a stone wall at the western end 
of the garden, forming there a back to three 
benches. All of this masonry was done for 
$216. An arbor of wood was built at a cost 
of $250,and a trellis screening the stable yard 
for $60. The terraces and their edges were 
sodded and grass seed sown over the lawns. 
The box edging to the five parterres of the 
garden was set in place for $190, and the 
small quantity of additional privet hedge 
needed was obtained at the usual price of 
fifteen cents a foot. The walks were formed 
of hand-made brick at a cost of $192, and 
were laid on sand with a row set on edge 
around the parterres. A tank was originally 
designed for the center of the garden ; but 
in place of this a flower bed was made and 
THE FORMAL GARDEN FROM THE WEST 
l6 5 
