216 
the AMERICAN 
GARDEN- 
Dfovss, 
' I 
SUBTJKBAN HOMES. 
We have been particularly impiesse _ 
this subject the past fc^v days, 
Sanders, in the Pr«/rle 
esting to note the difference t eie i , 
variety of causes, between what ^ 
will do with a fifty-foot lot and what inothe 
will not do. To om- thinking, for inost\alla„e 
people in moderate circumstances a htt}- 
foot lot bv about one hundred and fifty teet 
deep n-ill give all the room necessary 
a cozy, home-like place, and about all tliat 
most persons of the class we are thinking ot 
can keep in good shape. This can be c one 
with little or no e.vpense, nnth a few hoiu-s 
work each week, if rightly managed. 
That locality is best where some attention 
has ah-eady been, or is likely to be, paid to a 
few of the preliminary necessaries. For ex¬ 
ample. a building-line of not less than tlurty 
or forty feet back from the fence is highly j 
desirable, and it will be best if all the resi- | 
dents of the street conform to this, and also j 
that lots all have a fifty-foot front. This I 
gives space enough for the grass and the j 
flower garden in front of the house, and at i 
the sides to afford fnll light from all quar- i 
ters. I 
For the fr-ont there is nothing more pleas- j 
ing than close-shaven grass. Let there be a 
walk, not less than four feet wide,— and on 
no account other than straight,— from the 
fence to the steps. Another walk may reach 
from this, on one side or both sides of the 
house, to the back door. These are all the 
walks this part will require, except where the 
alleys are defective. In this case one not 
less than ten feet wide will be wanted so 
as to permit of keeping a horse or for haul¬ 
ing wood, coal, etc. 
There is no necessity for exactly imitating 
one’s neighbor in the management of this 
front J in fact, there are many reasons whv, 
if each differs from the other, the most ideas¬ 
ing re.sults to the general appearance of the 
street will follow. .Some will prefer having 
little, if anything, but a close-shaven lawn, 
and if this be kept in perfect condition it is 
always a pleasure to lool^upon. 
Another front which we have in our mind’s 
eye is noted for its flower beds, one flanking 
each side of the walk, of iivegular shape; an¬ 
other, toward the widest part, has two rustic 
vases in the center. There is also a rustic 
basket, nicely filled on each of the posts at 
the bottom of the steps; another is fastened 
on the rail at each opening between the posts 
of the piazza. There are climbing Roses at 
various points, but no shrubs in sight, save 
a bush of the charming Sweet-brier. This 
front really has a marked floral effect Not 
everyone would feel like spending twenty- 
five or fifty dollars every year to got this 
display. Still, if but one in a street does, it 
IS a help, ’ 
Another resident combines profit with 
pleasure. He has several fine clumps of 
shrubs. The dividing-line on onesidJisa 
Lilac hedge; there are four Early Richmond 
Cheriy-trecs,-which this year had not less 
than a bushel and a half of Cherries to the 
tree, and every year had sufficient for family 
use. Several quarts of Gooseberries wore 
picked and preserved, and more than a 
- 7 ^T^ie flower f 
bushel of Currants. ^^g^ig—the plants 
more limited,--only gammer audm 
doing duty in the gai at 
the house in poultry, the 
this place, Then 
latter, of course, n backspace 
weknowotherswhouseaUCmh^J^,^^ 
as a vegetable ’ . Cucumbers, 
fresh, crisp Lettuce,Kad shes,^C 
etc., iiro ample recompens 
morning toil necessary to seen _ _ 
We were this morning on one of t - • ^ 
foot lots, in a more humble quailei, 
the house is yet but a small 
for ail addition when tho ground is imid io , 
and found it a veritable kitchen 
contains Potatoes, Parsnips, ee , , 
Onions, Carrots, Cabbages, Tomatoes, Let- 
sorts. This is tho second summer it has 
been cultivated, and of course the sod of last 
year is now in excellent condition for grow¬ 
ing good crops. The result is marvelous. 
The lot will furnish more of tlie freshest and 
best of vegetables than the family —man, 
wife, and five children —can consume during 
the summer. To show that utility is not 
altogether master, the straight walks are 
bordered on each side with flowers of the 
commoner kinds. Here, however, tlie lawm 
is dispensed with. The click of the croquet 
mallet, in some eases, tells that tlie back 
yard is converted into a play-ground. 
As we remarked above, it is not desirable 
to aim at uuiformity; indeed, with this tho 
charm would be broken. Let the grounds, 
like the house, be varied to suit the owner’s 
taste and purse. One will choose a cottage 
costing, it may be, only from one to three 
thousand dollars. Another, more pretentious, 
will uow and then run up considerably into 
the thousands. But let there be neatness in 
everything, and by no means forget the 
public street in the front of the place. We 
are forced to admit that it is too common to 
see fairly kept inside grounds, with street- 
front entirely neglected. I-Iowever well a 
lot may be kept, much of the beauty is lost 
to the passer-by if his eye rests on a part 
utterly out of harmony with that over the 
fence. 
sometimes happens—in fact, it 
pens —that a broad side piazza 
sized extension of the “ front po 
keep the light and sunshine fro ”'*ili 
inside tho house which cannot aff^ 
deprived of these inalienable rights 
But “one corner” does in m„’ 
suggest a circular piazza which 
liaving breadth and comeliness, ’stiii 
fully I'cspeets the rights of the inte,.io 
no means an invariable characteristic'"'’^ 
outside trimmings of men or houses 
Tho little sheltered inclosure is ad’ff 
afl’air, evidently holding itself to he thet'"' 
iincl front of the corner it occupies, alth 
so modest in appearaueo. It is justifiabp'’ 
our variable climate, as affording a m'n"' 
gromid between indoors and out, and sh 
never be allowed to stand before the so°'ti,^ 
ern windows, though it may fiUanuuocoupi a 
angle or rest against a,blank space betwV” 
windows widely separated.—T/m liiiilcJef " 
PUZZAS AND POECHES. 
“A eoimtry house without a porch is like 
a man without an eyebi-ow : it gives o.xpros- 
sion, and expression wlioro yon want it most. 
Tho least office of a jiorcli is that of affording 
protection against the rain-bent and tho sun- 
boat. It is an interpreter of character; it 
linrniuiizes bald walls am! wiiidow.s; it em¬ 
phasizes architectm-al tone; it gives liint 
of Iiospitality; it is a liami stroUdied out 
( igiirativoly aiid liimberingly often) fi-oiT\ 
the world within to tho world without.” 
Tims saith tho wise author of Out of Town 
I lacs. .Simihu-ly, a country house witlmut a 
adjimot to tho mam walls of a house, n„t 
inumardy .utondod to shelter or o.nbollish 
.montianco door—may ),o likonod unto a 
man without oars; it lacks hromlth tho 
leadmosH and complotmioss ot f„i| ,j 
iiiout j.or (ill M’rv I 
figero, it is liko a man of sol fish "S 
ungracious disposition, who cavos fr “ ' 
;*-iy,trustsnohody,in;itosnoZfot:,,::- 
THE COUNTEX-HOHSE HAT.t. 
“ It is to be hoped,” says Ella R. Church 
in Godcifs Lady’s Booh, “ that the entrance 
door of our country house has a wide, hos¬ 
pitable look ; for this is a gi-ace of expression 
that seems especially to pertain to a rnial 
residence. We will therefore assume thatit 
has; and trust to be ushered into a hall ot 
eorrespouding dimensions, where the stair¬ 
case does not thrust itself obtrusively 
forward, but retires modestly into tho hack- 
ground. When it is too far front, and espe¬ 
cially if there is no vestibule, a tall screen of 
simple construction will shut it partially off. 
“Shade without gloom, and a certain 
quaintness of character, are attractive in the 
country hall, w'hich is too often a bare, 
glaring passage-way from one part of the 
house to another. The cutting off of angles 
is always an improvement; and some one 
recommends that the corners behind the 
front door be converted into bracket cup¬ 
boards, as it can be done without much 
f roiiblo or expense. 
“ A panel of wood is fitted across the 
corner, of a size proportioned to tho width 
of tlio hall; it is rounded at the top, and an 
arched opening is sawn from tho center. 
Over the arch a triangular shelf may supped 
a bust or vaso; while a similar one at the 
bottom will aceommodato an umbrella-stain • 
“A stained or painted floor, with a rug or 
a width of crimson carpet on tho center, 
looks well in a country hall, and a tabic o 
.some kind never seems out of place, whet uf 
on ono side or in a ooruev. Tho hat-ra 
may ho of simple construction, pin® 
oboiiizod, and can bo made by a village c.i 
peutor. . 
“An ino.xponsivo bracket, plaocd i» 
higli on tho wall, at tho foot of tho 
hold a reeeptaelo Cor flowers, js a * 
ing bit of ormnnont, and wo know ” ® 
Kuiiporting a largo white shell, fro”*" . 
a long swooping Iringo ot Jia"”' 
droops in jioronnin.] greoniioss, lei' J 
I iilcon root thoro, and is always ready te ^ 
nish a back and t'orogrouud for the l e 
which llml thoir way there in gi’®'! 
lesser profusion, accovdiiig to th® 
Homolimos tlioro is little or nothing bo , 
tho groon sprays; but they areal 
fill, and soom doubly so when found i 
iinoxpoctod place.” 
