upon its site so that the approach and entrance-door shall be upon one side and the lawn and living rooms upon the opposite. Stating it directly, the best work enables us to approach by a drive upon one side, alight at an entranceporch, enter by an entrance-hall, advance thence into the hall, and through it out upon the veranda, and so on upon the lawn. This is the simple result, and the reason is as simple. The entrance is for access; the hall, veranda, lawn, and the prospect beyond, belong to the private life of the house. Tradesmen or visitors, however welcome, cannot be dropped into the midst of the family group. Even the welcome guest wishes to cross the threshold and meet the outstretched hand and cordial greeting within. Even Liberty Hall must have its defence.

If the road to the house crosses the lawn and comes at once upon the hall, veranda, and seat of the home life, the home life is open to intrusion at any

cannot be alike; but knowing the site and studying well the access to and the prospect from it, the intelligent architect can readily arrange his plan to suit. If the approach is from the north, and the site falls off gradually to the south, with the view toward that quarter, then the solution of the problem is simple and direct and at its best. The house is placed well to the northern boundary, leaving it sufficiently away from the thoroughfare to insure privacy and space for the turn of the drive. The greater portion of the site is thus given to the lawn upon the south side. The house is placed with its long axis east and west, its approach and entrance upon the north side, its living rooms, hall, veranda, and lawn upon the south, and it stands thus in itself a barrier between the turmoil of the world and the peace and privacy within and beyond its portals.

If the site commands the south, and the approach is from that quarter also, the drive must be thrown to the east or

west extreme, and, continuing well beyond the plane of the house, must circle either at the end for the entrance or be brought fully around to the north side and the entrance made there. The road must also be shielded with plantations and shrubbery.

Of course apart from these consider ations of approach and outlook, every site has its other conditions of exposure, etc. The prevailing winds in summer and winter must be studied. It may have, upon one hand, an ugly prospect, or upon another, a disagreeable neighbor; there are many points, in fact, to be carefully weighed, and many characteristics of its own calling for skill and judgment. But with its disadvantages the site must still have its good points or it is not a site, and as the architect overcomes the former and avails of the latter, so much

stands its values, just in that proportion will be the success of his result.

Such is the proper house, where a site of some extent, comparatively isolated, and open to the surrounding country can be chosen.

But when the site lies in the midst of other properties already built upon, and possessing in common with them only the single outlook to the front, then the conditions of the problem require that the house shall be planned with its main approach and living rooms alike upon this single open front. Even so, unless the lot is very narrow, a house such as is shown, with its grounds, in the plan on p. 4 of a house at Tacoma, commends itself as still possessing, though hemmed in on three sides by residences and outbuildings, all the salient advantages of a house built in an open country.

the porch are terraced, and bordering the walk from the angle of the terrace to the entrance-porch are beds of flowers and plantations of low shrubbery. The house, with its porch and principal rooms thus commanded by the approach and the highway, is yet so planned and placed upon the site as to be in no way dominated by them. [See p. 14.]

A house built upon grounds on Long Island, required, from the nature of its site, a scheme of plan similar to the Tacoma house, with the difference that the entrance is at the front corner. It would be well suited for such a situation as the one above described is built

But building sites laid out in nests of lots are usually narrow, and give, at best, to the sides of the houses built upon them only light and air spaces. Upon these the house is generally built across the middle of the lot, sitting back a rod or two from the road, with a walk leading from a gate in the middle of the front. Another gate and walk at one side, for tradesmen and servants, leads to the rear. For such conditions of site the problem of plan has many solutions.

A house recently built at Tuxedo [p. 3] would meet this problem very fairly. In this house the entrance is made at once at the centre into the hall. The porch stretches across the entire front and extends a space beyond at either side. Thus exedras are formed at the ends and give the desired living porches