It is almost needless to observe that the kitchen-court should always be immediately connected with the mansion; and that in some cases, as in small houses, the kitchen and other offices should be, in a great measure, under the principal floor of the house. The drying-ground is most conveniently placed between the kitchen-court and the stable-court; and between the latter and the drying-ground is a suitable situation for a poultry-yard, which, in our opinion, is an essential addition to every kind of residence which contains an acre or two of land; and, also, for the cow-house and piggery, where only one or two cows are kept, and no more pigs than are necessary to eat up the refuse. The stable offices should be as near as possible to the kitchen offices, in order that the servants employed in them may be within hearing of the bells by which they are called; that as little time as possible should be lost after ordering a carriage, till it appears at the door; and that the master may inspect his horses, carriages, and dogs, with little trouble, during severe weather.

245. The extent of the accommodation of the house and offices will vary with the style of expenditure of the family; and the style of architecture will depend on the taste of the proprietor; and, therefore, neither require to be here enlarged on. In order that access may he readily obtained to both the kitchen and stable offices by servants and tradesmen, without crossing before the entrance-front of the house, these offices should always be placed on that side of the house which is next the entrance-lodge.

246. The kitchen-garden should be near the stable offices, for the supply of manure; and so placed, that it may be at no great distance from the house, for the convenience of daily bringing to the kitchen the vegetables which it produces. It is also desirable to have the kitchen-garden so situated that ready access may be had to it by the master and mistress; because, in all small places, it it a part of the out-door establishment which is more frequently visited by the family than any other; being always interesting from the variety of operations carrying on in it, and the constant succession of productions in which the mistress of the family, more particularly, takes a daily interest If the kitchen-garden be placed near the offices, it will necessarily be situated between the house and the entrance-lodge; and, consequently, be readily accessible to carts bringing manure, or soils, or other materials for the garden, from a distance, and also to the visits of neighbouring gardeners. In many small places, it is, for this reason, convenient to have the kitchen-garden near that part of the boundary which lies along the public road, in order to have a carriage entrance directly from the latter.

This is also very frequently the case with the stable offices, in order to admit of bringing in hay, straw, corn, etc, without carting these along the approach-road to the mansion. Where, however, the house is placed at a distance from the public road, this can neither be the case with the kitchen garden nor the stable offices; for, in residences of limited extent, nothing will compensate for having these essential parts of an establishment at a distance from the centre, to which they are to contribute their quota of comfort and enjoyment. The kitchen-garden should consist of a wall for the growth of the finer hardy fruits, which wall is generally made to surround the enclosure; borders, protected by the wall, or by hedges or temporary screens, for growing early crops; open compartments, unencumbered by standard trees, for the culture of the main crops of culinary vegetables; a reserve-ground, or nursery, for bringing forward plants in their young state, till they are fit to transplant where they are finally to remain, as well as for keeping a stock to supply blanks occasioned by accidental deaths; and a forcing-ground. The borders, and the compartments of the main garden, are generally laid out in the form of a parallelogram or square, and enclosed by a wall with a border on the outside, in order that fruit trees may be trained on that side of the wall, as well as on the inside.

The reserve-garden and forcing-ground are usually included in a small square or parallelogram; at one end, or on one side, of the large square, and in or near this small square, is generally placed the gardener's house. The forcing-houses may consist of pits of different dimensions, heated by flues or hot water; of wooden frames, placed on open brickwork, and heated by outside linings of dung, tan, or leaves; and of walled pits, not heated by artificial means, but simply protected by a covering of glass. Forcing-houses, in the general sense in which that expression is understood, may now be altogether dispensed with in moderate-sized gardens; and thus the great expense both of their original construction, and annual repairs of glass, etc, may be avoided. A forcing-house, such as was constructed thirty or forty years ago, consists of a glass roof, more or less lofty, and placed against a high wall; a glass front, and glass ends; with the interior laid out with at least one walk, which is generally paved; or with a raised bed in the centre, surrounded by parapet walls, flues, and a paved walk.

A pit, on the other hand, such as is now built in the best forcing-grounds, whether large or small, has the side and end walk of masonry; the back wall seldom above 7 or 8 feet high; no part glass but the roof, and commonly with only one narrow walk at the back. The saving, both in original construction and in future repairs, is obvious; and every good gardener knows that in such houses the forcing is not only conducted with less labour and expense, but in general produces better results, than in large houses.