The first thing to be done upon a new place is to secure perfect drainage for cellar and surplus waters, and the next is to mark out your necessary

Roads And Walks

But as we have occasion to speak of these more fully under the head of large places, the details being the same in both, we will proceed to the

Grading And Terracing

In case the pitch is too great from the house to the street, or in other places upon the premises, it will be necessary to terrace; and when this is done, let it seem to be a part of the house, being parallel with it, and supporting the same at every turn when near to it, or parallel with the fence when near to the road. Let the banks be smoothly cut, and neatly sodded with the finest June or blur grass sod that can be procured from some adjoining roadside or pasture, not coarse timothy, clover, or dandelion sod. The same kind should be used in strips about eight inches wide for marking the borders of drives and walks, and be well pounded down with the back of the spade, and kept well watered during dry weather. Give the face of the ter -race sufficient slant to keep it from falling down, and a concave rather than a convex face, which last does not look nor stand well. It would hardly seem proper to resort to terraces unless there is an incline above a foot to the rod in distance.

As regards the grading of the general surface, it is often advisable to plant the ground to some spring hoeing crop, - potatoes are best, - thus giving the old sod time to decay, making it much easier to level down smoothly in the fall, which of all seasons is the best for such work. Fill up all abrupt depressions, making the general surface smooth and even, with good descent for drainage.