The environs of Boston are more highly cultivated than hose of any other city in North America. There are here whole rural neighborhoods of pretty cottages and villas, admirably cultivated, and, in many cases, tastefully laid out and planted. The character of even the finest of these places is, perhaps, somewhat suburban, as compared with those of the Hudson river, but we regard them as furnishing admirable hints for a class of residence likely to become more numerous than any other in this country-the tasteful suburban cottage. The owner of a small cottage residence may have almost every kind of beauty and enjoyment in his grounds that the largest estate will afford, so far as regards the interest of trees and plants, tasteful arrangement, recreation, and occupation. Indeed, we have little doubt that he, who directs personally the curve of every walk, selects and plants every shrub and tree, and watches with solicitude every evidence of beauty and progress, succeeds in extracting from his tasteful grounds of half a dozen acres, a more intense degree of pleasure, than one who is only able to direct and enjoy, in a general sense, the arrangement of a vast estate.
