198 Xan^scape Hrcbitecture 



other hand, to make a level meadow. He can with 

 difficulty make a level cricket bowling streak, or a level 

 tennis court — much less a large meadow a mile long like 

 the one in Prospect Park. The eye will deceive one, 

 and the place will never look level from every point of 

 view. It will seem convex or concave and, worst of 

 all, it will look as if an attempt had been made to 

 produce a level territory and had failed. The sense of 

 that kind of failure is always trying to any one who can 

 understand the end which is sought. 



Many people's sense of these niceties of landscape art 

 is so obtuse and imperfect that they will at "one fell 

 swoop" destroy these fine "nuances" of grading. 

 This has indeed been done in Central Park through 

 ignorant and, therefore, unintentional treatment of one 

 of the most beautiful meadows near 59th Street, a 

 meadow which has been spoken of as the most expen- 

 sive piece of work of the same size in the area of the 

 park ; all spoiled by unintelligent grading. Of all imder- 

 takings of the landscape gardener, grading is the last 

 to be left to the skill of the common day labourer. It 

 would be just as sensible a proceeding to set the quarry- 

 man who hews and blasts out the stone from the 

 hillside to carve a copy of some great statue. Yet the 

 landscape gardener at his best can never hope to create 

 work like nature when she is at her finest. He can only 

 work in what he believes to be the same style, but never 

 quite in the same style as she presents when she works 

 in her best mood. He can enter into her spirit, but 

 never quite reach her heart. 



