84 LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



his bosom. An inferior artist is unwilling that any part of his 

 industry should be lost upon the spectator. He takes as much 

 pains to discover as the greater artist does to conceal the 

 marks of his subordinate assiduity. In works of the lower 

 kind, everything appears studied, and encumbered; it is all 

 boastful art and open affectation. The ignorant often part 

 from such pictures with wonder in their mouths, and indiffer- 

 ence in their hearts. 



In a way, every landscape problem that comes 

 up is a law unto itself, and yet all successful land- 

 scape schemes have obeyed the general laws of de- 

 sign. The most essential things to bear in mind 

 are, first, the fitness of the design for its function, 

 the subordination of all details to the general idea, 

 and finally a careful working out of these details 

 in such a way as to enhance the first favorable im- 

 pression which has been gained without close 

 scrutiny. 



Whatever the problem in hand, and whatever 

 the medium employed, the primary requisite of 

 good design is fitness for the function which it is 

 to perform. 



