Suburban Home Grounds. 123 



• CHAPTER XIV 



The circumstances of gardeners, generally 

 mean, and always moderate, may satisfy us that 

 their great ingenuity is not commonly over 

 recompensed. Their deliglitful art is practised 

 by so many rich people for amusement, that 

 little advantage is to be made by those who 

 practise it for profit, because the persons who 

 should naturally be their best customers supply 

 themselves with aU their most precious pro- 

 ductions. — Adam Smith. 



HE busy man often finds that he has not time to 

 devote to the study necessary to develop the plans 

 for the home grounds, and decides it is better to 

 secure the services of one who knows how, or at least 

 secure the verbal advice before beginning or spending any 

 money doing work that will later need to be undone. 



Before doing so, if the home builder is entirely ignorant of 

 the principles that govern the art of landscape architecture, 

 it is a good idea to secure and read some of the standard 

 authors. As the reader goes farther into the subject he will 

 have a growing respect for a profession that he assumed was 

 superficial and perhaps not needed in developing his home 

 grounds. He will find that the range of knowledge required 

 of the landscape architect is greater than of any other pro- 

 fession. Besides reading the standard authors it is a good 

 idea for the home builder to peruse regularly a good reliable 

 home gardening publication of which there are many pub- 

 lished. These give suggestions as to the treatment of various 

 difficulties that arise in caring for tho grounds. 



Then after getting an idea or getting into the atmosphere 

 of the landscape art the reader is in a position to appreciate 

 what a professional landscape architect will advise. 



