APPENDIX 335 



man is often judged by the appearance of his letters, but the time of 

 the landscape architect spent in checking and correcting poor work 

 of this kind is time wasted which should be applied to better purpose. 

 The accuracy and availability of figures and accounts, the quickness 

 with which records and data of all kinds are available, will be an abso- 

 lutely essential factor in any quickness and efficiency of performance 

 which the office may have as a whole. 



It seldom happens that the same man is equally good as designer Technical 

 and draftsman in an office and as superintendent and inspector on the p-^j r 

 ground, so in large offices there are usually some men who are prin- 

 cipally indoor men, and others who are sent from job to job to see to 

 the actual execution. This subdivision of effort is hardly possible 

 with a small office force, and a complete separation of the two activi- 

 ties is not at all advisable. Considerable actual familiarity with con- 

 struction is necessary to the development of an office assistant if he is 

 to be anything more than a mere draftsman, and familiarity with de- 

 sign in all its phases is a great asset to a superintendent. 



For good work it is extremely desirable that at least one person shall 

 be familiar with the job from its beginning to its end. Proper filing of 

 correspondence and recording of plans in the office and proper return- 

 ing and filing of reports from the representative on the ground will 

 give at any time a general idea of the state of the work ; but there are 

 endless details which will not get so recorded, and all kinds of knowl- 

 edge of personal qualifications of those concerned in the work, which 

 can be kept only in the head of some one who has personally followed 

 the whole progress of the job.* In a small office this person would be 

 the landscape architect himself ; in a large office this necessity is likely 

 to give rise to the custom of intrusting some one man with a number 

 of pieces of work under the general supervision of the landscape archi- 

 tect, and expecting him to take such measures as he sees fit, and direct 

 such subordinate members of the office force as are available in handling 

 this work. Here arises a temptation to the busy landscape architect 

 which would usually best not be yielded to, namely, when a new piece 

 of work comes in, to turn it over at once to some responsible man to 

 make alternative preliminan.- sketches to be judged by the landscape 



* cf. p. 341-342. 



