L AXDS C- \rE GARDRXIXG. 



13 



cities or \\ ealthx individuals, and is so far 

 beyond the means of small property o\\ ners 

 that it is not worth their time to look into 

 it. This is a wrong impression, for even 

 the smallest place is worthy the attention of 

 the landscape architect, and there is as much 

 reason for securing his services in the selec- 

 tion, arrangement, and construction of the 

 grounds as there is in the employment of 

 an architect for the buildings, A properly 

 equipped landscape architect would be able 

 to secure a much better result in every way, 

 for the same expenditure of money that is 

 required to lav out and complete the first 

 planting of the place in an ordinary way. 

 This higher practice of the profession should 

 usually begin with the selection of the prop- 

 erty on which a home is to be established, 

 for the landscape architect in consultation 

 with his client can often detect advantages 

 and disadvantages that would be entirely 

 overlooked by the ordinary observer, and, 

 knowing the tastes and requirements of his 

 client, can determine the amount of land ne- 

 cessary to carry out these requirements 

 properly and thus often save a heavy ex- 

 pense in the purchase of additional land, 

 found to be necessary after the first purchases 

 are made, at a much increased cost over that 

 first secured. The pieces of land in most 

 towns with the greatest possibilities for the 

 making of an original, interesting, and 5ften 

 unique place are very likely the ones longest 

 neglected and least sought for, because their 

 picturesque natural features or irregular sur- 

 faces will not lend themselves readily to the 

 smoothing-out process which most land un- 

 dergoes, or to square lots as laid out by the 

 real estate agent with the assistance of the 

 land surveyor. 



I have in mind an old worked out lime- 

 stone quarry, in a dense wood, which is 

 overgrown with ferns, vines, and bushes, 

 and near it a summit commanding a fine 

 view, with an open field sloping away from 

 it. In another place a ridge of great angu- 



lar fragments of rocks, which is shaded and 

 carpeted by pines ; near by, a pleasant slope, 

 at the base of which is one of the finest 

 white oaks I know. At another place a 

 beautiful undulating surface, with splendid 

 white oaks and chestnuts, and at one side a 

 bit of meadow with a pool, surrounded by 

 masses of .barberry, blueberry, azalea, rho- 

 dora, and all the pretty plants and flowers 

 that go with them. Another place there is 

 a beautiful tree-fringed meadow, — a perfect 

 little park in itself. All these are within 

 less than a mile of railroad stations and with 

 low valuations. 



We may hope to see the time when such 

 lots will be fully appreciated and such trees 

 preserved, — not destroyed, as I know one 

 splendid elm to have been, because to go 

 around it a slight curve in a walk to the 

 front door of a cheap house would be neces- 

 sary. 



In the selection of land, healthfulness 

 should be one of the first considerations. It 

 should be well drained — preferably a por- 

 ous, sandy, or gravelly soil. This applies 

 particularly to the land where the house is 

 to stand, for nothing can be more unhealth- 

 ful and disagreeable than a damp cellar, and 

 when the condition is such that it becomes 

 necessary to moor a raft to the cellar stairs 

 to be used on occasions when one has to go 

 fishing for coal and potatoes, it is not only 

 unhealthful, but ruinous to one's disposition. 

 Good sanitary conditions in the neighbor- 

 hood are as important as good drainage. If 

 it is thickly settled, the ground maybe satu- 

 rated from leaking cess-pools. Rubbish 

 heaps, barn-yards, sink-drains, and vaults 

 should be investigated and the purity of the 

 water supply should be looked into. A 

 pleasing outlook from the grounds is a very 

 desirable feature ; if not a landscape it may 

 be a fine tree or a tree-arched street, or a 

 bit of your neighbor's well-kept grounds. 

 The topography of the land is also to be 

 considered. A steep slope toward or awav 



