HE practice of Landscape Architecture as a pro- 

 fession and art is one of the most recent, yet one 

 of the most important to be recognized in America. 

 For many centuries this art has been developed 

 by the highly cultured nations of the eastern world, 

 but in America the former generations have been 

 so occupied with the building up of the country 

 that little thought, until the last few decades, has been given to 

 this outdoor art. The Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, 

 and Romans, and eventually all the civilized nations of Europe 

 gave great attention to the development of Landscape Archi- 

 tecture and produced results which today speak for themselves. 

 In our travels we admire the stately Italian Villas surrounded with 

 their forests of cypresses and with their arrangement of terraces, 

 gardens, fountains, statues, pergolas, etc. We are also impressed 

 with the suburban English cottages covered with vines and with 

 their broad lawns, walks bordered with old fashioned perennial 

 flowers and shade trees. It is with the recognition of these beau- 

 ties and with the knowledge that the rapid development of this 

 country was crowding the grounds to a minimum that gradually 

 more and more attention has been given to beautifying our cities 

 and towns and making the surroundings of public buildings and 

 private homes as attractive as skill can make them. Already 

 there are a great many accomplishments of which this country 

 can be justly proud, and there is no reason why America should 

 not lead in this profession, as nature has lavishly bestowed great 

 ranges of mountains and hills covered with virgin forest, great 

 rivers, lakes, and water-falls, all of which form the most beauti- 

 ful natural landscape effects and which only wait to be developed 

 and made available for public and private use. 



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