ACCESSORIES 161 



as some that I have seen however, certainly never lower than the 

 height of a tea table. 



The simpler the pedestal the better, ordinarily. A straight 

 turned column with plinth base and simple square cap, a square 

 and unornamented shaft of concrete drawn in at the top ever so 

 little, or a quadrangular column tapering towards the base, 

 patterned after the ancient hermae of the Greeks, are each of 

 them good. A low-growing vine may be planted at the foot of 

 the pedestal, but nothing should ever be allowed to grow up 

 and around it and obscure it completely. Neither should any- 

 thing ever grow about its base thickly enough to prevent close 

 approach to it. Fragrance here is most fitting, however 

 dense mats of thyme, mint or pennyroyal, or a sweetbriar. 

 kept within bounds. 



A little bit of water somewhere for the birds is my third 

 essential, for little gardens or for big. Where a pool in the 

 ground is out of the question, some kind of small bathing pool 

 for them is still possible. A large boulder, hollowed into a basin 

 deeper at one end than at the other for tiny birds as well as 

 for the bigger fellows is the simplest and in some places the 

 most easily provided; and a pailful of water poured into it 

 daily, though a primitive method of supplying it, is quite as 

 good as any other. This daily agitation keeps out the "wrig- 

 glers ' ' too, and insures freedom from mosquitoes, as far as their 

 breeding there is concerned. 



An earth pool which may be stocked with goldfish and sub- 

 aquatics does not require elaborate construction, for it may be 

 filled with the lawn hose if it lowers during dry seasons. The 

 plants and the sunlight will keep it as sweet and as fresh as an 

 aquarium indoors. 



Fountains are a delight in hot weather, but, unless of very 



