THE ARCHITECT IN THE GARDEN. 313 



presumably to give an antique air to the flower garden. With our 

 present stores of flowering plants and shrubs, it is a poor flower 

 garden that wants help of any sort from the tub. 



Another reason for architects keeping to their own essential work 

 is the fact that the building art is in a state of decadence in our day. 



A much-trusted architect deplored to me the state 



The architect's f building in all parts of the country, saying that 



true work. as the years go on the work becomes steadily 



worse. And this in spite of the number of 

 journals and professors, just as in the art of painting, there never 

 was so much teaching and so much bad painting. One may go 

 along miles of road and never see a well-built cottage ; but, instead, 

 every variety of bizarre colour and flimsy structure. London is 

 hideous with brick, and all the beautiful garden land of the home 

 counties is bespattered with villas (not Italian) ugly in wall and roof. 



