THE USE OF GARDENS 



It is worth while insisting upon another point with regard to 

 gardens of this character, that they deserve to be counted as 

 national possessions. The fact that they are the property of 

 private individuals does not make them any the less entitled to a 

 place among those things which the nation ought to treasure as 

 evidences of its artistic progress and of its understanding of the 

 value of civilisation. The condition of culture to which our citizens 

 have attained is proof of the position which this country has taken 

 among the peoples of the world ; and the love of gardening, and 

 of the sentiment by which it is surrounded, is indisputably asso- 

 ciated with those developments of taste which are the best results 

 of education and intellectual growth. It shows a definite advance 

 beyond the limitations of the simply utilitarian idea into the sphere 

 of practical asstheticism, an advance which leads to many important 

 activities and affects markedly the national outlook ; and it shows, 

 too, an appreciation of the worth of those gentler arts which can 

 only flourish in a country with firmly established institutions and 

 in a condition of stable prosperity. 



Therefore the sound example of garden design which has reached 

 its full maturity after many years of wise control is of serious im- 

 portance to students of the arts. It has a meaning and it has a 

 value ; and as an illustration of one of the many ways in which 

 a great tradition can be applied it is entirely expressive. More- 

 over, it sets a standard of accomplishment against which modern 

 designers can measure their work ; they can test their own powers 

 of invention by reference to existing proofs of the inventiveness of 

 some of their more notable predecessors, and to these proofs they 

 can apply a process of analysis which will enable them to read 

 by the light of later developments the exact purpose of the design 

 as it was originally laid down. It is no small advantage to be able 

 to see the thorough fulfilment of this purpose in all the details 

 of an existing garden and by actual observation to discover what 

 is the sequence of processes, partly artificial and partly natural, 

 by which a perfect illustration of the art and craft of garden- 

 making has been provided for our enjoyment to-day. 

 There is, it must be remembered, this difference between an old 

 garden well kept up and any other piece of art work which has 

 been in existence for many generations, that time in the one case 

 works with the designer and helps to make his meaning more clear, 

 but in the other fights against him and seeks to destroy what he 

 has created. The picture, the statue, the building which repre- 

 sents the architect's happiest imaginings, all degenerate and go to 

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