154 THE PLAN OF THE PLACE 



especially those, like the aspens, which have a 

 trembling foliage. Their leaves are bright and 

 the tops are thin. A few of them in judicious 

 positions give a place a sprightly air. I especially 

 love the common aspen, or Populus tremuloides, of 

 our woods. Its dangling catkins (Fig. 139), light, 

 dancing foliage and silver -gray limbs always cheer 

 me, and its autumn color is one of the purest 

 golden -yellows of our landscapes. I like to see a 

 tree of it standing out in front of a group of 

 maples or evergreens. Its whole attitude is then 

 one of familiarity. 



I will conclude this sketch of the ideas asso- 

 ciated with the picture in the landscape with an 

 article which I contributed to a recent issue of 

 "Park and Cemetery," entitled "What are the 

 fundamental concepts in landscape gardening"?" 



If the teacher or writer is to make any subject 

 plain to his pupils or readers, he must be able to 

 single out a few simple and fundamental prin- 

 ciples. To state facts and rules is to treat only 

 the incidents of the subject. Rules are not final. 

 They express only the experience of the author 

 or the combined experiences of others; and since 

 experiences vary, the nature and the application 

 of the rules must vary according to circumstances. 

 People are forever misunderstanding what land- 

 scape gardening is, because we are always telling 

 them what kinds of trees to plant and how to 



