LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. 89 



can tell of opportunities he has missed of making invest- 

 ments in land which would have proved very profitable 

 if he had only had faith that the ratio of growth would 

 be maintained, yet the infidelity is not overcome, and the 

 chances continue to slip by unimproved. 



And so with cities, not one of which but would now 

 pay largely to secure opportunities for public improve- 

 ments which might once have been had for a song, but 

 whose purchase would then have seemed a wild scheme. 



But purchase alone is not enough. If simply bought 

 and held for a rise, it may prevent neighboring occupa- 

 tion, and thus depreciate in value. Improvements must 

 be added of such character as will attract occupants by 

 giving evidence that a broad and liberal spirit has been 

 exerted in providing for their welfare and comfort. 



Hardly any investment is safer for capitalists than the 

 judicious purchase and tasteful improvement .of attractive 

 sites for suburban additions, and such investments are 

 becoming common by individuals and companies in the 

 vicinity of many thriving cities, whose governing powers 

 should second the enterprise in corresponding spirit by 

 extending connecting avenues, and thus as it were appro- 

 priating them as integral portions of a grand system of 

 elegant embellishment. 



I have endeavored to convey my idea of the scope of 

 the art of landscape architecture, and I do not think my 

 general premises will be disputed. It cannot be denied 

 that one mode of adapting the arrangement of a city, a 

 town or a private estate to the natural features of its 

 situation, may be preferable to another, as a means of 



