orna:mental gardens. 43 



in the extreme, and the garden accessories are many and varied. 

 These inckide garden stones, lanterns, pagodas, water, water basins, 

 wells, bridges, and arbors. The Japanese attach much significance 

 to the use of stones in their garden composition. In all styles of 

 garden design careful attention is given to the shapes and proportion 

 of stones. Many consider that these constitute the skeleton of the 

 garden, and that their choice and placing is of the greatest impor- 

 tance, the planting being secondary. 



The sizes of the principal stones indicate the scale of the garden, 

 and the trees, shrubs, fences, lanterns, and the like, are selected 

 with reference to these sizes. Large stones would be unsuited for 

 the smaller gardens, likewise the smaller ones would not be in 

 harmony with the elaborate development of an extended area. In 

 many of the large gardens there are as many as one hundred and 

 thirty-eight large stones having special names and functions. In 

 the smaller gardens there may be only a few of the most important 

 stones used. The Japanese excel in the art of so placing stones and 

 so arranging them as to make them appear as if natural forces had 

 placed them in position. Even our best landscape gardeners have 

 not as yet wholly mastered this art. 



It has been a custom of the Japanese from very ancient times to 

 attach a religious significance to their principal garden stones by 

 giving them the names of different Buddhist deities. Some of 

 these religious stones are found in every garden, no matter how 

 limited may be its area. These stones are selected with the greatest 

 care, and have considerable value, because of the difficulty in ob- 

 taining them, and because often the expense of transporting them 

 is considerable. In the Japanese gardens there are recognized 

 five radical shapes of stones; the tall vertical stone, the low broad 

 stone, a stone of medium height, and a long curved boulder of 

 horizontal character. 



Turf was not used to any extent in any of the old gardens, al- 

 though its introduction is frequent in the gardens of the present time. 

 In a typical old Japanese garden the plain, open portions are spread 

 with sand, which is carefully raked and weeded. This is kept 

 moistened at all times, and in summer this moisture gives the cool, 

 fresh, pleasing character to the gardens. In order to preserve these 

 sanded areas from injury by the Japanese footwear, and also to 



