AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS 



nor is it a Renaissance of the gardening art, important as that is likewise ; but both these factors 

 testify, and in a most impressive way, to a Renaissance of country life. 



These great houses mean not so much a liking for them as buildings, though it will be 

 readily admitted that their attractions as places of residence, with their luxurious accompani- 

 ments and wealth of conveniences, are very great, as a realizing sense of the pleasure of country 

 life, of delight in escape from the crowded conditions of city living, and of an increasing affec- 

 tion for the simpler and more natural life of the country, with its varied sports and open-air 

 activities. That a palace in the country may be as luxurious as one in the city is, of course, 

 quite true; but the love for country life, which is surely on the increase, is one of the most 

 remarkable social features of contemporary American life. 



And to live in the country one must have a house; there must be accessory buildings 

 also, numerous enough to meet the social needs of each individual owner. That the house 

 may be a splendid architectural creation, and its allied buildings handsomely designed as well 

 as conveniently planned, follows almost as a matter of course. That the house needs an 

 environment in keeping with itself is a further natural consequence, and the artistic house, with 

 its artistic garden and the lesser buildings, is planned, arranged, and executed as an artistic 

 whole, ministering to every possible need and fulfilling every reasonable delight. 



We stand on the threshold of a great movement to the country. Too long, it would 

 seem, have our best energies been centered in the towns. The old idea of country life as syn- 

 onymous with the farm no longer prevails. The farmhouse type of country home is by no 

 means extinct; but in every part of the country the magnificent new mansions of the rich are 

 putting entirely new ideas into the current conceptions of country life. The great country 

 house is the outward visible sign of this new movement. It has called forth a fine architectural 

 talent in its development, and has given a new field and a new scope to architectural activities 

 in America. 



