A GARDEN IN VENICE 



lines straight and intersecting. The man who 

 had laid out our orchard had followed, indeed it 

 was prescribed for him, this universal Venetian 

 rule, and the invention of the pergola — the great 

 inventor's name, alas, is lost to history — made it 

 easy, practical, and beautiful. 



As something is written nowadays in books 

 and papers on the pergola, and many are put up 

 in England, I may hazard a few observations on 

 its use and possible abuse. If you buy a horse, 

 is it to ride or drive ? Some men take or seek a 

 wife as a friend, a dear friend, constant, or occa- 

 sional ; some as a companion, a sweet companion, 

 by day or night ; some as a managing directress, 

 and she oft becomes a tyrant; some as a servant, 

 of whom they're apt to make a slave. So with 

 the pergola ; decide what you want it for, and 

 the choice of one of its kind, or of none, is easy. 

 In Italy we need it for the vine; in England 

 it serves more often for the rose. 



The pruning of a plant must depend upon its 

 habit, and the amount of pruning must be in 

 inverse ratio to its strength. A plant of strong 



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