24 GAEDEN ORNAMENTS 



in the glimmering shade. These rough arbors 

 shadowed by hardy vines, graced the Italian hill- 

 sides, when Columbus as a wool comber's son frol- 

 icked the summer days away long years before he 

 discovered the new country that lay across the sea. 



The birth of this feature was not romantic but 

 plebeian, for it was built for practical use only. 

 The hardy Italian grape growers had come to a 

 realizing sense that their fruit throve better if held 

 aloft, and so they conceived the idea of a support- 

 ing arbor. As the bright sun filtered through the 

 vines, the picturesqueness caught the attention of 

 gardeners on large estates and from this was 

 evolved the long piUared pathways over which cul- 

 tivated vines were twined, easting their long shad- 

 ows far over the path beyond in Roman gardens. 



When larger and better gardens were demanded 

 to meet the architecture of the large, square. Colon- 

 ial homes, green arbors were popular. They were 

 crudely put together, often the work of the village 

 carpenter, simple and unconventional in their 

 treatment yet prettily draped with vines. During 

 the summer months they were especially pictur- 

 esque and inviting, with their little wooden seats 

 placed on either side. To the garden came the gal- 



