THE GENERAL PLAN OR THEORY OF THE PLACE 19 



nine that may be secured at a drug store is added to sufficient 

 water to cover a quart of wheat. Let the wheat stand in the 

 poison water twenty-four to forty-eight hours (but not long 

 enough for the grains to sprout), then dry the wheat thoroughly. 

 It cannot be distinguished from ordinary wheat, and sparrows 

 usually eat it freely, particularly if they are in the habit of eat- 

 ing scattered grain and crumbs. Of course, the greatest cau- 

 tion must be exercised that in the use of such highly poisonous 

 materials, accidents do not occur with other animals or with 

 human beings. 



The planting is part of the design or picture. 



If the reader catches the full meaning of these pages, he has 

 acquired some of the primary conceptions in landscape garden- 

 ing. The suggestion will grow upon him day by day; and if he is 

 of an observing turn of mind, he will find that this simple lesson 

 will revolutionize his habit of thought respecting the planting 

 of grounds and the beauty of landscapes. He will see that a bush 

 or flower-bed that is no part of any general purpose or design — 

 that is, which does not contribute to the making of a picture 

 — might better never have been planted. For myself, I would 

 rather have a bare and open pasture than such a yard as that 

 shown in Fig. 9, even though it contained the choicest plants 

 of every land. The pasture would at least be plain and restful 

 and unpretentious; but the yard would be full of effort and 

 fidget. 



Reduced to a single expression, all this means that the great- 

 est artistic value in planting lies in the effect of the mass, and 

 not in the individual plant. A mass has the greater value 

 because it presents a much greater range and variety of forms, 

 colors, shades, and textures, because it has sufficient extent or 

 dimensions to add structural character to a place, and because 

 its features are so continuous and so well blended that the mind 

 is not distracted by incidental and irrelevant ideas. Two 



