COMFORT IN THE GARDEN 



One of the most delightful instances of fitting a garden- 

 bench to a tree is at Mr. Stephen Parrish's place at Cornish, 

 N. H. Here a curving grass path leads to a giant pine-tree, 

 from which one has a wonderful view of valley and river and 

 mountains and far-stretching blue hills. Across the path, just 

 the right distance from the tree, a long, curved seat is fitted into 

 the bank. It is stained a dull green and brown until it looks 

 as if it were almost a part of the moss and pine-needles. 



The built-in seat in the garden has somewhat the same 

 charm as a window-seat in a house. Some of the most in- 

 teresting examples of buUt-in seats are at Cornish. The pergola, 

 also, at Mr. Stephen Parrish's which forms the northern boun- 

 dary of his garden, uniting house and garden, has a long, low 

 seat against one side and is a most dehghtful lounging-place. 

 From it one looks across a radiant little garden with a pool in 

 the centre, which reflects the colors and yet gives a sense of cool- 

 ness on any day. 



The stone seats built into the four-foot-high dry stone wall 

 of Miss Rose Nichol's garden are very attractive, shaded as 

 they are by dwarf fruit-trees. Admirable in their talent for 

 fitting the place are the four curved seats which surround a 

 shaded pool and make it the centre of the garden. 



There is nothing occult in the placing of garden-benches. 

 Very often, it is true, marble benches or their simiUtude in 

 concrete or stone are placed in purely decorative positions, 

 where they "balance" and give a certain finish to the garden. 

 But these are analogous to the chairs in the 1830 parlor, placed 

 in strategic positions, on which no one was expected to sit. 

 As Bacon says, they are among "the things that make for 

 state and magnificence, but add nothing to the true pleasure 

 of a garden." 



Where shoidd a garden-seat be? Precisely where one 



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