xii preface 



guage I do not claim to be, but I feel that, as a landscape 

 architect, in advocating important landscape-garden- 

 ing principles and ideas I have a message to deliver 

 and therefore propose to convey it to the best of my 

 ability, hoping that I may be able to impart a reason- 

 able portion of my meaning to the readet. 



My thanks are due to Mr. August F. Jaccad, Mr. 

 William B. Van Ingen, and Dr. Fred Hovey Allen for 

 the trouble they have taken to assist me by means of 

 criticisms and valuable suggestions. Mr. W. W. Cook 

 was the first to encourage me to undertake the work of 

 writing this book and he has made many suggestions, 

 the value of which I realize and appreciate. The 

 compilation of authorities by Albert Forbes Sieveking 

 has also afforded me assistance. As far as possible 

 without unduly overloading the text I have endeav- 

 oured to give credit to the authorities from whom I 

 have quoted. I wish to express my appreciation of the 

 courtesy and kindness which I have received from the 

 officials of the New York Public Library and from those 

 of the Library of Columbia University. I cannot close 

 without again referring to the inspiration of the late 

 Calvert Vaux, the influence of whose ideas on land- 

 scape architecture has been and always will be for me 

 a potent stimulus to seek to do only good work in 

 the practice of my profession and to arrive at sound 

 solutions of the various problems of the art. 



S. P. 



New York, January, 1915. 



