FOR SMALL PLACES. 257 



ator of the house and its contents. Hundreds of homes 

 present tasteful examples of artistic work of many kinds. 

 The study of lawn-planting, however, seems strangely neg- 

 lected. Yet why is it ? Are there no profitable examples 

 to be found in parks or private grounds ? And if there 

 are, why do not people study them ? 



There are doubtless many who visit or communicate 

 with such places, but how is it generally done ? If they 

 visit, they do it hastily and learn little. If they communi- 

 cate, it is to ask about some plant which has struck their 

 fancy. Whether it suits any position on their grounds 

 they do not consider, and perhaps do not care. In like 

 manner parks are looked over. They are but seldom 

 studied. Now, if we are to have good work, the workman, 

 or at least the deviser of the work, must know his mate- 

 rial. You see, we are assuming that the lawn-planter of 

 small places is also the owner. Seldom, indeed, can the 

 owner of any small place afford a gardener of taste and 

 knowledge ; and the charm, moreover, of this peculiar spe- 

 cies of work is its unprofessional character. It must have 

 originality, variety, and no hackneyed forms, if it is to be 

 of the best type. We hesitate, therefore, to fix anything 

 like arbitrary rules, for fear they may be misunderstood 

 and adhered to slavishly. Yet there are practical consider- 

 ations and desirable artistic results growing out of the 

 nature of plants that necessitate the use of rules. We 

 cannot, of course, properly treat of the habits of plants in 

 a short chapter, nor of all the rules that govern their employ- 

 ment on small places. Nevertheless, it will be our endeavor 



to set forth intelligibly a few important suggestions concern- 

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