GARDEN FEATURES 



In constructing summer-houses, bridges, and 

 other rustic work, there should be a careful plan 

 made before the work is begun. Never work 

 " by guess." Go at the undertaking precisely 

 as the mechanic sets about the construction of a 

 house. Draw a diagram of what the structtu-e 

 is to be. A rough diagram wiU answer quite as 

 well as any, provided it covers all particulars. 



Figure out just how much material the plan 

 calls for. Get this on the ground before anything 

 else is done. The material required will be poles 

 of diif erent sizes and lengths, large and substan- 

 tial nails, a few planks for floors and benches — 

 possibly tables — ^and shingles for covering such 

 structures as need roofing in, unless bark is used 

 for this purpose. Of course bark gives more of 

 a " rustic " look to a roof, but it is not an easy 

 matter to obtain a good quality of it, and shingles, 

 stained a mossy-green or dark brown, will har- 

 monize charmingly with the rest of the building, 

 and furnish a much more substantial roof than it 

 is possible to secure with even the best kind of 

 bark. 



If possible, use cedar poles in preference to 

 any other, for several reasons: First of all, they 

 are more ornamental, because of their bark, which 

 is more permanent than that of any other wood. 



191 



