LAKE MOHONK AND VICINITY. 



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AS SEEN BY A LAND 



Second 

 HE ARTIFICIAL 

 features of this 

 famous resort 

 that most at- 

 tract our atten- 

 tion are the sum- 

 mer -houses, 

 owing to the 

 conspicuous po- 

 sitions many of 

 them occupy — 

 not that they 

 are ever obtrusi\'e, although so numerous. The 

 builders probably know how many there are, but it 

 is doubtful if anyone else does. None of the old 

 frequenters of the place who were about could give 

 us the information, but a partial count assured us 

 that the number must be well within the hundreds. 

 At nearly every prominent point of view there is 

 one, and while seated there we can enjoy the mag- 

 nificence of the scenery and inhale the exhilarating 

 air. They afford a welcome shelter from the pass- 

 ing mountain shower or the too ardent rays of the 

 summer sun. Some of the most enjoyable experi- 

 ences for those fond of cloud effects are to be had 

 during the passing storms, but the guide-book warns 

 us not to choose certain prominent and lofty houses 

 liable to be struck by lightning. There is, to be sure, 

 a general similarity of character in most of these 

 structures, the typical one being constructed of the 

 natural trunks and branches of trees, and having a 

 straw- thatched roof ; but there is an interesting va- 

 riety in the details. Some roofs are made of 

 branches nailed close together, and where the soil 

 admits of it, a drapery of growing vines is added. 



The construction of these summer-houses and 

 the good sense shown in their location are especially 

 to be commended. Built of materials found near 

 at hand, thej' seem to belong to the place, so well 

 do they harmonize with the surroundings. Were 

 they transported to a dissimilar situation, they 

 might appear as much out of place as a painted 

 structure of shingles and clapboard on one of these 

 wild crags. It would seem as if the straw roofs 

 could not withstand the high winds, but in most 

 cases they seem to have done so, and to some minds 

 the rents made by the storms, when seen on a se- 



SCAPE GARDENER. 



Paper. 



rene summer's day, are an added element of pleas- 

 ure. The thatching is of a modern kind, not so 

 thick or so moss-grown as the roofs of the old 

 country. Fine copper wire is used in place of string 

 to fasten the straw to the light frame-work beneath. 

 Its flexibility and enduring qualities admirably adapt 

 it to the purpose, the sharp ends penetrating the 

 straw when, in the course of construction, it is de- 

 sired to thrust them through. The use of straw in 

 forming the backs and bottoms of some of the seats 

 has resulted in a degree of rustic comfort obtain- 

 able in no other way, and this without diminishing 

 in the least their picturesque qualities, but perhaps 

 adding to them. That substances "frail as straw" 

 have enduring qualities is shown by the way it lasts 

 on these structures whose exposed position has 

 made the use of iron stays and braces necessary to 

 retain them in their places, as in the tall one on 

 Eagle Cliff. Some little summer-houses perched 

 upon steep, smooth rocks seem in danger of slipping 

 away, until we perceive that a hole drilled in the 

 rock holds one end of an iron bolt, the other end of 

 which fits into the bottom of the wooden support 

 above it. So sequestered are some that they at- 

 tract us by their very quiet and seclusion, and in- 

 vite us to rest from the fatigues of an arduous walk 

 or the strain of gazing upon the wonders about us. 

 Perhaps the most unique of these constructions are 

 those upon sunken rocks in the lake, the tops of 

 which come near enough to the surface of the water 



^-r, to p e r m i t 

 building up- 

 on the m . 

 They are 

 known as 

 the Swiss 

 Lake Vil- 

 lage. As 

 the preser- 

 vation and 

 exhibition 



of nature rather than the creation of beauty has 

 been the aim in the work about Lake Mohonk, how 

 much better are these rustic structures than would 

 be others of more ambitious architecture. The 

 same spirit has prevailed in the construction of the 

 roads and other artificial works. Although it has 



