Bellefontaine Gardens, Lenox, Mass. 
H 
UNTING, shooting and the 
more vigorous forms of sport 
claim the attention of some 
estate owners, while others find their chief recreation 
and pleasure in quieter forms of amusement. Not that 
gardening is merely an amusement ; it is a matter of 
serious study, as any one who has dipped into it to any 
appreciable extent knows full well. And we do not 
assert or infer either, that Mr. Giraud Foster, owner of 
Bellefontaine Gardens, Lenox, Mass., does not enjoy 
his day out with rod or gun, but assuredly he is first of 
all to he regarded as one of our stalwart patrons of horti- 
culture, an avocation that has been the pursuit of all 
grades, princes, poets, philosophers, peasants — your peas- 
ant mayprince. poet and philosopher, too, as witness 
Mr. ['"lister's estate, Bellefontaine, 
is one that has an enviable reputa- 
tion even in such a notable garden- 
ing district as Lenox. It extends to 200 acres and was 
purchased twenty years ago by its present owner. At 
that time it consisted largely of farm land, much of it 
swampy. 
Hut a well thought out plan has been followed, and 
there has been no rush or undue haste to get every tree 
planted, every wall and walk in place, and everything 
finished as if for all time; rather the aim has been to 
"hasten slowly," and to furnish employment for a body 
of permanent hands all the time. This is good, for the 
proprietor and his men come to know one another, to 
work together in their scheme; homes and attachments 
The Swan Pool in the Woods, Our of the Many Attractive Spots of Bellefontaine Gardens 
Robert Burns, shall we include him?, Tolstov — during all 
ages. 
It has been well said that gardening is the efflo- 
rescence of civilization. "Men come to build stately 
sooner than to garden finely," was the remark of Fran- 
cis Bacon three hundred years or more ago, and John 
Evelyn, Horace Walpole, Joseph Addison, the Martinis 
of Bute, the Empress Josephine and many another 
have found his words true. 
are made, families grow up. and in the whole evolution 
of things the man at the top surely has a constant fund 
of interest and enjoyment. His influence on the lives of 
many is very considerable, and with his wisely directed 
efforts he is in truth a real benefactor in his day and gen- 
eration. That Mr. Foster assumes his responsibilities 
and pleasures in this light we do not doubt. 
The house is a handsome one of red brick and Lee 
marble. All the buildings on the place are of local ma- 
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