Marble Work in the Garden 
By D. C. Gale, Vermont. 
E 
VERY one knows something about the long and 
honorable record that marble has made. It is 
almost impossible to take up a volume of history, 
or, indeed, a book of any kind without bringing into 
prominence some 
passing reference to 
the stone that has 
had so much to do 
with the building of 
the nations. Even 
in the Good Book, 
one may turn to the 
first chapter of 
Kings and read how 
the Temple of Solo- 
mon was built out of 
white marble, taken 
from quarries out- 
side the Damascus 
Gate. 
The famous epi- 
grara of Caesar 
Augustus, "I found 
Rome mud and left 
it marble," g i v e s 
forceful expression 
to the attitude of 
those ancient times. 
Marble stood for 
beauty and attrac- 
tiveness. It w a 3 
hand in hand with 
all the worshippers 
of.art. It was classed 
with the diamond 
and other precious 
stones as one of the 
symbols of enduring 
nrosDeritv ^ J '' Sh<-'l ti ' 1 ' H" lls ^' "" the Thompson 
"The position of marble among building materials 
is a unique one," writes Patrick Calvert in the Amer- 
ican Architect, "for in it strength and durability are 
united to a beauty of surface, colo" and texture that is 
infinite in range; and this pre-emine ice has not only been 
fully recognized by ancient and modern architects, but 
has, in large measure, contributed to the historical de- 
velopment of the art. 
In firmness of struc- 
ture and almost im- 
perishable nature 
few other materials 
bear comparison to 
it, and these fail ut- 
terly when compari- 
son is extended to 
include variety of 
surface beauty. The 
must famous build- 
ings of antiquity, 
the Parthenon and 
Erechtheion at -Ath- 
ens, the temples and 
The Simmming Pool on the Thompson Estate, Canandaigua, N. 
468 
palaces of Rome, St. Mark's and St. Peter's of the 
Renaissance, owe their charm of color and delicacy of de- 
tail to the use of marble. The oriental luxury of the 
Court of Constantinople, the palaces of the conquering 
Moors at Granada 
and those of the 
Grand Monarch at 
Versailles — all are 
embellished w i t h 
this material which 
also expresses ap- 
propriately the most 
dignified and ele- 
gant conception of 
modern architects. 
Not only are the 
public buildings and 
costly residences of 
today enriched with 
marble, but. in prac- 
tically every struc- 
ture of any size, it is 
used in some form 
or other." 
It is not at all 
strange, therefore, 
that marble should 
be appropriated to 
the needs of parks 
and gardens. The 
custom was inau- 
gurated many cen- 
turies ago. The 
wealthy families of 
the old world gave 
almost as m u c h 
thought to the gar- 
den as to the house 
itself. Nor was any 
element allowed to enter it that might detract from 
its dignity and refinement. Nature was not only 
the instructor, but the high priestess: her rules were 
inviolable. 
Marble was admitted because it is never obtrusive 
or unduly conspicuous. It takes its place naturally in 
the most delicate of settings. It is just as much a part 
of nature as the 
shrubs or g r e e n s- 
w a r el and yet, 
while it is ever sub- 
servient to the har- 
mony of growing 
things, it is none 
the less rich in in- 
dividuality ami dis- 
tinctiveness. 
"In a formal gar- 
den," to quote from 
Stone, "every bit of 
stone work counts 
toward the desired 
effect whether it be 
Estate. Canandaigua, 
Y. 
