Up in the New Hampshire hills lies a garden, small but beauti- 
fully complete as to plan and flower arrangement. 
In it one planting in particular this spring was so harmonious and 
unusual as to be a joy to all fortunate beholders. 
Against a stone retaining wall, and with a background of low 
evergreens, was a mass of Mertensia Virginica, the beautiful blue cow- 
slip of our Southern States. In front of these were pale yellow single 
Narcissi and the exquisite drooping blue panicles of the Mertensia, with 
some of its flowers fading into pink, and mingling with the yellow, was 
a feast in harmony of color, which will long be remembered by one 
ardent admirer. 
Margaret L. Gage, 
Litchfield Garden Club. 
The following happy color arrangement of white and blue, with 
a touch of yellow, has proved most satisfying in a curved garden bed. 
The ends were carpeted with Cerastium tomentosum; while Acquilegia 
caerula, Phlox divaricata, Laphami, and Iris Germanica gave many 
tones of blue and violet. The great clumps of rocket, in mauve shading 
to white, added a touch of sturdiness to the background, while the 
border of palest yellow English cowslips gave the whole an effect of 
softness and delicacy. 
Elise Logan Rhoads, 
The Weeders, Philadelphia. 
Book IReviews 
"THE ART OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE" 
By SAMUEL PARSONS 
C. P. Putnam's Sons 
Easily the most important contribution of the year to the literature 
of landscape gardening is Mr. Samuel Parsons' "The Art of Land- 
scape Architecture." 
In spite of a title that may discourage the owner of a modest half 
acre, Mr. Parsons' book will reward any one intelligently interested in 
gardening even on the smallest scale. The garden is treated as a work 
of art, a work of conscious beauty, and the purpose is to explain and 
illustrate the principles of the art. 
The author has drawn copiously on the wisdom of the masters of 
landscape gardening, but he quotes for principles, not for slavish imi- 
tation, and his criticism of ambitious American gardening is largely 
because of its attempt to produce quick and striking results by lavish 
horticultural effects, while neglecting the gradual development of 
American themes. It is the small place, where money is not greater 
