24 
BUILDING AS A GENTLEMAN’S 
House & Garden 
HOBBY 
I N the early days of this country no gentleman was worth the name 
unless he had at least a smattering of architecture, no gentle¬ 
man’s library was complete without its architectural books. Washing¬ 
ton found time to design a church near Alexandria, model a mantel and 
lay out the Mount Vernon grounds. Thomas Jefferson drew up the 
plans for his countr}' house, "Monticello,” and was accounted one of 
-the best gentlemen designers of his age. 
Professional architects in those ddys were as scarce as Egyptologists 
are to-day. Yet some fairly substantial building was produced, archi¬ 
tecture that we proudly preserve and copy as standard. 
It was a classical architecture, with none of the excesses of a more 
flamboyant epoch. It was built to accommodate the demands of gener¬ 
ous, well-rounded lives. The men who made those-buildings under¬ 
stood them. 
T he native consciousness of our Colonial master-builders, their 
knowledge of good line, good workmanship and good materials, 
has rarely been equaled. The lack of this comprehension to-day and the 
general ignorance of such matters on the part of .the general public are 
responsible for the riff-raff of jerry-built, atrociously designed houses 
with which the country is flooded. 
But there is light on the horizon. We are due for a revival of inter¬ 
est in this subject. It is about time for architecture and building to 
become a gentleman’s hobby again. The building in the next few 
years must be directed. Architects alone cannot lead popular taste. 
To make architecture and building a popular hobby, it first must be¬ 
taken up by leaders of the people, and before the leaders of the people 
can adequately grasp their leadership they must know their subject. 
D espite our world reputation for being canny, we American peo¬ 
ple take a great many things for granted and accept circum¬ 
stances imposed on us without question. We 
permitted a fanatical minority to impose pro¬ 
hibition, for example, and rather enjoyed 
seeing the wheels of legislation buzz around 
—until the situation became actual and we 
realized, too late, its evil effects. In pre¬ 
cisely the same fashion we allow unscrupu¬ 
lous dealers to palm off on us all manner of 
cheap wares. Only when the roof begins to 
leak, or the floors to sag, or the plaster crack, 
01 * the paint peel off, or the heater fail to 
heat we dimly realize that something is all 
wrong. Eventually we grow indignant and 
vow never again to use those materials. 
Therein lies a national weakness that a 
knowledge of architecture and building 
would immediately correct. No man should 
permit a roof on his house unless, he knows 
what goes into that roofing and what its re¬ 
sisting powers are. He should study the 
kind of brick or tile or stucco used for the 
walls. He should know why walls need an 
air space, and should see that they have one. 
The woodwork in his house should be se¬ 
lected only after he has surveyed the field of 
woods. He should become acquainted with 
the various heating systems and select the 
one best suited for his type of house and 
location. 
Now it might seem that he hires an archi¬ 
tect for this very purpose; consequently, why 
should the average man bother his head 
about such affairs? For the simple reason 
that the architect is not infallible and unless 
the client has some desires, based on per¬ 
sonal knowledge, the architect will be wholly 
responsible for the house—which leaves a 
big margin for disappointment. Moreover, 
it is natural that the man who spends his 
money for building materials should know 
what those materials are like. He takes a 
deep interest in the make of his car and its 
accessories, the cloth of his clothes, the 
blend of his tobacco, the efficiency of his 
office furniture—why not be equally inter¬ 
ested in, and have as good a knowledge of, 
the various materials that go to make the structure which is his house? 
Picture the average American man of moderate means buying a car. 
He assembles all the possible catalogues and studies them. He learns 
all the points and possibilities of the various makes. When he finds a 
make that suits his wants, then he buys—but not before. The reverse 
is the general attitude toward building materials. And yet, just as 
many catalogues are available and the information is just as simply 
expressed and explained. 
This laissez-faire attitude toward architecture and building is the 
natural outcome of the sort of lives we have been leading. The great 
gro-wth in industry has overshadowed interest in the home. We fight 
to protect business and neglect to protect personal liberties. We can¬ 
not plan to build for a full life when we are not living full lives. 
^''HERE has also grown up a specializing habit which makes it 
JL somewhat presumptuous for a man to show interest in any other 
work save his own. Architecture is not considered a hobby suitable for 
anyone except architects. Some of the specialists have preserved .this 
legend for their own self-defense, and have made a great mystery of 
their work, when there is no mystery about it at all. 
The good architect welcomes the intelligent co-operation of his client. 
If more architects had it their work would be far simpler. As matters 
stand to-day, the women of America direct the spending—even in 
building—and the men foot the bills. The architects have to deal -with 
the women, and the women, in the majority of cases, cannot have the 
personal interest in building materials that they exercise in the choice 
of their gowns or the purchase of their foodstuffs. In short, we men 
have been passing the responsibility up to our wives, and our wives 
have been pestering the architects, in turn, with all manner of well- 
intentioned but devastating w^hims. If you doubt this, ask any architect. 
There is still a third reason for men hesitating to take up architecture 
and building as a practicing hobby. Prices 
of building materials and the manner of fig¬ 
uring them seem to hold the subject just 
above the average head and purse. A great 
many people still nurse the fond dream that 
a good ten-room house with all modern im¬ 
provements, built of lasting materials and 
designed with individuality, can be run up 
for a mere $5,000. Plenty of us still think 
of building in terms of Centennial year 
prices. When we discover that prices have 
doubled and tripled in some instances, we 
lose interest. 
R ight there is where your knowledge of 
building materials and architecture 
comes in. Architecture is one of those cul¬ 
tural subjects that you never lose enthusiasm 
for once you become interested in it. If you 
are sufficiently interested in a subject its 
iiigh prices will ne-ver bother you,—^you will 
appreciate value when you see it and will 
appraise its value to you. Any figures are 
exorbitant when your interest in them is only 
casual. If stamps are your hobby you’ll pay 
the price for them. If home-making is your 
hobby, your purse strings will unloosen. 
It is only fair that the average American 
should know more about architecture and 
building—fair to the architects, fair to the 
builders and, above all, fair to himself. He 
will get better values and more genuine sat¬ 
isfaction. His interest will be sincere and 
fruitful. He will find that his interest—in 
the subtle fashion that interest has—can 
change a house to a home whilst it is build¬ 
ing. And of all the satisfaction in the 
world, none is greater. 
Understand building materials and their 
prices, and you will have the gratification of 
knowing how your money is spent, how val¬ 
ues are returned in brick and slate and floor 
boards. You will understand your house as 
you understand your other possessions—in 
the terms of your monetary effort to get 
them. 
PERFUMES 
Roses in an old-world garden 
Fair and far away, 
Sweet-pea and Syringa walks. 
Hollyhocks so gay. . . 
I never see a soft, green lawn 
Or scent a full-blown rose, 
But my heart goes hack to England, 
And a dear, old garden close. 
Jasmine gives me Aden hack. 
Incense brings Port Said. 
Dust and sun, the naked veldt 
And rifles spitting lead. 
Tang of tar wakes in my breast 
Storm-defying ships; 
Southern seas in touch of salt 
To nostrils and to lips. 
And though all bring memories 
One holds a spot apart. 
Sacred to its loveliness, 
Cornered in my heart. 
Sweet-pea and Syringa walks. 
Hollyhocks so gay, 
Roses and an old-world garden 
Oh, so far away! 
—Edmund Leamy. 
