HOUSE AND GARDEN 
March, 
19 i 1 
devote such a space to fruit 
trees, and in order to have 
them at all, must place them 
along your wall or scattered 
through the grounds (as sug¬ 
gested in the diagram in last 
month's article), you can still 
give them an excellent start 
by enriching the soil in spots 
beforehand, as suggested 
above in growing lima-beans. 
In the event of finding even 
this last way inapplicable to 
your land, the following meth¬ 
od will make success certain: 
Dig out holes three to six feet 
in diameter (if the soil is very 
hard, the larger dimension), 
and twelve to eighteen inches 
deep. Mix thoroughly with 
the excavated soil a good barrowful of the oldest, finest manure 
you can get, combined with about one-fourth or one-fifth its 
weight of South Carolina rock (or acid phosphate, if you can't 
get the rock). It is a good plan to compost the manure and 
rock in advance, or use the rock as an absorbent in the stable. 
Fill in the hole again, leaving room in the center to set the tree 
without bending or cramping any roots. Where any of these 
are injured or bruised, cut them off clean at the injured spot with 
a sharp knife. Shorten any that are long and straggling about 
one-third to one-half their length. Properly grown stock should 
not be in any such condition. 
Remember that a well 
planted tree will give more 
fruit in the first ten years 
than three trees carelessly put 
in. Get the tree so that it will 
be one to three inches deeper 
in the soil than when growing 
in the nursery. Work the soil 
in firmly about the roots with 
the fingers or a blunt wooden 
“tamper;” don’t be afraid to 
use your feet. When the 
roots are well covered, firm 
the tree in by putting all your 
weight upon the soil around 
it. See that it is planted 
straight, and if the “whip,” or 
small trunk, is not straight 
stake it, and tie it with rye 
straw, raffia or strips of old cloth—never string or wire. If the 
soil is very dry, water the root copiously while planting until the 
soil is about half filled in, never on the surface, as that is likely 
to cause a crust to form and keep’ out the air so necessary to 
healthy growth. 
Prune back the "leader” of the tree — the top above the first 
lateral branches, about one-half. Peach trees should be cut back 
more severely. Further information in regard to pruning, and 
the different needs of the various fruit in regard to this important 
(Continued on page 178) 
Peach trees come into bearing in three years, so they are frequently 
used as “fillers” between the rows of slower trees 
The Real Meaning and Use of Architectural Detail 
III. THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE-THE REBIRTH OF CLASSIC FORMS IN THE FIFTEENTH 
CENTURY—THE SOURCE FROM WHICH ALL THE LATER WORK OF EUROPE WAS DERIVED 
by Louis Boynton 
[A series of articles by prominent architects appeared in this magazine last year. In it the characteristics of the more common architectural styles, 
used for country houses, were outlined and explained. Another matter of great importance to those who would build consistently is the detail. Mr. 
Boynton’s series of articles aims to explain the origin and use of motives, ornament and molding characteristics in connection with the better known 
styles of architecture. The articles that have appeared are: Colonial Detail, Jan., 1911, and The English Renaissance, Feb., 1911. — Editor.] 
T HE architecture of the Renaissance in Italy was the source 
from which all the later work of Europe was derived. 
The Gothic style had run its brief but glorious course and the 
Italians reverted to the earlier forms of 
art which were their proper heritage. We 
are, I think, too apt to overlook the fact 
that the Italian of the fifteenth century 
was the lineal descendent of the ancient 
Roman. While there had been an ad¬ 
mixture of races and while the artistic 
traditions of the earlier times had been 
forgotten, it was perfectly natural and 
right for them to return to the forms and 
principles of the earlier work. Of course 
the work of the Gothic school scarcely 
touched Italy. While France, Germany 
and England were building Gothic 
churches, the Italians were living in a 
sort of backwater of Byzantine art. 
The word Renaissance means a re¬ 
birth and the accepted meaning of the 
term as applied to architecture and decoration is a revival or 
rebirth of Classic forms. This does not mean a slavish copying 
of Roman work but an intelligent adaptation of the motives and 
principles of Classic art to the peculiar 
conditions of the times. 
It has been said with much truth that 
St. Francis of Assizi gave the impulse 
which resulted in the Renaissance. His 
teaching that life was a beautiful thing and 
that it should be joyous, as distinguished 
from the repressed formalism of the monk¬ 
ish rule, was a preponderating influence in 
starting the movement towards intellect¬ 
ual and artistic freedom from the tradi¬ 
tions of the immediate past. These ideas 
tended to open the minds of men and 
women also, to the beauties of the litera¬ 
ture and art of Classic times. Italy had 
been dominated by an absolutely dry and 
formal expression of art which was the 
result of Byzantine influence, and the sud- 
Type of Italian Renaissance detail, of which 
reproductions in cement are obtainable 
