House & Garden 
62 
in Draperies 
That happy blending of art 
and fabric which symbolizes 
exquisite taste in hangings 
is instantly recognized 
in s 
—4 
Bewitching in their many Spring shades 
and patterns. Ask for “Kapock at 
your favorite store and look for basting 
thread trade mark in edge of genuine. 
Upon request of your dealer, 
we will send, free, sample book 
showing 25 6 Kapock styles. 
A. Theo. Abbott & Co. 
Dept D Philadelphia 
Arbors, Summer-Houses and Trellises 
(Continued from page 46) 
and be made of any material that suits 
fancy or convenience; and it may be 
situated wherever the natural landscape, 
or convenience, or a preconceived pic¬ 
ture, may determine; and it may be 
festooned with whatever growth is 
preferred. 
Yet there is no denying that a cer¬ 
tain kind of arbor may be suitable to 
one place, while an altogether different 
kind, perhaps, is the only tiring suitable 
to another. A nice discrimination, of 
course, is the most desirable guide in 
choosing; but since a properly nice dis¬ 
crimination seems rarely given to the 
groping beginner who yearns for that 
elusive loveliness which is common with 
all the world, he feels that certain rules 
seem necessary. 
Foremost of these I would urge that 
an arbor should never dominate, how¬ 
ever prominent its position and how¬ 
ever important it may be to the garden 
design. This means that its scale, both 
of materials and size, must be adjusted 
to the buildings which it complements. 
Also it means that its character must 
conform. So-called rustic construction 
has no place except in company with 
the stone or log house of primitive de¬ 
sign, situated in the midst of untouched 
wilderness. Similarly, the thick, squat 
columns which appeal so strongly to 
our sense of permanence are not the 
sort of thing that the shingled cottage 
invites as an accompaniment to its sweet 
simplicity. Either of these, anomalously 
placed, thrusts itself forward so that 
even the most casual observer carries 
away the distinct image of squat columns 
or rustic branches as a violent accent 
in the composition. Put either of these 
extremes where it belongs, however, and 
it will retire at once to its proper place 
in the landscape. 
I have spoken of these two opposites 
in order to make the point as clear as 
possible. They are, of course, by no 
means the only examples of structures 
being out of scale and likewise out of 
character, but instead of dwelling on 
this negative side of the subject, it may 
be more to the point to consider an in¬ 
stance of striking and lovely harmony, 
and the reasons why this harmony 
prevails. 
Let us go no further afield than our 
own New England, where early builders 
have provided us with examples of 
building groups as nearly perfect in their 
relations one to another as it is pos¬ 
sible to find. Without selecting a single 
'concrete example, examine at random 
any simple old white house and its 
equally simple garden arches, trellises or 
arbors. Common sense, refined by the 
instinct for beauty which invariably dis¬ 
tinguishes high intelligence, was the 
guide—sometimes the sole guide—of 
these early builders; there was no strain¬ 
ing for effect, no endeavor to startle. 
They went straight ahead and built 
sensibly for sensible folks, whether they 
were rich or poor; and in this honest 
straightforwardness they achieved the 
unity and beauty which we so often fall 
short of today because we lack this 
quality. 
Unity With the Dwelling 
Arbors, and all other garden struc¬ 
tures, should follow the lead of the 
house. This is not to say that it is 
either possible or desirable to copy house 
design in garden structures—nor per¬ 
haps always to use materials like those 
in the house. Very often the garden 
will advance its own motifs, strong 
enough to overbalance the claims of those 
furnished by the dwelling; but certainly 
it is along tire lines which the house 
will suggest that an arbor must be car¬ 
ried out, if it is to take its proper place 
in relation thereto—and this whether it 
is within view of the dwelling or at a 
distance from it. Unity must be 
present. 
In considering the place of an arbor 
in landscape design, one principle es¬ 
pecially seems to me deserving of recog¬ 
nition. This is the adjustment of design 
to utilize the structure’s possibilities as 
a screen wherever possible, rather than 
the location of it simply as an incident 
covering perhaps a walk already estab¬ 
lished. Utilize it to cover a walk, by 
all means—there is indeed little to be 
said for an arbor that does not lead 
to somewhere—but first determine where 
the arbor will be most satisfactory in the 
composition, and then adjust the walks 
and layout generally to this. 
This handling of the subject is what 
makes the difference between results 
which are just commonplace and results 
which are distinctive. Determining the 
site for an arbor is not the matter of a 
moment's consideration, nor altogether of 
convenience, nor yet of pure efficiency. 
The best place for it is the place that 
is chosen after these elements have had 
their innings and been aligned with 
those that are altogether esthetic; and 
in this place it will furnish a shady way 
to somewhere; a pleasant loitering place, 
with seats, when loitering is in order; 
a lovely complement to the picture, either 
(Continued on page 64) 
Hewllt 
Simplicity of line and weight should be sought in the structure 
itself. Here three purposes are served; garden approach, 
boundary and entrance 
