Cement Casting at “Aldie ” 
THE POOL UPON THE LAWN 
will float to the surface of the wet mass 
in the mould, and whatever else may have 
been mixed with the cement will have been 
rendered useless in the final effect. Though 
the casts have all the appearance of being 
porous, Mr. Mercer declares that they are 
not; that they are quite water tight and 
aquatics may be grown in them. 
The shafts at each side of an arch of arbor- 
vitae forming the entrance to the “ Aldie ” 
grounds are as old as any of the cement 
ornaments, and like the others they bear no 
trace of the effects of weather. Other her- 
multe of more recent date which have been 
ranged along the hedge near the pergola hold 
an equally good record for a shorter period. 
Close observation of these objects after ex¬ 
treme atmospheric conditions has established 
the utility of this material, and the ad¬ 
vantages of the process over others occa¬ 
sionally tried. Compared with this vigorous 
rough texture the common casting or grout¬ 
ing of cement in wooden boxes gives a 
surface as smooth as if hydraulic pressure 
had been applied. The admixture of color 
also is here preferable to any result obtained 
by means of iron rust or paint. 
Other types of garden ornament than we 
have mentioned are now being made at 
“ Aldie,” and preparations are being made 
for carrying forward the work on a more 
systematic and extensive scale than the little 
work-room adjoining Mr. Mercer’s studio 
permits. He has not yet essayed the making 
or reproduction of original designs,—a con¬ 
servatism due to a love of foreign work 
and foreign traditions. The models thus 
far used are all European, chiefly from Clas¬ 
sic, Romanesque, Renaissance and Byzantine 
sources. Many have come from the National 
Museum at Munich which contains much 
excellent Lombard work. These casts and 
models are now crowded into a house built 
in the old English half-timbered style. It 
contains a studio, reaching to the roof, and a 
living room. From these open the workshop 
and the photographic dark room. Over the 
living room are bed rooms and store rooms 
reached from the studio by means of a stair 
and gallery. The conservatory radiates in¬ 
doors the refreshing green of ferns and the 
glory of sunlit flowers, and one may step out 
upon a walk which surrounds a tank reflect¬ 
ing in its waters the gaudy plumage of parrots. 
