House y Garden 
One will seek in vain in the modern gar¬ 
dens for any impressive display of the 
landscape gardener’s skill. The elements 
sought are rather great profusion, a plenitude 
of color and soothing masses of shadow, all 
of which demands are natural developments 
of the Persian’s inherent spirit or the simple 
outgrowth of his surroundings. A niggard 
in trade, he is absurdly lavish in certain 
phases of sell-gratification ; but the art ol 
being magnificent he has lost. 
In the most pretentious gardens there is 
pervasive suggestion of European influence 
in the design and a subserviency to the 
rectilinear, which if not borrowed from 
Europe, must be attributed to the Tartar 
strain ; it certainly is not Persian, for the 
Persian’s natural tendency is to mazes, such 
as might be suggested by the winding of a 
vine or a creeper. The straight line is the 
Turkoman’s delight. 
Winding walks, at any rate, are rare, but 
here again the condition of the country may 
be explanatory. The requirements of the 
water system, to which reference has been 
made, necessitate in every garden a deal of 
masonry. Construction of any sort is per¬ 
haps more expensive in Persia than in any 
other country on the globe; not because 
labor is expensive; that costs nothing. 
Materials, such as brick and the like, ought 
to be cheap; transportation, to be sure, 
costs, for the wagon has not yet superseded 
the beast of burden. But it is dishonesty 
that makes building come high. There is 
absolutely no possibility ol having any such 
work done without being outrageously 
cheated. Therefore, when all walks must 
be of solid masonry, brick and tile, raised to 
a height of two or three feet, few persons 
are extravagant enough to have them built 
in curvilinears. So you have the cruciform 
garden, with no curves save the circle which 
encloses the water tank in the middle of the 
expanse. (See diagram.) 
Now regarding the reason lor these raised 
THE BAGH-I-SHAMAL Summer Palace and Gardens of the Crown Prince at Tabriz. 
I8 5 
