yard has no purpose, no central idea. It shows plainly that the planter
had no constructive conception, no grasp of any design, and no
appreciation of the fundamental elements of the beauty of landscape.
Its only merit is the fact that trees and shrubs have been planted; and
this, to most minds, comprises the essence and sum of the ornamentation
of grounds. Every tree and bush is an individual alone, unattended,
disconnected from its environments, and, therefore, meaningless. Such a
yard is only a nursery.

[Illustration: Fig 5. The common or nursery way of planting]

[Illustration: Fig. 6. The proper or pictorial type of planting]

The other plan (Fig. 6) is a picture. The eye catches its meaning at
once. The central idea is the residence, with a free and open greensward
in front of it The same trees and bushes that were scattered haphazard
over Fig. 5 are massed into a framework to give effectiveness to the
picture of home and comfort. This style of planting makes a landscape,
even though the area be no larger than a parlor. The other style is only
a collection of curious plants. The one has an instant and abiding
pictorial effect, which is restful and satisfying: the observer
exclaims, "What a beautiful home this is!" The other piques one's
curiosity, obscures the residence, divides and distracts the attention:
the observer exclaims, "What excellent lilac bushes are these!"

An inquiry into the causes of the unlike impressions that one receives
from a given landscape and from a painting of it explains the subject
admirably. One reason why the picture appeals to us more than the
landscape is because the picture is condensed, and the mind becomes
acquainted with its entire purpose at once, while the landscape is so