Evening star., 1900-08-18
A NEW WAGE-EARNING ART
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE OFFERS
1T TO WOMEN.
One who Ha. Made a Marked Sue
cess-wouId Encourage
Others.
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
The appointment some time ago Of Mrs.
A. E. McCrea as landscape architect for
Lincoln Park, Chicago at a salary of 81 200
a year. should be regarded as a fact of more
than passing interest to women the country
over since it opens up to the woman wage
Garner unlimited opportunities in a practi-
cally unoccupied field. At present only two
women in this whole great country of spa
cious grounds and lordly parks have taken
UP this profession-Mss Beatrix Jones of
New York. who has made a conspicuous
success of her chosen and delightful work,
and Mrs. McCrea, who for the last seven
years has been the recipient of large sums
of money for the laying out Of public and
private ground all through the middle west
Mrs. McCrea Is an enthusiast upon the
subject of women's entering this profession
and would gladly encourage any number
provided they were properly constituted
temperamentally-to take up the work be-
lieying that they would not be long in
creating a general demand for their SER
vices.
The Way 1t Happened.
She laid the foundation of her knowledge
by years of intimate companionship with
her husband, who was landscape gardener
of wide reputation. 1t was Mrs. McCrea's
custom to accompany her husband wherever
he went upon his business trips, and, al
most without knowing it. she absorbed
knowledge of soils, shrubs and trees, of
times and seasons, of contracts, plans and
designs together with a personal acquaint-
ance with the best growers in the country
In a Semi-SeriouS vein Mr.. McCrea one day
remarked to her.
IF anyth ng should ever happen to
you could go on with my business. You
really do not appreciate how much you
know about it. But If you We're to talk
with the leading men in this profession you
would be surprised to find how nearly you
are on a par with them
This casual remark, thrown off at ran
dow moment, came back to Mrs. McCrea
when, after the weary months of travel
and the hopeless fight of her husband
against consumption, she found herseif
alone with her two little daughters and a
yery meager estate. Her method of beginning
was to watch the papers to ascertain where
government or state appropriations had
been made for beautfying grounds, or
even for erecting buildings. She would then
go to the town or city indica ed look up super
intendent and directors and ask the privilege
of submitting plans and estimates Aided
by the reputa ton of her husband and forti-
fed with indom1table pluck, she met with
succe~I from the start. Her first work
making a hit. she was passed along with
a good word from the authorities. and never
had to experience the dreary lessons of
financial embarrassment.
The Back Yard Experiment..
In view of the limited opportunities for
professional training in this subject. Mrs.
McCrea's advice to those wishing to equip
themselves for the work is to first secure
the best books upon the subject and to
familiarize themselves with the fundamen-
tai principles common to ALL and then begin
experimenting Ones back yard, if only
a city lot, will do for the first efforts. If
this lot Is inclosed by a high board fence
one should begin by painting that color
to harmonic with the foliage. Against this
should first appear few high growing
shrubs like lilacS, Spirea, etc, then, per-
haps, some that do not grow quite so high.
then something still lower, and on, with
a pleasing variety of low growing shrubs
and plants at the base-aiways preserving
a harmony in color and form, while avoid
ing anything approaching symmetrical
arrangement One should also plan for an
unbroken continuation In bloom from spr ng
to fall. A distinct mark of the amateur is
the use of variety. the professional con-
tenting herself with a few simple species
that perfectly harmonize, and so arranged
as to give the effect desired. A good coursein
drawing and designing is recommended by
Mrs. McCrea as being of inestimable value
when one comes to the work of submitting
plans for parks any considerable public
or private grounds. In her own work Mrs
McCreas whole aim is to keep close to
nature, carefully stunning any suggestion
OF the artificial and reproducing wherever
she can ideal natural ruSticity She ALWAYS
has her sketch book with her and when
ever she sees a charming effect in nature
a grouping of trees or bushes a shaded
bank or verdant upland, she makes little
sketch of 1t for possible reproduction in her
special line of work.
The knowledge REQUIRED.
Among the first requisites to success in
this work from the practical side is to add
to thorough underst q nding of the reuuire-
ments of plants and trees an expert krowl-
edge of soil. In order to grow. a plant
must always be surrounded by its native
conditions. You cannot for instance, take
a plant that has been grown in clay and
eXpe. ii to live, if transplanted to Il sandy
SOIL. l. e making up of the earth in which
to rece:' o a new plant or tree is therefore
a matter of the first Importance. Mrs. Nc
Crea has become as sensitive to soil as
most women are to flowers, and says that
she can never pass a bit of good earth on
the roadside without wanting to pick it up
and carry ii home with her. 1t is indeed
through this knowledge that she hopes to
save the city large amount in the annual
| loss of its trees. Illustrative of this point,
| she cites a circumstance that once came
under her personal observation in Chicago.
A number of young trees had been pur-
| chased for one of the parks, and wagon
| loads Of street sweepngs had been reserved
| to put over the roots on the srppositon
| that this refuse material would be partic-
| ularly good a fertilizer.
| Now, they might just as well have put
| live Goals of fire those tender little
| roots" remarked Mrs. McCrea: they could
| not work more deadly results than the car
| bonic acid gas generated from the street
| sweepings. Thousands of trees die every
year from just this kind of treatment; no
one knows why, and the grower who
| CHANGED to sell the trees is usually blamed
| Whole car loads of black dirt are fire.
| quently brought in from the country, in
which there is not a handful of real nour-
| shment. Black is merely a color and does
not necessarily indicate richness, although
| frequently, of course. the dark earth is ex-
| ceptionally good. Only the expert can tell
by the feeling and texture S to the quality
| Your clav sand loan must be mixed entire
| ly according to the native conditions OF the
| plant which it is supposed to sustain
"Of course. many of the trees die from TINS
| treatment and no one knows wherefor Ihe
| hole should be of a size that every tiny
| rootlet may have plenty of rhom In which
| to stretch itself quite att its will. Over this
| should go a layer of light earth that has
| been carefully mixed and prepared. with
plenty of air between its molecules: then
| may come the heavier and richer earth
"A very common way ief humbugging the
inexperienced buy of trees is the offer to
| transplant a good-sized tree and guarantee
| it for two years. That sounds very fair
| offer until one comes to know that any