Please think well over the Memorandum about the Lagoon which Mr Codman will give you. It is most important that you should get the right ideal in your mind and work for it heartily.

The thing is to make it appear that we found this body of water and its shores and have done nothing to them except at the landings and bridges. They were rich, rank, luxurious, crowded with vegetation, like the banks of some tropical rivers that I have seen or Louisiana bayous. The vegetation must appear spontaneous and thoroughly wild (to all unlearned visitors). The stronger the contrast thus to be obtained with the highly gardened, finished and kept ground, the better the latter will be—the more effective. We cannot get trees that will be large and fine and effective as trees. The highest things that we can grow that will appear flourishing, indigenous and natural to the locality as we shall be supposed to have found it, will be Typhas. I hope that in two years we can have these in perfection in great bodies and grouping with them flags (acorus) and lots of other things of less height that will group with them and fringe the shores. A sort of fringe of luxurient vegetation is all that we can hope in perfection. We must be very careful not to attempt anything small, local and petty and nothing in which we cannot make sure of perfect success. We cannot in the poor sandy sour soil be sure of high success, on the necessary large scale, with anything radically different from what the Memorandum proposes, I think. The neat sloping lawns of a common pleasure ground could not be made in time so that they would not compare unfavorably with what many of our visitors will have been accustomed to. The natural condition of the locality is a swamp. Chicago has grown out of a swamp, and as far as I know [331]a swamp without beauty. Let us try to show the possible beauty of a swamp, even without trees.

A very difficult thing to do, I fully recognize, but not, I believe, impossible. Nor do I see that there is anything else that can be done on the grand scale required and within the limits of time and expense imposed upon us, that has not greater difficulties.

We must depend on you to anticipate and contrive means in advance for conquering the difficulties. If you succeed it will be a great surprise and delight to the people of Chicago and they will have learned something of our art of which they have no conception.

The whole lagoon district must, through its wildness, luxurience, unrestrained and informal aspect of natural scenery of a type rarely seen in close connection with grand affairs, be a foil for the highly enriched, refined and delicate gardening decoration of other parts of the Fair Ground.

Yours Truly