Mr. Hastings's Lecture.

Mr. Thomas Hastings delivered the last of his very interesting lectures last evening in the Jefferson Physical Laboratory. The subject of his lecture was, "Detail, Ornament and Decoration."

Decoration and ornament, Mr. Hastings said, stand in the same position with regard to architecture that recreation does to work. They should accompany and relieve, but not over balance it.

Ornament must in the first place be well designed and placed, in order to accentuate the motive of a drawing, for this is the part it has to play in architecture. It may be divided into two parts: ornament which is purely architectural, and ornament which is simply intended to be decorative. To this last named division belong all mouldings, panels and bas-reliefs. The farther one advances in art, the more the feels that architecture which is not dependent upon decorative ornament is far more serious and satisfying than that which relies upon decoration to produce the intended effect.

The general principles to be followed in decorative architecture are symmetry, repetition, contrast, regular distribution and radiation. Of these, symmetry contrast and radiation are the most essential to effective ornamentation. The principle of radiation is best illustrated in natural objects, such as shells and leaves, in which the lines radiating from the central point or stem are clearly marked.

There are some architects who claim that nothing made by hand of man can

(Continued on third page).