I thought I had the advantage of knowing every foot of the land, all the old big trees were personal friends of mine, and with the views of any given point I was perfectly familiar--I had studied them hundreds of times; and after this great landscape architect had laid out his plans and had driven his lines of stakes, I asked if I might see what I could do with the job.
In a few days I had worked out a plan so devised that the roads caught just the best views at just the angles where in driving up the hill you came upon impressive outlooks, and at the ending was the final burst of river, hill, cloud, and great sweep of country to crown the whole; and here I fixed my stakes to show where I suggested that the roads should run, and finally the exact place where the house should be.
"Look it all over," I said, "and decide which plan is best." It was a proud moment when this real authority accepted my suggestions as bringing out the most favoured spots for views and agreed upon the site of the house.

How many miles of roads I have laid out in my time, I can hardly compute, but I have often kept at it until I was exhausted.

While surveying roads, I have run the lines until darkness made it impossible to see the little stakes and flags.

It is all very vain of me to tell of these landscape enterprises, but perhaps they will offset the business talks which occupy so much of my story.
My methods of attending to business matters differed from those of most well-conducted merchants of my time and allowed me more freedom.
Even after the chief affairs of the Standard Oil Company were moved to New York, I spent most of my summers at our home in Cleveland, and I do still.

I would come to New York when my presence seemed necessary, but for the most part I kept in touch with the business through our own telegraph wires, and was left free to attend to many things which interested me--among others, the making of paths, the planting of trees, and the setting out of little forests of seedlings.
Of all the profitable things which develop quickly under the hand, I have thought my young nurseries show the greatest yield.