THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



305 



Lack of municipal cuiUrul and jjlaiUing regulations 

 has imposed upon Chicago an unnecessarily large 

 number of soft wood trees. Then, too, we find elms, 

 ash, catalpas, Carolina poplars and cottonwood trees 

 are mixed along the same street and varying greatly 

 in size in the same block, and this treatment is not un- 

 common even in the most choice residence districts. 



Stumps and dead trees have stood in the parkways 

 for years, becoming an eyesore and menace to the 

 public. Many of these trees were killed by gas leaks, 

 while others have been outrageously mutilated by 

 ■careless and indiiiferent citizens and the various public 

 utility corporations. 



Those dead, dying and unsightl\- trees have in many 

 cases discouraged antl prejudiced our citizens against 

 the planting of new trees, and they have become in- 

 <lififerent and unappreciative of the beauty and com- 

 fort to be enjoA-ed in well-planted streets. 



A series of instructional pamphlets were printed for 

 free distribution ; the first outlining the inception of 

 the movement and the ordinance ; the second, "The 

 Call for Trees," attempts to tell how trees make a city 

 more beautiful, healthier, wealthier and stinnilate civic 

 pride : the third is intended to impress our citizens with 

 the existing barrenness of certain streets, the causes 

 which have combined to bring about these conditions ; 

 suggesting preventive remedies and directions for the 

 proper removal of dead trees and the trimming of un- 

 sightly ones ; the fourth gives some idea of "What, 

 Where, When and How to Plant"; the fifth helps for 

 the City Beautiful — tells Ikjw tn make "tlardens in 

 Avindows, on porches and in front and back yards." 



These pamphlets hurriedly compiled have neces- 

 sarily been brief. The demand for them has been so 

 ■great, however, that a second and in two cases a third 

 addition has been printed. 



Our newspapers have given this movement their 

 hearty support. Our police department has acted 

 prom])tly in reporting and pr(jhil)iting violations of 

 the ordinances and the telejihone and electric light 

 companies have co-operated by jM'inting their own ])er- 

 nnit forms as recommended by the department. 



Many of our improvement associations and women's 

 clubs have arranged for lectures on City Tree Plant- 

 ing. These talks usually are given in the evening, are 

 instructional rather than amusing. During the year 

 1910 about 75 of these illustrated lectures were de- 

 livered before improvement associations, women's 

 •clubs and the ])ublic schools. 



Last year 385,000 catalpa speciosa seedlings were 

 planted by the children of Chicago. These were sup- 

 |)lie(l to them at a cost of one cent. And after mak- 

 ing many inquiries I feel safe in stating that this plant- 

 ing was so carefully done and the seedlings were so 

 well taken care of that at least 80 per cent, of them 

 survived. Facts have come to my attention showing 

 that the little trees suffered from altogether too much 

 care. In one case a little boy five years old was so in- 

 tensely interested that he pulled his little tree up by 

 the roots each day to see how much it had grown. In 

 another case a little girl picked ofif the leaves from 

 her own little trees and pressed them in a book. This 

 affection was disastrous to the little tree, of course. 



This year 300,000 Russian mulberry seedlings were 

 planted, and I am sure each child took a great interest 

 in its own little tree which it planted or helped to 

 plant, and they will afford them great pleasure to see 

 the tiny tree grow, feel proud of their share in the 

 celebration of Arbor Day. But the child's interest 

 does not stop here, for long after its hajipy childhood 

 cdavs are over it will eagerly watch the returning bvuls 



each spring, and during the summer while watching 

 other children plan beneath its spreading branches the 

 full meaning of tree planting is realized. 



This tells the story of why I have encouraged the 

 wholesale planting of jienny trees by the children on 

 Arbor Day. 



The appreciation of things useful and things beauti- 

 ful should begin at home and become a part of our 

 everydav life. Thus, with our residence streets well 

 ])lanted with the proper varieties of trees, the young 

 can grow up knowing, respecting and appreciating the 

 tree for its usefulness, learn to admire its beauty of 

 form and color, and in this way we may instill a pa- 

 triotism that will mean a love for the home and a love 

 for the cit^-. 



JOHN McLAREN ACHIEVES ANOTHER 

 SUCCESS. 



John McLaren, world-famous landscape gardener, 

 who transformed the Golden Gate Park at San Fran- 

 cisco from a barren waste of sand dunes into one of 

 the greatest parks in the world, is converting the 

 grounds of the Panama-Pacific International Exposi- 

 tion into a Garden of Eden. Hundreds of thousands 

 of rare trees and millions of blossoming shrubs and 

 flowers are already growing upon the exposition site, 

 and it ajipears as though the grt)und had been cultured 



JOHN McLAREN. 



for years. There are giant tree ferns from Australia, 

 rhododendrons from England, huge creoIe palms from 

 Cuba in the collection. Mr. McLaren knows the life 

 of the plant from seed to flower. Today the exposi- 

 tion grounds are like a city of shimmering green 

 domes and red-tiled roofs, set in gardens such as are 

 only possible to produce in California. For the great 

 golden garden of the main entrance plaza over 700,000 

 golden flowering plants have been ]ilanted. In the 

 Court of Palms more than 50,000 Spanish iris yellow 

 wall-flowers are set out in addition to some 200,000 

 yellow pansies, 100,000 yellow daffodils and 100,000 

 yellow poppies. In the Court of Flowers, we are told, 

 50,000 golden tulips, 150,000 golden poppies and 50,000 

 daft'odi'ls will meet the visitor's gaze. It is estimated 

 that a thousand staghorn ferns, 400 species of orchids 

 from the Philippines, 200,000 trees and flowering 

 shrubs and nearly 2,000,000 bulbs, with thousands of 

 palms, are used to make the setting for the palaces. 



