DEVELOPMENTS IN HORTICULTURE 35 



entire "School of Agriculture" and two in the "School of Horticul- 

 ture," it is doubtful if much of value was worked out. 



In 1888, landscape gardening was taught during the spring term 

 by lectures and practical work. After a study of the materials, in- 

 cluding grass, trees, flowers, substances used for walks, drives, fences, 

 and other architectural features, the method of designing and drawing 

 plans was taken up and put into practise. In 1895, a course 

 "Gardens" was announced. A year later the writer was appointed 

 instructor in horticulture, and again a course in landscape gardening 

 was offered. This was described as a course on "Ornamental and 

 landscape gardens," with reference to the treatment of home sur- 

 roundings. It was not until 1904 that the exigencies of the case 

 seemed to demand a special instructor to teach landscape gardening. 

 In 1907 and 1908 five new courses were added, and in 1912 there 

 was sufficient demand for the work to launch landscape gardening as 

 a separate division. The significant thing is that the University of 

 Illinois now has the leading department of landscape gardening in 

 the country, both as to variety and character of the work offered and 

 as to number of students enrolled. 



Many of the pioneers in Illinois advocated and practised the 

 planting of other than fruit trees, but only for shelter and timber 

 not in an ornamental way. Public parks were unknown. Some 

 towns or villages had a public square upon which there was built, or 

 to be built at some future date, a county courthouse or the like, and 

 here a few maples or elms were usually planted. On school grounds, 

 if anything was done at all, a few forest trees were planted. The 

 attempts of the housewife for beautification in this new country were 

 very simple. Rapid development, however, was destined to take 

 place. Towns and cities sprang up almost as if over night ; and it is 

 here that we look for the earliest development of ornamental horti- 

 culture, landscape gardening, and adornment of home grounds. The 

 real effort in landscape development was ushered in with the coming 

 to our state of the great Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 

 1893. It was the tireless work of Olmsted, and later, of quite a few 

 distinguished artists, that planned and opened a way for new realiza- 

 tions in our parks and other made-landscapes. They gave the world 

 a vision of supreme beauty, which was to be the inspiration of the 

 century and its most priceless gift to the coming days, in an artistic 

 sense. The Exposition aroused the pride and spirit of cities through- 

 out the Middle West. A few years later Chicago instituted a com- 

 mission to consider a plan for the development of the city, and to es- 



