LANDSCAPE PARKS 321 



Again, where a city gets its water supply from a lake or river, the 

 watershed tributary to this must be protected from pollution, that is, 

 it should not be used for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes. 

 It can, however, very well be used as a public forest and as a public 

 recreation reservation, and the stream or pond which furnishes the public 

 water supply may contribute greatly also to the beauty of the land- 

 scape. 



In the preservation of natural scenery for public enjoyment, it is State and No* 

 not possible for cities to do all the work that is to be done. It is true /to T*p Parks 

 that since the great bulk of the population of cities seldom travels far /t - onj . 

 from its own home, the outdoor recreation of its own people is the first 

 consideration of this kind for the city to meet. There are nevertheless 

 many millions of the people of the United States who do travel, if only 

 occasionally, and who have therefore a certain interest in the beauty of 

 the whole country wherever it may be found. It is right and necessary 

 that much the larger portion of the area of this country shall be turned to 

 economic use with only coordinate consideration of its beauty; but 

 there are many areas the greatest service of which to the nation is that 

 they shall preserve and display their present natural beauty for the 

 refreshment and inspiration of all future generations. In the case of 

 such natural wonders as the valleys of the Yosemite or the Yellowstone or 

 the falls of Niagara, it is fairly obvious that their landscape beauty is a 

 function not to be destroyed by any other use. (See Frontispiece and 

 Plates 12, 13, 14, 23, and 24, all of which views were taken in national 

 parks and reservations.) There are other classes of areas which also 

 should be preserved and increased in their beauty, not so much because 

 they present a landscape character very striking in itself, but rather 

 because in them may be preserved a landscape character typical of the 

 primitive condition of the country in which they lie, and sure of ultimate 

 and utter destruction unless it is so preserved. Areas of these two kinds 

 are often located not near any city, and they are usually too large to be 

 possible of segregation and maintenance by any one city. Moreover, 

 as we have said, the people not of one city alone but of the whole country 

 have an interest and a right in them on account of their distinctive 

 character. Such areas, therefore, are the proper charge of the United 

 States or of the separate states. Although no hard and fast line may 



