398 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



evening the sight under the electric light was an 

 exceedingly pretty one. The tent was crowded 

 all evening, and not the least interesting feature 

 was an address by Mr. William Bacon, of Orillia, 

 who by his lecture last winter firmly established 

 himself as a prime favorite with Paris horti- 

 culturists. Mr. Bacon, at considerable incon- 

 venience to himself, came here to act as judge, 

 and his decisions, backed up as they were by a 

 thorough knowledge of his subject, gave universal 

 satisfaction. Kay's orchestra provided pleasing 

 music, and an ice cream stand helped to cool the 

 temperature of the inner man on a night which 

 was perhaps the warmest of an exceedingly hot 

 week. VVe trust the society will not be weary in 

 well doing, but will repeat its efforts at a future 

 date. The prizes were all honorary. 



Out Door Art. 



Being one of the Vice-presidents of the Ameri- 

 can Art and Out Door Association, the writer 

 regrets not having been in attendance at the 

 recent meeting in Chicago on the 5th of June. 



Dr. Howard Taylor, in behalf of Mayor Harri- 

 son, welcomed the visitors to Chicago. His 

 remarks were seconded \iy Wallace Heckman, 

 President of the Chicago Art Association, and by 

 P. W. E. Wight, who, in place of Franklin 

 MacVeagh. represented other local art interests. 

 President Charles M. Loring, of Minneapolis, 

 responded to the welcome extended to the dele- 

 gates and delivered his annual address. He 

 complimented the association upon the growth of 

 the last year, and the great interest which is being 

 manifested in the work. "It is a matter of con- 

 gratulation," he sa-.d, " that the Municipal Art 

 League and the American Institute of Architects 

 have the same ideals in view that the American 

 Park and Outdoor Art Association is striving for, 

 and that they are working harmoniously along 

 the same lines. Our association is represented in 

 twenty-eight states and territories, and in Canada. 

 The influence of the present gathering will be 

 far-reaching, inasmuch as the movement is just 

 beginning to show its strength, and has reached 

 that point where it will culminate in a wave of 

 enthusiasm for beautifying scenery and land- 

 scapes throughout the country." 



In impromptu addresses from the floor, dele- 

 gates E. J. Parker, of Quincy, 111., president of 

 the Quincy Park and Boulevard Association, and 

 Sidney A. Foster, of Des Moines, la., strongly 

 advocated the establishment of such a system. 



" I am pleased," said Mr. Parker, " to see 

 throughout the country the manner in which our 

 universities and higher educational institutions 

 are taking up the work of landscape gardening. 

 What we need now is to make the grounds of 

 every village school a park, and after it has been 

 made beautiful to keep it open the year round 

 and allow the children to play there. If the 

 school grounds were made park playgrounds 

 throughout the country, the children who are 

 being educated in parochial schools would flock 

 to that place, and gradually overcoming the 

 prejudices of their parents, the Public schools 

 would soon make friends with the Roman Catholic 

 taxpayer. 



" To accomplish this we should establish a 

 system of prizes to be offered for the best results 

 obtained, and insist that the school boards 

 throughout the country, as well as in the large 

 cities, make public parks of the school grounds. 

 I would suggest the necessity of the co-operation 

 of the women's clubs throughout the country as a 

 means to accomplish this end." 



In order that delegates might see Chicago 

 parks to the best advantage, the park commis- 

 sioners entertained them with drives through the 

 park and boulevard properties. The commis- 

 sioners of the South Side were hosts the afternoon 

 of the first day. The historical World's Fair site 

 in its new dress was viewed with much interest, 

 and the local committee took great pleasure in 

 pointing out the landmarks of the vanished 

 White City. After a ramble through the Field 

 Museum, the bugles were sounded and the guests 

 were taken for a tally-ho ride down Midway 

 Plaisance to Washington Park, where the land- 

 scape effects and the greenhouses with their 

 wealth of tropical verdure and mass of bloom 

 were inspected with delight. 



At Washington Park the guests were invited 

 into the refectory (which, bj' the way, is main- 

 tained by the park commissioners) and a dainty 

 luncheon was served to the delegates. Choice 

 fern fronds were artistically arranged before the 

 plates as souvenirs of the occasion. After this 

 event the drive was continued down Drexel 

 Boulevard to Michigan avenue, past typical 

 Chicago homes, back to the Auditorium. 



At the evening session J. H. Patterson and E. 

 L. Shuey, of Dayton, Ohio, led in a discussion of 

 of ways and means of improving the conditions 

 and surroundings of factories and employees' 

 homes. The discussion was illustrated by 

 stereoptican views, and much of interfest was 

 told of what has been done in the past few years 

 by the National Cash Register Co., of Dayton. 

 The views showed the homes of the laboring 

 people before and after systematic attempts at 

 improvement had been made by artistic group- 

 ing of shrubs and flowers. 



' ' We have found the moral effect of beautif y- 

 ing the homes of our people most gratifying," 

 said Mr. Patterson. " We all know that every- 

 one is influenced by his surroundings, and if they 

 are made attractive and beautiful the influence 

 cannot but be good. On the other hand it will 

 follow that unsightly, hideous surroundings will 

 lower the moral, spiritual and physical life of 

 the people. If we cannot make labor a pleasure, 

 we can make the surroundings and conditions 

 more bearable. 



" I believe that the employer of to-day will 

 find that in this very thing he has a problem of 

 the gravest importance to cope with. Conditions 

 since the advent of the locomotive and quick 

 transportation have changed immensely, and we 

 must adapt ourselves to them. In the old days 

 men had small shops and few employees, and 

 they were directly interested in their moral and 

 physical welfare. I hold that the man who 

 employs three thousand men and women has just 

 a so much greater responsibility, and if he can 

 make life brighter for them by showing them how 



