AMONG OUR NEIGHBORS. 



"^^ OTH Canada and the United 



D\ States have reached a period 

 J in their history when the art 



of the landscape gardener is 

 much in demand. Thirty years ago our 

 foremost cities had but the smallest ex- 

 cuse for parks or artistic cemeteries. 

 Hamilton had a little enclosure on King 



lar taste is demanding that our city 

 parks be thoroughly up to date. 



Passing through Buffalo recently on 

 the way to Nova Scotia we were most 

 cordially received by Mr. J. C. Graves, 

 superintendent of the parks of that city, 

 who gave us a carriage ride of two hours 

 through them, explaining numerous 



Fig. 1679. — Arnold Aboretum— West Entrance. 



Street called the " Gore," still an inter- 

 esting feature of the city ; Toronto had 

 her Queen's Park, reserved in the in- 

 terests of her University seat, and Lon- 

 don and Kingston similar small plots, 

 but anything Uke a system of public 

 parks was hardly thought of, much less 

 planned out. In New York State, the 

 commercial metropolis had her elegant 

 Central Park, but Buffalo, with her 

 large population had nothing worthy of 

 notice. During these years a change 

 has come over all these cities and popu- 



points of interest by the way. The 

 parks of Buffalo have been the growth 

 of the last thirty years until now they 

 embrace about iioo acres, and cost the 

 city from $150,000 to $250,000 per 

 annum. The plans for improvements 

 were made by that able landscape archi- 

 tect, Mr. J. C. Olmstead, of Boston, 

 who planned the World's Fair Grounds 

 at Chicago, and they really include 

 about forty smaller parks connected by 

 artistic boulevards. Every class of citi- 

 zen is con.sidered — the boys with a wad- 



427 



