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THE CANAD/A.V HORTICULTURIST. 



old countries, and which serve the purpose 

 of fences there, trees scattered here and 

 there over the farm add much to its appear- 

 ance. 



RURAI, PARKS. 



Not only so, but every rural municipality 

 should provide itself with one or more 

 parks, which should become common and 

 convenient resorts. Public gatherings, pic- 

 nics, private or public, could be held there. 

 Nor would there be any difficulty securing 

 suitable and attractive locations — no town- 

 ship is without them. In many cases they 

 are there ready to hand with forest trees, 

 water convenient, and the general topo- 

 graphy all that the landscape gardener could 

 wish; cost of purchase would not be great, 

 nor would the expense of properly keeping 

 them up. 



GOOD ROADS AND CIVIC REFORM. 



The above suggested improvements are 

 all in harmony with the general improve- 

 ment of the highways of the country, which 

 in recent years has made considerable ad- 

 vances and has now reached the stage of 

 governmental and municipal reform in the 

 form of good roads improvement. 



A CANADIAN PARADISE. 



With good roads to drive, wheel or walk 

 over, with the highways tree lined, the land- 

 scapes improved by replanting, the school 

 and church properties which we pass beauti- 

 fied by well-kept lawns, shrubs and trees, 

 vines and flowers, and with the national flag 

 floating from a flag pole at every school 

 house, how much more pleasant it would be 

 to travel in the country and how much more 

 proud we would have a right to be of our 

 native land! 



URBAN CIVIC REFORMS. 



This paper must necessarily be too brief 

 to permit me to enlarge upon even a tithe of 

 what is aimed at by the league for civic im- 



provement in the direction of further beau- 

 tifying our cities, towns and villages. All 

 of these should have parks, picturesquely 

 situated, wherever possible, tastefully laid 

 out and always well kept. There should 

 be more boulevards, more planting of trees, 

 better kept streets, more cleanly lanes and 

 alleys, an improved garbage system, more 

 official attention given to regulating archi- 

 tecture, building of sidewalks and landscape 

 work. Fountains should be provided as a 

 convenience, and all local historical events 

 could be appropriately marked by monu- 

 ments or memorial tablets. 



NECESSARY AND PATRIOTIC. 



By some it may be said that these reforms 

 are comparatively unimportant, and that the 

 Canadian people cannot be sufficiently in- 

 terested to carry them out. I deny both of 

 these statements. They are not unimport- 

 ant and are urgently needed to meet the re- 

 quirements of present conditions. Cana- 

 dians are now beyond a primitive or prime- 

 val stage. They are for the most part able 

 to do more than merely exist. They are 

 now live and enjoy life in pleasant, if not 

 luxurious surroundings. Being well able 

 to afford to do so, it is nationally important 

 that they should not neglect their opportuni- 

 ties and responsibilities. Their sons and 

 daughters are better oflf, better clothed and 

 better educated than were their fathers and 

 mothers. They have also better homes, 

 better school houses and better churches, 

 but all three of the latter might easily be 

 made more attractive by following the sug- 

 gestion that I have made, and the more com- 

 fortable and attractive the surroundings of 

 young people are made the more happy and 

 contented will they be. Not only so, but 

 they will grow to manhood and womanhood 

 with a greater liking and affection for their 

 parents, their homes and their country. 

 They will thus be better children, better men 

 and women and better Canadians. 



