208 PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 



the government at Washington. If these things can be done in connec- 

 tion with our war work, I believe there is every reason for doing this 

 also in the case of recreation places, because these are indirectly con- 

 nected with the health of every community. The health of a nation is a 

 direct asset for the government. 



In our own state we have passed the pioneer stage of our develop- 

 ment. Some of you can recall the strenuous labors of the father and 

 mother. The pioneer had to work long hours to keep his family together 

 and arrange for some of the comforts of life. Those of you of middle age 

 can all look back with pardonable pride at the strenuous days of girlhood 

 and boyhood. This pioneer work is. done and it is for the present genera- 

 tion to provide these places of recreation. The whole business is con- 

 nected with civic pride and I am glad to note that every where in Iowa, 

 the matter of looking after parks and streets is receiving more attention. 

 More and more the different communities of the state pride themselves 

 on keeping nicely kept lawns and streets. However, there is still room 

 for improvement. The weeds of the roadside should be kept down. 



There is another phase to the subject which I want to call attention 

 to, namely, the educational value, or let me say the cultural value. The 

 form of culture as the botanist understands it, is full of inspiration to 

 the investigator, the searcher after truth. The fields and meadows are 

 filled with great possibilities. The Mexican cosmos adorns my yard as 

 one of the really beautiful plants of cultivation. I have found in my ex- 

 perience in the state of Iowa, that in recent years there has been much 

 interest in the study of the wild plants and preserving them to posterity. 

 In my boyhood days on a Wisconsin farm, the moccasin flower, shooting 

 star, columbine, pasque flowers and many others were looked upon as 

 weeds. Some of these plants are no longer found on the old farm. An 

 appreciative soul can only enjoy these humble plants of the woodland and 

 meadow. The little child that gathers these plants has a keen sense of 

 culture, I think. 



A few years ago a very remarkable naturalist passed away. I suspect 

 that this naturalist knew little about Latin or Greek. I am sure he 

 must have known something about English and American classics, other- 

 wise he could not have written such delightful books on glaciers and 

 Yosemite. In his last book, "The Story of My Boyhood and Youth," he 

 wrote: "From the top of a hill on the north side of Lake Mendota I 

 gained a last wistful, lingering view of the beautiful university grounds 

 and buildings where I had spent so many hungry, happy and hopeful days. 

 There with streaming eyes I bade my blessed Alma Mater farewell. But, 

 I was only leaving one university for another, the Wisconsin university 

 for the university of wilderness." 



The wild and awful storms that thundered on the black headlands and 

 craggy ruins of old Dunbar, where the sea and sky, the waves and 

 clouds mingled together gave him inspiration. It was the beginning of 

 that cultural training that made him a great naturalist. 



Muir's first view of the lovely valley left a deep impression on him. 

 He says: "Looking eastward from the summit of the Pocheco Pass one 

 shining morning, a landscape was displayed that after all of my wander- 

 ings still appeared as the most beautiful I have ever beheld. At my feet 



