670 PARKS 



density to newly made plantings of woody materials or perennials, adding 

 splashes of color here and there to mature plantations and making gardens 

 of their own. These plants are readily propagated in hotbeds and cold 

 frames, while some of them are secured sufficiently early when grown in 

 the open ground. It is probably somewhat easier to handle some of these 

 in a greenhouse when the expense of operating such a structure is warranted, 

 but in park departments with a maintenance fund of less than $50,000 

 or less than $100 per acre or $1.00 per capita, the expense of maintaining 

 a greenhouse is seldom warranted. If $50,000 provides maintenance in 

 excess of $100 per acre and $1.00 per capita of the people to be served by 

 the park system, a greenhouse may sometimes be justified. 



Greenhouses make easy the propagation of bedding stock, either annual 

 or perennial, the planting and care of which is expensive. When the time 

 arrives in the development of the park system for incurring this expense 

 the best of equipment should be secured. Houses ten feet wide and sunk 

 well in the ground are probably best for propagating purposes. The equip- 

 ment for the propagation of herbaceous perennials consists of beds in the 

 open, some shaded with lath screens or with cheesecloth and lath. A few 

 of these will grow a large number of plants. 



Small park systems find it advisable to buy their trees and shrubs; 

 in larger systems there are often advantages in having a stock of the more 

 used plants on hand and available for quickly planting areas of especial 

 prominence, as soon as they are ready, with plants that are in condition to 

 give immediate effect. This is possible by establishing a park nursery. 

 Plants for a nursery may either be purchased as seedlings or rooted cuttings 

 or as plants more nearly ready for permanent planting. These are grown 

 under nursery conditions until needed for permanent planting. Often plants 

 are propagated from seeds and cuttings in the park nursery. If the material 

 propagated is carefully planned for the park needs and too much is not 

 undertaken, such a nursery is often of distinct advantage. 



Installation. The horticultural division must be organized to do the 

 necessary planting at the appropriate seasons. The planting of woody 

 plants can much of it be done when other activities are relatively slack. 

 Because there is less work in the fall and because in many parts of the 

 country fall transplanting is more successful, plant moving may often be 

 done at that season. This will naturally utilize the gardeners and propaga- 

 tors who at other seasons are busy elsewhere. Herbaceous borders add 

 much to the floral decoration of parks. They usually require overhauling 

 and replanting every third or fourth year. Many of these plants can be 

 moved near the close of the busiest season in the park. If annuals or bedding 

 plants are used, provision must be made for setting them out in the busy 



