298 OLanfcscape Hrcbitecture 



north meadow near looth Street on the west side. 

 The glimpse of distant turf seen under the branches of 

 the group of trees in the centre of the opening in the 

 wood border on the left, the skyline of trees in the dis- 

 tance, all suggest to the imagination a limitless extent 

 of similar rural conditions. No object meets the eye 

 of the observer to indicate that there is anything be- 

 yond but green pastures and tree-flecked meadows. " x 



This is a most beautiful and true description of a 

 public park as it should be and continue to be, and no 

 museum or similar alien structure should be allowed a 

 place within its bounds. 



In connexion with the subject of parks, the impor- 

 tance of civic planning naturally suggests itself. A park 

 is, in reality, only a part of a civic scheme which should 

 have a wide extension and give attention to all of the 

 spiritual, mental, and physical needs of a community 

 in the largest sense of the term. A city is like a body 

 and its members. Each part has a definite relation to 

 the others and a distinct function of its own to perform. 

 In its truest sense, it is an organism that necessitates a 

 constant interplay of functions of various kinds. The 

 park exercises one of these functions, while the streets, 

 squares, circles, and other features possessing use or 

 beauty are other members that contribute to the enjoy- 

 ment and well-being of the community. This adjust- 

 ment of the existing conditions to the various uses of the 

 community should be so managed as to recognize the 



1 Garden and Forest, vol. i., May 9, 1888. 



