CEMETERIES AND PARKS. 107 



and it is expected that the public will appreciate and respect 

 this privilege. 



Lawn tennis is the rage in Washington Park this season. 

 Thirteen conrts are in full blast and more are asked for. Madi- 

 son avenue is well represented by the 3'outh of that locality. 

 The only trouble the attendant in charge has, is to restrict some 

 enthusiasts to reasonable limits of time, giving an occasional 

 opportunit}' for others to play. Some definite rules will be 

 shortly posted as to the time allotted for the use of each court, 

 and a restriction will be made as to the use of lawn tennis shoes 

 when playing, in order to preserve the turf." 



A continued correspondence with Mr. Egerton brought from 

 him an expression of his ideas on the much discussed park sys- 

 tem, and the use of flowers as an ornamental feature ; he says : 



" In answer to an inquiry from Buffalo with reference to the use 

 ■of flowers as an ornamental feature in the public parks of Albany, 

 I wrote some weeks since as follows : ' Three of the smaller city 

 parks have some floral embellishment. In TVashington Park the 

 floral planting is confined to two localities, especiall}- designed for 

 architectural features to be utilized in connection with the use of 

 flowers : first, the King Fountain site, which is formal in outline, 

 something like the immediate surroundings of the Washington 

 Monument in the Boston Public Garden ; and second, the Willett 

 Street side of the park, where the disjDlay is not obtrusive and 

 does not interfere with lines of sight across the park, or project 

 prominently into the lawn effects, more centrally located. The 

 planting is formal. The promiscuous introduction of flower beds 

 over a park area is not in good taste, and should not be encour- 

 aged. It is more economical, and better in every way, if floral 

 planting is used as a relief to some formal design in architecture 

 or planting to concentrate the effects in contiguous localities or the 

 immediate surroundings, than to spoil the harmony of a long sweep 

 of turf b}' the introduction of patches of brilliant coloring, as is 

 frequently done in some of the public parks and gardens. 



Flowers and foliage plants have their place in park embellish- 

 ments, and I think the great majority' of people frequenting the 

 public parks enjoy flowers and floral effects, when properly and 

 tastefully arranged and appropriately placed. A blaze of color, 

 set patterns in foliage plants, and bizarre effects, are unnatural, 

 not pleasing, and tiresome, and I know of no feature in park era- 



