nth February, A. D. 1894. 



ESSAY 



BY 



E. I. COMINS, Worcester, Mass. 

 Theme : — Parks at Home and Abroad. 



Boston hfis long been a noted city, not only of our own State but of 

 the United States. Few things have given it a wider reputation than 

 its magnificent "Common" of 50 acres, set apart by the wisdom of 

 the early settlers and planted with trees. It has been the pride of 

 Bostonians these many years, and now, while younger cities have set 

 apart larger tracts and lavishly expended money in improving and 

 beautifying them, Boston Common, with the addition of the "Public 

 Garden," holds no mean place when compared with the parks of 

 other cities. There can be no more delightful stroll on an early 

 summer morning than from Beacon Hill to Copley Square through 

 the Public Grounds. 



In 1892 the Legislature of Massachusetts established a Parks Com- 

 mission, to make provision for the future of Boston and its growing 

 suburbs, and in securing about 4,000 acres in one body, embracing 

 the region known as the Blue Hills of Milton, there can be no ques- 

 tion but that they have acted wisely. .When the barren spots shall 

 have 1>een planted with trees and shrubs, and walks shall have been 

 constructed through all parts, and mother nature has had her way for 

 a few years, assisted by man, this will become one of the grandest 

 parks in the country. The poet, the artist, the lover of nature, who- 

 ever he may be, will here find satisfaction to his soul. 



Until New York had its Central Park the metropolis of the United 

 States had nothing to compare with Boston Common, but these 840 

 acres, upon which mints of money have been expended, have become 

 one of the leading parks in the country, and no visitor to Manhattan 

 Island fails to spend at least one day among the riches of nature and 

 art there exhibited. 



