State Parks of Wisconsin 



and early death, are the parks and reservations of the West. There 

 are five National Parks, the Yellow^stone, Yosemite, General Grant, 

 Sequoia, and Mt. Ranier, all within easy reach, a magnificent realm 

 of woods, most of which by railroads and trails and open ridges is 

 also fairly accessible, not only to the determined traveller rejoicing 

 m difficulties, but to those (may their tribe increase) who, not tired, 

 not sick, just naturally take wing every summer in search of wild- 

 ness." In addition to these parks the fifty-nine forests possessed by 

 the Government occupy more than 150,000,000 acres, — -an illus- 

 tration of the extent to which the Nation at large believes in both 

 forests and parks. 



Better known than our National Parks are City Parks. Every 

 city worthy of the name has them. They are now recognized as a 

 necessity of city life. More than any other feature they contribute 

 to the health and pleasure of urban populations, and furnish the most 

 necessary and available antidote to the artificiality, confusion and 

 feverishness of life in cities. These parks, however, in order to 

 serve their purposes effectively must be near the homes of the people 

 and, on account of the high value of the land, they are usually very 

 limited in area and commonplace in topography. 



Between these two classes of parks — National Parks and City 

 Parks — there is a gap, a field for profitable public action which until 

 recently has been almost unoccupied. There are thousands of 

 people in every section of the country in need and in search of the 



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