THE VILLAGE 463 



such as in the "Wachusett and Graylock mountain reservations in 

 Massachusetts; for their historic value, as at Valley Forge in 

 Pennsylvania ; for the protection of the drainage basin to a city 

 water supply, as in New York and Massachusetts ; for a game 

 and forest preserve, as in Minnesota. Two states have cooper- 

 ated in the acquirement of a reservation for beauty alone, as at 

 the Dalles of the St. Croix, lying partly in Minnesota and 

 partly in Wisconsin, and furthermore, commissions under two 

 governments have cooperated in accomplishing the same purpose 

 at the Niagara Falls Reservation. 



As an outcome of all this, we may look for the establishment 

 of State Park Commissions, already suggested in Massachusetts, 

 and for which a bill was introduced into the Minnesota legisla- 

 ture, and ultimately a National Park Commission to tie together 

 the great national, state, county, city and town public holdings 

 that will include such dominating landscape features as moun- 

 tains, river-banks, steep slopes, and sea and lake shores: land 

 for the most part of little value for commercial, industrial, or 

 agricultural purposes, but of great value as elements of beauti- 

 ful landscapes. The selection of such lands will ultimately be 

 governed largely by natural and by economic conditions as es- 

 tablished by such bureaus as that of Soil Investigation of the 

 Government, which is engaged in investigating and mapping soil 

 conditions, as well as by the Forestry Bureau already referred to, 

 and others. At present, large areas of private property, many 

 lakes, rivers, and some sea-shore, now in private hands, are 

 opened to the public without restriction : but with an increase 

 in population and in land values, the public will be shut out 

 from all points of vantage that are not held for the common 

 good, as it is now excluded from many miles of sea-and-lake- 

 shore by private owners, where a few years ago there were no 

 restrictions. 



The work of the village improvement societies should be di- 

 rected toward this movement to make our whole country a park. 

 They should stop the encroachment of individuals upon public 

 holdings, urge individuals to add to such holdings by gifts of 

 land, fine old trees, or groups of old trees, in prominent posi- 

 tions, in town or city landscapes. Every association should se- 

 cure and adopt a plan for the future development of the town 



