654 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



AtiausT 25, 1904. 



ordinary increase on tlie tax value of real 

 estate In the rest of the city, was 165,000,000, 

 or about $21,000,000 more than the aggregate 

 expense attending and following the establish- 

 ment of the park up to the present year. Re- 

 garding the whole transaction in the light of a 

 real estate speculation alone, the city has $21,- 

 000,000 In cash over and above the outlay, and 

 acquired In addition thereto, land valued at 

 $200,000,000, 



The above statement shows the influ- 

 ence Central park had on the value of 

 contiguous property up to 1881. The 

 enormous value of the same property at 

 the present day, in comparison with real 

 estate further removed from Central 

 park, shows the continued influence of 

 public parks on the value of adjoining 

 property. Quoting again from the New 

 York Park Association report: 



The case of Chicago presents still stronger 

 and more conclusive testimony. In a letter to 

 the secretary of the New York Park Association, 

 Mr. W. H. Harmon, secretary of the Chicago 

 park department, responds as follows to a ques- 

 tion as to what has been the effect of parks 

 upon the value of adjacent land: "The Immedi- 

 ate effect was to double and quadruple prop- 

 erty." 



That the establishment of park areas 

 has invariably enhanced the real estate 

 value of contiguous property has been 

 the experience also of other cities. The 

 commissioners of the Boston park de- 

 partment, in their report for the year 

 1896, page 63, referring to the increased 

 value of lands surrounding park areas, 

 say: 



with regard to the Influence of public parka 

 on the neighboring real estate, no recent figures 

 have been made. In 1890 the board published 

 a statement of the Increase In value of the 

 Back Bay lands since the establishment of the 

 park. By this table it will be found that the 

 land alone was trebled in value In thirteen 

 years, while the valuation of land in the rest 

 of the city during the same period Increased 

 only 18 per cent. The increased taxes on this 

 land, without Including the buildings erected, 

 aggregated over $2,000,000 — a sum more than 

 sufficient to pay the entire cost of the Improve- 

 ment at that time. The Increased taxes on 

 new buildings erected on these lands yielded 

 $1,500,000 more of revenue. While the Increase 

 In the value of the lands adjoining other parks 

 of tbe city has not shown a like phenomenal 

 growth, present indications point to a largely 

 increased revenue from this cause in the future, 

 which may Justify the opinion expressed in 

 the earliest report of the board that the estab- 

 lishment of public parks will have the tendency 

 to lessen the rate of taxation Instead of In- 

 creasing It. The cost of the land taken for 

 the Back Bay Fens averaged about 12 cents per 

 foot; the cost of improving the site brings the 

 present cost of the land up to 52 cents per 

 square foot, while the adjoining land is selling 

 at $3 to $5 per foot, although the growth of 

 the city has not as yet brought very much of It 

 Into the market. The cost of Franklin park 

 land averaged about 7 cents per foot and the 

 cost of Improvement about an equal amount, or 

 a total of 15 cents per foot, which is a moder- 

 ate valuation for this magnificent property, 

 where land adjoining will bring from 50 cents 

 to $1 per foot. The same result is shown in 

 the case of the whole park system, the average 

 cost of which today is only 6 cents per foot for 

 the land and about 8 cents per foot for improve- 

 ments. 



This experience, which was common 

 to all cities in which parks had been 

 constructed, accentuated the park move- 

 ment until we find that up to the year 

 1901 (according to the report of the 

 park census committee of the Park and 

 Outdoor Art Association) there were 

 purchased, or otherwise acquired, and 

 dedicated to public use approximately 

 75,000 acres of land, apart from United 

 States government reservations, and that 

 approximately there are being spent an- 

 nually, in the towns and cities of the 

 United States $11,000,000 for park im- 

 provement and maintenance. 



Motives of Promoters. 



Various motives have governed the 

 promoters of the park movement, but 

 the prevailing motive was primarily to 

 introduce rural landscapes into cities and 

 towns. When cities were not so large 

 or so densely populated they were more 

 rural in character, and satisfied public 

 requirements in this respect; but, as 



population increased, the villas and cot- 

 tages, with their accompanying grounds 

 and gardens, gave place to bricks and 

 mortar piled up in closely-built blocks, 

 and the woods and fields, so eagerly 

 yearned for by the city dwellers, became 

 more and more remote with each year. 

 The park movement, therefore, was born 

 of necessity; the physical well-being, 

 comfort and health of the public de- 

 manded that open spaces should be pro- 

 vided convenient for public use. 



Horticulture, too, is one of the most 

 important factors in street adornment. 

 Imagine the effect of the removal of the 

 trees from an old-fashioned village 

 street. How unpicturesque would be- 

 come the irregularly placed houses! How 

 uninviting and inhospitable would be the 

 home yard without the old-fashioned 

 flowers bordering the walk, or without 

 the vines over the porch door and the 

 overhanging branches of the shade trees 

 nearby! The early settlers in the east- 

 ern states recognized this fact, and, in- 

 variably, after finishing the building of 

 their houses, no matter how unpreten- 

 tious the houses were, planted trees in 

 the street or road in front, and, if 

 means allowed, extended the planting to 

 the boundaries of their estates. To these 

 early settlers the wayfarer of the pres- 

 ent day is indebted for the grand old 

 elms which are to be found in the New 

 England towns and villages. Ancient 

 clumps of the common lilac, eglantine or 

 bouncing bet, planted by the same hands, 

 add an interest to many an old home- 

 stead. 



Desirability of Tree Planting. 



The desirability of tree planting in 

 streets is so great that it may be classed 

 as one of the most important of civic 

 duties. Nothing impresses the visitor in 

 a city more than the air of comfort ap- 

 parent in well-planted streets. It mat- 

 ters little how imposing or ambitious the 

 architecture on a street may be, unless 

 its lines are softened by the foliage of 

 trees and vines, it seems devoid of 

 artistic taste, and is barren and inhos- 

 pitable to the eye. On the contrary, a 

 street may be humble in its architectural 

 pretentions, yet, if clothed with foliage, 

 every dwelling seems framed in content- 

 ment and restful peace. 



Trees also ameliorate the heated con- 

 ditions of summer temperature, not only 

 by the grateful shade they afford the 

 city dweller, but also by the large 

 amount of moisture they draw from the 

 ground and evaporate into the atmos- 

 phere. They are also good sanitary 

 agents. They absorb stagnant water 

 through their roots, and exhale from 

 their leaves life-giving oxygen. The 

 value of trees from a sanitary point of 

 view is illustrated by the action of the 

 New York Medical Society, which passed 

 the resolution "That one of the most 

 effective means for mitigating the in- 

 tense heat of the summer months and 

 diminishing the death rate among chil- 

 dren is the cultivation of an adequate 

 number of trees in the streets. ' ' This 

 is further emphasized by the fact that 

 the bill presented to the legislature of 

 New York, asking that the street trees 

 of New York be placed in the care of the 

 park commissioners, was drawn by a 

 physician, a member of the State Board 

 of Health, and was introduced merely as 

 a sanitary measure. 



Trees, too, have an educational value, 

 not only as object lessons close at hand 

 for nature study, but also by instilling 

 into the youthful mind an early love for 

 the beautiful in nature. For the great 



majority of city dwellers, and for the 

 greater part of their lives, the street 

 trees are the only bits of sylvan beauty 

 available for them to enjoy; the parks, 

 or tiie country, usually are not conveni- 

 ent for a visit oftener than once a week 

 at most. 



For these reasons, beneficial as are 

 parks for the people, it would seem to 

 be of infinitely more importance to the 

 well-being of dwellers in large cities and 

 towns were it imposed as a civic obliga- 

 tion that, wherever possible, streets 

 should be planted with trees, and their 

 maintenance provided for; and, further, 

 that, in the laying out of new streets, a 

 suitable space be set apart for the 

 growth of trees. The question of cost 

 of so beautifying the streets is insignifi- 

 cant as compared with the benefits 

 gained. Trees are endowed with a good 

 deal of hardihood, as is evident in the 

 streets of our cities. Year after year 

 they put forth their leaves, in spite of 

 the gnawing of horses, the rarvages of 

 insects and the mutilation of their roots 

 and branches; their wants are simple 

 and can be inexpensively satisfied. 



Even from a financial point of view, 

 the systematic planting and care of trees 

 in city streets would prove a paying in- 

 vestment. Newcomers are not attracted 

 to a city by garish, shadeless streets any 

 more than they are by dirty or poorly 

 paved streets, unsanitary conditions, or 

 any other form of slovenly civic house- 

 keeping. 



Within the past few years various 

 methods have been employed to induce 

 street planting. Societies and clubs, by 

 example and advice, have done much 

 good. In a few cities the work has been 

 placed in charge of the government. No- 

 where, however, has the importance of 

 the subject been thoroughly grasped, ex- 

 cept, probably, in the city of Washing- 

 ton, where a systematic plan of street 

 planting was adopted about thirty years 

 ago, and the result for good is very 

 apparent today. 



It is quite evident that a work of this 

 kind should not be left, in its execution, 

 to the fancy of the individual resident. 

 The average citizen usually is entirely 

 ignorant of tree planting culture, or the 

 kinds of trees that should be used, the 

 result in a street planted by individual 

 effort being, as Professor Waugh, of 

 Amherst College, aptly puts it "like 

 two rows of odd buttons down the front 

 of a frock coat." 



The requirements for properly plant- 

 ing a street, are, the furnishing of 

 proper conditions in soil and location for 

 growth, harmony in effect and the pro- 

 viding of means for doing the work and 

 for subsequent care. These require- 

 ments could be most eflSciently controlled 

 by the central government, aided by 

 competent executive officers. 



Planting School Grotinds. 



It is pleasing to note that an interest 

 is developing in the planting of school- 

 house grounds. In the town of Brook- 

 line, Mass., beautiful effects have been 

 produced by the planting of masses of 

 shrubbery against the boundary fences 

 of the school yards, and at the fronts of 

 the buildings, the open spaces being 

 turfed. Trees have also been planted to 

 shade the sidewalks, and creepers planted 

 against the walls of the school buildings. 

 Due regard has been paid, also, to space 

 for playground requirements. The city 

 of Boston, also, during the past season, 

 planted trees and shrubbery in the 

 grounds of seven of its new schools. 



