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ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



WESTERN APPROACH TO BAIRD COURT 

 Rhododendrons and German iris 



out the progress of the work. This policy was to 

 preserve as nearly as possible the wild character 

 of the park, to establish an adequate boundary 

 shelter, to provide sufficient shade in all corals 

 and alone; all walks, and to confine all formal 

 planting to the immediate vicinity of the large 

 buildings and to Baird Court. The general re- 

 sult appears to have given general satisfaction. 

 All of the planting in the Zoological Park 

 may, like omnia Gallia of old. be divided into 

 three parts, according to its primary use, 

 namely: shelter or protective planting, shade 

 planting and ornamental planting. On the south 

 and west the Zoological Park is hounded by 

 streets that are or ultimately will be occupied 

 solidly by large apartment houses, which if not 

 shut out will obtrude most unpleasantly into all 

 the views from within, as do even now, by reason 

 of their higher ground, certain existing build- 

 ings that in some instances are two or three 

 blocks distant. This prospect called for the 

 great border plantations which extend from 

 West Farms at 1 S2d Street, at the southeast cor- 

 ner of the Park, to Pelliam Avenue and South- 

 ern Boulevard, the northwest corner, being in 



length 1,100 feet, and in width from 30 to 250 

 feet. 



In order to have this border effective in winter 

 as well as in summer it was determined to use 

 conifers to the largest extent possible; and over 

 5,000 of these evergreens were planted. White 

 pine and hemlock predominate with about 750 

 plants of each, the remainder being white, bal- 

 sam, Norway, oriental, Douglas and Colo- 

 rado spruces, silver fir, Nordman's fir, red and 

 white cedar, Austrian pine, Norway pine, pitch 

 pine, Scotch pine and others. Wherever pos- 

 sible this great belt of evergreens was fronted 

 by a planting of flowering or berry-bearing 

 shrubs, such as arrowwood, highbush huckle- 

 berry, snowberry, witch hazel, sumacs, cornels, 

 pepper bush, etc., of which about 12,000 were 

 used. All of this planting has done exceedingly 

 well, some of the white pines making an average 

 annual growth of over 30 inches. In a way this 

 border plantation has formed a great nursery ; 

 and many of the fine evergreens now seen at the 

 Concourse and elsewhere have been transplanted 

 from the borders. 



Besides formina; a shelter belt and wind- 



