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upon it ; while, on the other, the disadvantage of its being without 

 them would be greater, because more obvious. Moreover, there are 

 two possible misfortunes of a site, which in no period of time, and by 

 no expenditure of labor, can ever be remedied. These are, inadequate 

 dimensions, and an inconvenient shape. 



Our first duty has been to examine the site to which you have 

 asked our attention, with reference to the several conditions we 

 have thus indicated ; that is to say, with reference to — 



1. Convenience of its shape. 



2. Amplitude of its dimensions. 



3. Its topographical conditions, and the surrounding circum- 

 stances, in relation to which the value of its topographical conditions 

 must in part be estimated. 



The fact which first claims attention is the complete bisection of 

 the site by a broad and conspicuous thoroughfare, much used for 

 ordinary and indispensable public travel, between Brooklyn and an 

 important suburb, that connects it with a large district of agricultu- 

 ral country. It is obvious that this division must seriously interfere 

 with the impressions of amplitude and continuous extent, that the 

 general dimensions of the ground assigned for a park would other- 

 wise convey. To establish convenient communication between the 

 two parts would involve a considerable outlay in bridge construc- 

 tion, which would not be called for if the public highway skirted 

 the ground instead of traversing it. A thoroughfare crossing the 

 park might be a useful and even necessary adjunct, if it were so 

 situated that it served to connect two districts of the city that were 

 likely in future to be closely built up, and that would otherwise be 

 widely separated. Such, however, is not the case in the present 

 instance, and a glance at the map of Brooklyn is sufficient to show 

 that the line of travel, accommodated by the park section of Flat- 

 bush avenue, could be diverted, without much inconvenience, to 

 Warren street and Washington avenue. If cross-roads for business 

 purposes are required at all, it is in a direction nearly at right 

 angles to Flatbush avenue. The city, however, is so laid out, that 

 no real necessity is apparent for any merely traffic-roads across the 

 property. 



Proceeding to consider the two main divisions of the site sepa- 

 rately, the Reservoir is found to encroach so seriously on the smaller 

 section east of Flatbush avenue, that it is in effect subdivided again 

 into two portions of very insignificant dimensions for park purposes. 

 The formation of the ground is, moreover, of a character that would 



