DEPARTMENT OF PARKS. 



PROSPECT PARK. 



A large portion of park labor, the year round, consists in 

 daily care of drives, walks, lawns, basins, gutters, drains, 

 trees, shrubbery, etc., including the removal of all debris 

 which continually accumulates, consequent to the use of 

 the park by its numerous visitors, anniversaries, picnics, 

 parties, etc., which incurs daily expenditures in park main- 

 tenance. This work can be better imagined by referring to 

 statistics which will appear later on. 



The wet season of the year past greatly increased vege- 

 tation, which added much to the work of keeping the mead- 

 ows and lawns under crop. 



A more thorough and practical system of pruning than in 

 vogue heretofore was inaugurated, and carried out with 

 satisfactory results, producing a healthier condition and a 

 more natural growth to trees and shrubs. 



THE DRIVES. 



With the exception of the West Drive, from Third street 

 and Ninth avenue to nearly Fifteenth street, which was laid 

 with broken limestone in the fall of 1888, the whole of the 

 Park drives were in bad condition. 



The South Drive from Ninth avenue and Fifteenth street 

 to below its junction with the Centre Drive, was regraded 

 and rolled, but owing to the loamy substance with which it 

 has been formed, it required constant attention from the 

 continual formation of ruts by rain. 



From Third street, east to the Plaza entrance, hence to 

 the lower end of Valley Grove, the whole drive has been 

 picked, regraded and laid with double screened Roa Hook 

 gravel thoroughly packed. 



The east branch of the drives through the Valley Grove, 

 which have been left since their formation without any gut- 

 ters and basins to carry off the surface water, and 'always 

 wet in consequence, has been raised from eight to ten inches 

 on an average. Gutters were formed each side of the drive, 



