(85) 



damage to the natural features of the grounds, particular 

 care having been taken to save all possible standing trees and 

 to avoid disturbing natural slopes except in the immediate 

 neighborhood of the large buildings, where considerable 

 grading has been necessary, but even here the study has been 

 to adjust the new surfaces so that they shall merge imper- 

 ceptibly into the original ones. Ornamental masonry retain- 

 ing walls, made necessary by the grades of the roadways, 

 have been built at the Mosholu Parkway entrance, at the 

 Woodlawn road entrance, and at the approach to the Ele- 

 vated Railway station, and vines have been planted at the 

 bases of these walls which will ultimately clothe them with 

 foliage, at least in part. 



The plan of the driveway and path systems called for the 

 construction of six bridges ; three of these, first, the lake 

 bridge, crossing the valley of the lakes near the" museum 

 building ; second, the long bridge, which carries the drive- 

 way across the valley of the Bronx River north of the hem- 

 lock forest; and, third, the upper bridge which crosses the 

 Bronx River at the northern end of the Garden, have been 

 carried out in masonry arches from designs by Mr. John R. 

 Brinley, landscape engineer of the Garden. A rubble stone 

 foot-bridge of five arches, to replace the wooden bridge just 

 at the northern end of the hemlock forest, and long known 

 as the " Blue Bridge," is now under contract to be built on 

 designs by the same engineer ; studies are in progress for a 

 bridge to replace the wooden bridge which crosses the gorge 

 of the Bronx River at the Lorillard mansion; and the sixth 

 bridge in the plan is a foot-bridge to cross the Bronx River 

 in the north meadows, but this has not yet been designed, as 

 its need is not yet urgent. 



The park treatment further contemplates the planting of 

 shade trees where these are needed along the driveways, and 

 much of this has been done, a great many kinds of trees hav- 

 ing been used, and many shrub plantations have been set out, 

 especially at roadway and path intersections, utilizing con- 

 siderable numbers of the same kinds of shrubs at different 

 points. 



