PARK AND CEMETERY. 
198 
concerns, real estate men and many 
men in business and professional life, 
who have urged or directed move- 
ments for public reservations have 
been responsible for much of this. 
The horticulturists have generally 
taken an interest in this work and 
the professionals who have been es- 
pecially identified with the develop- 
ment of public reservation systems, 
such as the designers of landscapes 
and foresters, have been quite large- 
ly recruited from the horticulturalists’ 
ranks. Dr. John A. Warder, who first 
warned against forest destruction and 
organized a First National Forestry 
Association, was a horticulturalist. 
The Hon. J. Sterling Morton, who 
established Arbor Day, was a farmer. 
Frederick Law Olmsted, who estab- 
lished the modern practice of design- 
ing landscapes, went from his farm 
to plan and build Central Park in 
New York. 
I have indicated progress already 
made toward a national system of 
public reservations, that will include 
and connect the present isolated 
holdings, as well as a large share of 
land having great natural beauty, but 
from which little revenue can be pro- 
duced from crops or industries under 
private ownership. It is such land 
of little value that should be im- 
proved in public reservations, rather 
than that having a high productive 
and taxable value. 
The permanent value of such work 
in any locality is greatly enhanced if 
the town and if individuals direct 
their efforts toward the ultimate com- 
pletion of a comprehensive plan that 
has been carefully studied out in ad- 
vance. 
Such a plan ought to be made to 
fit the surface, that is to take advan- 
tage of the natural beauty of surface 
contour, rock outcrop, water and 
vegetation, transportation lines, 
drainage, buildings and other artifi- 
cial structures and provide for the 
future development of such features 
in a way that will gain for the com- 
munity the maximum of convenience 
and beauty, with a minimum of ex- 
penditure in construction and main- 
tenance. Such a plan should of 
course be sufficiently elastic to pro- 
vide for the contingencies of time. 
Generally in such a plan upon an 
irregular surface, roads would follow 
valleys, gradually climb the slopes 
on curving lines and easy grades 
with a minimum of cut and fill, while 
on flat lands they would be straight 
with diagonals running from centres 
on lines of greatest travel. 
This outline of the broader aspect 
of civic improvement should lead to 
a greater appreciation of the import- 
ance of civic horticulture. Each hor- 
ticulturalist — and you will note that 
my definition includes about everyone 
who can control a piece of land or a 
window box — should be vitally inter- 
ested in and help to advance the civic 
improvement movement of his own 
locality. The work of landscape and 
ornamental gardeners, employed by 
towns and commissions, is planned 
and executed for the public benefit 
and many owners of private land do 
consider' the public interests in the 
arrangement and planting of their 
own ground; this even to their own 
disadvantage when they throw their 
own grounds wholly open to public 
gaze. 
If this civic horticultural work 
could be directed toward the ultimate 
execution of the preconceived plan 
referred to above, very much more 
effective results would come from the 
same expenditure of effort and mon- 
ey. In such a plan after main sub- 
divisions the means of inter-communi- 
cation, park, garden and play ground 
reservations, the location of civic and 
other centres, are prepared to cover 
the town site and its future exten- 
sion, there should follow detailed 
plans and estimates. Of these the 
civic horticulturalist would be espe- 
cially interested in: — 
The treatment of natural vegeta- 
tion to develop its greatest beauty 
and usefulness and the treatment of 
artificial plantations. Upon such de- 
tails would be indicated roads, trails, 
vistas, thinning, the selection of trees 
and shrubs and the additional plan- 
tations of exotic trees, shrubs and 
herbs. 
Street plans, showing trees, best 
suited to each street and an arrange- 
ment of trees that will give desira- 
ble uniformity, but not necessarily a 
uniform spacing that disregards 
egress and outlook from private 
places. 
Suggestions for the treatment of 
front lawns that in residential sec- 
tions are so often kept open through 
the length of the street. This gives 
greater breadth and openness and dis- 
tinguishes the street in a manner that 
is distinctly American. The objec- 
tion, however, to this, is that the 
owner has no privacy in his home 
grounds. 
Suggestions to owners to cover the 
above objection by establishing 
screening plantations between the 
front lawn, that is held open for the 
pleasure of the public and the back 
lawn and gardens made private for 
the family. 
Suggestions regarding the use of 
enough of one plant in these private 
plantations to give each street a spe- 
cial distinction ; one street for ex- 
ample having lilacs at intervals 
throughout its length, another mag- 
nolias, another hydrangeas, etc. 
It is such suggestions to the gen- 
eral public backed by an efficient or- 
ganization and a definite plan that 
will help to make the whole town a 
park and secure the active interest 
and assistance of all citizens. I con- 
cede it to be the duty of village im- 
provement societies and park super- 
intendents to direct their attention to 
the preparation of such an organiza- 
tion aucl plan rather than to expend 
all their efforts and money on a small 
area or other minor improvements at 
haphazard, or upon general clearing 
up operations, street lighting, and 
the like, that should be executed by 
the town officers, through their reg- 
ular appropriations. 
There is now a rapid trend toward 
the ideal I have outlined. Not only 
in cities, but in many small towns. 
My own experience is that with such 
plans and public interest, the ' whole 
aspect of a community will be trans- 
formed in from five to eight years. 
There must of course be a leader in 
the movement, however, who is big 
enough to grasp the whole concep- 
tion and persistent enough to hold 
fast against criticism until it is well 
under way. It always means self- 
sacrificing effort on the part of the 
few, as does any advanced movement 
for the general welfare, but the re- 
sults and the ultimate general ap- 
proval of those whose opinions are 
of value, will well repay this effort. 
I believe it is not necessary, how- 
ever, to place the work on a senti- 
mental ground, for almost invariably 
the execution of a well considered 
plan leads to increases in land values 
that make it a good business propo- 
sition. 
No body of men are in a better 
position than the ones before me to 
advance such work, for many of you 
are educators in charge of parks, ex- 
periment stations, schools and large 
horticultural establishments frequent- 
ed by many people of influence and 
education. You can help advance the 
school garden and vacant lot farms, 
one of the most potent new agencies 
for the development of efficient civic 
horticultural knowledge among the 
mass of people. You can lead in the 
preparation of such plans as I have 
outlined. You can supply a vast 
