P A R K A N D C E M El' ER Y. 
464 
PARK NEWS. 
At the recent election Cincinnati 
voted to place its parks under the 
commission form of government in- 
stead of under the management of a 
member of the Board of Public Safe- 
ty, and the commission composed of 
Messrs. L. A. Ault, William Gilbert 
and Julius Fleischmann, took charge 
December 15. The vote was 53,681 
for and 11,029 against the proposi- 
tion. The new commissioners an- 
nounce that no changes will be made 
in the administrative force of the 
parks except to increase the force 
and push vigorously the work of park 
extension. 
* * * 
The committee of twelve represent- 
ing three commercial organizations 
and the city government of Belling- 
ham, Wash., has approved the met- 
ropolitan park plans under way in 
that city, and five commissioners have 
been elected to compose the Metro- 
politan Park Commission. 
* . * * 
Plans for an extensive work of 
park development are under way at 
La Crosse, Wis. The city council 
has passed an ordinance levying a 
one mill special tax for park pur- 
poses that is expected to bring in a 
revenue of about $20,256, and the 
people in an enthusiastic mass meet- 
ing passed strong resolutions favor- 
ing the park work. This meeting 
was address’ed by John Nolen, of 
Cambridge, Mass., who is landscape 
architect of the Madison Park and 
Pleasure Drive Association, and of 
the State University at Madison. 
* * * 
By making affidavit during con- 
demnation proceedings for the great 
Parkway in Philadelphia that their 
properties were worth top-notch 
prices, and that they brought exces- 
sively high rentals, land owners 
along the new Parkway launched a 
boomerang which will return upon 
them in the form of increased as- 
sessments in property which they still 
hold in the neighborhood next year. 
Many owners, it is said, swore that 
their lands were worth enormous 
values. When the real estate as- 
sessors of the Fifteenth ward came 
to make their estimates they accepted 
the. figures at their face value. 
Our cover picture this month shows 
the beautiful entrance gates of the Royal 
Palace Grounds at Naples. The huge 
rearing horses are handsomely scul- 
ptured and are wonderfully striking 
figures outlined against the sky. The 
pedestals bear inscriptions dedicated to 
Ferdinand II. 
FROM THE PARK REPORTS 
The annual report of the park de- 
partment of Boston gives a summary 
of the work of the year in each of 
the different tracts, and interesting 
tables of statistics giving full infor- 
mation about the parks. The old 
woodlands in Franklin Park have 
greatly improved in appearance as 
the result of the pruning and thin- 
ning of the past ten years, and the 
loam additions to the soil where the 
surface covering was thin have in- 
duced a better growth of trees and 
undergrowth. A wall 417 feet long 
was built between the Arnold Ar- 
boretum and Arborway, the work of 
repairing the Commonwealth avenue 
roadway completed, and some of the 
planting done there. Superintendent 
Pettigrew reports that the whole 
length of the drives was treated with 
oil emulsion for dust suppression, 
which has been very satisfactory. 
The cost of oiling was $375 a mile as 
against an average of $680 a mile for 
watering. 
The report of the park department 
of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., for 1908, tells of 
the building of a new bath house in 
Riverside Park, a general cleaning up 
of Hollenback Park, and consider- 
able road building in different parts 
of the system. Three playgrounds 
have been placed permanently in the 
hands of the park commission. 
The handsome illustrated report of 
the park commission of St. Louis 
contains a brief description and area 
of each park, and tables of statistics. 
There were 1,481 trees planted in the 
year ending April 13, 1908, and sites 
for five small parks in the congested 
district were selected. Yeatman 
Square was improved on plans pre- 
pared by George E. Kessler, and the 
erection of two comfort stations, a 
bath house, two keepers’ lodges, 
shelter house, boat house and other 
improvements are recommended. The 
total park area is 2,188 acres, and the 
expenditure for the year $25,399. 
PARK IMPROVEMENTS 
Park Superintendent Ivan Ericson, 
of Chattanooga, Tenn., has completed 
the construction of a chert roadway 
through Jackson Park, and is mak- 
ing other improvements in that 
tract. 
Henry H. Rogers has presented to 
Fairhaven, Mass., a tract of land for 
a public park. 
Fred Nussbaumer, Superintendent 
of Parks at St. Paul, Minn., has pre- 
pared plans for a three-acre park at 
Fergus Falls, Minn., and will also 
furnish plans for beautifying the 
shores of Lake Alice in that town. 
Charles Mulford Robinson will pre- 
pare detailed plans for the develop- 
ment of Eagle Point Park at Du- 
buque, la., which is to be developed 
as suggested by Mr. Robinson in the 
report prepared for the city some 
time ago. 
J. G. Darden and others have of- 
fered the city of Albuquerque, N. AL, 
a twenty-acre tract for a public 
park, 
The Board of Public Works of 
Oakland, Cal., has been authorized by 
the council to employ a landscape ar- 
chitect for twenty-four months at a 
salary of $100 a month, to make plans 
for the new playgrounds and parks 
the city is to develop. 
The city council of Passaic, N. J., 
has recommended the adoption of five 
out of six park sites under consid- 
eration. The total estimated value of 
the sites is $279,340. 
The State of Minnesota is to im- 
prove the five-acre tract acquired for 
the erection of a monument on the 
site of Fort Ridgely. An appropria- 
tion of $3,500 is available for the 
purpose. 
Alderman Glinnan, of Detroit, is to 
introduce an ordinance in the coun- 
cil to appropriate $10,000 for tlie es- 
tablishing of a small park in each ward 
which has no park. 
The city council of Toledo, O., has 
passed an ordinance appropriating 
land north of Walbridge Park for 
park purposes. 
G. A. Blanc has been employed to 
plan the grounds of the Odd Fellows 
Home at Gainesville, Ga., and the 
city park adjoining it. 
A. C. Leighton has donated to 
Ottumwa, la., a (ifty-five-acrc tract 
for a public park. 
Alex Stewart, one of tlie trustee^ of 
Escondido, Cal., has ])urcliaSed a 
fifteen-acre tract for a public park. 
{Continued on p. IX) 
