148 
PARK AND C EM ETER Y. 
surplus over expenditures. Interments dur- 
ing the year numbered 1,018. The various 
interment sections were all maintained in 
good order, the driveways were resurfaced 
with gravel, and a driveway opened up 
around the new single grave section. 
Many cement grave markers were installed 
to replace the old system of wooden stakes. 
A large number of trees and shrubs were 
taken from the nurserj and planted in 
clusters to break barren landscapes. Dur- 
ing the continuance of the war, and for a 
period of three years after the declaration 
of peace, it was considered advisable to 
permit free interment in the military plot : 
the only charge made now in this section 
is for the opening and sealing of the 
graves. Boulevards on one hundred and 
si.xty-one streets, having a frontage of 616,- 
000 feet, were maintained at an average of 
four cents per front foot, which included 
the spraying, pruning, replacing and care 
of the trees. New boulevards were con- 
structed on portions of Fort, Oxford and 
Wilton streets. No new street tree plant- 
ing was undertaken, due partly to the lack 
of sufficient demand and the difficulty in 
obtaining a supply of native trees at a rea- 
sonable price. The transfer of the new 
exhibition site for care and maintenance 
early in the year, enabled the board to take 
the first step towards providing a munici- 
pal golf course. The grounds have been 
surveyed, plans prepared and a full eigh- 
teen-hole course of 5,500 yards is in process 
of evolution. Following are some, items 
taken from the summary of general e.x- 
penditures for 1016 ; appropriation : Boule- 
vard maintenance, general, $24,822,25; Bou- 
levards, construction, $1,753.42; Brookside 
Cemetery, maintenance, $11,032; Public 
parks, general, $163,083.87 ; Total, $210,- 
360.30. Expenditures ; Boulevard mainte- 
nance, $24,822.25 ; Boulevard construction, 
$1,753.42; Brookside Cemetery, mainte- 
nance, $11,032; Public Park, general, $163,- 
676.04; total. $207,060.85. Unexpended bal- 
ances, $3,209.45. 
The park commissioners of Rockford, 
111., recently issued their seventh annual re- 
port for the year of 1916. Public patronage 
of the larger parks and playgrounds from 
year to year has increased gratifyingly, 
especially Black Hawk and Sinnissippi 
parks. The band and vocal concerts in Fair 
Grounds, Sinnissippi and Black Hawk parks 
this year, proved popular and were well at- 
tended. The most important acquisition to 
the existing chain of parks was in the con- 
ditional taking over from the city council 
of what has been known as the city stone 
quarrv. This tract of land, comprising 6.07 
acres, has been quarried for many years 
and a portion of it has been excavated to a 
point below' the water level. The water 
covers an area of approximately one and 
one-half acres and offers a fine beginning 
for the solution of the much-needed 
swimming pool question of this city. This 
pool, which through an overflow chan- 
nel, has been lowered to a uniform depth 
of three feet, is a spring-fed pool, contain- 
ing approximately 1,750,000 gallons of 
water, wasting into a low'er quarry to the 
north at the rate of 225 gallons per min- 
ute, or 135,000 gallons per ten hours. This 
shows a daily renewal of a little less than 
8 per cent of its entire contents. 
Among the improvement work done was 
the macadamizing of Arlington avenue, en- 
tering Sinnissippi Park from the south- 
west, from its junction with the park drive 
to the west of the Prospect street intersec- 
tion. Several hundred White Pines were 
planted in various parts of the park, car- 
rying out a definite scheme of landscape 
development. The preliminary work is al- 
ready under w’ay for a swimming pool be- 
tween the river and the cliffs, below' the 
Shelter House at Black Hawk Park. This 
pool wall be fed automatically by spring 
water and discharges automatically into the 
river. The contemplated space covers onc- 
half acre, with a three-foot level for non- 
swimmers, and six-foot depth for swim- 
mers. There will also be a wading pool for 
the children. Dressing shelter w’ith com- 
forts and shower baths will be added on 
completion of the pool. The bureau of 
state water survey has fully indorsed the 
contemplated pool. 
The final development of Beattie Park 
playground was carried on to completion 
in early summer. Follow'ing are some sta- 
tistics from the secretary’s report : Re- 
ceipts ; Balance, Jan. 1, 1916, $318.94; Pro- 
ceeds of tax levy, $58,650.30; From loans. 
$16,000; Various items credited to Mis- 
cellaneous Receipts, E.xpense, and Differ- 
ent parks, $2,472,12; Total, $77,441.36. 
Disbursements; Vouchers paid, $77,208.16; 
Balance, December 31, 1916, $233.20; Total 
$77,441.36. 
The Metropolitan park commission of 
Boston, has issued its twenty-fourth annual 
report. The only considerable acquire- 
ments of lands made during the past year 
have been in completion of the holdings 
on the northerly side of Lake Quannapow- 
itt in Wakefield, of those in the neighbor- 
hood of Hammond Pond in Brookline and 
New'ton, and of lands along the shore of 
We illustrate on the front cover of this 
issue a section of the fencing enclosing the 
United States Arsenal at Watertown, Mass. 
This is a heavy steel picket fence and was 
sold and erected by the Wright Wire Co. 
of Worcester, Mass., and made by the 
Revere and Winthrop. making the larger 
part of those required for the e.xtension 
of Winthrop Parkway as a short drive 
from its present terminus in Revere to the 
southerly' end of Short Beach in Win- 
throp. Other smaller but very important 
acquirements have been made in the city 
of Boston, to enable the Commission to 
widen Otter street a- an approach to 
Charlies River embankment, and to im- 
prove Neponset avenue as an approach to 
Neponset bridge, which the commission is 
required to rebuild. The most important 
new construction work carried on during 
the year has been Alewife Brook parkway, 
from Massachusetts avenue in Cambridge 
to Powder House boulevard in Somerville, 
opened to travel November 15; Furnace 
Brook parkway in Quincy; from Hancock 
street to Quincy Shore drive, opened to 
travel November 18; V/eston bridge, be- 
tween Weston and Newton, opened to 
travel November 24; and North Beacon 
street bridge, between Boston and Water- 
town, well advanced toward completion. 
Less extensive but imp(3rtant work on con- 
struction of several pieces of parkway and 
other greatly used roads has been done on 
Forest and Main street in Middlesex 
Fells; on Revere beach and Middlese.x 
Fells parkway's ; on the Speedway drive 
along Charles River ; and on Lynn Fells 
parkway. Following are some statistics 
from the financial report: Metropolitan 
Parks expense fund — Receipts, December 
1, 1915, to December 1, 1916, bathhouses, 
$59,888.05; rentals, buildings, street rail- 
way locations, etc., $26,670; sales, buildings, 
land, wood, etc., $8,515.55 ; court fines, in- 
come on money invested, miscellaneous, 
$21,092.91 ; balance, December 1, 1915, 
$91,652.59; total, $207,819.10. Expenditures 
— General expense, $2,545.24. Blue Hills 
Reservation, $14,515; Middlesex Fells Res- 
ervation, $1,749.16; Revere Beach Reserva- 
tion, $34,364.80 ; Nantaskett Beach Reser- 
vation, $28,936.32 ; total, $102,600.66 ; bal- 
ance, December 1, 1916, $105,218.44; Met- 
ropolitan Parks trust fund, balance, De- 
cember 1, 1916, $11,397.63. 
Stewart Iron Works Co. of Cincinnati, O. 
A simple but substantial fence of this char- 
acter adds dignity and impressiveness to 
any park or cemeterv or public ground and 
The Stewart Iron Works Co. will be glad to 
estimate on any plans for fencing or design 
and prepare plans. 
The Obituary Record 
Richard H. Thorne of El Paso, Tex., 
owner of Evergreen Cemetery, was almost 
instantly killed recently when he fell thirty 
feet to the ground from a water tank 
understructure at the cemtery. Mr. 
Thorne, assisted by four Mexican laborers, 
was attempting to lower the tank to the 
ground, in order to make some repairs 
thereto. He was at the top and the la- 
borers below, when the tackle broke, Mr. 
Thorne falling and striking the top of his 
skull on the ground. Pie suffered a serious 
fracture and was knocked unconscious by 
the fall. He died at his residence nearby 
about an hour later. He was born in Cam- 
den, N. J., fifty-eight years ago and was 
a graduate of Princeton University. He 
moved to El Paso in 1885. In 1894 he 
founded Evergreen Cemetery, which he 
managed until his death. In 1896 he mar- 
ried Frances Spencer Wilkin, w'ho with two 
daughters, his mother and one brother,, 
survive him. 
The Cover Illustration 
