288 
P A R K A N D C E M E T E R I 
If the playground is needed, have it 
screened l)y planting. The same applies 
to tennis courts. If these are put into a 
park, they should lie placed where they will 
not lie conspicuous. Chicken coops are, 
very necessar_\’ things in their place, hut 
we do not want them in our front yards. 
Water is always welcome in a jiark. 
I'ortunate indeed is a park with stream or 
lake. Where water is artihciall_\' intro- 
duced in the form of wading pools or foun- 
tains, the form of these must be carefully 
considered. Glaring white concrete basins, 
palpalily artificial creations, should be 
placed in connection with architectural 
structures, not dropped out of the blue into 
the center of a sylvan scene. 
Concrete paths that wind about among 
trees where well-made gravel paths — I re- 
peat ivcll-madc gravel paths — would be bet- 
ter, are features which may greatly harm 
any park's appearance, as do also concrete 
bridges clumsily designed or not designed 
at all, ornamental light standards placed in 
woods and statuary set out at random. 
It is one thing to establish a store and 
another thing to run it. The same applies 
to parks. Parks will not run themselves, 
or we might say there is only one way that 
they will run themselves, and that is to 
run down. And so the subject of park 
maintenance looms up like an iceberg out 
of the fog, a possibility to be carefully 
reckoned with. 
For the proper maintenance of the park 
systems the park board or park commis- 
sion is generally held to be responsible. In 
the small city the responsibility often rests 
upon a small grotip of men or sometimes 
upon one man. It is doubly necessary that 
the members be carefully selected and that 
they realize their opportunity in such 
service. 
The choice of material, structural mate- 
rial and plants should be such that they wdll 
last the longest time for the money ex- 
pended. Hardy shrubs are w'orth more for 
general park use than liedding plants wdiich 
li\’e only one season, though the cost is 
about the same. When it comes to choos- 
ing between a single and an eight-day clock 
for the same price, there is not much doubt 
in which direction our choice lies. For our 
parks we should use plant material which 
doesn’t need winding up every season. We 
have learned this lesson pretty w'ell in re- 
gard to bridges and park structures, but not 
so well when it comes to plants. Much 
depends upon the future appearance of the 
park — its appearance fix'e years from now. 
friend of mine, a ^-ery sensitive W'oman 
from a large city of the iMiddle West, had 
looked forward wdth keenest anticipation 
to a return trip to that city. But when 
she saw' the park she fainted. I knew the 
park and 1 could sympathize. The plant- 
ing material had been poorly chosen ; it was 
short-lived and had not been replaced wdien 
it passed away. The former wonderful 
beauty of the park had passed with it. 
When it comes to planting and replacing 
of th.e plants in a town's park system, a 
park nursery wiil lie found of great advan- 
tage. By this is meant a tract of ground 
cjuite properly in one of the large parks 
where trees and shrubs are raised, and even 
bec'ding plants under glass from cuttings 
and seeds which store can be drawn upon 
from time to time as needed to supply the 
various parks in the cit}’ at a far less cost 
than by getting new plants from the nurs- 
ery. There is also a convenience in being 
able to get the plants c|uickly. 
Most small cities find it advisable to con- 
duct road-making and general upkeep on 
the (la_\ lalior basis, the park superintendent 
hiring men and teams as needed rather 
than depending upon the contractor's work, 
b'or large work, such as buildings and 
liridges, however, the contract method is 
the best. In general it is best to arrange 
the work of upkeep in such a way as will 
make one man responsible for work done 
within a certain given area. This applies, 
of course, to the upkeep at the hands of 
regular caretakers. We m.ight express this 
idea as “territorial responsibility.” It has 
lieen found to w'ork far better than to make 
several men responsible over a larger pro- 
portionate area. By holding one man ac- 
countalde for the upkeep and appearance 
of the particular land under his care there 
is found to enter in a healthy spirit of 
rivalry in the upkeep of each separate sec- 
tion. It is the same principle as that which 
works out in the cleaning of our streets. 
With a man to each several blocks the 
street is kept far cleaner than if the per- 
son mentioned were allowed to parade the 
length of the street, depending upon some 
other member in a white suit to sweep up 
what dust and dirt he had neglected. 
In keeping up our small cities’ parks 
there is the important work of guarding 
against tree pests in time to prevent the 
hatching out of caterpillars. There is also 
the matter of tree mending. Trees should 
lie mended whenever they become broken, 
.■ks a rule the park workman is apt to do 
too much rather than not enough pruning 
to shrubbery. The beauty of shrubbery 
lies in its natural growth. We want no 
orange-shaped specimens where we should 
have a graceful plant. The saw and even 
the axe may be loaned out to the laborer 
freely, but more harm than good has been 
done to our parks by the man who loves 
to clip, clip with his shears. But, you say, 
the shrubs grow too high. Very well, but 
that is due to the fact that varieties of 
I'nown height at maturity were not planted 
in the first place. Do not blame the shrub- 
bery ! 
It was just stated that the saw and the 
axe might be handed around freely. One 
of the universal beauties of our new parks 
— of the parks of the country type — is the 
pleasant vistas or views of the open land- 
scape which one catches through the trees 
at the roadside. It is an almost universal 
failing of our parks’ drives that as the park 
grows older these delightful pictures are 
obscured by growing underbrush. The 
roads have gradually become nothing more 
than stupid green alleys with never a 
glimpse at the pleasant scenes which it is 
the roads’ ver_\- function to lead us as we 
move along from point to point. Judicious 
thinning should be carried on constantl\' 
along the drives in our parks. 
Again, the enjoyment of our parks is 
often threatened by the gradual presence 
of very unsanitary’ conditions in and about 
our comfort stations. In one of the most 
lieautiful parks in any of the small cities 
of the country this point was brought out. 
People were beginning to avoid the park 
for this reason. Fortunately, healthful 
conditions were restored in time. The town 
learned a lesson. 
To make a city’s park system self-sup- 
porting by a shrewd management of con- 
cessions is a goal which I believe Hartford. 
Connecticut, did reach. It is perfectly true 
that with attractive buildings, well man- 
aged, where refreshments could be sold 
many of the parks of our small cities might 
be able to reap substantial returns. One of 
the main points in park maintenance lies 
in getting the citizens of the town to feel 
that the park is their own, not somebody’s 
else property. “This is your park — be 
good to it,” is a sign which might be mod- 
estly displayed in all of our parks. If the 
visitors got the idea that it conveys into 
their heads — as why should they not? — I 
believe that with inconspicuous rubbish 
and waste-baskets at convenient intervals, 
we should go a long way’ in helping our 
parks keep themselves clean. In acquiring 
a park system for our small cities, let us 
remember then that the size and the num- 
ber of parks of which the community can 
boast is of secondary’ importance to the 
bigger fact of having a real .sy^stem which 
can be said to give returns to the citizens 
for" money invested. In developing its 
park system, let the small city move with 
deliberation. Let it avoid makeshift im- 
provement merely because it does not wish 
to ask advice. Let it develop its parks so 
that a parallel improvement will be seen in 
the whole system as far as finances will 
allow. Finally, in the maintenance of our 
parks let us be jealous in keeping their 
beauty. Let us spend wisely and freely if 
we can. A public park system is one of 
the small city’s dearest possessions. It can 
best be planned when the city is small. 
A real park system in the larger sense can 
only be obtained by’ co-operation, not among 
a single group of people, but by a co- 
operation of all the citizens. The words 
of a verse of Kipling come to mind in this 
connection : 
“It ain’t the guns nor armament, nor funds 
that they can pay. 
But the close co-operation that makes them 
win the day. 
It ain’t the individual, nor the army as a 
whole. 
But the everlastin’ teamwork of every 
bloomin’ soul.” 
