PARK AND CEMETERY. 
62 
that pedestrians, equestrians and those riding in vehicles 
would not be frightened, there would seem to be no ob- 
jection to its free use on the park drives, but when there 
is a chance that it may be driven in a reckless manner 
it becomes very dangerous and destructive of the enjoy- 
ment and rest for which the park was intended. 
Parks can appropriately be used for open-air concerts, 
since these would give enjoyment to everybody, but they 
should never be used for religious or political meetings. 
They should be places for rest, recuperation and undis- 
turbed contemplation of the beauties of nature, and not 
places for exhorters, agitators or those who take delight 
in stirring up our feelings. 
A few of the physical features of a typical park may 
be briefly mentioned. Something has already been said 
in previous lectures regarding the location and construc- 
tion of roads, but there will be no harm in repeating that 
the roads should not be too steep. They should con- 
duct people to places they wish to reach. There should 
be no more of them than are really necessary. They 
should be well drained, and constructed with smooth, 
hard durable surfaces, and be as free as possible from 
noise, dust and reverse curves. For the purpose of shut- 
ting out the city, there should be a thick boundary plan- 
tation, and it is an advantage if this plantation can be 
emphasized by an elevation of grade in the land. The 
principles governing planting will be referred to in a 
future lecture, but it may be well to state here that trees 
and shrubs should generally be grouped together and 
have some relation to each other. Avoid rows, especially 
in the general plantations, and along curved drives. Have 
large open spaces. From any point in one of these spaces 
one should see only natural objects, trees, shrubs, rocks, 
land, water or some attractive distant view. There is 
no harm in seeing just a glimpse of a park structure, 
such as a shelter-house or bridge, or in seeing a distant 
city, but it is wrong to have a building within the park 
so conspicuous, either by its size or by its color, that it 
will constantly attract the eye to itself or, as we say, 
“strike one in the eye.” This rule is sometimes violated 
in an island park by placing a prominent building near 
the shore, and even the beauty of Franklin Park in Bos- 
ton was greatly marred by the erection of a large yellow 
refectory on one of its most commanding hills. The 
grades of parks should be natural. There should be no 
railway embankments, but -if these are necessary, they 
should be hidden by planting. In designing open areas 
of lawn or water, try to have some portion hidden from 
every point of view. Take advantage, as far as possible, 
of all natural features, that is, if there are rocky ledges, 
have these count for something in the landscape. If 
there are existing trees and shrubs, see if they can form 
a valuable feature of the design. If there are valleys, 
accentuate them by keeping the low spaces open, and 
planting with tall growth surrounding hills and ridges. 
Try to have the character of the park correspond with 
that of the surrounding country, and call our attention 
to its delightful features. 
Sites for parks should be selected where they will be 
reasonably accessible, and also, if possible, where they 
will have some advantage from existing trees, woods, 
streams, lakes, hills or valleys. Often the lie of the land 
may be such as to make a given site poorly adapted to 
residences or factories, but which will furnish just the 
variety needed in a park. A ravine, for instance, may 
be a most delightful feature in a park, and a hill may be 
just what is needed, although for other purposes the 
first would need to be filled, and the last cut away. 
From a business point of view the establishment of 
parks is a good investment for a city, since they gener- 
ally add many times their cost to the assessed valuation. 
Their management should be in hands of commission- 
ers appointed for the purpose. The boards of park com- 
missioners should be small. A board of five members is 
quite large enough. The parks of Boston are managed 
by three men. A certain income is also desirable. By 
this I mean an assured income. If the park commis- 
sioners know that their income for a series of years will 
be not far from a designated amount each year, they can 
plan their work for the future. In some states the laws 
provide that park districts may be formed, that bonds 
not exceeding a certain ratio to the assessed valuation 
may be issued upon a favorable vote by the people, and 
that an annual tax having a fixed ratio to the value of 
the property included in the district may be collected 
for park maintenance and payment of the bonds. Some- 
times commissioners are appointed, and sometimes they 
are elected. That system is best which will serve to keep 
parks out of politics. The most important duty of a park 
commission is to appoint a good superintendent — some 
one that is qualified for the work in every way. When 
this has been done, the hiring of men should be left 
entirely in his charge, and he should also have power to 
discharge any employe not found satisfactory. A good 
superintendent will not know whether his men are re- 
publicans or democrats, nor will he be interested in their 
religion. He should see to it that his men are com- 
petent for the w’ork which they have to do, and that 
the'y attend to this work steadily and quietly. A park 
should not become an asylum for incompetent men of 
any kind, and should not be a refuge for friends of the 
machine. The term of each commissioner should extend 
over a series of years, and one should be appointed or 
elected each year. Usually the best results are secured 
when the men chosen to exercise supervision over the 
parks receive no salaries. 
I have spoken of the importance of their exercising 
great care in the selection of a superintendent. When 
a park is first started, it may be even more important to 
select some one of sufficient intelligence and skill to 
make a plan. If the plan is good, it will become perma- 
nently fixed upon the ground by the construction of roads 
and walks, and the gro^vth of trees and shrubs. After 
this is accomplished, the superintendent should be able 
to take care of the park and see that its character is 
maintained. 
Quite a long list of cities of the United States gives 
the number of inhabitants for each acre of park, from 
twenty-five to six hundred. I think w'e do not know yet 
how many acres a city should have for each thousand 
inhabitants. Most of the parks, even of European cities, 
are comparatively recent in origin. The oldest park of 
considerable extent in this country is not yet sixty years 
old. We know that we need many more acres of park 
than did the people who lived one hundred years ago. 
Perhaps those who come after us may need more parks 
than we do. It is certain that the number of people who 
have a taste for landscape has increased enormously 
during the last century. This is shown by the work of 
painters, and by the paintings which people buy, as well 
as by the creation of parks. As this taste increases, per- 
haps our parks will become more extensive in area, and 
more simple and refined in treatment. 
