PARK AND CEMETERY 
and Landscape Gardening. 
Vol. XV. CHICAGO, MAY, 1905. No. 3 
Nurserymen and Landscape (Architects. 
It is a notable fact of the business instinct, common 
to our pushing countrymen, that when a new line of 
endeavor shows its head there is a rush to exploit it to 
its capacity ; and it matters not whether it is technical, 
and therefore special, or simple trade. It has been ob- 
served in connection with all the professions as they 
have opened out into success and usefulness, and it is 
now in full blast hampering the development of the 
profession of the landscape gardener and architect. It 
would appear from the advertising literature that most 
of the nurserymen of the country are prepared to un- 
dertake landscape gardening upon call and to any ex- 
tent, and we cannot but see in this effort to promote 
trade, a very detrimental influence soonor or later to 
be felt and condemned. An artistic training is abso- 
lutely necessary for the landscape architect, and but 
few firms are at present equal to such a promise. 
^ ^ 
Civic Centers. 
Civic Centers, which means the “grouping of public 
buildings around a park or open space, so that to the 
advantage of light and air is added the length of 
vision which enhances architectural beauty, while there 
are also brought into closer relation those buildings, 
which through their use by the public become the cen- 
ter of civic life,” is a subject to which considerable tech- 
nical attention is being paid. A pamphlet recently, 
issued by the Municipal x-Vrt Society of New York 
deals with this question quite forcibly, and leads up to 
the conclusion that from a public business standpoint 
the idea of civic centers is an economic one, and only 
needs study to convince the public that in all our large 
cities it is not too late to begin the improvement. It 
not only adds vastly to the attractiveness of a city, but 
the congregation of public buildings saves time in busi- 
ness affairs by concentrating it, and creates a beauty 
spot which will exert an influence in all the future of 
the city’s growth. 
^ ^ ^ 
SMay in the Cemetery. 
The month of May is the busiest in the calendar for 
cemetery men iiv the larger city cemeteries, for the rea- 
son that in these northern latitudes the short spring 
presses the opening work into the month that brings 
increasing numbers of visitors, and which culminates 
in Decoration Day. The latter is a hard day for the 
physical appearance of the cemetery, the crowds that 
gather to witness the Decoration exercises give little 
heed to the work of the superintendent and his men, 
who have labored vigorously to create a scene of beauty 
for their welcome, and the more elaborate the program 
the greater the throng and the more damage to the 
lawns and grounds generally. In contrast with the 
G. A. R. demonstrations comes the program of the 
annual Flower Memorial service at Lakewood Ceme- 
tery, Lake City, Minn. This is an annual evening 
memorial religious service, to be held this year on 
Sunday, June i8, which has become established as a 
yearly event. It offers a world of suggestions to the 
officials of our smaller cemeteries, and might readily 
be adapted to the community of the smallest hamlet 
possessing a burial ground. 
^ ^ ^ 
Good Work of Woman's Outdoor (Art League. 
The Chicago branch of the Woman's Outdoor xArt 
League, a department of the xAmerican Civic Associa- 
tion, is doing considerable work about tbe Public 
Schools this year. This is a line of improvement to 
which the League is naturally adapted, and its intimate 
association with the national body gives it not only the 
authority, but access to the skill and knowledge in im- 
provement work which its members control. A con- 
stant effort is made to promote the use of artistic plans 
in all the outdoor planting entered upon, while at the 
same time the school children are encouraged in garden 
making and flower and vegetable culture. The plan of 
the ■ Home Gardening Association of Cleveland has 
been adopted for the distribution of seeds, a plan which 
has met with great success in that city. The Woman’s 
League is now represented in twenty-eight states and 
territories, its influences are rapidly spreading, and 
numerous auxiliary co-operative organizations are de- 
veloping among school teachers and pupils. 
^ ^ ^ 
Publicity. 
An instructive instance of the far-reaching possibili- 
ties of printers’ ink judiciously used, is the case of 
the Muncy Cemetery of IMuncy, Pa., whose neat book- 
let, getting into the hands of a speaker at the Super- 
intendents’ convention held at St. Louis in 1896, caused 
attention to be drawn to that cemetery. A quotation 
on the subject of perpetual care attracted the notice 
and emphasized the remarks of the speaker, and no 
doubt has had a relative influence on all subsequent dis- 
cussions. We note this in an article in the Muncy 
Luminary on modern cemetery improvement, and it 
urges us to repeat an injunction often given in these 
columns, that all cemetery officials should make fre- 
quent use of the local press as one of the most potent 
means of instructing lot owners in what the modern 
cemetery demands of them. It very largely rests with 
the lot owner what the condition of the cemetery shall 
be, but he needs education and information, and no 
better medium exists than the local newspaper . 
