405 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
of screening off the bordering street and its traffic. Un- 
timely removal of crowding specimens gradually created open 
plantations of crippled and sickly trees, which at this late 
date will not take kindly to the work of rehabilitation. Only 
by the removal of the weaker kinds, by fertilization, by add- 
ing enough vegetation of a shrubby growth to make the 
screens complete, and by inducing sufficient light to foster a 
healthy growth, can the former condition be restored and 
perfected. 
“The dampness of our fiat lands has to a certain extent 
been remedied by artificial drainage, but the slow process of 
oxidation on such lands renders them less fit for tree growth 
than clay lands of a higher and more gravelly or loose char- 
acter. It is therefore most important that the trees receive 
nourishment by artificial means. 
“In the lagoons plants of aquatic or semi-aquatic nature 
must be introduced to help preserve the shores from de- 
structive wave action, and break the otherwise artificial lines 
of the lagoons. Such moisture-loving vegetation as elder- 
berry, dogwood, hawthorn, etc., added to the shore planting, 
with their over-hanging boughs, laden with flowers, lend a 
charm to the lake scenery. It is questionable whether park 
lagoons of sufficient depth to prevent the growth of vegeta- 
tion upon their bottoms are not safer and more serviceable 
and better adapted to park-making than shallow waters filled 
with decaying water plants, and which are almost impossible 
to keep in a fresh and clean condition. 
“The present water system, although comparatively new, 
costs enormous sums to maintain, and a complete new system 
of cast iron or lead pipe, on such areas where wrought-iron 
pipes have bee.n used, will repay its cost in a few years. 
“Conditions regarding tree growth are considerably worse 
in the small parks situated in the densely populated districts. 
The top soil is not of the best kind, is badly impoverished, 
and has a subsoil of alluvial nature with little or no fertility. 
“Artistic effect in the planting scheme is here less possible 
on account of the scant list of trees and shrubs from which to 
select, adaptable to the hard conditions imposed upon them 
in these parks. 
“What is true regarding tree growths in the parks above 
mentioned applies to trees planted along our boulevards in 
the built-up portions of the city. 
“I am almost positive that future improvements in boule- 
vard construction will provide a system of perforated tiling 
under the parkways, by which the trees may be regularly fed, 
not only with water, but with liquid food as well. 
“It will eventually become necessary to establish a nursery 
for the growing of the desired sizes and kinds from which 
specimens may be moved without destroying a single root. 
“In improving present conditions a careful examination of 
the soil should not be overlooked. It must be understood that 
under all conditions it pays to be generous with the soil in 
which the tree has to grow, and it is good economy to spend 
many times as much for the preparation of the ground as 
for the tree itself. Pdor soil, a poor tree, and vice versa. 
“Overcrowding of statuary should be avoided or the park 
will assume the appearance of a modern cemetery. Monu- 
ments erected to the memory of some illustrious fellow 
citizen are best suited to our small parks or public squares. 
Their purpose here is twofold : architecturally to create a 
harmonious whole, and lend a certain amount of refinement 
to the square and surroundings, and to inspire the community 
with the spirit of the noble life commemorated.” 
NEW PARKS, 
Thomas Jefferson Park, a small tract at iiith street and 
First avenue, New York, was recently opened with interest- 
ing ceremonies. It is said to have one of the finest athletic 
equipments of any municipal park in the United States. 
There are two outdoor gymnasiums, two large playgrounds 
and kindergartens, and two running tracks, each seven laps 
to the mile. 
Two more of the new public 'service parks in the South 
Park System of Chicago have been dedicated. They are 
Bessemer Park, a 23-acre tract in South Chicago, and Palmer 
Park in Pullman. The parks both contain the outdoor 
gymnasium, swimming and wading pools, and the public 
service buildings which have been previously described in 
these columns as distinctive features of all the new parks in 
this system. 
The park board of St. Paul, Minn., is making plans to 
condemn a strip of land along the river bluff, from Smith 
avenue to the city limits, for park purposes. 
A movement has been organized in Atlanta, Ga., to secure 
the estate of the late Evan P. Howell for a public park. 
Ten acres of land on Portland avenue, Minneapolis, have 
been presented to the city for park purposes by S. D. Hill- 
man and the J. S. Pillsbur}' estate. 
* % 4: 
IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS. 
The work of improving the new four-acre addition to the 
City Park at Houston, Tex., is in active progress. Several 
animals have been added to the zoo, which is said to be the 
most complete in the state. 
The New Haven, Conn., park board is negotiating for 
lands in Westville for city park purposes. The tract includes 
a strip of land along the bank of West River. 
The report of the commissioners appointed to condemn 
land for addition to Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N. Y., shows 
the total award to be $358,047. The tract is near the Willink 
entrance to the park. 
A memorial fountain was recently dedicated in Walbridge 
Park, Toledo, O., in memory of Reinhold Opitz. Mr. Opitz 
left $1,000 toward the erection of the fountain, and $900 was j 
contributed by the city. The fountain is an interesting rustic 
design of concrete and stone work, surmounted by a bronze j 
statue. ' 
The park commissioners of Salem, Mass., have accepted 
plans for the improvement of the entrance to Mack Park. 
The plans of Landscape Architects Lowrie & Langdon, of i 
the Hudson County (N. J.) Park Commission, have been I 
adopted for the improvement of the West Side Park, which i 
will be the leading pleasure ground for the Bergen section, | 
and one of the most attractive parks in the county system. ■ 
* * * I 
PLANTING IN THE EAST AND IN THE WEST. ! 
Editor “Park and Cemetery” ; — There is great need for { 
more reliable information concerning the difference in the 
conditions of planting in the East and in the West. | 
Most of our horticultural books are written in the East, | 
and they are misleading. Many kinds of plants, trees and I 
shrubs which do well in the East are worse than worthless | 
in the West. Deutzeas, Kalmias, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, I 
beeches, yellow wood, holly and many other things cannot I 
be made to live in the West, and thousands of dollars are I 
wasted every year. ^ 
Country Life advocates fall planting. This is fatal west of ] 
the Missouri River. They advocate August planting of ever- j 
greens. All right East, but ruinous in the West. ' 
York, Neb. C. S. Harrison, 
