446 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
The Boston ParK System 
Paper read by yohn C. Olmsted at the Boston Convention of the American Society of Landscape Architects. 
(Continued.) 
The Arbor<zvay 
This parkway was designed to connect Jamaica 
Pond, The Arnold Arboretum and Franklin Park. The 
land where it had to rnn being already in the main 
provided with streets was expensive, so it was limited 
to a uniform width of 200 feet. It is an excellent ex- 
ample of what seems to be the best way to utilize that 
width where the main object is to provide a through 
line of pleasure driving, walking and riding between 
parks where there is no brook or other interesting 
natural feature to be preserved. 
The private property is given frontage on side roads 
as commodious as is customary in the neighborhood. 
There is a wide pleasure drive in the center of the 
parkway, — on one side of which is a bridle path and 
on the other a wide i)romenade. Both bridle path and 
promenade are separated from the roadways on each 
side of them by tree planting strips of liberal width, 
and these are further planted with shrubs forming a 
mixed and informal hedge. These hedges relieve the 
effect of flatness and extreme simplicity common in 
similar parkways, besides affording much enrichment 
and beauty of foliage, flowers, fruit and in winter color 
of twigs. IMoreover, they conceal the ugly macadam 
strips to a considerable extent, while permitting views 
to and from the houses below the foliage of the trees. 
It is true that many people, especially owners of 
abutting real estate, prefer that a parkway 200 feet 
wide should have only two driveways instead of three, 
and there is much to be said in favor of that arrange- 
ment, especially if abutting private land is restricted 
against buildings less than fifty feet or so from the park- 
way, but the first question for the Park Commissioner to 
decide is whether they are expending the money for 
the parkw’ay primarily for the benefit of those who are 
to use the parkway to get pleasantly from one park 
to another, that is for the greatest good of the greatest 
number, or primarily for the benefit of abutting real 
estate. If the landowners are fullv compensated for ' 
the land taken for the parkway and are not assessed , 
more than half the cost of the parkway, justice to them ' 
would not require in most cases granting their demand 
for limiting the driveways to two only ; but if the land- j 
owners give the land for the parkway and make a | 
considerable contribution, voluntarily or through assess- j 
ment, toward the cost of construction, it might be just 1 
to heed their preference in the matter. | 
Incidentally it may be mentioned that the idea of ■ 
laying the dust and preserving the bond by means of : 
crude petroleum was tried on this parkway a few years 1 
ago, but although a saving in expense of watering, I 
the scheme was objected to because the oily clots picked 
up more or less on wheels and horses’ feet and were i 
thrown on people’s clothes. The experiment has not j 
been repeated. 
(Arnold (Arboretum 
The greater part of this beautiful park belonged to i 
Harvard University, having been bequeathed to it by | 
Mr. Bussey. It was named after Mr. Arnold, how- j 
ever, because he bequeathed to the University a fund, j 
the income of which was assigned by the University j 
for a professorship of Arboriculture and for the main- | 
tenance of the Arboretum. j 
When the Landscape Architect took up the plan- I 
ning of the Arboretum on behalf of the University, it I 
was of course understood that so far as was compatible | 
with its scientific and educational purposes it was to i 
1 )e made beautiful and to be adapted for enjoyment 1 
by the public, and the parkway had, from the begin- | 
ning, been intended to connect it with the Boston Park ! 
System. Study soon developed the fact that its boun- , 
claries were not everywhere suitable and that there f 
were no funds available for drives and walks and other | ' 
usual park improvements and that there was only a j j 
very remote prospect of sufficient funds becoming jl 
