571 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
ASKED and ANSWERED 
An exchange of experience on practical matters by our readers. You 
are invited to contribute questioTis and answers to this department. 
How can I make Ampelopsis 
Veitchii (Japan or Boston Ivy) pro- 
lific in soil that is shady but exposed 
to the southern sun? Have met with 
poor success after trying for four or 
five years. — B. F. B., Pa. 
The trouble must be that the soil 
is unfit for the Ampelopsis. This 
vine thrives in either sun or shade, 
though I think a partially shaded 
place the preferred one. I would 
suggest that your reader try a fresh 
lot of soil for the vine, throwing out 
4he old material and filling in with 
some fresh garden soil. The vine is 
not particular as to soil, though that 
of a loamy nature is the most to its 
liking. Joseph Meehan. 
Is there anything that could be 
put on a Balm of Gilead stump that 
will destroy the roots and keep them 
from sprouting up 30 or 40 feet from 
the stump? — W. E. M., N. H. 
Prune lower limbs close to trunk 
in a good smooth job. Cut off roots 
dose to or underneath the ground 
■twice a year. Anything applied to 
stop growth would destroy the tree 
<Dr a portion of it. 
Howard Evarts Weed. 
Is hedging advisable for boundaries 
for a cemetery? — J. H. D., O. 
It seems to me very important to 
plant the boundary of a cemetery in 
such a way as to separate it as far 
as possible from surrounding prop- 
erty. A trimmed hedge requires too 
much care, and is forbidding in ap- 
pearance, but a belt of planting made 
up of trees and shrubs may be beau- 
tiful in itself, and serve the purpose 
of a screen. If there is land enough 
so that room can be spared for ever- 
greens, I should advise planting them, 
providing, of course, that soil and at- 
mospheric conditions are favorable. 
If there is a good view from the 
cemetery that should be preserved, 
the boundary planting can be low. 
The cemeteries which seem most un- 
satisfactory to me are those sur- 
rounded with buildings whose occu- 
pants can look directly into the 
grounds, or those which are sur- 
rounded with farm land, from which 
they are separated by an open wire 
fence. O. C. Simonds. 
“Should a park superintendent be re- 
quired to do police duty at all?’’ — J. M. 
P., Cal. 
By no means. A park superintend- 
ent’s duties are many and should not be 
added to by having to perform police 
duty except further than that park po- 
lice should come strictly under his or- 
ders and all directions for the carrying 
out of park ordinances should emanate 
from him. 
John W. Duncan, Supt. of Parks, 
Spokane, Wash. 
“What is the best commission for gov- 
erning park systems? Number on board 
and length of term of office?’’ — J. M. P., 
Cal. 
Of the many forms of park commis- 
sions throughout the country my opin- 
ion is that the self-appointing commis- 
sion, like that of Hartford and some 
other Connecticut cities, is the best. I 
believe that the number on a commis- 
sion, however, should be limited to five 
members, because in all boards of di- 
rectors or committees, no matter how 
large, the number of workers is limited 
to five. A non-paid board of the high- 
est type of citizens gives the most sat- 
isfactory results. A self-appointed board 
after the first appointment by their cre- 
ators appoint their own successors, one 
member’s term expiring every year. 
True, there are many instances where 
single-headed and both large and small 
commissions have done their duty faith- 
fully, earnestly and given excellent re- 
sults, making the parks of their city a 
monument to their efforts, and after all, 
it is not the number of the commission 
or the way it is created, but the men or 
women that compose it that give the re- 
sults. Keep your commissions free 
from politics, let them be composed of 
men or women of the highest type, men 
or women who in short are in sympathy 
with the work, lovers of outdoor life, 
believers in giving to future generations 
every opportunity for outdoor relaxation 
lovers of the beautiful, and your city 
will have a system of parks that will be 
the envy of all visitors and the best as- 
set that has ever been invested in by 
your citizens. 
John W. Duncan, Park Supt., 
Spokane, Wash. 
What is the best way and yet a 
comparatively cheap way to construct 
a gutter along .driveways in cemeter- 
ies? — W. M., Mo. 
The sod gutter for alt cases is much 
to be preferred to brick or stone. Sod 
gutters with catch basins and tile un- 
I 
derdrain to carry water away before it 
accumulates in large quantities are 
gaining in favor. Where Tarvia 
roads are constructed a gutter can be 
formed in connection with the pave- 
ment to meet all requirements. 
Sid j. Hare. 
Is it practicable for a cemetery 
board in a small city to handle slate 
grave vaults? — W. M., Mo. 
This is wholly a problem of the lo- 
cality to be decided by the .demand for 
such grave vaults. I would not con- 
sider it a paying investment to keep 
on hand a supply of vaults necessary 
to meet all demands. The brick grave 
vault, the concrete grave vault, or the 
reinforced concrete case have a place 
in competition with the stone or slate 
grave vaults, the last gaining in favor 
owing to its being more nearly a 
water tight compartment. 
Sid j. Hare. 
Should cemetery officials encourage 
or discourage the building of commun- 
ity mausoleums? — H. A. C., O. 
[Answers to this query are invited 
from any of our readers who have 
opinions, experience or information 
on this subject.] 
Charles W. Cooper, Oakland, Cal., 
in “Popular Mechanics” says: “An 
easy way to kill dandelions in lawns 
is to apply kerosene to the roots of 
the plant. Cut the root about 1 in. 
below the surface and apply a few 
drops of the oil before the earth is 
pressed in place. The plant will not 
grow from a root treated in this man- 
ner.” 
PERSONAL 
A note under this head in the last 
issue stated that the firm of Hare & 
Hare, landscape architects of Kansas 
City, Mo., had succeeded Mr. Geo. E. 
Kessler in the carrying out of the 
park system of that city. To the fact 
of Kansas City being located, as it is, 
in two states, must be charged the 
blunder. The note should have re- 
corded that Hare & Hare succeeded 
Mr. Kessler as landscape architects 
of Kansas City, Kansas. 
Myron H. West, former superintend- 
ent of Lincoln Park, Chicago, who re- 
signed from that position, as noted in 
these pages last month, has formed a 
company for the practice of landscape 
architecture, forestry, landscape engineer- 
ing and outdoor improvements of every 
character. The organization is known 
as the Western Gardening & Forestry 
Co., and has offices at 815 Steinway 
Hall, Chicago. Mr. West is president 
of the company, and H. G. Noble, man- 
( Continued on page X VD 
