PARK AND CEMETERY 
AND LANDSCAPE GARDENING 
Vol. XXI Chicago, November, 1911 No. 9 
The American Civic Association 
The Seventh Annual Convention of the American Civic 
Association will be held at the new Willard Hotel, Wash- 
ington, D. C., December 13-15, 1911. A very full program 
is being arranged, and addresses will be made and dis- 
cussions held upon such subjects as “National, State and 
City Parks,” “City Planning,” to the finer details of 
Neighborhood and Home improvement, to the Smoke 
and Billboard nuisances and to the House Fly problem. 
The Association has become such a power in the direc- 
tions in which it applies its energies as emergencies 
arise, that its annual conventions and conferences be- 
come important affairs in the national progress for the 
betterment of our American humanit}". As we look back 
upon the influence for effective treatment of the great 
subjects coming within its sphere, such as the Preser- 
vation of Niagara Falls, the Appalachian National Park, 
the Billboard campaign, etc., it is pretty welb assured that 
the coming convention and conference will afford am- 
ple stimulus both for reflection and activity on the lines 
which will probably be suggested for new or continued 
service in a great and good cause, and one of growing 
importance. 
NS Ng 
Goad J Work for Florists and Nurserymen 
There is possibly no more promising field at present 
for a campaign of education than that of the trees, for 
with the general public v/hat knowledge it possesses is 
too superficial as a rule to- even protect itself against the 
unscrupulous salesman, and it is therefore in large meas- 
ure practically dependent upon the nurser 3 unan for the 
information necessary to assure success in the grow- 
ing of the trees after purchase. Herein lies a pretty 
strong suggestion for the nurseryman and florist who 
can if he wills it, through his local press and personal 
efforts, so improve the knowledge of the community that 
as a result his business will be largely increased and the 
development of his neighborhood not only encouraged 
but hastened. That this is a course of wisdom on the 
part of the nurseryman we have positive evidence be- 
fore us from a Texas florist, and the good spirit in 
which, in this instance, the local press has co-operated 
in the matter, would lead to the conclusion that such 
information as the local nurseryman can give to his 
neighborhood through the columns of his local paper 
or papers, is as welcome to the wide-awake publishers 
as to the people, and the co-operation thus brought about 
is profitable to all concerned. As we suggested above 
practical information is what is really needed by the 
majority of purchasers of trees and shrubs, and no one 
is better qualified to give that information than the local 
nurseryman and florist; of course we are speaking of the 
ordinary property owner, who would in all probability 
cheerfully improve his home by shade trees and shrub- 
bery had he sufficient confidence in himself to launch 
out on the proposition. Here’s where the nurseryman 
comes in! / . 
Indoor Attendance at the Small Parks 
Some interesting figures are given in the latest report 
of the Chicago South Park Commissioners on the at- 
tendance in the Assembly Halls and Club Rooms of the 
Small Parks under their jurisdiction. 'In the Assembly 
Halls of the eight Small Parks having such lialls, the 
total attendance for the year 1910 was 270,798; the high- 
est being in February, 38,333, and the lowest in August, 
3,608. This would not make a fair average for only in 
the three summer months did the attendance fall below 
21,500. Ten of the small parks have Club Rooms, and 
the total attendance for them for the year 1910 was 
65,580, the lowest being for August again, 3,500, and the 
highest in February, 9,859. This is a speaking argument 
in favor of the indoor features of the small park. 
N? 
Community Mausoleums 
The great showman Barnum often said he did not care 
what the papers said about his show, so long as they 
mentioned his name. That was advertising and advertis- 
ing was what he was after. This may also be true of 
the promoters of the so-called community mausoleum 
proposition which is attracting so much attention in the 
Middle West. The commercializing of the care of the 
dead has naturally met with opposition, both from ceme- 
tery superintendents and monument dealers, and their 
objections have resulted in considerable nev/spaper dis- 
cussion. A recent prospectus has been brought to our 
attention, in which very attractive inducements are being 
held out to prospective investors by the community mau- 
soleum companies, and with such alluring propositions, 
it is not at all surprising that people of get-rich-quick 
temperament can be found to take them up. In refer- 
ence, however, to such broad statements as to the num- 
ber of mausoleums built and crypts sold, it may be left 
to residents in the localities where mausoleums have 
been erected to determine their accuracy. Their prophecy 
as to present methods of burial becoming in the near 
future, barbaric, borders on the ludicrous. The follow- 
ing are some of the figures, etc., given in the prospectus 
alluded to above: 
‘Alausoleums containing 1,000 crypts can be built for 
about $80 a crypt or $80,000. To this is to be added 
$20,000 for perpetual maintenance, a lot and selling ex- 
pense, which brings the gross cost of a mausoleum up 
to about $120,000. Crypts in Chicago and other cities 
will sell for $250; and private rooms containing ten crypts 
each for $50,000 more, making gross sales of $300,000 (more 
or less) for each mausoleum. Deducting the $120,000 ex- 
pense, leaves a net profit of $180,000 on each mausoleum, 
which is 6 per cent on the capital stock of the company 
for every mausoleum of 1,000 crypts. * * * The com- 
pany has already erected 300 mausoleums. Sixty-six of 
them contain core than 17,000 crypts, practically all of 
which have been sold. These are mostly m small towns 
whose aggregate population is 800,000, onlj^ about one- 
third that of Chicago and Cook County. * * * \Ye 
shall advertise the mausoleum idea and it won’t be long 
before burial in graves will be considered as barbaric and 
not to be thought of by any but the ignorant and indififer- 
ent.” 
