PARK AND CEMETERY. 
688 
achusetts Trustees of Public Reser- 
vations, and the objects of the two 
bodies are the same. 
“Although Hancock County in- 
cludes a large area on the mainland, 
it is the Island of Mt. Desert which 
is the chief ornament and asset of 
the county; and it is upon this island 
that the Trustees of Public Reserva- 
tions have acquired all the lands they 
now hold. They have already ac- 
quired large areas upon Green, Dry, 
and Newport Mountains, and several 
of the smaller hills which lie about 
them. It is the policy of the trus- 
tees to acquire the tops of hills and 
mountains and their steep slopes, — 
particularly those which form the 
water-sheds of public supplies for 
the inhabited shores of the island.. 
They do not acquire any lands which 
could be used either for habitation 
or cultivation, or anjr lands which 
could be reached by public water sup- 
plies, considering it for the public 
interest that all arable or habitable 
lands should be used commercially, 
and remain liable to taxation. The 
operations of the trustees have al- 
ready been carried far enough to 
make it sure that Mt. Desert Island 
will remain a health and pleasure re- 
sort through centuries, its wild scen- 
ery and its safe water supplies being 
preserved and improved. No oppo- 
sition whatever has arisen to the pro- 
ceedings of the trustees and all the 
dwellers on the island hope that the 
trustees may acquire the greater part 
of the uninhabitable areas in the 
eastern half of the island and some 
of the finest spots in the western 
half.” 
Other reservations in the nature of 
State Parks have recently been made 
in New England but definite infor- 
mation with regard to them is not 
yet obtainable. 
The achievements of some other 
states are equally encouraging. New 
York has a notable, even if incom- 
plete and threatened, possession at 
Niagara Falls. It has a good park 
in the Adirondack Mountains, in 
Watkins Glen, and Stony Point, in 
the great gorge of the Genesee Riv- 
er, and in co-operation with New 
Jersey, an extremely useful reserva- 
tion in the Palisades of the Hudson 
River, which, in the acceptance of the 
recent offer of Mrs. E. H. Harriman 
and others will be extended to in- 
clude 25,000 acres or more, making it 
the largest and noblest of all the 
state parks and one of the finest pub- 
lic reservations in the world. Mrs. 
E. H. Harriman, in compliance with 
the wishes of her late husband, off- 
ered the State of New York for a 
state park 10,000 acres of beautiful 
land on the Hudson near her home 
and a million dollars. To this munif- 
icent gift, John D. Rockefeller and 
J. Pierpont Morgan have added a 
half million dollars each"; others have 
subscribed sums that will bring the 
total to over two and a half million 
dollars. These gifts have been ac- 
cepted by the people of the State of 
New York, appropriating another two 
and a half million dollars, making 
five million dollars in all, and 10,000 
acres of land for the extension of the 
Palisades Park. The proposal is 
magnificent in itself and illustrates 
the great appeal that state parks will 
make both to individuals of wealth 
and to the people of the states. Ex- 
Governor Hughes gave his hearty 
endorsement to this project and rec- 
ommended the appropriation by the 
state of the sum asked for, the 
money to be p’-ovided by the issue 
of state bonds. 
California, not content with the big 
national parks within its borders, has 
invested $250,000 in a state park near 
Boulder Creek, thereby acquiring a 
sample of redwoods as they have been 
for 10,000 years and one which may 
be preserved for all time to come. 
Michigan possesses in the Mack- 
inac Island State Park one of the 
great historical and scenic parks of 
the United States. A resort of im- 
portance for over 100 years and to- 
day with the care given, it is fast be- 
coming known throughout the world. 
The Mackinac Island State Park con- 
tains 1,041 acres of which 500 are 
covered with hardwood, 400 acres 
spruce, cedar, hemlock and other soft 
woods, and the balance cleared land. 
Old Fort Mackinac built in 1780 
with its 35 buildings comprises part 
of the park. Throughout the park 
are drives, paths and trails, all of 
which are kept in the best of con- 
dition. Minnesota, Kansas, and one 
or two other states, I believe, have 
shown regard for some of their na- 
tural resources by making public 
reservations of beautiful and inter- 
esting scenery. 
But in state parks the real lead, 
so far as policy is concerned, must 
be accorded to Wisconsin. This is 
not surprising, for the people of that 
Commonwealth have a reputation for 
sound and progressive ideas and an 
unusual devotion to measures which 
promise to promote the common wel- 
fare. Three years ago, in accordance 
with the action of the state legisla-. 
ture, the governor appointed a state 
park board of three members. That 
board with its landscape adviser 
made a systematic examination of 
Wisconsin’s resources in scenery, 
with the well-defined purpose of se- 
curing for the people what was best 
and most distinctive. The report was 
presented to the legislature and a 
liberal appropriation made to enable 
the state park board to begin the 
acquisition of land. 
Some 3,800 acres in Door County, 
Wisconsin, including eight miles of 
shore line with a number of deep 
water harbors, have already been ac- 
quired. It is a wild and as yet un- 
spoiled tract, with alternating inter- 
ests of woodland and cliff, bay and 
land. The Board has also begun the 
acquisition of Devil’s Lake and the 
forest land around it to the extent of 
5,000 or 6,000 acres. Devil’s Lake 
meets adequately all the require- 
ments of State Parks. It possesses 
also scientific interest — geological, 
archaeological, botanical — to a degree 
that can scarcely be duplicated in 
Wisconsin. 
To the Door County State Park 
and Devils Lake. Wisconsin will 
prooably add later the Dells of the 
Wisconsin River, in many respects 
the most characteristic and , precious 
possession of the State in the form 
of natural scenery, and a tract on 
the Mississippi River near the his- 
toric city of Prairie du Chien. The 
Park on the Mississippi, if finally 
selected, will probably include about 
2,700 acres, 1,720 acres of high land 
on the ridge and 1,000 acres virtual- 
ly level with the river. 
These four sites — Eagle’s Bluff in 
Door County, Devil’s Lake, The 
Dells of the Wisconsin, and the Miss- 
issippi River reservation — are not the 
only ones in Wisconsin suitable for 
State Parks. Other sites, such as 
Thunder Mountain, Blue Mounds 
and Platte Mounds, are all worthy 
of consideration. But the four named 
by the State Park Board are pecu- 
liarly fit for immediate acquisition 
and development. 
The justification of State Parks may 
be summed up as follows: (1) They 
would, in many cases, in common 
with the forest reservations, the 
great economic value of which is 
now unquestioned, preserve and pro- 
tect just so much more of the wood- 
land of the State and the stream flow 
dependent upon it. They would pro- 
vide the best method of preserving 
places of historical and scientific in- 
terest. (3) They would give an 
economic return from tourists and 
visitors. Providing for tourist travel 
has become a large and important 
