PARK AND CEMETERY. 
231 
Newburgh as the “Father of Downing 
Park.” This address will be printed in full 
in an early issue of Park and Cemetery. 
Ogelsby Paul, landscape gardener in 
charge of Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, 
Pa., was to have delivered an illustrated 
lecture on “The Preservation of Natural 
Woodlands Under Park Conditions.” Owing 
to illness, however, Mr. Paul was unable 
to attend. Instead, he sent his manuscript 
and forty-nine slides. The paper was read 
by Herman Merkel, curator of the Bronx 
Park Zoological Gardens in New York. 
The pictures showed various conditions in 
Fairmount Park. The paper will be print- 
; ed in full in a later issue. 
The secretary, J. J. Levison, of Brook- 
| lyn, then gave an illustrated address on the 
' elements required for successful tree cul- 
ture. He divided the subject into five 
parts — first, vegetable humus and the im- 
I portant part it plays in tree growth ; sec- 
; ond, the advantages of close planting as it 
is done in Europe; third, proper treatment 
i of undergrowth; fourth, permanent trees; 
I fifth, insects and diseases which have to be 
j combated. 
! Yielding to an insistent demand from the 
other delegates, President Richards pre- 
< sented an able paper on “Some Present 
| Day Park Problems,” which is printed 
> elsewhere in this department. 
Tuesday, August 25, an early start was 
; made for Mt. Beacon by way of ferry 
■ across the Hudson River and inclined rail- 
i way to the top of the mountain. The 
; grade was very steep and the visitors were 
! relieved when they arrived at the top and 
j looked out upon the matchles panorama of 
j rivers and mountains, cultivated fields, 
j orchards and the cities of Newburgh, Mat- 
j tewan and Fishkill. The mountain is fa- 
i mous as the location of the beacon fires to 
j alarm the residents during the Revolution- 
ary war. The return was made without in- 
cident. 
At 10 a. m. the members and guests 
took the automobiles in waiting and started 
upon a wonderful and long to be remem- 
bered day of sightseeing. The first place 
visited, and perhaps the place of greatest 
interest, was the former home of Andrew 
J. Downing. Once a beautiful building, it 
had for its grounds the whole city block 
cn which it is located. Since his time the 
place has been cut up in city lots and has 
been very much neglected. Both Downings 
were born in the small house to the north 
of this house. The former home of Charles 
J. Downing was built in the ’50s, designed 
by Andrew J. Downing, who also lived 
there about five years with his brother. 
The next place visited was the home of 
T. R. Beal. The Italian garden on this 
place was greatly admired. The home of 
Mrs. A. Delano Hitch attracted much at- 
tention because both house and grounds 
were designed by A. J. Downing. Next 
came the home of James A. Ramsdell. 
The gardens, artificial brook and rock work 
to the south of the house were carefully 
inspected. The flood effects were especially 
fine. Considerable time was spent in the 
old Dutch farmhouse which was occupied 
by George Washington and his family dur- 
ing the Revolutionary war. Downing Park 
was inspected and greatly admired. It is a 
remarkable development, considering the 
comparative short time it has been in the 
making. General Knox’s headquarters, 
erected in 1754, were pointed out. 
After inspecting places of local interest 
the thirty cars sped away southward for 
their thirty-mile run to Mrs. Harriman’s 
estate and Tuxedo Park. Owing to the 
absence of Mrs. Harriman luncheon was 
served at the clubhouse in the park and the 
climb to Mrs. Harriman’s house on the 
hilltop was made later in the afternoon. 
After inspecting the grounds of this won- 
derful estate and enjoying the unequaled 
views on every side the party returned to 
the hotel. The speedometer registered 
nearly 100 miles, every foot of which was 
full of instruction and entertainment for 
those interested in park work. 
In the evening a reception was given the 
members of the association, their guests 
and friends at the factory of the Coldwell 
Lawn Mower Co., and several enjoyable 
hours were spent in dancing and card play- 
ing, supplemented by ample refreshments. 
On Wednesday, August 26, the whole day 
was given over to a trip down the Hudson 
River as the guests of the Hon. George W. 
Perkins, president of the Interstate Park- 
Commission. The first stop was made at 
West Point, where an hour was spent vis- 
iting the grounds and museum of the U. S. 
Military Academy. The next stop was at 
Bear Mountain, in the Interstate Park, 
where a brief address was made by Mr. 
Perkins and a luncheon served precisely as 
it is served to visitors for 35 cents. It 
was an excellent meal for the price and 
was an object lesson for park superintend- 
ents who have restaurants on their 
grounds. 
The address by the Hon. George W. 
Perkins at the Bear Mountain Park was 
listened to with very great interest. He 
said that the Interstate Park Commissions 
virtually controlled the west bank of the 
Hudson River — with the exception of a few 
towns — from opposite New York City to 
Newburgh, a distance of about sixty miles 
— the width of the commissioners’ holdings 
varied from a few hundred feet to sixteen 
miles. At the base of the Palisades there 
was a strip of land along the river front 
for twelve miles, including more land than 
the total area of Central Park. In the im- 
mediate vicinity of Bear Mountain the com- 
missions held about 20,000 acres. The 
commissions consisted of five from New 
Jersey and five from New York and they 
served without compensation. 
Mrs. Harriman had contributed 10,000 
acres of land and $1,000,000. Other public- 
spirited citizens had increased this to $2,- 
500,000, the total fund on hand now being 
about $4,000,000 in bank. 
The object of the park was for people 
who dwelt in the city to get into the coun- 
try and get in close touch with nature. 
At the conclusion of Mr. Perkins’ ad- 
dress Mr. Shea, of Boston, said he was as- 
tonished at the importance and magnitude 
of the work and was glad it was in such 
good hands and thanked Mr. Perkins for 
his hospitality. 
As soon as the steamer started on the 
trip down the river the business meeting ad- 
journed from Monday evening was called 
to order by President H. S. Richards. The 
first business was the election of three new 
members — Messrs. Arthur W. Connell, State 
College, Pennsylvania ; John W. Kernan, 
Lowell, Mass., and Eckert, superin- 
tendent of Niagara Falls Reservation. 
John Dunbar, of Rochester, N. Y., was 
elected an honorary member. 
William J. Zartmann moved that Park 
and Cemetery be sent only to those who 
had paid their dues for the current year. 
After some discussion it was so voted. 
The annual election was then held, re- 
sulting in the choice of Gustave X. Am- 
rhyn, New Haven, Conn., for president; 
for vice-presidents, Herman Merkel, of 
New York; John McLaren, San Francisco; 
Charles Haible, of Newburgh, N. Y. ; J. 
H. Prost, Chicago, 111. : Carl V. Fohn, Col- 
orado Springs, Colo., and John Hender- 
son, of Montreal, Canada; for secretary 
and treasurer, R. W. Cotterill, of Seattle, 
Wash. 
It was unanimously decided to hold the 
next convention in San Francisco, Cal. In- 
vitations were received from San Fran- 
cisco, Chicago, Dayton, O., Terre Haute, 
Ind., St. Louis, ’ Galveston, Tex., and Chat- 
tanooga Tenn. 
The matter of trade exhibits at the con- 
ventions was suggested, but aroused con- 
siderable opposition and no action was 
taken in the matter. 
It was moved that a letter of thanks be 
sent to Mrs. Harriman. 
A vote of thanks was tendered the re- 
tiring secretary, J. J. Levison, of Brook- 
lyn, N. Y. 
L. D. Cox, of Los Angeles, Cal., invited 
the visitors to the next convention when on 
the coast to spend a day in that city. 
F. L. Mulford, of Washington, D. C., 
distributed blanks and requested reports 
from members regarding the dates of bud- 
ding, blooming, etc., of trees and shrubs. 
The retiring president called the officers- 
elect to the front and introduced them to 
the members, after which the meeting was 
adjourned. 
The steamer arrived in New York at 7 
p. m. 
