PARK AND CEMETERY 
AND 
LANDSCAPE 
GARDENING 
PUBLISHED BY ALLIED ARTS PUBLISHING COMPANY 
R. J. HAIGHT, President 
H. C. WHITAKER, Vice-President and General Manager 
O. H. SAMPLE, Secretary-Treasurer 
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$2.50 a year. Single copies, 25 cents. Published on the 15th of the month. Copy for advertisements and reading matter should reach us by the first of the month. 
DECEMBER, 1914 
EDITORIAL 
VOL. XXIV No. 10 
Cemetery Removal Defeated in San Francisco 
It will be recalled that in years past interments in the old cem- 
eteries within the city limits of San Francisco were forbidden. 
Recently an ordinance was passed by the Board of Supervisors 
ordering the removal of the bodies from the four cemeteries, Cal- 
vary, Laurel Hill, Masonic and Odd Fellows, subject to the ap- 
proval of the voters at the polls. The ordinance was vigorously 
opposed and was defeated by a majority of over 25,000 votes. 
The Cemetery Protective Association, the Society of California 
Pioneers and other organizations opposed the plan and advocated 
the preservation of the old cemeteries as parks. Frank L. Fen- 
ton, Mills Bldg., San Francisco, secretary of the Cemetery Pro- 
tective Association, writes as follows regarding the campaign 
against the plan : “For two years past the people of San Fran- 
cisco had been educated up to the idea by the improvement clubs 
that the cemeteries must be removed. The ordinance gave a cer- 
tain time within which the removals must be made by the cemetery 
associations, and if not done within that time, the Board of 
Health of the city would undertake to remove the bodies and 
assess the charges against the plot owners. Our campaign lasted 
two months. I think there were three chief factors that in- 
fluenced voters in defeating the removal of the cemeteries, viz : 
Sentiment and respect for the dead ; the short time allowed for 
removal under the ordinance; the heavy financial burden that it 
would impose upon the plot owners and the cemetery associations.” 
The Downtown Association, an organization which favored the 
removal ordinance, gave the following reasons in its favor : “The 
cemeteries are located in a progressive and thickly populated por- 
tion of the city and thereby retard the general improvement of the 
district. The cemeteries have been in disuse and allowed to de- 
teriorate for want of care for more than fourteen years. Totally 
neglected and unguarded, they offer a refuge to loitering and sus- 
picious characters. The cemetery lands are exempt from taxation 
and, unimproved, represents an estimated value positively exceed- 
ing $7,000,000, and in all probability reaching $10,000,000. The con- 
tinually increasing valuation of the now non-assessable cemetgry 
improvements on the land, and the further increase of the prop- 
erty from Fillmore street to the ocean, would add to the city’s 
assessed valuation, upward of $50,000,000 thereby adding at least 
$500,000 to the tax receipts annually.” 
Experimental Landscape Work 
The arboriculturist of the State College of Forestry at Syra- 
cuse, N. Y., who is a graduate landscape engineer, is making tree 
surveys of a number of communities in the state as a part of the 
extension work in forestry of the college. From these tree sur- 
veys will result planting plans and suggestions for beautification 
not only of streets and parks, but the grounds of public buildings 
in the various communities. Following this advisory work the 
arborculturist of the college will give illustrated lectures for the 
purpose of letting the people of the communities know how much, 
work of this kind means to civic development and beautification. 
Too little attention is being paid to trees along our country roads, 
in school yards and on playgrounds about the state. Systematic 
effort is being made by the college to interest the people of 
various communities in this work. During the past month the 
arboriculturist has made reconnaissance tree surveys in New Ro- 
chelle, Newburgh, Olean and in Binghamton, and the work will 
be continued as rapidly as possible over the state. 
The American Rose Society last spring completed arrange- 
ments to co-operate with the United States Department of Agri- 
culture in establishing a rose garden at the nation’s capital. This 
garden is to contain as complete a collection of roses as will grow 
out of doors in this section of America. The society is furnish- 
ing the roses, while the department has set aside two acres of 
ground at its Arlington farm for the garden, which will be under 
the direction of federal horticultural specialists. The farm is in 
Virginia, just across the Potomac from the city of Washington 
and convenient to the Washington-Virginia trolley line. The gar- 
den already contains about 320 varieties, but there are many hun- 
dred kinds not yet included, and eventually the site can accom- 
modate as many as 2,000 varieties if they can be secured. The 
garden is already laid out and makes an interesting show place 
for visitors to Washington. Teas and hybrid teas, for instance, 
have a bed to themselves as do hybrid perpetuals. As far as is 
practicable, roses are arranged according to color. Arbors are 
being planned to increase the attractiveness of the garden, and 
these will be in place next spring. Any grower of roses who 
thinks he may have roses not already in the national collection 
has been invited by the American Rose Society to contribute a 
sample plant. Correspondence concerning such plants should be 
sent to Alexander Cumming, Jr., of Cromwell, Conn., who is 
chairman of the society’s Committee on Gardens. Either Mr. 
Cumming or the Department of Agriculture will supply a plan of 
the garden and a list of varieties already grown to the interested 
rosarian who applies for them. 
Editorial Notes 
To make Portland truly the city of roses the Municipal Park 
Bureau, of Portland, Ore., has arranged to distribute 25,000 year- 
ling rose bushes to all who will agree to plant them in the parking 
strips along the streets in front of their residences. The distribu- 
tion has begun and the plants will be delivered by the Park Bureau 
free of charge immediately upon notification in writing, provided 
the seekers agree to stipulations imposed by the bureau. Superin- 
tendent of Parks Convill and Landscape Architect E. T. Mische 
have worked out a plan for the planting of the rose bushes to 
secure a proper color scheme. 
An interesting experiment in social service in the parks is be- 
ing tried in Hartford, Conn., in providing work for the unemployed 
in the improvement of the parks. Mr. George A. Parker, superin- 
tendent of parks, has studied out the conditions of the work very 
carefully and the experiment will be watched with much interest. 
It is not intended that this shall represent either a permanent or 
an efficient method of park development. Park men will at once 
recognize many reasons both for and against the plan. The regu- 
lations governing the work as outlined by Mr. Parker on another 
page should be carefully studied and the results carefully weighed 
before a final opinion is given as to the success or failure of this 
experiment in park sociology. 
