150 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
PARK SUPERINTENDENTS AT BOSTON 
In our last issue which went to 
press just as the convention of the 
American Association of Park Super- 
intendents was being held, August 12, 
13 and 14, we gave an outline of the 
principal business transacted, includ- 
ing the election of officers and new 
members and the amendment of the 
constitution. 
Following are some additional de- 
tails which serve to complete the re- 
port of these very interesting ses- 
sions : 
At the evening meeting of the first 
day E. H. Wilson gave a very in- 
teresting stereopticon lecture on his 
trip to China in search of trees and 
shrubs which are capable of thriving 
in the New England States. He said 
that in the Arboretum there are 1,100 
such plants being tested and prophe- 
sied that within a few years the city 
may contain many new varieties of 
plants. 
J. J. Levison, of Brooklyn, N. Y., 
also gave an interesting stereopticon 
lecture on Prospect Park, Brooklyn. 
He showed many colored slides of Prospect 
Park, Brooklyn, and park and street trees 
from all over the world. After illustrating 
the numerous ways in which parks benefit 
the citizen, he proceeded to show the edu- 
cational value of the city tree and indicated 
the various steps taken by him to bring the 
parks of his city closer to the people. These 
consisted mainly of labels placed on the 
representative specimen trees in the parks, 
the publication of “tree guides,’’ the' forma- 
tion of “tree clubs,’’ popular lectures, pam- 
phlets, etc. 
By means of a series of slides showing 
localities without trees or ones with a. poor 
mixture of decrepit specimens in contrast 
with well planted streets and beautiful park 
vistas, he showed the aesthetic value of 
trees and the need of further planting. Here 
he touched on the future importance of for- 
est or natural parks in cities. He said they 
were fast coming into favor, and by means 
of pictures he showed how a bit of neglected 
woodland could be turned into a beautiful, 
soft, forest scene. He thought Franklin Park 
in Boston presented many interesting prob- 
lems along these lines worthy of emulation. 
In the matter of planting, he urged the 
use of smaller sized trees, especially in the 
parks. Many use trees four and five inches 
in diameter and these are not only ex- 
pensive, but cost more in handling and don’t 
take so well as the smaller specimens. Among 
the species suitable for street planting in 
the vicinity of New York City, he included 
the Norway maple, the oriental sycamore, 
the American, English and Scotch elm, and 
the red oak. The European linden and pin 
oak make fine shade trees, but are better 
suited for suburban sections of the city. 
The Ginkgo makes a fine clean shade tree 
OFFICERS ELECTED AT 
BOSTON 
President, James B. Shea, Boston 
Honorary President, Chas E. Keith, 
(deceased), Bridgeport, Conn. 
Secretary-Treasurer, J. J. Levison, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Next Convention at Denver 
when mature. The silver maple and poplar 
are among those to be avoided for street 
planting. The sugar maple is all right in 
country towns, but is fast dying from ex- 
cessive evaporation in all the larger cities. 
Mr. Levison also urged uniformity in all 
street tree planting — uniformity of species 
on the same street, uniformity in size and 
uniformity in spacing. He thought munici- 
pal control of all street tree planting is the 
only way cf attaining these results, but he 
pointed out that where the street tree plant- 
ing is left to the individual, as happened to 
be the case in Brooklyn, he gets fair results 
by forming local tree planting societies and 
having them club together for the purpose 
of planting their streets uniformly. 
In speaking of the care of trees, Mr. Levi- 
son pointed out the folly of over-pruning, 
which he said was a common tendency. He 
showed contrasting pictures of streets lined 
with trees properly and improperly pruned 
and pointed out the fundamental principles 
of the work. 
In the matter of insects he urged the ap- 
plication of insecticides at an early date 
while the insects were still young and sus- 
ceptible to the poison. The Gypsy and 
Browntail moths, the Leopard moth, the 
Tussock moth, the elm leaf beetle, the hick- 
ory bark borer, the sugar maple borer, and 
the elm and oyster shell scales were among 
the worst insect pests of park and street 
trees in the country. He said that the tree 
committee of the Park Superintendents’ As- 
sociation, with the co-operation of the mem- 
bers of the association, promises some inter- 
esting data on this subject. 
On the subject of tree disease, he talked 
of the chestnut disease and explained the 
futility of trying to save infested trees. 
Trees killed by this disease he said should 
be cut down and the wood utilized for poles, 
posts, ties and lumber. The treatment of 
cavities was discussed in full and Mr. Levi- 
son thought that the work in most cases was 
unjustified, especially as applied to park 
work where economic and practical con- 
siderations come above sentiment. It is only 
right to fill in cases where the diseased 
portion of the cavity can be entirely elimi- 
nated and the filling can serve the purpose 
of keeping out water, and where the cavity 
is small, but where the chisel and gouge 
can do the work as well without the cement, 
avoid the cement, and where the tree is too 
far gone, cut it down and plant another. 
The Convention was called to order 
at 9:30 the next morning by President 
Dunn, and Secretary Mulford read the 
names of the recommendations for 
active membership as follows: 
L. D. Cox, Los Angeles, Cal., Landscape 
Architect. 
Alexander Cummings, Hartford, Conn., 
Head Gardener, Park Dept. 
D. Henry Sullivan, Boston, 
Public Grounds. 
Mass., 
Supt. 
J. F. Macpherson, Springfield, 111., 
Parks. 
Supt. 
Henry J. Moore, Niagara 
Landscape Gardener. 
Palls, 
Ont., 
C. C. Laney, Rochester, 
Parks. 
N. Y„ 
Supt. 
Ernest Ivettig, Louisville, 
Parks. 
Ky„ 
Supt. 
G. H. Hollister, Hartford, 
Conn., 
At st. 
Supt. Kaney Park. 
E. Bernadet, Montreal, Can., Supt. La- 
fontaine Park. 
Roland Cotterill, Secretary Park Board, 
Seattle. 
All were elected by a unanimous vote. 
Those who were elected to Special 
membership are as follows: 
J. J. Brown, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Park 
Commission. 
John K. M. L. Farquhar, Boston, Mass. 
Frederick W. Kelsey, New York City, N. 
Y. 
John T. Withers, Jersey City, N. J., Land- 
scape Architect. 
A. P. Wyman, Minneapolis, Minn., Land- 
scape Architect. 
After a lengthy discussion as to the 
place of next meeting a suggestion 
was made by Mr. Worthen that the 
Association vote on the question. The 
vote was as follows: 
Denver, 29: New York, 1; Newburgh, 
21; New Orleans, 1; St. Louis, 1. 
The next convention will according- 
ly be held in Denver, Colo. 
At this point of the meeting Mr. 
Shea entered accompanied by John F. 
Fitzgerald, Mayor of Boston, who ad- 
dressed the members in a very cordial 
manner, as follows: 
“Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentle- 
men: I suppose that my word of welcome 
is but a mere formality because you have 
been here for more than twenty-four hours 
and have already received a very hearty 
welcome to this old city of ours. I think 
that this organization was founded as a re- 
sult of the efforts of one of the foremost 
men in the park department in the form of 
Mr. John A. Pettigrew, former superintend- 
ent of the Park Department of Boston thir- 
teen years ago when Boston had the honor 
of having the Convention meet in this city. 
Because of the great work that you have 
done since your organization, I think that 
the Park departments throughout the coun- 
try should be pleased. It is a fact that 
Boston has a larger area of parks from any 
standpoint than any city in the United 
States. No city is better fitted with parks 
than the city in which you are today. It 
has 11,000 acres of parks and public ground 
within a radius of 10 miles of the State 
House, which is the center of Boston, which 
is a larger area than the great cities of New 
York and Chicago have for their Park systems. 
Boston has been the leader for a great many 
years. I feel that it is the business of 
