240 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
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The American Park Builders, of Chi- 
cago, have completed a park of some 
twenty acres for the city of LaPorte, 
Indiana. The park was designed and 
built under contract, the company ren- 
dering bond for the faithful per- 
formance of the work the same as 
would be the case of a construction 
company installing a building. All 
the features of the park were in- 
cluded in the contract, such as the 
erection of buildings, installation of 
walks, water, drainage and electric light- 
ing systems. -This company has also re- 
cently completed a twenty acre park for 
the Fernwood Park District of Chicago, 
Illinois, and have made plans for three 
parks for the Park Board of Mishawa- 
ka, Indiana. This is a portion of the 
work involved in a comprehensive city 
plan being developed for that city by 
the company. 
The annual report of the Park 
Commissioners of Brookline, Mass., 
issued on January 1, 1912, gives more 
encouraging details relative to the 
control of the destructive insect pests. 
The gypsy moth, the tree beetle and 
the brown tail moth were still the 
most persistent and dangerous, but 
intelligent and well directed efforts 
have brought them under control and 
kept them from doing serious injury. 
So far as the gypsy moth is con- 
cerned, nothing but continued energy 
will effectually control it wherever it 
may become established, as no enemy 
has yet been discovered to check its 
ravages. A marked improvement in 
the use of the playgrounds by the 
children was noticeable, due unques- 
tionably to the introduction of syste- 
matized play under competent direc- 
tion, which everywhere it has been 
tried has resulted in immediate im- 
provement. An interesting experi- 
ment, and a most successful one, was 
the flooding of the Cypress street 
playground in winter, to form an out- 
door skating area. The report is in- 
teresting also from the fact that it 
promised increased facilities in park 
and playground development for this 
year. 
President Taft has issued proclama- 
tions changing the boundaries of the 
Missoula and Madison National For- 
ests, Montana. From the former 
4,960 acres are eliminated and from 
the latter 68,140 acres. This is the 
result of field examinations which the 
Department of Agriculture has been 
making in pursuance of a general plan 
to correct the National Forest bound- 
ary lines. The public lands within the 
areas were by the same proclamation 
withdrawn for classification under the 
Act of June 25, 1910, to be restored to 
settlement and entry at the discretion 
of the Secretary of the Interior. 
Property lying across a river may be 
assessed for taxes in the construction 
of a park although a stream separates it 
from the place improved, according to 
a recent decision of the Minnesota State 
Supreme Court in the case involving 
the assessment of lands acquired as an 
enlargement of Riverside Park in Min- 
neapolis. James Everington brought 
suit to restrain the board of park com- 
missioners from assessing his property 
across the Mississippi from Riverside. 
The lower court refused his petition and 
the Supreme Court sustains the ruling. 
The present design of Madison Square 
Park is not suitable for the heart of 
the city, declares Mr. Charles Downing 
Lay, landscape architect of the New 
York City Park Board, in a communi- 
cation to Commissioner Stover. He rec- 
ommends a complete change of the park 
and outlines many radical departures. 
In explaining the new design Mr. Lay 
says that when the park was laid out 
in 1871, it was in the heart of a resi- 
dential district. 
The Park Board of Racine, Wis., asks 
for a fund of $40,000 to carry on the 
park work in 1913. 
The Superintendent of Yosemite 
Park, Calif., in his annual report to 
Washington, recommends that the gov- 
ernment acquire all private holdings, 
amounting to some 20,000 acres, consist- 
ing in the main of timber claims, in 
that national park. 
An appropriation of $25,000 has been 
asked of the City Council of Colorado 
Springs, Colo., by the Hillside Improve- 
ment Association, for the purpose of 
transforming Prospect Lake into a civic 
center with surroundings of spacious 
lawns, flower plots and broad driveways 
through a natural forest of maples, oaks 
and elms, while on the shore will be 
erected a large pavilion for public meet- 
ings and a boat house for recreation 
seekers. 
By the will of Dr. Frank J. Parker, 
who died about two months ago in New 
York City, the town of Branford, Conn., 
is to get the Branford Point House 
property for use as a public park and 
playground. The Branford Point prop- 
erty is said to be worth $30,000, and be- 
sides the hotel, there are 12 acres of 
land. The hotel property stands on the 
harbor front in Branford in one of the 
most delightful spots along the east 
shore. 
The growing tendency to utilize school 
buildings for social centers has prompt- 
ed Mr. F. W. Matthiessen of La Salle, 
111., to contribute $75,000 for the erec- 
tion of a Recreation Building in that 
city, and also the two lots lying directly 
north of the present building as a site 
for the new structure. 
During the last year $62,361.33 was 
expended by the city of Dallas, Tex., on 
its public parks, according to the annual 
statement of Superintendent Vinnedge 
The report of Secretary J. A. Ridge- 
way of the Minneapolis, Minn., Park 
Board, says that the board spent $614,- 
128 for improvements in the parks this 
year. The total includes an expenditure 
of $96,766.61 for land, $253,366.16 gen- 
eral improvements and $263,995.64 for 
special acquisitions. In general improve- 
ments, Logan park received the heaviest 
expenditure, $24,169.11, the new field 
house,- which will be dedicated in three 
weeks, taking up a good part of this 
sum. Improvements around the north- 
west shore of Lake Calhoun made the 
greatest tax on the board’s appropria- 
tions this year and, with the opening of 
the new Calhoun bathhouse, swelled such 
expenses to $102,605.55. Street tree 
planting cost $13,899.54. More than 2,- 
000 trees were planted along Minneapo- 
lis streets this year. 
An auto tour of the recently improved 
parks, playgrounds and boulevards, made 
by the St. Louis, Mo., City Plan Com- 
mission, has demonstrated the need of a 
chain of boulevards to connect the parks 
of St. Louis. 
At the luncheon for business men re- 
cently given at the Y. M. C. A., of 
Clinton, la., under the auspices of the 
Clinton Commercial club. Dr. B. C. 
Knudson gave an interesting address on 
the subject of parks and play grounds 
in which he declared that “A park sys- 
tem is needed in Clinton and we must 
have it.” 
The remodeling of the old menagerie 
at Roger Williams Park, Providence, R. 
T., for use as an aquarium has been un- 
der discussion by the City Council com- 
mittee on parks. The committee was 
favorably disposed to the establishment 
of an aquarium and the Park Commis- 
sioners were directed to secure figures 
and estimates of the expense which 
would be involved in the remodeling 
of the old building. It is believed that 
an aquarium at the park would be very 
much appreciated by both residents 
and visitors. 
