38 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
Park Construction. 
In an instructive article on “Parks, Parkways 
and Pleasure Grounds” in The Engineering Maga- 
zine, Mr. F. Law Olmsted discusses the necessity 
and object of public pleasure grounds, their sever- 
al types, the functions they fulfill and considers the 
subject under the heads of Government, Sites and 
Boundaries, General Plans or Designs and Construc- 
tion, in the able way his large experience would 
promise. The following reprint on the subject of 
Park Construction gives some valuable suggestions: 
“That the man who thinks out the general plan 
of a park ought to have daily supervision of the 
working-out of that plan is undoubtedly theoretic- 
ally true. It is impossible to represent in drawings 
all the nice details in good work in grading and 
planting, and yet no work is more dependent for 
its effect upon finishing touches. 
“On the other hand, however desirable the con- 
stant oversight of the landscape architect may be, 
it is impracticable under modern conditions. The 
education of a designer of parks consumes so much 
time, strength, and money that no existing Ameri- 
can park commission, unless it be that of New 
York, can as yet afford to engage the whole time 
of a competent man. Consequently, it is the usu- 
al practice for the landscape architect to present his 
design in the form of a drawn ng or drawings, and 
to supplement the drawings by occasional visits for 
conference with those in immediate charge, by de- 
scriptive reports, and by correspondence. 
“The prime requisite in the resident superin- 
tendent of park work is efficiency. Naturally 
enough, most of the superintendents of parks in the 
United States have been trained either as horticul- 
turists or as engineers, but it is not necessary or 
even desirable that such should be the case. Prob- 
ably the best results will be achieved by men who, 
possessing the organizing faculty and a realizing 
sense of the importance of their work, shall, with 
the assistance of an engineer and a plantsman, la- 
bor to execute faithful designs which they thor- 
oughly understand and approve. 
“Most men of specialized training, such as ar- 
chitects, engineers, and all grades of horticulturists, 
stand in need of an awakening before they are re- 
ally competent to have to do with park work. Each 
has to learn that his building, his bridge or road, 
his tree or flower, which he has been accustomed to 
think of as an end in itself, is, in the park, only a 
means auxiliary and contributive to a larger end, — 
namely, the general landscape. It is hard for most 
gardeners to forego the use of plants which, howev- 
er lovely or marvelous they may be as individuals, 
are only blots in landscape. It is hard for most en- 
gineers to conform their ideas of straightforward 
construction to a due regard for appearance and 
the preservation of the charm of scenery. Neatness 
of finish in slopes adjacent to roads is not sufficient; 
such slopes must be contrived so as to avoid form- 
ality and all likeness to railroad cuts or fills. Road 
lines and grades which may be practicable in the 
ordinary world are to be avoided in the park, be- 
cause the pleasure of the visitor is the one object 
held in view. Roads, walls, bridges, water-supply, 
drainage, and grading, — such of these works as 
may be necessary are to be executed with all tech- 
nical skill, as in the outer world; but the engineer 
in charge should be a man who will see to it that 
the work is done with constant regard to the object 
of a park as distinguished from the object of a city 
street or square or railroad. 
“Similarly, the park planter should be a man 
capable of holding fast to the idea that the value of 
a rural park consists in landscape, and not in gar- 
dening or the exhibition of specimen plants. Guid- 
ed by this idea, he will avoid such absurd traces of 
formality as the too common practice of planting 
trees in rows beside curving driveways. In devis- 
ing necessary plantations he will give preference to 
native plants, without avoiding exotics of kinds 
w'hich blend easily. Thus, where a banana would 
be out of place, the equally foreign barberry, pri- 
vet, or buckthorn may be admissible and useful. 
Influenced by the same principle, he will confine 
flower-gardening to the secluded garden, for which 
space may perhaps be found in some corner of the 
park. 
“If men can be found who will thus co-operate 
with park commissioners to the end that the lands 
and landscapes which the latter hold in trust shall 
be cared for and made available in strict accord- 
ance with that trust, excellent results can be hoped 
for in American parks. As before remarked, men 
who are capable of such work may certainly be 
trusted to construct and manage town places — 
squares, playgrounds, and the like — with due 
regard to their special purposes and to the sat- 
isfaction of all concerned.” 
Cycling in the Parks. 
The wheel having become so popular a means 
of diversion as well as locomotion, it has be- 
come necessary to especially provide for its use in 
our public parks. In Prospect Park, Brooklyn, a 
cycling path has been established, and the folloAv- 
ing rules are in force in relation to wheel riding 
therein: 
No person shall ride or operate a bicycle or tricycle on the 
park paths in Prospect park. Wheelmen walking upon park 
paths may push their wheels along the paths, but in no case 
shall the wheels be taken upon the turf. 
Wheelmen must observe the law of the road, keeping to the 
