193 
PARK AND CCAETCRY. 
found a relief to the mind chafing against the quiet 
of its environments, as surely as to the one excited 
and strained by constant contact with the bustle 
and worry of city life and business. 
As a matter of economy the establishment of a 
park may sometimes be urged. Many a village 
whose plat was originally laid out without any par- 
ticular regard to the natural features of its site finds 
on its hands problems of grading and drainage, in- 
volving many difficulties; with blocks that will re- 
quire much expense to make them available for 
business or residence purposes, and which unless so 
utilized will speedily become common dumping 
grounds and breeding places for disease, and with 
streets to be graded along these blocks at consider- 
able expense. Let the matter be carefully studied, 
and if the remedy be not perfectly clear at first it 
may be easy for one accustomed to the treatment of 
such cases to point out a way in which some of the 
adjacent streets may be rearranged or vacated and 
the objectionable blocks be united in a park, in 
which the features of the ground which before made 
it unavailable for ordinary uses shall render it still 
more beautiful and picturesque as a park, and thus 
become the center of the out door life of the town. 
It is easy to name villages in this state where action 
of this kind at the proper time would have been 
and even now may be of great financial advantage 
to the municipality. 
Too often it happens that a community has close 
at hand advantages for establishing a park, by util- 
izing the lands bordering some stream or lake, 
which from very familiarity they are overlooking in 
their search for the proper location of a pleasure 
ground. 
Many a prairie village has, however, no special 
material feature which may be seized upon to 
beautify as a park; but if it has an area of level 
ground for the purpose, a thoughtful arrangement 
of trees and shrubberies, with paths and seats, and 
perhaps a fountain, or monument of local interest, 
will furnish a resort that it may well be proud of. 
A village or city play ground is something rare- 
ly considered but which would “fill along felt want” 
in the life of many communities and doubtless be a 
boon to many of the young people, who, with 
nothing better to occupy their time, spend it in the 
street, in the store or in the saloon; if properly ar- 
ranged it could offer healthy recreation to the young 
of both sexes by screening portions of it with trees 
and shrubs, while seats beneath trees around the 
border would allow those of more mature years to 
enjoy the sports in which they no longer join. In 
all this it should, however, be borne in mind that 
the purpose of the park for rest and refreshments, 
and of the playground, for recreation, are to a cer- 
tain degree incompatible, and it will be difficult to 
unite the two on one tract of ground, unless the 
area is considerable. 
The Arnold Arboretum, Boston, Hass. 
The Arnold Arboretum is a unique feature in 
the Boston Park system. It combines scientffic with 
recreative functions to a remarkable degree. It is a 
department of Harvard University and was estab- 
lished from the bequest of the late James Arnold of 
New Bedford, who left $100,000 for the purpose. 
It is the foremost “tree museum” and the largest sci- 
entific garden in the world close to the heart of a 
great city. In fact it is the only genuine arbore- 
tum existing, all other collections of trees being 
merely adjuncts to botanical institutions. Including 
a large addition just made on the south side the ar- 
boretum has an area of 222 acres of remarkably 
diversified and beautiful hill and valley country. 
The greater portion of the arboretum occupies land 
that belonged to Harvard University as a portion of 
the Bussey estate. 
The Arnold Arboretum was established in its 
present shape by the co-operation of the city of 
Boston with the Universisy. In consideration of 
its value as a feature of the park system and of the 
consequent enhancement of its educational impor- 
tance, an agreement was made whereby the city con- 
structed the roads and footways through the place, 
and bounds itself to maintain them and police the 
grounds, while the university assumes the care and 
maintenance of the remaining portion. This was 
accomplished through the taking of the entire area 
by the city by right of eminent domain and then 
leasing all but the space occupied by the roads and 
walks back to the university for a term of 999 
years, for a merely nominal consideration. In this 
way about two and a half miles of first-class park 
roads have been constructed through the arboretum, 
and under an agreement made this year, about a 
mile of additional roads will be built in the same 
way through the enlargement on the southward. 
The successful establishment of the arboretum is 
chiefly due to its director. Prof. Charles Sprague 
Sargent, of the chair of arboriculture at Harvard 
University, and author of two monumental botani- 
cal works — his report as chief of the Forestry Di- 
vision of the Tenth Census, and “The Sylva of 
North' America . — Municipal Engineering. 
A fact not realized as it deserves is that to 
beautify small parks or odd pieces of ground, the 
wild plants and bushes of the locality can be uti 
lized. It is because they are common that they are 
slighted as a rule, but it would surprise many what 
a little cultivation and care will do for these wild 
things. 
