PARK AND CCACTCR'j' 
283 
PARK NOTES. 
Ocean Springs. Miss., is moving toward a public park, and 
preliminary work is begun. 
* * » 
A plan has been proposed which will provide Memphis, 
Tenn., with a series of small parks within the populous limits. 
* # * 
The Park Commissioners of Peabody, Mass., have received 
notice that the bequest of Miss Proctor amounting to |io.ooo is 
now available. 
* * * 
Bills have been introduced into Congress for appropriations 
both for a National Military Park, and a ‘‘Peace” monument, at 
Appomattox, Va. 
* * * 
Under the recent activity in park matters for Brooklyn, 
nineteen new parks, in area.s ranging between 535 acres and the 
city square, have been added to the responsibilities of the park 
authorities of that city. 
* * * 
The Junior Endeavor Society of Madison Av. Presbyterian 
Church, Covington Ky., is taking the lead in connection with 
kindred societies of other churches to erect drinking fountains in 
certain locations in the city. At least 5 are expected to result 
from the efforts. 
* * * 
Governor Morton of New York, signed the following bills 
in May: Bill authorizing the expenditure of $150,000 by New 
York City to complete Riverside Park and Drive; Bill allowing 
$10,000 to establish a park at intersection of 92nd st. , Grand 
Boulevard and Kingsbridge Road. 
* * * 
Layfayette Park, St. .Louis, Mo., was in the very vortex of 
the May hurricane and is to a large extent a wreck from end to 
end. Every tree of any size was practically destroyed, huge 
stone vases, were seized by the wind and torn from their original 
resting places. The lake was filled with wreckage of buildings 
and debris of all kinds. 
* * ♦ 
South Bronx Park has been selected by the New York Zoo- 
logical Society as the site of the new zoological park. The site 
embraces 261 acres of beautiful forest and meadow land on both 
sides of the Bronx River in the Annex District. It is said to be 
an ideal site selected from 3.500 aerfs of park land available. 
The new zoo will be free to the public six days a week. 
* * * 
The Staten Island, New York, Chamber of Commerce has 
taken up a movement for the establishment of a system of parks 
in every part of the island. The plan is to appeal to the Legis- 
lature for authority to have a commission appointed with power 
to purchase and condemn tracts of land for park purposes, the 
commission to be limited in its expenditures to the sum of $250,- 
000. The plan has been indorsed by the Chamber of Com- 
merce. 
* * * 
Mr. Thomas H. Swope has made a princely donation to 
Kansas City, of land for park purposes, Mr. Swope is one of the 
city’s oldest citizens, and the land in question is situated four 
miles southeast of the city and contains 1,314 acres. The only 
conditions exacted by the donor is that the land be named Swope 
Park and that the city during the next ten years expend at least 
$5,000 a year in improving the grounds, 
A petition has been forwarded to Washington, from Santa 
Barbara, Calif., asking Congress to forever reserve from settle- 
ment, for the purpose of a national park, two sections of land in 
the San Rafiiel Range in northern Santa Barbara County, in- 
cluding within their boundaries that beautiful sheet of water 
known as Lake Zaka. This lies at an elevation of about 3000 
feet above sea level and is surrounded by a wild and picturesque 
mountain reigon. It is widely known as a health resort in sum- 
mer and is a favorite resort with the pleasure-seeker and sports- 
man. 
* * » 
At the meeting commemorating the twenty-fifth anniver- 
sary of the founding of the Fairmount Park Art Association of 
Philadelphia, the name of Col. Chas. H. Howell, the Secre- 
tary, was formally added to the list of Honorary Members. The 
Board of Trustees in conferring the honor voiced the following; 
“The Board feels it a just and pleasurable duty to acknowledge 
to Colonel Howell in this formal manner, the great value placed 
upon his services, services that have at all times and under many 
trying circumstances, been faithfully, efficiently and cheerfully 
performed.” 
* * * 
The following is approximately the number and acreage of 
park lands in many of the large cities; London, England, 150 
parks, 5,000 acres; Dublin, Ireland, 2 parks, 1900 acres; Edinburgh 
Scotland, 15 parks, 1280 acres; Berlin, Germany, 83 parks, 1263 
acres; Philadelphia, 40 parks, 3175 acres; St, Louis, 21 parks, 
2180 acres; Chicago, 25 parks, 2148 acres; Minneapolis, 18 parks 
and a number of squares and triangles, 1 552acres; San Francisco^ 
24 parks, 1190 acres; Louisville, 9 parks, 1039 acres; Baltimore, 
6 parks, 20 public squares, 91 1 acres; Buffalo, 5 parks, 900 acres; 
Detioit, !o parks, 884 acres; Pittsburgh, 5 parks, 800 acres. 
* * * 
Work on the Lake Front Park, Chicago, is progressing very 
well considering the magnitude of the undertaking. The lower- 
ing of the Illinois Central Railroad tracks, the construction of 
the sea wall, the filling up of the water area, ultimately to be- 
come landscape, are all being prosecuted simultaneously, creat- 
ing a busy scene. A transformation has also been effected in 
Jackson Park, the scene of the Dream City of World’s Fair time. 
It is difficult to realize the change, as well as difficult to lotate 
those beautiful buildings on the changed landscape. Although 
the park already possesses its special charms, it will be years be- 
fore it will attain the perfection suggested in the accepted design; 
magnificent buildings may be erected in a year, but trees and 
shrubs, designed by nature’s architect and carried to perfection 
under her unalterable specifications, in a general sense, improve 
year by year as time passes along. 
» * * 
It was in Queen Anne's time that Addison and Pope first ridi- 
culed the old style and sought to bring in the fashion of “copying 
nature.” But the reaction and destruction of old gardens did 
not take place till later, when the theories they advanced had had 
time to spread. An - extract from “A History of English Gar- 
dening” says: “There is no lack of views and designs of gardens 
of this period. If the authorities had foreseen the annihilation 
that was to fall on so many gardens they could hardly have more 
carefully preserved their designs. But these pictures are mostly 
taken from some imaginary point and give a bird’s-eye view of 
the house, gardens and surrounding landscape in a conventional 
plan regardless of perspective. Faithful representations though 
they may be in many cases, the formal garden, as they show it, 
has lost all its poetry; the pale tints of the tender shoots of the 
beech hedges in the spring, the soff green of the sheltering views 
in winter, the secluded alley or the woodbine -covered arbor have 
no charm when set down in these stiff lines of black and white.” 
