PARK AND CEMETERY. 
87 
rnRK mm. 
Ground has been broken for the erection of the Richard 
Smith Memorial, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. This is an 
arch, adorned with commemorative sculpture, and to cost 
$500,000. 
* » * 
The Niedermeier state park bill passed the committee of 
the whole in the Michigan legislature, on June 3. It dedicates 
the submerged and swamp lands along the great lakes as a state 
park for hunting and fishing purposes. An amendment was 
adopted which excepts such portion of the St. Clair flats as shal 
have been improved to the extent of $25 prior to June i. 
* * » 
The end of Coney Island as one of the lions of New York 
is in sight, and the first steps toward abolishing Coney Island’s 
sphere of pleasure, and establishing in its stead a public park, 
were taken at a recent meeting of the Board of Public Improve- 
ments, when a resolution, which to the above effect was intro- 
duced by Controller Coler, was unanimously adopted. 
* * * 
According to present plans, an innovation in Park music is 
to be tried by the West Park board of Chicago. Instead of hav. 
ing instrumental music alone, the commissioners will invite the 
leading singing societies of the city to participate in the series 
of thirty concerts which will be given. Sunday school classes 
and choruses of children from the public schools may also be 
invited to participate and sing patriotic songs. 
* * * 
A Pittsburgh local paper says; '‘If Superintendent Fal 
coner can get what he is after at any thing like a reasonable 
price, the Phipps’ conservatory, at Schenley Park, will have 
another addition, as it is understood that Mr. Phipps is always 
willing to see the conservatory keep pace with the growth of the 
city and to have it the best in the whole land.” It is under- 
stood the new addition will be devoted to the culture of ferns. 
« « « 
There has been a proposition before certain of the park 
commissioners of Chicago to erect a $100 000 statue of Admiral 
Dewey in Lincoln Park. There is a strong public sentiment, 
however, in favor of creating a much needed small park in a 
crowded district and naming it after the great admiral. Were 
the question put to the naval hero, it were an easy matter to 
guess the reply, and while small parks are so badly needed in 
many of our large cities, the proper solution of such question 
lies in the quotation “the greatest good to the greatest number.’’ 
* * * 
The Essex County, N. J., Park Commission has under con- 
sideration, with a fair prospect of its being adopted, the plan of 
constructing a boulevard along the banks of the Passaic river 
from Newark to the Passaic county line. It now behooves the 
Passaic county authorities to take the matter into consideration, 
to see if the boulevard could not be extended to Passaic City. 
This would make an uninterrupted driveway to carrriages, auto- 
mobiles and bicycles all the way from the city of Paterson to 
Newark along the banks of the river. 
* # 
The work of improvement on the parks and boulevards of 
St. Paul, Minn., received quite an impetus last year, and the 
cmmissioners were in receipt of several valuable donations of 
property, links in the ultimate completion of the park plan. 
The total expenditures for the fiscal year ending March ist 
last were $45,264 62, of which 117,656. 17 was spent for improve- 
ments, and $27,607.01 for maintenance. 3,676 trees and shrubs 
were planted at cost of $673.86. The maintenance extended 
over 302 acres of parks. The total area of park land is 1,160.09 
acres. The total expenditures on parks since 1891 and includ- 
ing that year, amounts to $478,409.38. The average yearly ex- 
penditure for twenty-five years has been $28,498.28, The City 
Council had charge of the parks from 1873 to 1891, and the 
Board of Park Commissioners since 1887. 
* * * 
Joliet, 111 ., is working on its first park with some enthusi- 
asm, but the Joliet News has the following to say on the sub- 
ject, which might be taken as a lesson for other places: “Real 
estate men in Joliet have never had an experience with public 
parks and to be sure can be overlooked somewhat for their lack 
of enterprise. In other cities where parks were surrounded by 
desirable property, the lesson was soon learned. We have seen 
some of these things and fully understand that the thing for the 
real estate men to do is to conspire together, organize, subscribe 
liberally, as the profits will admit and whoop up that park 
lively. The city will do something in time, but the conditions 
in Joliet are such just now that it wants to be done at once. The 
small subscribers are doing fine. They help liberally and cheer- 
fully, and the real estate men give good indications, but the 
season keeps moving. The help is too slow. More fire, more 
energy, more injun is needed.” 
» St * 
In both the Botanical and Zoological gardens of Bronx Park, 
New York City, rapid progress is being made. In the Zoologi- 
cal Park, comprising 261 acres in the southernly part of the tract, 
the New York /^zij/says: “The winter-bird house isieadv to 
receive its cage-work and boilers. Near this, ground has been 
staked out for the great flying cage, of steel pipe and wire net- 
ting, which will be the largest in the world. It will enclose three 
trees — one oak and two hickories — each about fifty feet tall, and 
a large pool will be made within it for the use of aquatic birds. 
Close by, also, the excavation of ponds and the construction of 
three islands for the ducks’ aviary have been completed. A 
number of the enclosures have already been laid out. Four of 
the nine bear-dens are nearly finished, with the exception of the 
sleeping-dens. A bog in a narrow valley, in one of the wildest 
parts of the Zoological Park, has been excavated to form a pond 
of about two acres, which will be the home of a colony of beav- 
ers. A natural basin in a granite ledge near the reptile-house 
has been enlarged to form a crocodile-pool loofeet in length. The 
Zoological Park will probably not be open to the public till fall.’ 
An editorial in the Chicago Tribune has this to say of the 
London park system, in relation to the very rapid development 
of park areas in European cities: “The most remarkable move- 
ment of all in this direction has taken place in British cities 
within the last fifty years. London best illustrates this activity. 
Its parks, commons, and open spaces number nearly 250, rang- 
ing in size from half an acre to nearly 500 acres, and comprise 
about 5,500 acres. Many of these have come into existence and 
the majority of them have passed under public control during 
the last fifteen years. The Metropolitan Public Gardens asso- 
ciation, the Kyrle society, and the London County Council have 
been especially active in promoting this general development. 
During its ten years’ existence the County Council has added 
more than a thousand acres to the public spaces of the city and 
has taken the greatest pains that instead of being mere show 
places these should be used for active forms of recreation. Not 
hundreds but thousands of grounds for cricket, football, hockey, 
and tennis are laid out in these areas, and it is the deliberate 
policy to provoke and provide for the widest activity in outdoor 
sports. This policy is, of course, greatly aided by the Saturday 
half holidiv which is generally observed in Great Britain the 
year round.” 
