124 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
Mr. Kilgour’s offer to present the village of Hyde Park, a 
suburb of Cincinnati, with a fountain, to cost not less than 
1 1,000, has heen accepted by the council of that village. 
* * * 
The board of trustees of the park system of Peoria, 111 ., has 
appropriated the sum of $102,610 for improving and maintain- 
ing parks and the expenses incidental thereto for the coming 
year. 
* * * 
Mrs. Emmons Blaine, whose recent munibcent offer be- 
stowing upon Chicago a teacher’s school, is pursuing her plans 
to that end, and has purchased a beautiful site near the Aca- 
demy of Sciences, Lincoln Park. 
* * * 
Mrs. Harriet H. Wilcox has again ex2rcised her philan- 
thropic impulses in another gift to Westerly, R. L, Already 
the donor of a memorial building and a public park, she now 
supplements her former gifts by a site for a high school building, 
adequate for all demands of the place. Westerly’s gratitude 
should be commensurate. 
* « 
Notwithstanding the agitation that has been carried on the 
past few years over the destruction of the Palisades on the 
Hudson River at Jersey City, the quarries still continue the work 
of destruction. It would seem that nothing but money will 
save the picturespue locality, and it is money that neither the 
legislature nor the citizens themselves seem able or willing to 
provide. 
* * » 
The park idea is growing very rapidly. Agitation on the 
subject is creating a strong sentiment in the village of Canastota, 
N. Y. Upon his return home after a three weeks trip west, the 
president of the village thus expressed himself: “I am strongly 
in favor of the project. Canastota should have a public park, 
most assuredly. I think the matter can be brought about suc- 
cessfully. I am willing to donate liberally.” 
* 
By the will of Col. Orin W. Fiske, recently deceased, the 
town of Lexington, Mass., is bequeathed the sum of $3,000. 
This is to be invested at interest and to run until it reaches $4,000, 
when the income from this sum is to be devoted to the perpet- 
ual care of Lexington battleground, provided that a tablet be 
placed on said ground with an inscription to the effect that said 
gift was a bequest of Col. Orin W. Fiske. 
» * * 
The Quaboag Historical Society, Brookfield, Mass., is 
negotiating for the purchase of the old colonial landmark on 
Foster hill, which in early days was known as the old ‘‘Wait 
Tavern.” The house has been standing more than 150 years. 
If the property is purchased by the society it will be fenced in, 
the grounds about the house properly graded and a suitable 
monument erected. 
» » * 
Suit was entered by the city of Louisville and the Board of 
Park Commissioners against the duPont heirs to condemn the 
Central Park property with a view ti having it converted into a 
park for public use, a matter which has been before referred to 
in these columns. The style of the suit is city of Louisville and 
Board of Park Commissioners against Thomas Coleman duPont 
and Antoine duPont, trustees. 
^ * 
Philadelphia has the unique distinction of possessing the 
longest asphalted thoroughfare or street in the world. Besides be- 
ing the longest asphalted street in the world. Broad street is the 
longest street having an even width, which is maintained its 
whole length of eleven miles. It is also the straighest and does 
not vary an inch in directness except around Penn Square. The 
asphalted portion only runs seven miles of the eleven. The old 
York road which is a part of Broad street stretches beyond a dis- 
tance of twenty miles, and has a road bed of fine macadam. 
This with Broad street makes a carriage drive of 31 miles with 
but one turn. Broad street is 1 13 feet wide — 69 feet from curb 
to curb. It is determined to make Broad street a feature of 
great architectural beauty. 
*** 
In setting apart 175.000 for improving Jefferson Barracks, 
St. Louis, Mo., the War Department should follow the sugges- 
tions of those interested in including park features within tha 
meaning of the term improvement. An excellent opportunity 
offers in this project to establish a system of improvement of our 
army posts which shall make them an ornament to the locality 
in which they are situated, and add to the art out-of-doors now 
so forcibly advocated. It is now proposed to have a general 
plan, along which the post shall be developed and by which the 
commanding officers shall all be governed. In general the post 
grounds will be thoroughly drained and converted into a park 
something like h'orest Park, except that the needs of the mili- 
tary will not be lost sight of, and it will not be cut up with drives 
to any degree that will interfere with its usefulness as a military 
post. On the other hand, it will be improved for that purpose. 
Spaces will be provided in which a regiment of cavalry can be 
maneuvered, and everything will be taken advantage of that 
will add to the usefulness of the post as a rendezvous for the de- 
velopment of organizations. 
* se- iff 
In connection with the proposed national park located in 
Minnesota, of which mention has been made, the Minneapolis, 
Minn., Journa/, caUi attention to comparative figures in the 
study of. the project. The proposed Minnesota National Park 
is 54 miles wide and 118 long representing 6,372 square miles or 
4,078,080 acres. “The state forests of Austria comprise only 
1.782,169 acres; less than half of the proposed Minnesota park. 
The state forests of Bavaria number less than 800,000 acres. The 
state forests of France contain 2,700,000 acres. The state forests 
of Prussia include 6 955,227 acres. The famous Black Forest of 
Germany is only 93 miles long and from 13 to 46 miles in 
breadth. The proposed park is larger than several American 
states. It is nearly six times as large as Rhode Island. It is 
nearly three times as large as Delaware. Connecticut could be 
superimposed upon the area of the proposed park and leave a 
margin of 1,527 square miles. It is about 1,000 square miles less 
than the area of New Jersey; it is more than three- fourths as 
large as Massachusetts, is two-thirds the size of Maryland and 
more than two-thirds of the size of Vermont and New Hamp- 
shire. The forest reserves wisely set aside by the government in 
the mountains at the heads of the rivers that flow through arid re- 
gions of the entire west contain altogether 46 ooo oco acres. 
The proposed park would take out of the populous and fertile 
state of Minnesota one-tenth as much asistaken from the whole 
of the arid west.” The Jountal says: The attitude of Minne- 
sota toward the scheme should be that of approval of the under- 
lying idea, but of great conservatism and caution in putting it 
into practice. The present scheme is extravagant and im- 
practical. 
