PARK AND CEMETERY 
285 
PARK NOTES. 
The Nebraska Park and P'orest Association expend some 
1 10,000 this year in planting trees. 
* * * 
A bill has been prepared for the New Jersey legislature to 
create a Hudson County Park Commission, said commission 
having authority to establish large public parks in appropriate 
parts of the county. The sum of $1,000,000 is to be asked 
with which to inaugurate the work. 
■:S- * 
An effort has been under way by Secretary Long of the 
Navy, to induce the city of New York to surrender the north 
end of Blackwell’s Island for a naval park and drill ground for 
the sailors and marines of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It is not 
desired to purchase the land but to secure the use of it. 
* « * 
Westchester county. New York, proposes to have additional 
park facilities and prominent citizens have organized the Rye 
Beach County Park Association for the purpose of arousing 
active interest in the park idea. It is intended to purchase 121 
acres on hong Island Sound and to have it laid out by com- 
petent landscape architects. A bill has been drawn up for 
presentation to the legislature to issue bonds for carrying out 
the project. 
* » » 
The Supreme Court of Ohio has rendered a decision in 
relation to the board of park commissioners which declares 
that the act of the legislature by which they were appointed a 
year ago is unconstitutional. Chief Justice Shanch in giving 
the decision, said: “The declaring of the law to be unconsti- 
tutional will not invalidate past acts of the board, as under a 
well-established principle the acts of an officer holding his 
offics illegally are valid because they were performed in good 
faith and the officer was in fact the acting official for the public.’’ 
* * » 
By the will of the late Miss Anna H. Marr, of Providence, 
R. I., the bulk of her estate, valued in all at $250,000, was left 
fo the city of Providence for the care and maintenance of 
Rogers Wdliams Park. It was expected that a sum of some- 
thing like $200,000 would be secured by the city. The will, 
however, was contested by a niece and the case was carried to 
the Supreme court. In the meantime a compromise has been 
effected whereby a sum of $25,000 has been accepted by con- 
testant and it is now expected that $192,000 will be put in trust 
of the city of Providence for Rogers Williams park. This will 
be a material addition to the maintenance fund. 
* » # 
Lincoln Park, Chicago, is under the ban of the press of the 
city by reason of its serious condition financially and physic- 
ally. The disgraceful political conditions under which it has 
been managed are responsible for present status. The presen 
board began the year 1900 with funds amounting to $282,746.59, 
and an appropriation of $267,000 for maintenance purposes 
during 1901, and yet at the present time it is publicly stated 
that the treasury is practically barren of resources, without 
enough money to defray actual running expenses for the bal- 
ance of the year. Deterioration is evident on all sides and to 
palliate conditions a great reduction of expenses has been 
ordered. The assets for 1900 were $r66,547.53, liabilities 
$217,209.82, showing a deficit of $50,662.29. No improvements 
of consequence were made last year except as were provided by 
special assessments and the funds remaining for current ex- 
penses this year are quite inadequate. 
» * * 
The annual report of the board of park commissioners of 
Cambridge, Mass., is always an interesting document. That 
for 1900 bears out the assertion. It discusses the many prob- 
lems of improvement under way and as such are largely con- 
nected with beach and river improvement they are important 
works involving high professional direction and control. The 
esplanade has been the principal work of the past year. An 
extension of the bathing beach at Captain’s Island was also 
carried out and the report of the public baths gives the number 
of bathers as over 60,000. The accommodations are as yet 
limited. The commissioners employed a tree inspector last 
season who made a systematic examination and report upon 
the trees of every street in the city. It was found there were 
2,200 trees requiring immediate attention and 2,900 requiring 
some sort of attention. To effect proper care an increase in 
appropriation is demanded. The report of the superintendent 
on the question of trees presents some suggestive reading. 
Until the past year very little attention was given to street 
trees even in so important a center of landscape art as Cam- 
bridge. 
The report of the South Park commissioners of Chicago 
for 1899 shows a large amount of park work in the way of main- 
tenance and improvement in their control. The total area of 
territory embraced within the limits of the South Parks and 
Boulevards is 1500.81 acres. Of this the total area of actual 
parks in this system 1,181.33 acres; length of boulevards, 17. 28 
miles; the acreage of improved parks is 771.99; total length of 
improved drives, 41.75 miles. The work of the year was 
largely confined to the continuation of the improvement of 
Jackson park on the plans designed after the World’s Fair. 
The total number of trees and shrubs planted during the year 
ending Nov. 30, 1900, was 90,300. At the latter date there re- 
mained in the park nursery 184,181 trees and shrubs. The 
South parks are particularly well provided with facilities for 
athletic sports and outdoor pastimes and a large amount is 
annually expended to keep the grounds and buildings in 
proper condition. The financial statement shows: Receipts 
for the year, including a balance of $81,366.68, were $786,162.88. 
The expenditures during the year left a cash balance carried to 
account of ensuing year of $99,597 34. 
* ’ * -» 
The Hartford, Conn., Fosi contained a very interesting 
article on Keney Park, Hartford, from the pen of Mr. G. A. 
Parker, superintendent. It is only five years since the properly 
comprising the park was secured and from the nature of the 
several tracts comprising it the improvements have not been 
markedly apparent until the past year. In fact Keney Park 
differs in its constitution, so to speak, from most parks, being 
a natural park developed on lines to retain its naturalness. 
The report of Olmsted Bros, on this property more clearly de- 
fines its status: “It will be possible to make Keney Park 
markedly different from other parks by giving it a general and 
all-pervading tone of ruralt}', naturalness and seclusion. If 
this fundamental motive of design is successfully carried out, 
Keney park will possess a most rare and valuable characteristic, 
and one which will distinguish it, not only from other parks of 
the city but also from almost every municipal park of the 
country. Everything should tend to make the visitor uncon- 
sciously feel *hat he has escaped from the artificialities of city 
life into a fortunately preserved stretch of wild pastures and 
natural woodland.’’ The work of improvement is progre.ssing 
on these lines. 
