Editorial JVote and Comment. 
Convention of the A. P. & 0. A. A. 
As announced in a previous issue the annual conven- 
tion of the American Park and Outdoor Art Associa- 
tion will be held at Buffalo, July 7-9, and a delight- 
fullv instructive time will be enjoyed by the members 
present. At the time of writing the final program has 
not come to hand, but the principal features of it will 
be found on another page. Members are urged to be 
present to make the meeting of broader educational 
value, and considering that the membership has reached 
a total of some 700, there is reason to believe that a 
large gathering, will be present to participate in the 
proceedings. The cause of outdoor art and civic im- 
provement should largely benefit by this convention 
and that of the American League for Civic Improve- 
ment, which is to take place at Chautauqua the follow- 
ing week. A leading question that will probably come 
up for discussion is that of a federation of clubs, work- 
ing on kindred lines of improvement ; concerted action 
by the several associations dedicated to local and gen- 
eral betterment has been seriouslv urged for some time 
past, and there is no question of the larger progress 
which might be secured under some sort of federation. 
We hope to see the problem successfully solved at the 
coming convention. 
Need of Education. 
It sometimes looks as though the missionaries of 
art out of doors had overlooked, in their enthusiasm, 
the necessity of a sort of normal school for the active 
advocates of the cause, and there is a real danger of a 
check in the progress of outdoor improvement from 
this need, especially in the smaller towns and among 
the rural communities. There is a large amount of lit- 
erarv effort being expended in the work, and no end of 
printed matter put into circulation, and moreover, the 
press generally is earnestly co-operating in all direc- 
tions. But of real practical education there is a woe- 
ful deficiency, and a very, very small percentage of the 
converts to the idea understand to any appreciable de- 
gree the significance of “open lawn and massed bor- 
ders," let alone the appropriate material to use to create 
practical examples. We are speaking for that large 
majority of our people who may never be desirous or 
able to expend money for fees for designs, but who must 
be urged to improve their surroundings for the gen- 
eral good. For this large class some scheme of prac- 
tical education must be devised, and while the state 
and local horticultural societies are taking up the work 
in good earnest, not one member in a hundred is at 
present able to advise a country neighbor what plants, 
shrubs or trees would best serve him in his efforts to 
improve his home grounds on the principals laid down 
in his general reading as essential to a successful job. 
Here is another opportunity for the professional land- 
scape gardener to promote the cause of outdoor im- 
provement. 
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Park Legislation. 
The widely extended movement towards the devel- 
opment of parks and park areas has resulted in consid- 
erable legislation throughout the country to this end. 
Among the states prominent in this work are Illinois 
and Minnesota ; in the former state bills were passed 
providing wavs and means for the increase of area and 
improvement of the Chicago parks, in which some 
millions of dollars will be expended in the near future, 
and the city thereby enabled to complete Grant Park, 
that magnificent stretch along the lake front, so long 
monopolized by railroad tracks and tumble-down sheds 
and shanties. Minnesota has passed a number of park 
laws. Authority -is given to cities of less than 10,000 
population to issue bonds for purchase of lands for 
park purposes along the shores of any artificial lakes 
within such cities ; authority is given to cities of over 
50,000 to grade streets for approaches to public parks 
without petition of property holders, and also to cities 
of over 50,000 to set aside streets, etc., for parkways 
and to control traffic ; authority is given to cities of 
over 10,000 and under 50,000 to acquire and control 
lands within city limits for parks and parkways. Legis- 
lation that will also be appreciated is that which au- 
thorizes counties of over 150,000 to expend $10,000 
per year for current and ensuing two years and $5,000 
per year thereafter for the public improvement of cer- 
tain lakes therein. This particularly applies to White 
Bear Lake and in part to Lake Minnetonka and is of 
great local interest. Itasca Park, about the sources 
of the Mississippi River, has received much consid- 
eration at the hands of the legislature and will be pre- 
served so far as is possible in a state of nature. It will 
soon bp realized' that the park interest of every state 
is one of very high importance and the improvement 
era thereby firmly encouraged. 
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Civic Institute at Chautauqua. 
The American League for Civic Improvement will 
conduct a Civic Institute at Chautauqua, July 13-18. 
The program is of exceeding interest and comprises a 
series of lectures and conferences. A course of five 
lectures on “Art in Daily Life” will be given by Prof. 
John Quincy Adams, of Philadelphia, another course of 
four lectures on “Contemporary Society” will be de- 
livered by Prof. Charles Zueblin, of the University of 
Chicago, and Dr. Charles B. Gilbert will give a lec- 
ture touching upon the place of the school and the 
school teacher in the improvement of social institutions. 
Among the subjects of the conferences will be “Rural 
