38 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
Report of the Open Air Playground 
Committee, for 1903, and Announcement 
of the Junior School of Horticulture for 
1904, Civic Improvement League of St. 
Louis : 
The successful work of the Civic Im- 
provement League in establishing open 
air playgrounds has been reported from 
time to time in these columns. This 
report is a neatly printed and illustrated 
book of 48 pages giving a detailed ac- 
count of the year’s work, which is sum- 
marized as follows : Six playgrounds 
were maintained with a bath and library 
in connection with each one. The total 
attendance was 67,843, with 22 nation- 
alities represented in the enrollment. 
There were 41,720 baths given, and the 
librarian reports that in one month 
1,248 books were read. The funds for 
carrying on this work were obtained en- 
tirely from contributions of public-spir- 
ited citizens and firms who donated mon- 
ey and supplies, and individuals who 
gave their time and service. Concern- 
ing future work, the report says : 
“In the future we look for an en- 
lightened public sentiment which will 
demand that the municipal government 
undertake the maintenance of public 
playgrounds as training places for the 
development of able-bodied, healthy- 
minded men and women, fitted to assume 
the civic responsibilities of later life. St. 
Louis in 1904 will be on trial before the 
world. While spending millions to glori- 
fy the progress of civilization, she should 
spend something to aid in relieving the 
misery and suffering of her own poor by 
giving them a chance for a breath of 
pure air and a few brief moments of in- 
nocent recreation. Of the fifteen cities of 
the United States having a population of 
280,000 or more, St. Louis is the only 
one that for the past year did not appro- 
priate money for the laying out of new 
parks.” The committee therefore recom- 
mends : That the city purchase at once, 
sites for parks and playgrounds in the 
tenement districts of the city and conduct 
such playgrounds ; that the School Board 
arrange to keep the schools open after 
school hours for recreation centers, and 
to conduct playgrounds in connection 
with the schools during the summer va- 
cation ; that public baths be provided, 
both separate and in connection with 
small parks and playgrounds. 
The report contains a number of half- 
tone illustrations of scenes in the play- 
grounds and three charts, analyzing the 
conditions in the districts occupied by 
the North End playgrounds. 
The Junior School of Horticulture 
was organized in June, 1903, with six 
pupils in attendance, and the enrollment 
gradually increased to 70 during the 
summer. The success and enthusiasm of 
the pupils has encouraged the League 
to continue the school on a larger scale 
during the summer of 1904. The school 
has for its objects: to direct some of the 
surplus energy of the boys into useful 
channels; to show how even small areas 
of land in the backyard or on vacant 
lots, may be made to produce an abund- 
ance of vegetables for the family ; to 
teach how to grow flowers ; to develop 
such a knowledge of and interest in 
plants and their habits as shall be a 
direct aid in making St. Louis a more 
beautiful city. The school is located on 
ground donated by the Missouri Botan- 
ical Garden, and the Civic Improvement 
League furnishes the instructor, the 
seeds, the tools and the fertilizers. Each 
garden is seven by twelve feet, and in 
most cases each one is devoted entirely 
to one kind of plant. Lessons begin in 
April and continue till the crops are har- 
vested in the fall. Pupils get all the 
flowers and vegetables they raise. 
The report contains a number of illus- 
trations showing the children at work. 
Cemetery Superintendents' Convention. 
The Executive Committee of the As- 
sociation of American Cemetery Super- 
intendents has arranged a preliminary 
program for the eighteenth annual con- 
vention to be held in Chicago, August 
23-25, 1904. The program will be varied 
in some respects from those of former 
meetings and promises the visitors an 
unusually interesting and profitable ses- 
sion. 
The entertainment promised includes 
visits to the Art Institute and Public 
Library, two of the finest institutions of 
their kind in the country, and trips to 
Graceland, Rosehill and Oakwoods cem- 
eteries. 
Sessions will be held in the chapels 
of Graceland and Oakwoods, and the 
visits will include the inspection of Wash- 
ington and Jackson parks and the 
grounds of the University of Chicago, 
which are in the same section of the 
city. 
Definite subjects and speakers have 
not yet been announced, but valuable 
talks will be presented at the business 
sessions on trees and shrubs, the im- 
provement of country cemeteries, and 
other topics of timely interest. 
The convention of the Illinois state 
association will be held in Chicago Au- 
gust 22. 
STOKESIA CYANEA. 
One of the comparatively recent nov- 
elties among eastern florists is the 
Stokesia cyanea (Stokes Aster), or 
Cornflower Aster, as it is being com- 
monly called ; a native perennial that 
STOKESIA CYANEA. 
grows from one to two feet high and 
bears lavender blue flowers that some- 
times show a red tinge after they have 
been open a few days. The flowers re- 
semble the Centaureas and are in bloonj 
from midsummer un- 
til late in the fall. 
The Cyclopedia of 
American Horticul- 
ture pronounces it 
“one of the most dis- 
tinct of American 
hardy perennial 
herbs,” and many 
other authorities 
praise its beautiful 
flowers, drouth-resist- 
ing qualities and other 
desirable feat- 
ures. Mr. Benj. Con- 
nell, West Grove, Pa., 
to whom we are in- 
debted for pur illus- 
tration, says Stokesia 
cyanea is pre-emi- 
nently adapted for 
cemetery planting, and 
predicts a large de- 
mand when it becomes 
better known. 
