105 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
custodians, let our aim ever be to assuage and soften grief 
by assisting nature in making lovely and attractive the spots 
where loved ones are buried from sight. 
Confident that with such an excellent program before us, 
this session will be both pleasant and profitable, in conclusion, 
for I do not wish to weary you or trespass on the time or 
topics assigned to others, I want to thank you all for your 
kind attention and for the honor conferred upon me. And 
may the time come, when, instead of a forest of tombstones 
or caskets reproduced in mounds to deface nature’s carpet of 
green, the graceful foliage of tree, shrub and vine shall pre- 
dominate to gladden the eye; when fountains, flowers and 
birds shall delight the senses of the visitor as he communes 
with nature in her loveliest mood in our silent cities of the 
dead. 
a more varied course of study, and a larger attendance 
than any other school of the kind in the country. The 
public library was erected in 1897 at a cost of $2,125,- 
000 and contains 291,000 volumes. Its beautifully fin- 
ished marble interior, the finest in Chicago, was much 
admired by the visitors. Guides were provided by the 
library officials and the magnificent library system 
thoroughly explained to the visitors. 
At the evening session business was opened with the 
report of the committee on credentials. Chairman 
Boxell read the names of the new members, who were 
introduced to the convention, and heartily applauded. 
Mr. Rudd, president of the Illinois State Association, 
Photo by y. W. Taylor, Chicago 
CEMETERY SUPERINTENDENTS IN FRONT OF THE 
Secretary-Treasurer Bellett Lawson reported 19 new 
members. Three resigned and eleven were dropped for 
non-payment of dues, making the total membership 
now 209. The receipts for the year were $471.86 and 
the expenditures $446.71. 
The rest of the morning session was given up to roll 
call and appointment of committees, after which the 
members mingled informally, renewing old acquaint- 
ances and forming new ones. 
The afternoon was spent in visiting the Art Insti- 
tute and the Public Library, the two institutions which 
Chicago takes most pride in showing to visitors. The 
Institute is composed of the Art Museum, where many 
fine works of art are on exhibition, and the art 
school, which includes departments of drawing, paint- 
ing, sculpture, decorative designing, architecture, nor- 
mal instruction and illustration. It enrolls nearly 3,000 
students each year and has a larger staff of instructors, 
CHAPEL IN GRACELAND CEMETERY, CHICAGO. 
was invited to a seat on the platform in recognition of 
the honor of the state association’s presence. 
Prof. J. F. Cowell, Director of the Botanic Garden, 
Buffalo, N. Y., was on the program for a paper on 
“The Hardier and More Reliable Trees and Shrubs,” 
but was unable to be present, and Mr. John M. Boxell, 
of St. Paul, who was to have led the discussion, was 
asked to fill his place. Mr. Boxell gave a list of the 
deciduous trees and shrubs growing in Oakland Ceme- 
tery, St. Paul, with a few words of interesting com- 
ment as to the value and reliability of each variety. He 
mentioned 61 varieties of trees and 74 of shrubs, and 
told of their hardiness and the success with which they 
had been grown in St. Paul. 
Mr. O. C. Simonds, of Chicago, led the discussion, 
which brought out some spirited talks on trees from 
many of the members. He compared the hardiness of 
certain trees in Chicago with those in Minnesota and 
