PARK AND CEMETERY 
lb!) 
Annual reports or extracts from them, historical sketches, 
descriptive circulars, photographs of improvements or dis- 
tinctive features are requested for use in this department . 
The executive committee of the American Association of 
Park Superintendents will meet January 28 at the office of 
the City Forester in Springfield, Mass., to select a meeting- 
place for the next convention of that association. The places 
to be considered are: Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Rochester. 
* * * 
The Iowa State Municipal Park Association is arranging 
to merge its membership with the Iowa State Park and 
Forestry Association, as it is believed the interests of both 
can be best served by such union. Hon. Sidney Foster, of 
Des Moines, is president of the association, and W. M. Krebs, 
of Cedar Rapids, secretary. Mr. Krebs reports that park 
sentiment in that city is growing rapidly. 
* * * 
Plans prepared by Landscape Architect Geo. E. Kessler 
for the restoration of Forest Park, St. Louis, have been 
approved by the Restoration Committee of the Civic Im- 
provement League. The committee appointed to examine 
Mr. Kessler’s plans consisted of W. K. Bixby, chairman ; 
Henry T. Kent, J. Lawrence Mauran, Saunders Norvell and 
William Trelease, secretary. 
* * * 
The annual report of the park commissioners of Worces- 
ter, Mass., shows that the total cost of park maintenance 
for the year was $25,483.58, the expenditures upon the various 
parks being: University park, $1,567.61; Elm park, $4,570.45; 
North park, $2,385.30; East park, $2,733.05 ; Lake park, 
$3,866.68; Crompton park, $1,636.09; Hadwen park, $1,183.52; 
Institute park, $778.80; Dodge park, $839.87; Common, $956.64; 
Fairmount, $80.86; Grant square, $252.58; North shore, 
$175.41; shade trees, $3,616.31; general expenses, $1,740.41. 
The Parkway Commission of New Orleans, created by 
municipal ordinance for the purpose of devising a plan for 
the building of a connecting link or roadway between Audu- 
bon Park and the City Park, is engaged in studying the park 
and boulevard systems of other cities preparatory to formulat- 
ing definite plans. The children’s playground in Audubon 
Park has been completed according to plans by Olmsted 
Brothers, and the Audubon Park Association now has in 
hand a fund of $10,000 for permanent improvements. Among 
the betterments planned for early execution is the construc- 
tion of a shell road several miles in length. 
* * * 
Col. H. E. Converse has offered to present to the cities 
of Malden and Melrose, Mass., the park known as Pine 
Banks, about one-third of which is in Malden and two-thirds 
in Melrose. The gift is conditional on the two cities meet- 
ing the expense of maintaining it as a public park. The park 
is to be under the control of seven trustees, including the 
mayor of each city, two citizens to be appointed by each 
of the mayors, and a seventh trustee to be appointed by the 
Converse heirs. These trustees are to have full control and 
management of the park, and any vacancies in the boaid 
of trustees are to be filled by the remaining members of the 
■ board. The tract is a fine area of pine woodland of about 
700 acres. 
5k % * 
The first annual report of the park department of Muncic, 
Ind., shows rapid progress and creditable improvements for 
the expenditure made. The report of Superintendent O. W. 
Crabbs shows that a large amount of grading and filling has 
been done in various parts of the park which have been sowed 
with grass seed, including the baseball diamond, where a 
number of games were played. A bear pit built of boulders 
laid in cement mortar was erected at a cost of $1,408.33 
This pit contains the two black bears that were presented to 
the city by Councilman W. A. Petty. The total expenditures 
for the year amounted to $4,047.82. 
* * * 
The annual report of Superintendent Charles A. Whittet, 
of the park department of Lowell, Mass., tells of much 
work for the care and protection of the city's trees. With 
an appropriation of $1,000 for this purpose, the department 
equipped itself with the necessary tools, and besides doing 
much trimming at the request of individual property owners, 
removed about 50 dead trees, of which 20 had been killed 
by escaping gas. The 'lowest cost of removing a tree was 
$1.62 and the highest cost $68.16. A careful inspection of 
the trees shows 8,580 in good condition, elms and maples 
predominating. This does not include the trees in the parks 
and commons. Billboards and signs and rings for hitching 
horses have been removed from all of the trees. 
* * * 
The park board of St. Paul, Minn., has prepared for intro- 
duction to the legislature two bills embodying the changes 
that were included in the two park amendments which were 
not carried at the recent city election. These will authorize 
it to create building lines where the property owners petition 
for it, and to accept gifts of money or other property by 
which land for park purposes can be acquired under con- 
demnation proceedings. The measures are generally favored, 
and are thought to have failed of passage through the voters' 
ignorance of their meaning. The public playgrounds of St. 
Paul are to be placed under the supervision of the park board, 
according to an ordinance passed by the board of aldermen. 
It is provided that the mayor shall appoint a playgrounds com- 
mittee, consisting of three members, to serve without salary, 
and who are to be subject to the park board. The commit- 
tee will have a fund of $10,000 at its disposal for the present 
year. 
* * * 
The South Park Commissioners of Chicago have in the year 
1904 established fourteen new parks in addition to Grant 
park, have purchased thirteen new sites and have many neigh- 
borhood center buildings under construction. Practically ail 
the reconstruction work in Grant park, which was begun at 
the close of the World’s Fair, has been completed in the last 
year, only a little plantation work remaining to be done in 
the spring of the year. In Grant park, in addition to the 
present Art museum, there will be located the Field museum 
structure, a monumental building which will cost at least 
$6,000,000, and the building for the Crerar library, for which 
$1,000,000 is now available. The amount of money to be 
spent on the new parks and Grant park is $4,090,000. The 
new parks established varied in size from 4.95 to 322.68 acres - 
and have a total area of 681.63 acres. 
Plans for the proposed connection between the North and 
South Side boulevard systems by way of Michigan avenue 
have been approved by the joint committee of the city coun- 
