PARK AND CEMETERY 
126 
ENTRANCE AND WALLED RIVER, BUSHNHLL PARK, HARTFORD, CONN. 
THE PARKS OF HARTFORD, CONN, 
Air. John C. Olmsted, who planned the excellent 
park system of Hartford, Conn., read an interesting 
and instructive paper on the Hartford Parks at the last 
annual convention of the New England Park Superin- 
tendents, extracts from which are given below. The 
city has six parks, of a total area of 1014 acres, dis- 
tributed as follows : Keney Park, 522 acres ; Goodwin 
Park, 200 acres; Pope Park, 90.5 acres; Elizabeth 
Park, 90 acres ; Riverside Park, 63 acres ; Bushnell 
Park, 48.5 acres. 
Concerning the motives of design in the plans of 
Keney and Riverside Parks, which offered the greatest 
problems and possibilities of construction, and there- 
fore furnish the most profitable study for park makers, 
he speaks as follows : 
“Keney Park has been designed with the funda- 
mental idea of making it as different as possible from 
all the other parks by giving it a predominatingly nat- 
ural and rural effect, by planting only trees and shrubs 
native to the locality, by grading and planting in such 
a way as to screen out of view all streets, and surround- 
ing houses and their accessories, and by keeping the 
grass short by pasturing sheep upon it wherever prac- 
ticable, instead of by lawn mowers. The “keep-off-the- 
grass” question will not be attempted to be settled by 
rules and signs. On the contrary, visitors will be as 
welcome to walk on the grass as the sheep are. In 
places where distinct short-cut paths are likely to be 
formed and on steep banks and in the parts of the 
woods not set apart for strolling at random and pic- 
nicking and in spots that are too shady for grass to 
grow well upon, the intention is to cover the ground 
with low bushes and creepers. Eor purposes of design, 
Keney Park has been differentiated into four main 
divisions, following the indications of the existing 
growths, as follows : The West Open comprises an 
area of 167 acres, almost all of which was open farm 
land. Part of the ground at the foot of the hill was 
decidedly wet until early summer and in some cases 
swampy, but all the wet portions have been thoroughly 
underdrained. The woods are composed mainly of 
stump growth timber, chestnut predominating. The 
Bushnell division has an area of 69 acres. A small part 
was wood, but most of it was pasture land mainly cov- 
ered with bushes more than grass. The design is to 
preserve and extend this bushy and wild flower effect, 
avoiding more trees except a few for shade and a 
border plantation. 
“The next division of Keney Park, called Ten Mile 
Woods, covers an area of 181 acres. The woods can 
fairly be called tame, undignified and decidedly monot- 
onous. A great deal of study has been given to a 
scheme for developing effects of variety and contrast 
