287 
PARK AND 
IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS 
CONDUCTED BY 
FRANCES COPLEY SEAVEY. 
WORK OF THE ASSOCIATIONS. 
The Women’s Auxiliary of the A. P. & O. A. A. is 
making itself heard from these days. 
It got np an illustrated booklet to be used as an 
exhibit at the Turin /\rt Exposition just opened, send- 
ing an edition of 500 to be distributed under the direct 
supervision of Mr. Pietro Cuneo, United States Con- 
sul General to Turin, who guarantees to see that it 
goes to Italian women who will benefit by its sugges- 
tions. The pamphlet was written by Airs. Frances Cop- 
lev Seayey, Chairman of the Booklet Committee, and 
appears both in English and Italian under one cover. 
The subject matter was especially intended to call 
the attention of foreign women, particularly Italian 
women, to the character of the landscape planting 
done in America, and went into some detail as to the 
making of an American garden — stress being laid on 
the marked contrast between our open center and 
quiet lawn spaces, with irregular borders of shrubs, 
etc., and the European practice of overcrowding small 
grounds. This practice is noted in most European 
countries by all American landscape authorities who 
know Europe. Prof. L. H. Bailey, horticulturist and 
author of the Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, 
speaks of it as being very noticeable and most objec- 
tionable. 
The president of the Auxiliary, Mrs. Herman J. 
Hall, of Chicago, represented the organization at the 
biennial of the Federated Clubs at Los Angeles early 
this month, and made an extensive exhibit of the work 
of the Auxiliary and of its individual workers. This 
was in the form of blue prints of the working plans 
of the several undertakings in the way of landscape 
gardening of the Chicago and Milwaukee branches, 
together with drawings and photographs- by sev- 
eral women members who are doing practical work 
in this line and also in literary horticultural work. 
Altogether the exhibit was a highly creditable show- 
ing for so young an organization and is believed to 
have made its mark among the crowds of intelligent, 
progressive women gathered at the California meet- 
ing. 
Mrs. Hall has recently visited Louisville in the in- 
terests of the Auxiliary, and a branch was organized 
that promises to make itself felt, and also stopped in 
New Orleans to speak at a mass-meeting called for 
the purpose of interesting the women of that city in 
the work. The formation of a branch will result from 
this meeting, and one has been formed in Los Angeles 
through the energy of Mrs. Hall. 
The Chicago branch of the Auxiliary, Adrs. Eben 
CEMETERY. 
Byron Smith, president, has this spring made and 
executed plans for the artistic planting of the grounds 
of five of the public schools of that city. It is hoped 
. that the result will encourage the school board to de- 
vote both attention and money to larger work in the 
same direction hereafter. 
jp 5tC ^ 
We are in receipt of St. Louis newspapers that 
indicate plainly the presence of Air. W. J. Stevens, 
formerly superintendent of instruction at Carthage, 
AIo., in the larger city. It shows that in a recent con- 
test instituted by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, among 
the children of the public schools for the best essay on 
“How can a boy or girl help to make St. Louis beauti- 
ful,” the first prize was taken by Willard Jacobs, a 
pupil of the Pope school, of which Air. Stevens is 
principal. 
Evidently Air. Stevens is going to do his full share 
in preparing St. Louis for her world’s fair. Let us 
congratulate him on successfully introducing the good 
work begun at Carthage into the larger field that has 
opened up for him, and also on the fact that he is to 
have at least one extra year in which to spread the 
true faith — the fair having very sensibly been post- 
poned until 1904. 
V 
The manager of this department some time since 
asked for and has been sincerely hoping to receive a 
detailed account of the “doings” of the Village Im- 
provement Society of Northfield, Vt. It is a women’s 
organization, and such a busy and practical one that 
perhaps there is no time left in which to tell the out- 
side world about their work. Or, possibly, our letter 
went astray. At all events we have not heard from 
them in answer to our inquiry. Their work is entirely 
too good and too comprehensive to be overlooked, so 
we must do the best we can with the material at hand. 
The work is said to have originated with the ex- 
pression “outdoor housekeeping,” which is attributed 
to Airs. Charles D. Edgerton, now vice-president of 
the society. 
The first move of the new organization (started 
in 1901) was to invite a Boston landscape gardener 
to look over the needs of the town and outline them 
in a lecture. Then the women proceeded to “see 
about” getting the money for carrying out his sug- 
gestions. From the reports made at their first annual 
meeting, held in Alarch last, the money, the work, 
the material and everything else essential to success 
of the first water, was forthcoming on demand. 
Aliss Alartha Johnston, the president, gave the 
following account of the work either already accom- 
plished or proposed : “The plots of low, uncouth 
ground at the corners of our streets and also the sandy 
and barren waste about our depot were graded and the 
ground prepared for cultivation, and were made most 
attractive spots. The grounds are now all ready for 
