3.^8 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
TO PRESERVE The Wild Flower Preservation 
WILD FLOWERS. Society of America has been or- 
ganized in Washington, and a constitution adopted. 
Its objects are: To encourage the preservation and 
protection of native plants ; to secure the better en- 
forcement of present laws governing such preserva- 
tion ; to induce such further legislation as shall be 
deemed advisable. Steps are being taken to establish 
chapters in the larger cities and towns, and appro]miate 
literature is to be distributed to create practical inter- 
est in the society. Any movement to increase a knowl- 
edge and love of nature is one worthy of strong en- 
dorsement, and to preserve our rare plants is a positive 
duty. 
LEAGUE FOR CIVIC The August issue of The Chau- 
IMPRPVEMENT. faiiquan contains an illustrated 
article on The American League for Civic Improve- 
ment, written by its corresponding secretary, Mr. E. G. 
Routzahn, and which gives a very interesting account 
of the rise and progress of this association. The sys- 
tem adopted by the League for its work is clearly an 
educational one, comprising the distribution of litera- 
ture, especially written for the purpose, public lectures 
and encouraging co-operation in developing local im- 
provement societies. The amount of work accom- 
plished throughout the country in developing the im- 
provement idea- is in large measure due to the prac- 
tical educational methods instituted by the League and 
the enthusiasm actuating its executive. The develop- 
ment of the League into a sort of clearing house for 
the wddely diverse interests of outdoor improvement, 
serving all contributing organizations and supplanting 
none, is described in the article referred to, and will 
be read with interest. The latest steps in the “Elab- 
oration of the machinery of the movement” is the es- 
tablishment 'of a "series of ‘sections,’ each under the 
direction of a representative advisory council which 
constitutes, for most practical purposes, a working 
federation of the more prominent organizations and 
leading interests in the respective fields.” The sec- 
tions so far considered are : Arts and Crafts ; Civic 
Church ; Libraries and Museums ; Municipal Art ; 
Municipal Reform ; Parks — outdoor art ; Preserva- 
tion of Nature — including forestry; Public Nuisances 
— smoke, advertising ; Public Recreation ; Rural Im- 
provement ; Sanitation ; School Extension ; Social 
Settlements ; Village Improvement. This list is quite 
a comprehensive one, and able specialists are an- 
nounced as members of the advisory council, located at 
various points of the country, watching the wide field in 
order to “contribute the results to the common fund 
of information.” With such a powerful agency at 
work surely the public beauty movement should rap- 
idly display some practical results. 
BRPOKLYcNiTREE The Tree Planting and Eountain 
TLANTING SOCIETY Society of Brooklyn deserves high 
commendation for the effective work it has accom- 
plished in Brooklyn, and its example should be followed 
in every city of importance in the country. And more 
than that, its literature should be studied and methods 
adopted in every community whose aspirations tend 
toward civic betterment. The literature that has been 
prepared and distributed has promoted not only a 
greater interest in tree planting and culture, but it has 
made the people better acquainted with the nature of 
trees, those best adapted to special conditions, and the 
requirements of culture and care, and in such a prac- 
tical and comprehensible way that more zealous interest 
has been incited and respect engendered for trees that 
means better care for all the future. Its practical work 
has been equally effective, and it has extended its scope 
to the care of lawns and grass culture. It has com- 
pelled respect for the laws governing the care of the 
city trees, and has altogether proved itself a very valu- 
able and important auxiliary in the works of civic em- 
bellishment in both education and practical directions. 
Those desirous of emulating so worthy an example 
should address the society’s indefatigable secretary, Mr. 
Lewis Collins, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
A C0MMEcNTDc4BLE The second volume of The Arch- 
itectural Annual, under the editor- 
ship of Mr. Albert Kelsey, of Philadelphia, is a book 
far broader in its scope than its title would convey to 
the average reader. In treating of the architectural 
conditions and tendencies of the time, it also includes 
those subjects which serve as complements and acces- 
sories to the art, and which are necessary allies in the 
rapidly developing field of civic betterment, of which 
Mr. Kelsey is so earnest an advocate. Its twenty-two 
pages of editorial criticism and comment on many top- 
ics and under many heads are suggestive reading, and 
while frequently caustic and incisive, they only em- 
phasize the importance of the matter in hand, and in- 
vite attention and thought from the very vigor of their 
assertions. The book is profusely and splendidly 
illustrated and is as valuable to the layman as to the 
professional architect, for a very large share of its 
contents pertain to city development : such as recrea- 
tion grounds, the appropriate location of statuary, 
street lighting, and outdoor improvement generally. 
A very unique feature connected with the illustrations 
is the concise explanation or criticism attached to 
them, which at once attracts attention and dire^cts more 
careful inspection. The book serves a purpose, far 
more effective, than that of a mere annual : it displays 
a decided purpose, that of stimulating and encour- 
aging the upward growth of American architecture, 
and the general work of city building. 
