PARK AND CE-MKTERY 
3(>4 
Of the boys who attended the school last year, 
eighteen replied in person to a postal card which was 
sent to them the latter part of the winter. Beginning 
on March ist, lessons were given them every two 
weeks until the end of April in the potting-room and 
greenhouse. Each boy was required to bring from 
its bin, mix and sift his soil, plant the seed, pot, re- 
pot and prick out lettuce and tomato plants. So well 
did these boys do this work that there was scarcely 
a plant that they had anything to do with but what 
lived and did well. The advanced boys have larger 
gardens, ten by thirty, and, for convenience in the 
lay-out, their gardens run east and west. The others, 
each ten by tw^enty-five, run north and south. There 
are five-foot walks between each row and three-foot 
walks between each garden. In addition to the crops 
that the new boys raise^ the advanced ones have cab- 
bage. celery and Swiss-chard. The girls have no corn, 
but have more flowers. The plantings are so ar- 
ranged that after the first four weeks the children 
have something to take home each time. Radishes 
are planted continually during the summer, and lettuce 
and beets more than once. Many of the flowers are 
started in the greenhouse and the plants set out, so the 
pupils have practice not only in sowing the seed, but 
in setting out and in caring for plants of various kinds. 
Beginning on the south side, the boys have verbenas, 
pansies, pinks, asters, lettuce, beets, radishes, tomatoes. 
water-melons, string beans, shell beans and two rows 
of corn. One would be surprised at the amount of 
produce they can get from so small a garden. Some 
of the boys have taken a peck of string beans at a time, 
large bunches of beets, and from thirty to forty rad- 
ishes, and one garden has already yielded 222 pansies, 
251 verbenas, 63 heads of lettuce, 82 radishes, 63^ 
quarts string beans, 30 beets, besides beet greens. 
Some of the second year boys have had much more. 
But it is not what the boys raise that is of the greatest 
value to them. The practice in measuring, in watch- 
ing for the things to come up, in learning to observe 
what they look at and to understand something of 
what they see, the growing love for nature and things 
beautiful, learning habits of industry, keeping the boys 
occupied when, otherwise, many would be on the 
Street, and the physical development in the pure open 
air ; these are some things which are of far greater 
importance than the garden jwoduce, both to the boys 
and to the state. 
The experience of two years has demonstrated that 
there is a large field of usefulness open for elemen- 
tary training in Horticulture. The unflagging interest 
manifested by tlie pupils and the progress which they 
have made is an unmistakable indication that there 
will be a constantly increasing demand for this kind 
of instruction. 
Cemetery Superintendents in Annual Convention. 
The sixteenth annual convention of the Association 
of American Cemetery Superintendents was held in 
Boston and its vicinity August 19th to 22d. Viewed 
either from an educational or a recreative standpoint, 
it was one of the most successful conventions of the 
kind ever held in this country. Like some of the model 
cemeteries visited by the superintendents, it was a rare 
combination of the work of men — the president and 
secretary- and the executive committee — in perfecting 
such a valuable and entertaining program, and of na- 
ture in providing such rare and beautiful weather. 
The gathering together of so many prominent ceme- 
tery officials from all parts of the country concentrated 
a great variety of experience and made the discussions 
l)oth at the formal meetings and in the informal group- 
ings of great value to all who entered into the spirit of 
the convention. It would have been worth while to 
attend such a meeting anywhere, but when to these 
things were added the practical object lessons of the 
parks and cemeteries of a city like Boston it is not 
strange that the attendance was large and the delegates 
went home determiniM never to miss a future conven- 
tion of this useful association if it were possible to get 
there. 
The headquarters of the convention was the Copley 
Square Hotel. The first meeting was held in the par- 
lors of the hotel, but it was found that the attendance 
was so large it would be necessary to have more room, 
and subsequent meetings were held in a portion of 
the main dining hall. 
The convention was opened promptly Tuesday 
morning by President Frank Enrich, followed by 
prayer by the Rev. C. H. Spaulding. Chairman Doyle, 
president of the Board of Aldermen, welcomed the 
delegates to the city. In doing so he assured them 
that they would receive every assistance from Mr. 
Morton, the city superintendent of cemeteries, and 
from the city officials generally. He also hoped their 
visit to the city would be a pleasant and profitable one. 
Mr. Bellett Lawson responded briefly. 
The president then delivered his annual address. 
The annual report of Secretary and Treasurer J. H. 
Morton showed no material changes in membership. 
The deaths of Hezekiah Hulme, Jr., of Brighton, Pa., 
and B. B. Morehouse, of Cortland, N. Y., were an- 
nounced and suitables resolutions reported. 
The financial report was as follows : 
Balance on hand last year, $22.02 ; total receipts, 
$472.02; expenditures, $415.60; balance on hand, 
$56.42. 
