PARK AND CEMETERY 
167 
overgrown with juniper. Three acres of 
the non-timbered portion have been cleared 
for planting. 
The Monoosnoc tract lies on Monoos- 
noc hill, on the south side of Monoosnoc 
brook. The area is approximately 47 acres. 
About 15 acres of this tract are well tim- 
bered while the balance is covered with 
sprout and scrub growth mixed with a 
small amount of white pine reproduction. 
The Taylor tract comprises approximate- 
ly 31 acres. About 19 acres are well tim- 
bered with white pine. The balance com- 
prised old pasture e.xtensively overgrown 
with juniper. All of the juniper and brush 
has been cleared from the non-timbered 
portion and five acres planted to four year 
old white pine transplants, spaced 6'x6'. 
This planting was unusually successful. 
Lommercial forestry firms ordinarily guar- 
antee that from 75% to 80% of the plants 
set out by them will survive the first season. 
check made late in the fall on the depart- 
ment's planting on the Taylor tract showed 
that more than 99% had survived, there 
being less than twenty blanks among the 
6,COO young pines planted on the area. 
THE HARTFORD PORTABLE PARK BENCHES 
George A. Parker, Superintendent of 
Parks in Hartford, Conn., has developed a 
very interesting and useful form of port- 
would be considered crude and inartistic. 
"I estimate that seats in parks and open 
spaces should be sufficient, in cities of 100,- 
five cents for one seat for one person. 
They are good for about five years, so that 
it costs us from six to nine cents for a 
HARTFORD BAND CONCERT BENCHES SHOWING BAND CONCERT BENCHES ADJUSTED FOR SIDE 
REAR BRACE. HILL. 
HARTFORD BAND CONCERT BENCHES STACKED IN 
YARD. 
BENCHES LOADED ON WAGON. ONE LOAD WILL 
SEAT FROM 1,000 TO 1,200 PERSONS. 
able bench for use at band concerts and 
other special events where it is not desired 
to have benches permanently located. 
The accompanying illustrations of these 
benches, and the following description by 
.Mr. Parker from ‘‘The Playground,” ex- 
plain very clearly the construction and use 
of the benches : 
"In Hartford we are using wooden 
benches in preference to iron or cement. 
\Ve have comparatively few iron frame 
benches, having purchased none for five 
years, but are making in our shops the 
wooden settee bench that we need. 
‘T believe we seat the people more com- 
fortably and at less expense per year than 
in any other way. The benches certainly 
are more comfortable to sit upon. The 
seating system of Hartford parks prob- 
ably differs from other cities, and perhaps 
COO people, which is my municipal yard 
stick, to seat five per cent of the population 
at one time, with extra movable seats that 
would seat five per cent more on unusual 
occasions, such as band concerts and cele- 
brations. 'I'hus, in Hartford we should 
have seats for five thousand people located 
in the different parks with seats for five 
thousand more people that can be moved 
from park to park. Hartford has the five 
thousand movable seats, but has not yet 
the five thousand seats to remain continu- 
ously in the parks. 
“This ratio would probably be less for a 
city of five million, like Xew York, under 
present conditions, but if the structural 
parks are built, I think the ratio would 
[)robably hold good, to the great advantage 
of the city. 
‘‘f)ur seats cost us from thirty to forty- 
park seat per person for one year, or a 
daily cost of about one-quarter of a mill, 
that is, one cent would give a person a seat 
in the park for a month. 
“The different parts of the seats are 
made from drawings as carefully drawn 
out to scale as for a machine, and are as- 
sembled as needed. The different parts 
are put together with bolts and screws, 
whenever intricately connected with other 
parts, and so planned that a broken piece 
can be replaced witbout destroying the 
others. 
“While all this may seem very simple 
and not worth writing about, yet 1 as- 
sure you what we now have is the result 
of many trials and considerable good lum- 
ber wasted. Tlie seating of people in 
parks is no simple matter, however simple 
the seat itself may be.” 
