The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-06

II becomes necessary upon our resum-
ing the functions of our Office to replenlsh
Eearly all the stock of tools. and now we
have ample tools for next years work.
We have built stables and tool house,
have bought a new supply of tools COM
plete, consisting of shoves, hoes, axes,
picks, rakes, moving machine etc. Be
sides this we have laid 800 feet of water
pipe in Colonial park. and repaired wa
CONS and machines, and made and placed
over 100 benches in the parks, all of which
are in good order.
I'VE erected at the southern extremity of
the Extension park a band stand
at the cost of about 800 al the
request of the citizens who wished
to pay for the music, and sew
eral delightful concerts We're given during
the summer We have removed from this
park two large oaks and two large magno-
las and transplanted them, they being in
the way of military drills, ana
we submit that these trees
70 to 50 feet in hight and % to Is inches in
diameter are the largest trees whose
transplanting has ever been attempted
IN Savannah, and we are watching the
result of this experiment with great in
terest, with a view of future guidance.
1.-THE continuity of The service of the
Park and Tree Commission enables it to
project and plan many improvements of
a permanent, and We believe. most desir-
able character, and which will add greatly
to the adonment and beauty of our city;
and we only await sufficient means 10
carry our views into effect.
I'VE can accomplish none of these spe-
cific plans until larger resources are pro-
vided.
Believing, as we do, that well kept and
beautiful trees parks and squares furnish
valuable object lessons TO all and act as
important adjuncts in the culture of the
young, we hopefully anticipate an era
when a greater love for art and beauty
will pervade our community, and when
healthier and more aesthetic public opu-
ion, admitted to be highly refining by all
advanced educators win aid and enforce
our efforts to adorn our Savannah.
at might be proper for me 10 say some
thing about the cost of planting and get
ting trees as il no doubt seems very
expensive to some who do not know the
cause and facts and understand the mat
ter of getting them.
I'm the first place the distance from the
city to haul them is eight to twelve miles,
and it requires careful digging and man
agement to get the trees out of the bog
and swamp with the team. II takes sew
erai hours to take up a tree of the size
as we are now planting. In The first place
a rope, or block and fall, is hitched to the
tree at the top, a man climbs up and
fastens it 10 an adjoining tree and a mule
is hitched to the end of the block and fall
and after the three is dug around and
loosened it is drawn straight up, thereby
saving the roots as the greater part of
them is extracted from the ground almost
entirely uninjured, and this is che secret
of success In transplanting large trees.
1.-THE cost of the trees is from 10 to %
cents each"
On the drainage of Laurel Grove ceme-
terry the commission says
In June, 1898, the commission was asked
to confer with a. committee from the City
Council with reference to additional Gene
terry accommodation. At this conference
ii was agreed that more ground was nee
essary, it being an established fact that
there, were no more lots in Laurel Grove
cemetery 10 offer for sale. A proposition
was made that the city acquire a new
GENE terry, and various sites were men
toned 1t was the opinion of the COM
mission that sufficient ground could be
reclaimed in Laurel Grove cemetery to
satisfy the wants of the community for
years to come, and the commission sug-
gested that the point be definitely deter
mined by engineer experts before the city
should embark in the enterprise of es-
tablshing q new cemetery, which should
sum of $4,000 to 100000. BY invitation,
the commission visited some of the pro-
posed sites, but it was finally decided after
written reports from the city engineer, re-
inforced by other expert opinion that il
was entirely practicable to drain the open
part of Laurel Grove cemetery and furnish
all accommodations necessary for prob
ably fifteen to twenty years to come.
"At the request of this committee the
"a AZ .ot,
with an additional appropriation from the
city of $40 for superintendent and $299
from the general fund of the commission,
was sufficient to complete the work SO
far as the drainage is concerned. It is
still necessary to surface drain and lay
off the lots. open walks and drives, and
otherwise place this portion of the ceme-
terry in such order as will enable the city
to sell the lots to advantage. 1t will be
borne in mind that the sum accruing from
the sale of such lots will go into the city
treasury and not into the hands of this
commission, and that the final result will
be a source of profit to the city, being
much more than the sum spent on this
work. namely, S1,716, for which the city
obtained eco lots, valued at $4,000.
Besides the improvements mentioned
above, the most beautiful one is the
Smelling Of the Circle, Immediately in
of quantities of beautiful flowers and
grassing Of the walks on each side, and
the wire and iron fence extending from
the entrance to the city stable
Il attach to this report the mortuary
statistics of the keeper of the cemetery,
and beg to call attention to the startling
facts contained there, in particularly the
large proportion of coiored over white
buriais, viz: Ais whites TO 1,164 colored
in aOprppqta and the
mendous excess of still-born and prefna-
ture colored deaths over whites, viz: 161
colored to IS white-also that by these sta
tistics the spring and summer seasons are
largely the healthiest in our climate"
The mortuary report referred to shows
a total of 346 white deaths and $50 col
ored The fees for burials during the
year were 81 ,402. Sale of lots, white,
$495 80, and colored, $3.50 The total col
lections on account of the cemetery were
$2.O57.5O.