The St. Louis Republic., 1901-01-31

fertilizers. seed must be sown In spots
! where the turf fails. the sod must be rolled
to keep il even and firm, and in the autumn
the incessant falling Of leaves adds 70 TIE
labor required. The best lawns. ia the eli
mate OF -. Louis, where the summers ere
usually hot and dry. and Tn ihtsrNsi-lhS <
winters marked by severe vicissitudes. COM
pare unfav0rabiy with the lawns In many
i other localiues. aGd are preserved WIN
greater difficulty than In mdny AmeIl-in
cities II the season chances to favor a
luXuriant growth Of vegetation. as was true
cf the season just closed. the labor Is theh
equally needed. hut T. expended 10 bsttrf
purpose and with greater saffsfacuOM ii
moving grass and in keeping walks. drives
and cutters free from weeds Trees ard
shrubbery. whatever the character Of the
season. require pruning and other care, par
ticulaly in keeping them free from injurious
Walks. drives. sewers. greenhouses aad
larger buildings. fences. gateways a y
works Of aTt-ali Of the works Of man, ~
short-redulre constant supervision ana IA
Dor to prevent as far as possible. the raw
ages Of time and the effects o. use. and 20
restore those structures to their original
condition when this becomes necessary o
this end. part Of the regular iabor rOu-
tine j. that incident 20 the dressing an j
rolling Of walks and drives Greenhouses
ana other buildings. fences and gateWaya >
demand frequent painting and often more
extensive repairs. while the works Of art
more especially those near the entrances.
require regular examination and cccasiona!
attention.
All OF these ob;igat.ons. il is believed
a result of TIE care exercised. the general
effect produced has been gratifying Close.
NelVety sTard. the result Of dense lux
uriant growth and frequent mon ing tn-
iivened and relieved from rnouotoHy b.
the brilliant colOrs OF flowers following
one another in the succession Of the season
has been. as II always must he. one Of the
most satisfying ard important features %
the park New Vistas have been oDened
through the trees in some places. old ones
enhanced hy ornitfne ntatio1- and incrs aseiI
opportunities have been given for Obsery. ne
from the park some Of the more pleasing
views Of the surrounding dis rict. The pub
lie has evinced its unmistakahie approval Of
the efforts made in its behalf and the
park has been sought by visitors in increas-
cation that Is gratifying 30 the Commis-
sioners and a silent token that the mark
ministers TO wants not otherwise met, At
least within its radius % accessibility.
PRESERVATION OF ORDER
The aggregate number Of park visitors
grows larGer with each year-sn increa-e
Que IN part To the constant additions - the
proximate. populations part. it Is tei.sye1
To a growing appreciation of the attraction
Of the park on the TART OF the public at
large. and IN part undoubtedly. to the I'M
pTpyements in the street-car service Of the
city whereby the park can - reached
quickly and inexDensively from all points
The extension Of the direct route OF the
Nandevenier line TO the north gate Of the
park in particular. has proved Of great
public benefit As yet. however. not"1 n
standing the steady Increase IN the use
made Of the park. police patrol Is Necessary
rather a. a rrecauttoD against accidents
than as an agency in preventing disorder.
The visiting public has been Of class
scarcely requiring supervision, and even
during the troubled days OF the street-ear
strike OF 800. no difficulty was experienced
In preserving order.
CARE AND IMPROVEMENT OF WALKS
AND DRIVES.
The walks and driyeWays Of the Dark
have received the best Of care during the
year just closed. Frequent rolling and
dressing have been necessary. and on a few
a considerable amount Of labor has had 20
be expended in freeing the cutters and silt
pits from the detritus washed into them.
and much new gravel has been required to
replace that ground into dust and swept
away by the force Of the water. The ma
-terial commonly used in repair work Of this
kind IS the Mersmec gravel. considered To
be the best dressing available in this local
it,,
The old limestone cutters of the park.
fanking both walks and drives, and aggTe-
eating considerably more than ten miles in
length. demand constant supervision aid
the employment of much labor in keeping
them free from weeds As the limestone
Of which they are constructed disintegrate5
this difficulty Increases Coating these gut
ters with cement was tried some years ago
but was abandoned the effect not being
lasting enough TO compensate for the con-
siderable cost. The use Of chemicals for de-
stroying weeds has not resulted sa;isfacto-
rily- Some parts OF these gutterS-nota5ly
those near the south entrance-in which the
component stones were laid in cement. are
whole picturesque, but the greater part OF
the remainder are "A source of annoyance
The board has. therefore. during the year
continued its announced policy of replacing
these old cutters with granttold- In the
spring nearly a thousand feet OF such gut
tering was laid I'm the western part of the
park, near the entrance from Kings high
way. and the opportunity then presented
10 reconstruct the adjoining roadways was
WAYS IN this manner the surfacing material /
used Is that known as Pacific cement gray- 1
el. which. binding readily and firmly as Il
presenting an elastic surface. smooth and !
duStleSs Is perhaps the best finishing ma /
teriaI to be obtained in this locality.
feet OF new granitCtd gutter1nS 1
was placed along the central drive, extent |
ing from point south OF me muslc pasl pN,..
statue and encfrciing the plot OF which this /
splendid work Of art forms the chief orna-
nent. The new cutters were placed some
has entailed the necessity Of considerably 4
eieyating the grades Of the lawns outside
md adjoining them In this work, row in 1
the large amount Of additional
soil required Is being removed from a spoc
within the park, not far from the Thurman
avenue gate. thus creating there large
skating pond. a desideratum not hitherto
Dbtaina BILE; when completed. this viii not
1nly be the means Of affording pleasurable
exercise. but will add a picturesque attrac-
lion to the north drive. The old Limestone
taken from the cutters that have been re-
placed BY gTSni,od Is In process 9f gtirs i
purpose being TO reduce the curve OF the
,Town. in order 10 lessen the Iab;lity Of in
Jury from washing and to improve the sur
face as well The maintenance OF a good
roadway around the Humboldt statue has
Ong been a difficult matter. but the cutters
slOnz the outer edges Of the curves have
low been elevated. and II "a confidently
lOped that the difficulty experienced in re-
aiming the surface material in position On
his curyinS and comparatively steep d.
.lire Is at an end. and that this portion OF
he driveway system OF the park VIII from
his time on be as acceptable and sat Sfac-
ory as the remaining portions are admitted
o be. The Commissioners feel that no ef-
oFf should be spared TO maintain TIE ex-
ellence OF this important feature. and 70 1
atisfy the public expectation that the rad
ways Of Tower Grove Park snail at all
ines be such as to AFFORD pleasure to those
: no ride or drive or use the bicycle
DRAINAGE
Constant supervision has been exercised
Turing the year to see that sanitary cond:-
ions were secured. and that the best posi-
lie provisions were maintained Tor c1rlnS
or tie ordinary demands Of drainage and
he extraordinary occasional demands for |
Iisposing properly OF storTD-vater- The ex-
ersire and excellent drainage system IN
he park has been maintained IN the best |
Z order. and additions toit have been made
y laying about seven hundred and fft- :
eet Of sewer pipe and placing many new ,
a fch-ba Sins.
The growing demands made upon the drain
ge outlets 10 the north or the park by the
apidly increasing population OF that dis
rict, confined with the effects Of the large
mount OF storm-Ester delivered into the
ark overfiOw-rGns from the south. augment
he difficulties experienced in preventing
amage in the park from this source and
mpEasiZe the importance Of the earliest