Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1907-05-11
YOUNG BEAUTIF|ERS.
st. Louis Boys and Girls ImproV-
ing Their Town.
UGLY SPOTS TRANSFORMED.

The Plan of Offering Prizes For the
Improvement of Home Grounds Prov
ing Highly Successful-Whole Blocks
OF Residents Interested In the Work.
The plan adopted in ST. Louis to in
duce the children to take up the work
OF town improvement might be follow
ed by any community to advantage
The philosopher who pronounced the
small boy a natural savage would
modify his opinion if he lived in that
town today, for during the last few
years the st. Louis boy has developed
taste for the aesthetic quite equal III
kind, if not in degree, to that shown Dy
his sisters and his cousins and his
aunts In addition to the multifariouS
amusements and emplOyments, the st.
Louis boy has acquired taste for
flower growing and all over the town,
in yards OF both low and high degree,
the sound Of the hoe is heard, together
with the voice of it's operator, as he
noisily consults with his fellows con-
corning the best things to plant and
how the planting ought to be done.
This sudden activity on the part or
the boys Is not due to aesthetic inspira-
ton so much as to the stimulus fur
nished b. the offer of prizes, says the
st. Louis Globe Democrat. The small
boy is not a natural garden maker. Ii
he were to consult his individual pref
erences in the matter of back yards,
Unison weed would suit him as well
as hibiscus; broken crOckery. tin
cans and halves OF bricks would an
swer his purpose rs well as green
sward and bedding plants, but with a
five dollar prize in view, together with
the distinction arising from it's attain
ment, the boy is willing TO hustle, and
In many parts Of the town the hustling
has been followed by surprising re-
suits.
Nearly ten years ago d. NJ. Hazlest,
well known citizen Of st. Louis, who
In other towns and cities had been
identified with movements having civic
Improvement in view, took up the mat
ter Of yard Identification as special
theme and delivered In one Of the
churches In the southwestern district a
lecture on the subject. dwelling espe-
ciaIly on what could be accomplished
by boys and girls In making beautiful
the surroundings of the house. Much
interest was aroused. The lecture was
followed by others OF practical char
acter with Illustrations showing what
had been done elsewhere and what
might be done here. The boys began TO
bestir themselves. Competition was
aroused. Residents in block I'm many
cases determined upon common plan
of improvement so as to give the neigh
bOrhOOd the appearance OF unity.
Small prizes were offered for back yard
Improvement by boys and girls. The
idea spread, and soon neglected back
yards began to blossom as the rose
Then the Suburban Railroad COM
pany had a sudden inspiration. The
greater portion of it's line from Vande-
venter avenue to the city limit is locat-
ed on its own right Of way. which runs
through an alley fringed on both sides
by back yard fences, ash heaps and
collects in an alley when, as in that
case. no particular objection is made to
it's use as a dump. The Suburban peo-
pie heard criticisms of their roadway.
Visiting strangers touring the city were
advised to- ride on other lines, so the
Suburban management undertook to
improve its surroundings by offering
prizes for the handsomest back yards.
The boys and girls along the route
We're not slow to hear O. those prizes.
Spading, hoeing, planting and watering
went on, with surprising results. Ash
heaps, tin cans, broken crockery and
bottomless barrels vanished, and on
long stretches Of the track the former
unhandsome yards became bowers OF
floral beauty.
There Is a general idea that flower
garden is an expensive luxury, attain
able only by the rich. That depends
altogether upon what is planted. One
may spend a hundred dollars and Sc
cure no handsOmer results than by the
expenditure Of a hundred cents. Rare
shrubs and plants are generally expen-
sive. but rare plants are not necessary
to make a yard attractive, and as
general thing the common plants and
vines, being vigorous Of growth and
thoroughly acclimated, make better
showing In the yard than the tender
foreigners brought from a tropical
cline.
One boy In st. Louis last year. beau
titled a large yard at an outlay for
seeds of $1.45. At the close OF the
season he gathered and stored away
three or four times as many seeds as
he will need this year, so will have
seeds to sell or give away to his
neighbors. But he did not really need
to spend as much as he did in the first
place, for it Is surprising how few
plants are needed to give a yard an
aspect of tropical luxuriance.