Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-10-14
YOUNG BEAIjTIIIFIERS,
St. Louis Boys and Girls irapHov ing Their Town.
UGLY SPOTS TRANSFORME '


 ing Highly succaeof..,-1Yto,e E,5:.,
 of Residents Interested In the Work.
 The plan adopto1 i'll St Louis to l. luce the children to take up tie wor if town improvement might be follow sd by any community to advantaG- 'The philosopher who pronounced t}, small boy natural savage wo.f3e gnodify his opinion if he lived in th., 4own today, for during the last few years the St. Louis boy has developed Ja taste for the aesthetic quite equal TA kind, if not in degree, to that shown by Ris sisters and his cousins and his aunts In addition to the multfarous Amusements and employments, the St Houis boy has acquired taste fol Mower growing, and all over the town m yards of both low and high degree the sound of the hoe is heard, together with the voice of its operator, as he noisily consults with his fellows con cerning the best things to plant and how the planting ought to be done.
 This sudden activity on the part oi the boys is not due to aesthetic inspira Sion so much as to the stimulus fur ni led by the offer of prizes, says ths St. Louis Globe Democrat. The small boy is not natural garden maker. Ii he were to consult his individual pref erences in the matter of back yards timson weed would suit him as wei as a hibiscus; broken crockery, tir cans and halves of bricks would an swer his purpose as we'll as green sward and bedding plants, but with i've dollar prize in view, together with the distinction arising from it's attain ment, the boy is willing to hustle, and fin many parts of the town the hustlne has been followed by surprising re Gults.
 Nearly ten years ago D. M. Hazlett n well known citizen of St. Louis, Wht in other towns and cities had beer 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 Tn the southwestern district lecture on the subject, dwelling espe cially on what could be accomplished by boys and girls fin making beautiful the surroundings of the house Nucl interest was aroused The lecture was followed by others of a practical char acter, with illustrations showing Wha; had been done elsewhere and what might be done here. The boys began tt HnppntifiNn 0s aroused. Residents in a block in many cases determined upon a common pla1 of improvement so as to give the neigh borhood the appearance of unity Small prizes were offered for back yarC 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 sudden inspiration. The greater portion of it's line from Vanda venter avenue to the city limit Is locat ed on its own right of way. which runs through an alley fringed on both side: by back yard fences, ash heaps ana the miscellaneous debris that always collects in an alley when. as in that case, no particular objection is made tc It's use as q dump The Suburban peo ple heard criticisms of their roadway. Visiting strangers touring the city were advised to ride on other lines, so the Suburban management undertook tc Improve its surroundings by offering prizes for the handsomest back yards.
 The boys and girls along the route were not slow to hear of those prizes. Spading, hoeing, planting and watering went on, with surprising results. Ash 'heaps, tin cans, broken crockery and lbottomless barrels vanished, and on long stretches of the track the former unhandsome yards became bowers of floral beauty.
 : There is 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 hundred dollars and se cure no handsomer results than by the expenditure of hundred cents. Rare shrubs and plants are generally expen- ;sive, but rare plants are not necessary Eo make yard attractive, and as q general thing the common plants and wines, being vigorous of grHwth and thoroughly acciimated, maH q better showing in the yard than ii.e tender foreigners brought from a tropical cline
 One boy in St. Louis last year beau- tified large yard at an c"t!ay for seeds of $1 45 At the clo"e of the yseason he gathered and sto'tl away three or four times as man *eeds as he will need this year. so NH have seeds to sell or give an-;'" to his ineighbors. Bat he did 10. rra'H need Ito spend as much as he C:i' in tLie first ,place, for it Is surpri !aa, how few plants are needed to give yard an aspect of troplcat luxuriance.
 The Clean Town Grows.
 Just as you select q clean store tG