Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 9.djvu/646

 626 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

it prescribes gardens for every house. Moreover, there is a plan definitely carried out, of planting trees wherever possible even in much-frequented streets and squares. The Guentz bequest in Dresden furnishes an example. C6ln, also, sets out trees in the public squares whenever it can be done without hindrance to traffic. Dresden exhibited, further, a system of underground pipes for watering trees in busy streets and squares. The system has been in use twenty-five years. A total of 10,929 trees are thus watered.

In a very large number of German cities vacant land is par- celed out into tiny truck-gardens, which are rented to people who live in the prevalent tenement rows. Flowers and vege- tables are raised. The little summer house, Gartenlaube, which is seldom lacking, is a favorite resort for the family on Sundays and holidays. Kiel has about 325 acres divided into 2,700 such gardens. Where the group of gardens is more pretentious, it often has connected with it children's playgrounds and school gardens the latter cultivated by school children under the general direction of their botany teachers. Such groups were exhibited by Leipzig and by Freiburg. The children of German cities are well provided with sand-piles and playgrounds. In this field Miinchen's exhibit was the most telling. She showed a map of the city, which was thickly dotted with playgrounds, some connected with schools and others with small parks.

Public baths. An important undertaking of the municipalities is that of providing bathing facilities at small cost. Berlin exhibited, among others, its newest and largest establishment, which cost 968,600 marks. Halberstadt showed its establish- ment, built 1899, a t a cos t of 300,000 marks, with newest out- fitting for tub and shower baths, swimming, hot air, and steam baths. Hannover has plans for a new bathing establishment, to cost 925,000 marks, with three swimming-tanks, tubs, steam baths and air baths. Liibeck showed plans of the municipal sea baths at Travemiinde. Barmen spent 364,000 marks, in 19012, for rebuilding her baths. She now has shower, tub, hot-air, swimming electric-light, and sun baths. Freiburg has converted an unused gas reservoir into a swimming tank. The water is