THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 145 



shrubs are very beautiful ilurin<( the flowering period. The 

 species usually found seems to be Spiraea vanhouttei. 



Matrimony vine (Lyciiim vulgar^) is a frequently ob- 

 served shrub, sometimes planted as a hedge, but not often as 

 a single shrub. It does very well but has the Ijad habit of 

 sfireading and in some places becomes a pest. When planted 

 in a row with a luw trellis through the middle it makes a rather 

 striking ornamental hedge. 



Roses are commonly planted as single shrubs, occasion- 

 all v in rows or thickets. Two or three species are usually 

 seen, among them the climbing rose, the eglantine, etc. 



Cottonwood was often planted by the pioneers either for 

 shade, when unl)- a few were planted, or for windbreaks when 

 many were planted closely in rows. The larger plantings ani 

 mainly in the Platte, Loup, and Wood river valleys ; only 

 small plantings occur on the uplands. Many of the early 

 plantings are now large trees with forest conditions and the 

 usual undergrowth. The plantings w^ere around or adjacent 

 to the farmsteads and if large extended along the fields ad- 

 jacent to the highway. The most extensive planting and one 

 of the older ones that I observed was on the south side of the 

 Platte river, southeast of Kearney. Here several closely 

 planted rows for miles flank the highway which runs eastward, 

 the rows gradually thinning down to one before ending. Th^ 

 species usually seen w^as the western one known as Populus 

 sargentii. The cottonwood has some undesirable qualities 

 and does not seem to be much in favor with recent planters 

 in spite of the fact that it grows rapidly and gives consider- 

 able shade. 



Red ced3.r {Junipenis z'irginiaua) is frequently planted 

 perhaps a few for ornament, but more often in rows, and then 

 less for ornament than as a windbreak. The red cedar does 



