TRANSACTIONS OF CHAMPAIGN CO. IIOKTICLLTURAL SOCIETY. -273 



pleasing effect. They may form a vista, through which the eye may lie 

 directed to some special object in the distance, or at the termination of a 

 long walk ; the trees in this case bordering the same will make a pleasant 

 shade in summer, and will be very grateful in our tropical months; but, as a 

 general rule, they had better be avoided, or at any rate be used sparingly, 

 for the same effect can be produced by planting in a more natural man- 

 ner. Now for the other extreme. If straight rows are objectionable, I 

 think the hap-hazard way of planting is intolerable. The first plan did 

 show some attempt at art, though perhaps misdirected ; but this is aim- 

 less and meaningless, and generally results in confusion and disappoint- 

 ment, and in a few years half of the trees have to be cut out, or the place 

 becomes a wilderness. 



Having shown you how not to plant, I will now state in general 

 terms how to plant. To begin: I think shelter from the prevailing 

 winds of the greatest importance, for I think, with a good belt of ever- 

 greens on the north and west sides of our gardens, we can then have 

 many choice plants that would otherwise be too tender in our changeable 

 climate. In planting these belts, they need not be one continuous line, 

 but may be broken or undulating in their outlines. In planting these 

 belts, or rather in arranging the stakes to represent the trees, it will 

 require two persons — one with the stakes marked to represent the different 

 trees, and the other to stand at the front door or principal front windows 

 and direct the location of the trees : placing the tall-growing ones in the 

 line of any object you may wish to shut out from view, always making 

 the belt at that point wider and heavier, and planting dwarf trees and 

 shrubs in places where you wish to leave a vista to some pleasing feature 

 in the landscape. By this simple means you will produce a pleasing out- 

 line to your belt, shut out unpleasant objects, retain all that is desirable, 

 and still have the benefit of its protection. This same plan should be 

 adopted for planting on all sides — keeping the [arge trees well back at the 

 sides and rear of the house, because large trees directly in front of a 

 building have a tendency to make it look small, while at the sides and 

 back, particularly where they tower above it, they appear to increase the 

 height. 



Having now, as it were, set your house in a beautiful frame-work of 

 green, you may commence to put in the finer touches, the bright colors — 

 the lights and shades of the true artist. The approach to the house is 

 best not made directly in front, but at the corner or a little to one side. 

 This allows of a gentle curve in the walk or drive, and clumps of choice 

 shrubs or roses, single specimens of trees or beds of flowers, may be planted 

 at intervals along the sides. If the surfoce of the groimd is undulating, 

 the walks may be made to wind around tlic knolls; and should it be neces- 

 sary to cross a stream or valley, a rustic bridge is always a pleasing feature. 

 These inequalities in the surface should be heightened by excavating the 

 lower soil and removing to the higher ground. V>y this means a little 

 labor on ground already broken will often make a bold and striking 

 landscape. I would not recommend the moving of soil to produce a 

 varied surface in our flat prairie grounds. The effect produced for the 



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