368 ILLINOIS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



scents of many-tinted shrubs and plants bespeak a regard for something 

 beyond the pleasures of the palate or the profits of culture, and declare 

 the bliss of contentment more precious than gold. 



The importance of our subject is not limited to the planter or owner 

 of premises; it extends to the whole community. Says a certain writer: 

 "The constant, careful culture of good plants, whether for fruit or orna- 

 ment, can not fail to exercise a healthful influence on all in their vicinity, 

 as regards both taste and morals. It leads to gentle thoughts and good 

 purposes. The soothing and refining influence of spreading trees, of 

 flowering shrubs with delicate odors, of graceful climbers with drooping 

 festoons and intertwining tendrils, betoken home aff"ections, home com- 

 fort, contentment, and must bear profit in inspiring delicate thoughts, 

 in ameliorating manners and in cultivating virtue." 



Planting, Training and Handling. — Ornamental trees, or those 

 intended for ornamental junposes, when first planted out are commonly 

 quite small, and to give them their full allotted space at the commence- 

 ment would appear to many a waste of ground. With the wide-spreading 

 varieties, should the owner give them their full required space when first 

 planted, the surface of his grounds would remain unshaded for many 

 years ; hence it has been the common practice with some to set more 

 thickly at first, with the view of thinning out as they begin to encroach 

 upon each other. This is all well, provided the owner will give them the 

 proper thinning in time. There are many varieties of deciduous trees, 

 such as the maples, elms, ash, black-walnut, linden, honey locust, etc., 

 when taken from the nursery rows at the height of ten or twelve feet, may 

 be set within ten or twelve feet of each other, and during the first six or 

 eight years will not interfere with each other. At the same time an 

 agreeable amount of foliage and shade will be afforded by them. But 

 the difficulty is, they are quite apt to be left too long ; and the full, 

 rounded symmetry of their heads will be likely to be spoiled before they 

 are cut away. 



We not unfrequently see the largest kinds of both deciduous and 

 evergreen trees set within a few feet of each other ; sometimes we see 

 young evergreens transplanted within a single yard of a gravel walk or 

 drive-way ; if they grow well they must soon be cut down, shortened in 

 heavily, or suffered to close up the passage. It is therefore always best to 

 give ample space between the borders of drive-ways, walks or plantations 

 of trees, from the fact that their forms will always be more full and per- 

 fectly developed nearest such openings ; and no one would wish to spoil 

 the best and most beautiful portion of his trees by being obliged to cut 

 away and lay bare the unsightly and naked branches. 



If we wish our trees to grow up with perfect, rounded heads, with 

 thick, rich foliage and broad-spreading branches, we should never plant 

 in such a manner as to allow two adjacent trees to touch each other, even 

 at the extremities of their longest branches. 



It should be borne in mind that trees planted around buildings and 

 on the lawn are intended to ornament the ground on which they are 

 planted, and not to hide it. The subject of planting, training and hand- 



