STATE HORTICULTLUAL SOCIETY. 117 



are laden witli fruit ; our stock is improved by importations from all 

 parts of the world ; our houses are beginning to show a higher order of 

 architecture, and the skill of finished workmen. But our yards and lawns 

 are too often neglected, cheerless and bare; our parks are few and far be- 

 tween ; our roads are left without a tree on either side to please the eye, to 

 protect us from the burning sun of summer or the fierce winds of winter. 



This is all wrong. We have in all parts of Illinois trees and shrubs 

 tliat are adapted to the soil and climate; trees and shrubs that are orna- 

 mental and useful. We have only to go to the forest and get them, and 

 with a little judgment and care in their selection and planting we can 

 add much to the beauty and comfort of our homes. An ordinary house 

 surrounded by nicely kept lawns, trees and shrubs, is more attractive, 

 cheerful and home-like than a fine house without them. 



I can indicate only in a general way the trees and shrubs that are 

 most suitable for this purpose in Northern and Southern Illinois, but for 

 Middle Illinois I can be more specific. One general rule applies equally 

 to all places. That is, indigenous trees are more reliable than foreign 

 ones. There are exceptions to this rule, but the exceptions are compara- 

 tively few. Some trees prefer wet, some dry soil, some sandy; some 

 prefer sheltered, some exposed places. A few will flourish in any soil, or 

 on any exposure, the majority will not. To insure success in the cultiva- 

 tion of trees and shrubbery, all these things must be taken into consider- 

 ation, and each one placed as nearly as possible in its natural habitat. 

 I am aware that a theory has been adopted and advocated recently, by 

 pretty good authority, that plants, including trees, may do better in 

 entirely different soil and surroundings than that in which they are found 

 in nature. This is undoubtedly true of some plants, but I still think 

 they are the exceptions and not the rule. Most trees and shrubs that are 

 healthy and vigorous are handsome, but a sickly tree or shrub, no matter 

 how elegant the species may be to which it belongs, is unsightly and 

 should be removed. 



Among the indigenous trees of Middle Illinois that are suitable tor 

 our purpose may be named the hard or sugar maple, the soft or silver-leaf 

 maple, the box elder, the hackberry, the linn, the ash (five species), the 

 coffee-nut, wild black cherry, persimmon, pecan, honey locust, sycamore, 

 black walnut, red cedar, and, in Southern Illinois, the tulip tree. 



Of those that are not indigenous, we can recommend the European 

 elm and linn, the Norway maple, birch, hemlock, larch, Norway and 

 Scotch pine, mountain ash, catalpa white willow, horse-chestnut, and Nor- 

 way spruce. Among the indigenous shrubs of Middle Illinois that are 

 worthy of cultivation for ornament 1 would call attention to the June 

 berry, shad bush or service berry [ Amalanchier canadensis \, red bud, 

 wahoo sumac, aromatic sumac, black and red haw, bladdernut {Staphalca 

 tripolia), red osier dogwood {Camus sto/onif ere), the alternate-leafed cor- 

 nus {Cornus alternifoUa), and in Southern Illinois the flowering dogwood 

 { Conius florida') , and the Indian currant { Symphoricarpus vulgaris^. 



Of our vines, the Virginia creeper {Ampleopris (juiti</uifo/ia), the 

 trumpet creeper (^Tecoma radicans), the wild grape vine, the moonseed or 



