ARBORICULTURE 



A MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 



Published in the Interest of the 

 International Society of Arboriculture. 



■^uliscription. S2.00 per aiiniii 



John P. Brown, Editor, 1334 Michigan A 



venue. 



\'olume I. 



CHICAGO, OCTOBER, 1«)02. 



Number 2. 



Trees For City Streets. 



SUCCESSFUL tree growth depends upon 

 certain conditions of soil, moisture, 

 temperature and atmospheric purity, 

 and withal a vigorous constitution in the 

 tree. 



A bed of gravel does not supply the soil 

 requirements, nor yet a loam saturated with 

 gas escaping from leaky mains or sewers; 

 tropic heat gives energy for a long growing 

 season, while arctic cold confines the growth 

 to a brief period; smoke, dust and poisonous 

 gases are obnoxious to all forms of vege- 

 tation. 



The strenuous life of shade trees in our 

 great cities is not conducive to a free and 

 natural development which is characteristic 

 of a quiet wildwood. 



Certain trees have a vigorous constitu- 

 tion which enables them to withstand harsh 

 treatment. They are tenacious of life and 

 persist in living under all sorts of condi- 

 tions; their leaves are proof against foul 

 gases, smoke and dust; their roots have 

 such digestive power that life is maintained 

 although an asphalt roadway, impervious to 

 air or water, may cover the entire root sys- 

 tem._ ^ Such trees may not have the finer 

 qualities of foliage or the beauty of flower 

 possessed by other trees which are not so 

 capable of withstanding hard conditions, but 

 they are trees, and some of them may be 

 found in every city. The list of such trees 



is a short one, but valuable, nevertheless, as 

 from this short list some of our cities must 

 be supplied. 



THE ABELE. 



(Populus alba) or silver-leafed poplar. The 

 leaves, white or silvery beneath, gives the 

 tree a bright appearance as the wind 

 whorls the trembling leaves. It becomes a 

 large tree eighty to one hundred feet high 

 and afl^ords a good shade. Its suckering 

 habit makes it extremely objectionable upon 

 or near a lawn, and owing to most abele 

 trees having been taken from such suckers 

 with imperfect roots they do not maintain 

 an upright position, but are crooked or lean- 

 ing. It is persistent and grows in every 

 conceivable location, so where every good 

 tree has failed there is yet a chance to 

 have a shade by planting the abele. 



THE AILANTHUS 



is also a hardy, vigorous growing tree for 

 similar locations. The tree has a tropical 

 appearance and forms a dense shade. While 

 the staminate trees are in flower they have 

 a very objectionable odor, and should not be 

 tolerated if any better trees can be induced 

 to grow. The roots extend for great dis- 

 tances and send up innumerable suckers. 

 With all the objections to the ailanthus we 

 find it in every city where most other trees 

 have perished. The wood is hard, takes a 



