94 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



1. Is ihe proposed tree or plant hardy aud adapted to the climate ? 



2. Is it suited to the soil of the grounds of the planter ? 



3. Is it suited to the size of the lot ? 



4. Has it sufficient merit in beauty or novelty to make it desir- 

 able in the locality where planted ? 



Many mistakes are made on the first point named. We in Mis- 

 souri, at least in ray part of the great State, have an almost arctic win- 

 ter and a tropical summer, sometimes accompanied by severe drought. 

 Some plants will stand the cold of winter but succumb to the heat of 

 summer ; so that the introduction of trees from Siberia or other cold 

 countries is not a sure indication of their ability to stand our entire 

 season. Many ornamental trees, especially evergreens, died in this 

 vicinity in the extreme hot and dry summer of 1881. The Norway 

 Spruce and the White Pine furnished a large number of victims. 



The last two winters were unusually severe, the mercury marking 

 30° below zero in many places. So far as hardiness to stand extreme 

 cold is concerned, we may safely plant anything which has passed 

 without harm through these two trying seasons. Our native forest 

 trees have, of course, stood the test; and for them I wish to. make a 

 plea, especially lor the elm and ash. The famous botanist, Mr. Chaux, 

 pronounced the white elm the most magnificent A^egetable production 

 of the temperate zone. It is an interesting study, to note the wonder- 

 ful difference in the habits of growth of specimens of the elm. Some 

 are almost as erect as the Lombardy poplar ; others have pendulous 

 branches, rivaling the weeping willow. The variety known among 

 nurserymen as Fulva Pendula is very desirable for its luxurian growth 

 and elegant drooping habit. Its branches first shoot upwards and then 

 bend in graceful curves towards the earth. 



The white ash seems not to meet with the consideration its merits 

 deserve. I have in mind an ash of great beauty, which stood in the 

 original forest, a small sapling, when the ground was cleared for the 

 pioneer's dwelling. It was left in the yard and was beheaded at sixteen 

 or eighteen feet high. It has grown into a tree with a trunk two feet 

 thick, with an immense head, the upper branches erect, the lower 

 pendulous, all radiating from the center, forming a most beautiful 

 globular head. Its shade is the family's favorite lounging place in the 

 summer, and in the fall its coloring is almost as fine as that of the 

 hard maple. 



Wier's Cut-leaved Maple is another tree of surpassing merits. Its 

 deeply cut or lobed leaf, its combination of upright and of long,, 

 drooping, willow-like shoots make a picture of. wonderful airy grace- 



