178 Missouri State Horticultural Society. 



tree for which they had cared until it became large and spreading. 

 When such a course is suggested they seem almost as much shocked 

 as if you had said : " Your family of children is more numerous 

 than you can properly feed, clothe and educate ; kill off a few of 

 the least promising ones. In a few years those left will by their 

 increased thrift more than fill the places of those you put out of 

 the way," 



Mr, C has a place very different from those already mentioned. 

 It is generally admired. It covers about three fourths of an acre 

 in a nearly square form, with a large two-story white house in the 

 center of the rear boundary, A large, straight, gravel walk 

 bisects the place from front to rear, lined on either side by a row of 

 our native red cedars. On each side of the lot, to the right and 

 left, are long lines of well-formed cedar hedges some three feet 

 high by one foot wide on top, and eighteen inches at the bottom. 



A small plot in front of the house is divided from the remain- 

 der by a low lattice fence of common lath. In this plot the good 

 wife has her flower-beds. The larger j)lace has a fine blue grass 

 sod, over which are scattered a few specimens of Scotch, Austrian 

 and White pines. The only deciduous trees are a fine beheaded 

 black locust. The most conspicuous feature of the place is a num- 

 ber of red cedars sheared into fantastic forms, columns, pyramids, 

 globes, cubes, houses surmounted by roosters, peacocks and other 

 such forms. Such evidences of care and skill attract attention, 

 and even admiration from many persons, but are in doubtful taste, 

 to say the least. As the cedars in front grew large and hid the 

 view from the front windows, their lower branches were cut away, 

 till now they have naked trunks fifteen o]»- twenty feet high. 

 Such trees are pronounced ugly by almost every writer on landscape 

 gardening. The same amount of labor would have produced a 

 better result by a greater admixture of deciduous trees, say a speci- 

 men or two of elm, Wier's cut-leaved maple and the catalpa. 



Mr. D. marked off his place a few years since by serpentine 

 walks, alongside of which he planted small Scotch and Austrian 

 pines, and American arbor vitae. It looked well enough at first, 

 but now the trees are hiding the walks, and if not removed they 

 will soon hide the house. Hence I would like to ask my horti- 

 cultural brethren of longer and wider experience than myself, if any 

 of them have found a small evergreen, hardy enough to stand our 

 torrid summers, frigid winters and protracted droughts? The 

 Irish Juniper and the dwarf arbor vitae stand but few years at 

 best. 



