MISSOURI STA'IK IK^R riCUI/rUKAL SOCIKTY. 



The matter of the trees that shall be along side of the roads is 

 one of very great importance for the benefits they bring to the roads as 

 lines upon which to travel, and for the refining, educating, cultivating 

 effect they may have upon the people who pass over them, and those 

 who live beside them. 



In the state of Missouri what a variety has the country over which 

 we travel upon our common roads. 



Crowned hill top and spread out valley; slopes whose outlines 

 mingle as we look; varied shapes and endless variety of forms; vale and 

 intervale; mornings and evenings; lights and shadows when the sun is 

 low; masses of woods and the too open prairie; the winding way along 

 the ridge; the ascents and descents over the rolls, and the right lines 

 across the river bottoms; the farm house with its orchard and its yard; 

 the narrow wooded valley where a few yards is the measure of our vis- 

 ion, and the elevation from whence rivers and cities are seen and vast 

 expanses are spread out before our eyes. The tender tints of the leaves 

 in spring, the strong, deep greens of the foliage in midsummer and the 

 gorgeous colors of the great massing of autumn leaves when they paint 

 themselves for the time of their passing away. 



What may not the roadsides .of Missouri be made to be in the 

 future if only the right ones of nature's trees are left standing, and 

 millions more of trees are well chosen and planted, the right tree in 

 the right place. 



In the forests we may read the record of centuries, plainly written, 

 to tell us which is most beautiful and longest lived; while nature's 

 groupings around us on every hand are a wide open volume of free in- 

 struction in landscape gardening. 



We have transplanted many of these forest trees and know how to 

 handle them successfully. Our experiments and experiences with the 

 evergreens and larches cover a period of more than thirty years. We 

 have tried them in Missouri for a generation and have already learned 

 them well enough to call them into use on our grounds and along on 

 our highways. 



TREES SHOULD NOT 

 be planted too thickly along our lines. Our roads must not be too 

 much shaded, e'se they will not dry so soon, and we will have them 

 muddy most of the time. The sunshine and the air must have a proper 

 chance at the road beds. 



Most of these roadside trees should be trimmed well up, so that the 

 shining sun and moving air may do their proper work, and that the 

 views may not be shut off. A group here on the top of this hill or 



