396 



TREES, IN TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 



space at this moment, to dwell upon the 

 subject in detail, we may venture two or 

 three hints about it. 



Nothing appears to be so captivating to 

 the mass of human beings, as novelty. And 

 there is a fashion in trees, which sometimes 

 has a sway no less rigorous than that of a 

 Parisian modiste. Hence, while we have 

 the finest indigenous, ornamental trees in 

 the world, growing in our native forests, it 

 is not an unusual thing to see them blindly 

 overlooked for foreign species, that have 

 not half the real charms, and not a tenth 

 part of the adaptation to our soil and cli- 

 mate. 



Thirty years ago, there Avas a general 

 Lomhardy "poplar epidemic. This tall and 

 formal tree, striking and admirable enough, 

 if very sparingly introduced in landscape 

 planting, is, of all others, most abominable, 

 in its serried stifTness and monotony, w^hen 

 planted in avenues, or straight lines. Yet 

 nine-tenths of all the ornamental planting 

 of that period, was made up of this now 

 decrepid and condemned tree. 



So too, we recall one or two of our villa- 

 ges, where the soil would have produced 

 any of our finest forest trees, yet where the 

 only trees thought worthy of attention by 

 the inhabitants, are the Ailanthus and the 

 Paper Mulberry. 



The principle which Avould govern us, if 

 we Avere planting the streets of rural towns, 

 is this : Select the finest indigenous tree or 

 trees; such as the soil and climate of the 

 place will bring to the highest perjection. 

 Thus, if it were a neighborhood where the 

 Elm flourished peculiarly well, or the Maple, 

 or the Beech, we would directly adopt the 

 tree indicated. We would then, in time, 

 succeed in producing the finest possible spe- 

 cimens of the species selected : while, if we 

 adopted, for the sake of fashion or novelty, 



a foreign tree, we should j)robably only suc- 

 ceed in getting poor and meagre specimens. 

 It is because this principle has been, per- 

 haps accidentally, pursued, that the villages 

 of New-England are so celebrated for their 

 sylvan charms. The Elm is, we think, no 

 where seen in more majesty, greater luxuri- 

 ance, or richer beauty, than in the valley 

 of the Connecticut ; and it is because the 

 soil is so truly congenial to it, that the elm- 

 adorned streets of the villages there, elicit 

 so much admiration. They are not only 

 well planted with trees — but with a kind of 

 tree which attains its greatest perfection 

 there. Who can forget the fine lines of the 

 Sugar Maple, in Stockbridge, Massachu- 

 setts ? They are in our eyes the rural 

 glory of the place. The soil there is their 

 own, and they have attained a beautiful sym- 

 metry and development. Yet if, instead 

 of maples, poplars or willows had been 

 planted, how marked would have been the 

 difference of efTect. 



There are no grander or more superb 

 trees, than our American Oaks. Those who 

 know them only as they grow in the midst, 

 or on the skirts of a thick forest, have no 

 proper notion of their dignity and beauty, 

 when planted and grown in an avenue, or 

 where they have full space to develop. Now, 

 there are many districts where the native 

 luxuriance of the oak woods, points out the 

 perfect adaptation of the soil for this tree. 

 If we mistake not, such is the case where 

 that charming rural town in this state, Can- 

 andaigua, stands. Yet, we confess we were 

 not a little pained, in walking through the 

 streets of Canandaigua, the past season, to 

 find them mainly lined with that compara- 

 tively meagre tree, the Locust. How much 

 finer and more imposing, for the long prin- 

 cipal street of Canandaigua, would be an 

 avenue of our finest and hardiest native 



