TREES FOE STREETS. 



did not know ; it \v;is cheaper for him, from the oaniiiin^s of liis daily lal)or, to liire 

 his cow pastured, so she uiiglit be safe from acoideiit, and when the hibors of the day 

 were ended, and fatigue bore down Iiis frame, he should know where to find her. 



So we see that this vile and beastly praotioc does not arise from philanthropy to the 

 poor, but is a device of narrow-minded, selfish men, got up and sustained for personal 

 interest, in opposition to public good. 



We have introduced this subject now, more particularly for the bearing it has on 

 tree culture along our waysides. In charity we suppose there is not an individual in 

 all our wide land who does not look upon a beautiful tree as an object fit to please the 

 eye and elevate the soul. We cannot think that in our land of taste, education, and 

 retineuient, there is a soul so dull as not to appreciate the beauties of a lovely avenue, 

 opening in new beauties at each angle of the street, presenting pleasing varieties of 

 form and features, as varying circumstances prompt to their development. And how 

 many are there, even of those who have no wayside lands to ornament, who would 

 gladly contribute to carry out the plan of loveliness that would transform all our high- 

 ways into beautiful avenues, if they could be assured that their labor would not be 

 in vain ? " I admire trees by the way-side, and would gladly plant them out if I 

 could be assured of tbeir success ; but, as certainly as I plant one in the highway, it 

 is rubbed down by cattle, or rooted up by hogs," is an expression in no way unfamiliar 

 to our cars. 



But allowing trees to live and even grow under these circumstances, they do so in a 

 very objectionable manner. By being frequently rubbed against, the pores of the bark 

 become closed, so that their health-giving functions cannot be performed ; the tree be- 

 comes sickly, stunted in growth, so that a full and vigorous development cannot take 

 place ; disease which must result in death, soon shows itself in the premature fading 

 of the foliage ; the branches die off and fall from their places ; decay fixes its throne 

 in the heart, and though external appearances may dictate to the contrary, it works 

 with vigorous and unremitting energy within, until its work is complete, and a blast 

 from boreas prostrates to the earth, what was designed as a monument of beauty 

 aud taste. 



Again, were this pernicious practice abandoned, other improvements in our streets 

 might safely be ventured upon. Clumps of roses, or other beautiful plants might 

 safely be planted at appropriate distances, without loss of land, even if the land 

 devoted to such objects is ever lost, which w^e very much doubt, to perfume the 

 the air with fragrance, and feast the eye of the traveler with objects of beauty and 

 the mind with pleasing reflections. What a beautiful and attractive country that 

 would be, where the thoroughfares were inviting avenues, fanned by cool and refresh- 

 ing breezes and perfumed by flowers as sweet as those that gave their fragrance to 

 the morning air of Eden ! A great contrast, truly, to our highways, rooted up to a 

 harvest of weeds, filled with animals, the very sight of which is justly a terror to 

 nerveless females and children, whose power of protection is too feeble to shield them 

 the dangers to Avhich they are constantly exposed 

 d may we not anticipate the day when changes like these shall be fully realized ? 



