Septembei 14, 1907 



HORTICULTURE 



345 



A Plea for More Shade Trees 



The planting of a tree for shade, the placing of a 

 shaded bench or anything that would conduce to the 

 comfort of one's fellow-creatures was accounted in the 

 middle ages an act of piety, springing from a gracious 

 heart. In our daj' with its rush and pressure of busi- 

 ■ ness, we have little time to give to these gracious as- 

 pects of the more leisurely life and the old-time ideas 

 are liable to be quite forgotten. 



An hours' ride through any of our cities is sufficient 

 to give the observer an absolute conviction of the need 

 of a more liberal use of trees for shade and ornamenta- 

 tion. Art must win favor, archtecture praise, but let 

 us also "Consider the trees". 



In days of extreme heat such as we have experienced 

 this summer, when the sun's rays pour down on our 

 streets, making them a veritable furnace to go through, 

 what a difference in comfort it would make to have a 

 shade tree wisely planted wherever space would allow. 

 Of course in streets whose width is such as not to allow 

 for traffic as well, this is out of the question, but how 

 often one sees space where a row, group, or even a 

 single tree could very well be planted, adding comfort 

 and beauty to the surroundings, while in the case of 

 many streets which run north-east and south-west a 

 row of trees planted on the south-western side would be 

 a real solacement 



We have not a vestige of an excuse for saying there 

 is no room for trees on many of our streets if we will 

 only consider for a moment the many forms of trees 

 at our disposal. Is our space limited ? Then use those 

 trees which are more or less columnar in form such as 

 the Lombardy poplar (Populus fastigiata), an excel- 

 lent subject where quick growth is needed and one 

 which will stand all the pruning you like to give it, 

 while Populous monilifera, though not of upright form 

 can be restricted by annual pruning to any extent. 



AVliere a tree, columnar in growth and practically 

 immune from the common insect attacks, is wanted, 

 plant the male form of the Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo 

 biloba), a tree of great beauty and one deserving of 

 all that has been written in its favor. It is as yet but 

 rarely seen as a street tree, but where it is it invariably 

 seems to thrive as well as most trees. In the great 

 family of conifers it holds a unique position, in that 

 it is about the only member of it which can claim to be 

 a good city tree. 



AYhere space is such as to make the planting of large 

 spreading trees admissible^ we have quite a number to 

 choose from. Among the most desirable are the Nor- 

 way and sugar maples also the oriental plane, all of 

 which are planted extensively and may be considered 

 old friends, affording delightful shade with their great 

 leaf surface. The European horse-chestunt is a grand 

 tree where it is afforded space to develop its true form, 

 its flowers in May vieing with many of our greenhouse 

 plants. 



Where trees of rapid growth are wanted for large 

 spaces, Catalpa speciosa and the silver maple (Acer 

 dasycarpum) commend themselves as worthy subjects. 

 The former is exceedingly attractive when in bloom 

 with its abundant panicles of white flowers. 



The alleged difficulty experienced in establishing oaks 

 is sometimes magnified, I think, for if the work of 

 planting is done in a thorough manner by a thorough 

 man who knows his subject, there would be less mor- 

 tality and good results would generally follow, but often 

 the one that does the planting never thinks of helping 



the tree in its efl'orts to recover from the shock of re- 

 moval by a wise pruning and mulching. Probably the 

 best of the oaks for street planting are Quercus rubra, 

 Quercus coccinea and Quercus palustris, all three be- 

 ing fairly clean trees whose foliage colors delightfully 

 m the fall. Where a person wishes to plant for pos- 

 terity nothing is more fitting than the oak whose spread- 

 ing branches will still afford comfort and shade to our 

 descendants and serve as a lasting monument to the 

 memory of the planter. 



Ginkgo biloba 



I have followed with interest the notes on the Salis- 

 buria by ilr. Hans and Mr. Lonsdale. There are several 

 points, however, wherein I do not quite agree with 

 either. 



One point that particularly interests me is the 

 question of forms. Of the thousands I have seen grow- 

 ing in nurseries — and all have been grown from seed — 

 90 to 95 per cent, are pyramidal or conical in form 

 resembling very closely the well-known Lombardy pop- 

 lar. All who have been in Washington, D. C, will 

 recall the famous avenue of Ginkgos and these are, too, 

 tall and pyramidal in habit. I am confident this form 

 may be considered the type. 



Mr. Lonsdale speaks of the trees around Horticultural 

 Hall in Fairmount Park as illustrating an entirely new 

 form and yet they are almost identical with what I con- 

 sider the type, though I will say they are just a little 

 more compact than usual. 



Mr. Hans speaks of them as a good shade tree and as 

 far as foliage is concerned, it is true, but I question 

 their value in point of bushiness unless the trees are 

 headed and compelled to spread. 



When Mr. Temple introduced his "pyramidalis" the 

 general comment was tliat it was far from being distinct 

 and was more like the common type. 



I have made inquiry among men who gather seed and 

 find some interesting points. They all agree that wher- 

 ever a seed-bearing tree grows the male form is present 

 confirming the idea of the Ginkgo lieing dioecious. A 

 singular thing about the female trees is that they are 

 more open in habit resembling those illustrated with 

 ilr. Hans' article. I cannot state whether this distinc- 

 tion exists in all seed-bearing trees and can be used 

 as a means of distinguishing them. 



It would be interesting to know if any readers have 

 seen a tree, standing apart from others and yet bearing 

 seed. It would have to be removed some distance as I 

 believe plants standing in different locations will often 

 be fertilized, despite the distance. 



This was illustrated by two hollies which I know of, 

 one continuing to bear seed year after year until the 

 other — a staminate form — standing quite a distance 

 away was destroyed from which date the first named 

 failed to have berries. 



