284 BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. 



All tliese trees described, when grown in the open, have harmonious 

 proportions of development, and average at matiirity from forty to sixty 

 feet in height. They root deep and are defiant to storms and hardy 

 against injury. 



Of our foi'est shrubs I find but a few well suited for landscape em- 

 bellishment. The best of these are the dogwood and the I'odbud. The 

 dogwood is so familiar to us by its early, cheery message of spring as it 

 whitens the woods and banks that we fail to give it a just place as a tree 

 for lawn planting. The foliage of this tree also contributes largely to its 

 beauty. Its heavy, dark green leaves of summer, which turn a brilliant 

 hue in autumn and the bright red drupe of a fruit make it an ornament of 

 striking beauty and of longest season. Under cultivation it attains a 

 height of twenty to forty feet,, with a broad, roundish crown. It is com- 

 mon on high, dry ground, but can be grown successfully in any well 

 drained soil. 



The redbud is a small, though handsome, tree at all seasons of the 

 year. It is a pleasant sight in early spring when radiant with its ex- 

 quisite bright blossoms which appear so eagerly that they almost cover 

 the tree trunk and limb and make the whole appear like a profusion of 

 deeply tinted peach blossoms when seen at a distance. When given good 

 soil and room it grows rapidly to twenty or thirty feet and is charming 

 for parks and lawns. 



The qualities of each of these trees described, though briefly, are the 

 essentials which go to make them admirable trees to plant. The cause 

 which has kept most of them from prominence for ground decoration is 

 the common estimate we give them. We have become so accustomed to 

 seeing them that we do not accord them a just regard as trees of orna- 

 ment. We are like the characters in that renowned lecture, "Acres of 

 Diamonds." We are in the midst of what we are looking for elsewhere 

 and do not recognize the wealth Avithin our grasp. These trees can not 

 be over-valued in making selections for lawn, highway, drive and park 

 planting when they are planted in the right soil and the soil conditions 

 continue suited to their requirements. 



The successful growing of these trees depends on the manner and time 

 of planting and the size and transplanting treatment given the tree 

 planted in the first place and the care given it after it has been planted. 

 When the tree is dug for planting it should be done with the least possible 

 injury to the roots which should be taken up with as many of the fibrous 

 roots preserved as can be. The ends of the large roots should be cut 

 smooth that they may callous over readily. The roots should be kept 

 well moistened till the tree is transplanted. 



The excavations should be made large enough to allow the roots to 

 be placed without cramping them. A good excavation is one of three feet 

 across and the same in depth. The soil placed around the tree should be 

 heavy, rich soil, never light and loamy, as such will not pack closely 



