388 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



evident. What should be done in every case is to make a rough 

 pencil sketch of the grounds to be planted, and, after careful con- 

 sideration, in which habits, size, etc., of the varieties have been 

 studied carefully, measurements can be made and relative positions 

 determined, in a manner that will be the means of avoiding many 

 mistakes. Too many people wait until some unforeseen cause urges 

 upon them the great and immediate necessity of planting some trees, 

 quick, before another year has escaped. Usually they arrive at 

 this conclusion just a few days before planting time or in the midst 

 of it. Then they rush a letter off to some nursery or call in a tree 

 agent and place an order, not even knowing what they are going to 

 do with the stock after they receive it. This is a mistake and a 

 costly one. Because a yard is small is no reason why it should be 

 carelessly planted. In fact, the smaller the area, the more urgent 

 the importance of careful arrangement. To secure desirable effects 

 it is not necessary to have the grounds laid out by a landscape archi- 

 tect, and you will never enjoy the grounds as much as if you had 

 given the matter some study yourself. If you are in doubt about 

 any varieties you have seen catalogued, it is not difficult to get in- 

 formation about them. Our horticultural society is composed of 

 men and women who have made a long study of varieties adapted to 

 the north, and one can easily get information from any of them. 

 Nurserymen, also, who have had experience in propagating stock in 

 the northwest can often give valuable ideas on this point. 



Neither is it necessary that you should plant your entire grounds 

 in one season. If you have a large yard and find that to plant the 

 whole thing would entail more expense than you care to invest, it can 

 readily be arranged so the planting can be divided up among several 

 seasons. In this case, it is generally the most practicable to plant 

 the slow growing trees first, leaving the smaller shrubs to come 

 later. In making an estimate of your planting list, the best and 

 quickest way to arrive at a conclusion in regard to the matter of 

 expense is to make up your" mind about how much money you can 

 afford to invest the first season. Then begin your plan of arrange- 

 ment, submitting it to the nurseryman to find out what it will cost 

 you. You will thus be able to judge how much of it you will be 

 aljle to take care of that year. In this connection, the experience of 

 the writer has been that a sketch of the grounds to be planted sent 

 to the nurseryman, asking for suggestions, is always productive of 

 good results. A comparison of ideas cannot fail to bring to each 

 of the parties interested a better understanding of the situation un- 

 der discussion, and, unless one is very well decided, nothing would 



