176 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



habits of growth, very thorou^^hly prepared for receiving- the seeds, 

 not made too rich by the use of manure, but with just the right con- 

 sistency, strength and humidity to susstain a vigorous growth 

 through the whole season. Any land upon which a good crop of 

 potatoes or other vegetables were grown the previous year, if kept 

 free from weeds, will make a good seed bed. Soils that are too rich 

 and porous incline the trees to grow a few long fibrous roots, while 

 a loamy soil of a medium strength will produce trees with shorter 

 roots which have more fiber, thus laying the foundation for a good 

 root system. Trees with a good development of roots are much 

 more valuable than those without and very much better fitted to 

 overcome the shock of transplanting- when the time conies for final 

 removal to the street or lawn. The number of times a tree has been 

 transplanted in the nursery, when properly done, gives added value 

 to it, and this most important feature in selecting and purchasing 

 trees is generally overlooked. I had much rather have a tree of 

 ordinary form, even crooked, with a good root system, than have a 

 straight, nicely formed tree with a few straggling, fiberless roots; 

 the unshapely tree can be made into a good form b}^ judicious prun- 

 ing, while the shapely tree with a deficiency of roots lacks vigor, 

 w^hich can never be overcome; also, it is more liable to be affected 

 by drouth, disease and the attack of injurious insects, and never 

 will make the strong, vigorous growth of a tree with a good root 

 system. 



In selecting seed for a plantation of trees great care should be 

 exercised in securing it from trees of good natural form and vigor- 

 ous, upright growth. 



One of the most popular trees for street planting in this locality 

 is the elm. It propagates readily from seed and transplants with- 

 out difficulty. We have three varieties, with several sub-varieties, 

 native of this state. The Ulmus Americana, white elna, Ulmus 

 fulva, slippery, or red, elm, and Ulmus racemosa, corky white elm. 

 The first named is the largest of the native elms, often growing to a 

 very large size. The last two named varieties are not often used for 

 street planting, but the habitvxal practice is to plant them in 

 making up collections for parks, arboretums and large estates 

 where a number of varieties are desired. 



The time of ripening of the seed of all these varieties is in the 

 spring soon after the leaves expand. In this latitude it varies with 

 the earliness or lateness of the season, usually from Maj' 15th to 

 Junelst. The seed should be sown atonce after falling to the ground, ' 

 and can be gathered at very little cost on our paved streets, or 

 along the margin of any body of water where the trees overhang its 

 surface. In 1895 I secured seed by requesting our street commis- 

 sioner to haul a load of street sweeping from under a row of large 

 elms onto some ground near where I wished to make a seedling 

 plantation. I planted them at once in shallow furrows, made with 

 the back of the rake, two inches deep and fifteen inches wide, 

 strewing the sweepings and soil evenlj^ in the rows one inch thick, 

 and covering with one inch of soil, pressing it firml^'^ on the seed 

 with the head of the rake. A shower of rain the next day caused 



