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390 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
THE USES OF EVERGREENS ABOUT THE HOME. 
H. NUTTER, CITY PARK ENGINEER, MINNEAPOLIS. 
To the ‘settler upon our western prairies the benefit of a shelter- 
ing growth of trees isa question which needs no debate, and the 
adaptability of our larger evergreens to such a purpose is also ad- 
mitted, and the different species of pine and spruce are recom- 
mended to us according to the varying successes which may have 
crowned the efforts of those who have cultivated them. 
But the subject as announced for this paper turns our thoughts 
away from the strictly utilitarian side of the question to the orna- 
mental effects to be achieved by the use of this class of trees. 
The shelter belt as generally seen is a very formal setting for the 
home grounds, and while around the vegetable garden and the out- 
buildings such a border may be most satisfactory, still where it ap- 
proaches the lawns and better kept grounds which should surround 
the house itself, an attempt should be made to break up the stiff- 
ness of outline into informal groupings, and here the varying 
species of evergreens lend themselves very kindly to our purpose 
If the shelter belt be of deciduous trees, an intermingling of ever- 
greens so placed as to develop into their full beauty of form and 
color will add variety and life to the scene, while if the belt be of 
the larger and coarser pines and spruces, groups of smaller and 
more delicate varieties, interspersed with a few light foliaged de- 
ciduous trees, as the birch and cut-leafed maple, will serve to unite 
the grove and the lawn into a harmonious whole. 
The beautifying effect of a few evergreens was strikingly shown 
to meinarecent trip to the northward. After seeing many farms, 
which, while presenting many gratifying evidences of material 
prosperity, also stood out in the landscape in varying conditions of 
bareness and: forlornness, we came upon a house whose owner had 
been fortunate enough to secure a little grove of young white pines 
in which to locate his buildings, and the home look this imparted to 
his place was in strong contrast to the appearance of many of the 
neighboring farms. 
To the dweller on the village lot the evergreen comes as a wel- 
come addition to his planting list,and though it may havea hard 
struggle to overcome the many dangers which beset its way from 
drought, frolicking children, dogs and general neglect, still if it 
thrives it will soon become its owner’s pride. @ 
Too often the variety selected for planting near the house may in ~ 
course of time prove unsatisfactory on account of the large size and 
ragged appearance, but these trees, more kindly than any othersr 
respond to the repressive influences of shears and pinching back. 
The idea that because evergreens are often found on apparently 
sterile soils they donot enjoy and thrive on good living as well 
as the planter himself is a mistaken one and responsible for many 
failures. The Colorado blue spruce, however highly colored it may 
be when transplanted, often on a starvation diet rapidly loses its ~ 
beautiful tinting. An ample supply of water is necessary for alk 
tree life, and where hose can be used a thorough wetting down of 
