TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 125 
street tree planting from this very cause might be pointed out, and 
in not a few cases the future result will certainly be discreditable 
to all concerned, simply because the work has not been properly 
done. 
In crowded streets and squares, where the air is vitiated with 
impurities, and the soil hard and often surcharged with gaseous 
matter, tree planting is quite a different matter to what it is along 
the side of a field. In the latter case it may be sufficient to open 
a smal] pit, insert the tree, and stake it ; but in our large towns 
the case is totally different, for the soil, hard as iron, and composed 
mainly of clinkers and shingle, affords but little nourishment to a 
rapid-growing tree, and one that, moreover, has to do battle above 
ground with the deleterious effects of an impure atmosphere. 
Another fruitful cause of failure in street planting is placing the 
pavement above the roots, and in too close proximity to the stems. 
The roots should always be allowed plenty of breathing room, and 
to effect this a good-sized space should be railed off around each 
tree, and no pavement laid within it. In so doing a double benefit 
is conferred, by allowing free access of rain to the roots, and 
avoiding the accumulation of noxious gases in the ground (as has 
been proved to be the case when close pavement has been used), 
which are inimical to the welfare of the trees. 
In proof of what is said, we may refer to the trees at the Chelsea 
end of the Thames Embankment, which have been planted as above 
directed ; and that success has amply crowned the effort cannot be 
denied, for certainly that noble avenue has no equal in any British 
town. 
Where street trees are to be planted, a good-sized patch of ground 
—say, at least 6 feet in diameter and 4 feet in depth—should be 
thoroughly broken up, and if the soil is of inferior quality, which 
will assuredly be so in 90 per cent. of the pits, good fresh loam 
should be substituted. By undermining the sides of the pits a 
much larger receptacle for the fresh soil will be formed, and this 
will not occasion so much of the footway and pavement being torn 
up as if the pits were of equal diameter top and bottom, The 
plants used should be such as have been specially prepared for the 
purpose, by being frequently transplanted for some years previous 
to being placed in their final position. They should be stout, 
stocky, well-rooted, clean, and from 6 to 8 feet in height. 
In planting, spread the roots well out around the stem, and do 
not bury too deeply, the mark visible on the stem as to how deep 
