ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS. 



Z/n pAOO little attention is given to 

 the culture of ornamental trees 



__[ and shrubs. In a general way 

 none but a few of the old stand- 

 ard varieties have been planted. This 

 is to a large extent owing to the fact, 

 that the demand for ornamental trees 

 has been limited, and our nurserymen 

 have not gone into the propagation of 

 the more rare and beautiful kinds. Most 

 of the ornamental stock that has been 

 planted throughout the country has been 

 sold by travelling agents. They have 

 done a good work, but have not gone 

 far enough in this direction, as they sell 

 only a few well-known sorts that have 

 been grown by the firms they represent. 



It was my good fortune to visit the 

 Rural New Yorker Experiment Grounds 

 a year ago. I spent a very pleasant and 

 profitable day with the Editor, Mr. 

 Elbert S. Carman and his amiable wife, 

 both of whom are very enthusiastic hor- 

 ticulturists. I think it would be impos- 

 sible for any one possessed with a love 

 for the beautiful in nature, and a few 

 roods of land, to visit Mr. Carman in 

 his beautiful home at River Edge, N. J., 

 without coming away with a determina- 

 tion to plant some of the pretty trees 

 and shrubs to be seen on their grounds. 

 This, however, was the effect it had on 

 the writer of these lines. My grounds 

 were not ready for planting. I therefore 

 ordered my stock and planted them in 

 nursery row, from which they can be 

 taken next spring and planted where 

 they are to remain, with scarcely any 

 risk of losing a tree, and I will thus gain 

 nearly a year's growth on them. 



I often think when driving through 

 the country, that it is no wonder so many 

 farmers' sons leave the farm and go to 

 the already over-crowded cities where 

 their surroundings will be more congeni- 



al. Farmers as a class, are very busy peo- 

 ple, and the majority of them think they 

 have no time to bother with ornamental 

 trees. Did you ever notice that it is 

 those who have most to do that give 

 most attention to ornamenting their 

 homes with nice lawns, trees, etc. ? 



How often do we see a farmer build 

 a fine house, and give no attention what- 

 ever to the grounds. .Such a place, no 

 matter how much it cost, is not worthy 

 the name of home. A few dollars spent 

 in the purchase of ornamental trees and 

 shrubs, and a little time given to the 

 planting and cultivation of them, will 

 add so much to the appearance of a 

 home. I believe it will not be long till 

 this subject will receive more attention 

 by our .farmers. It is not unusual to 

 buy a pretty tree or shrub from some 

 travelling-agent, plant it out, and then 

 consider your duties ended, thinking 

 that it should know enough to take care 

 of itself when once planted. My advice 

 would be, never to plant a tree until 

 you have firmly made up your mind to 

 give thorough cultivation, especially dur- 

 ing the first few years after planting. 

 Without this you cannot hope for any 

 great measure of success. By keeping 

 the soil constantly stirred around the 

 trees during the growing season you pre- 

 serve a mulch of loose earth at the sur 

 face, which prevents the evaporation of 

 the moisture contained in the soil, which 

 is most essential to the growth of the 

 tree. The following are a few of the 

 great number of the more rare orna- 

 mental trees : Picea pungens (Colorado 

 blue spruce) I will place this at the 

 head of the list as the most beautiful 

 evergreen with which I am acijuainted. 

 The trees are propagated from seed. 

 The seedlings are quite variable in color: 

 some of them are but little better than 



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