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the trees used about the home or the school should be elevating and 

 inspiring rather than somber and depressing. 



The United States Department of Agriculture has the following to 

 say about trees to plant in school grounds: 



The first rule to lay down is to plant only the kinds that are 

 known to be hardy. A school-ground plantation is no place 

 for experiment. Naturally the trees will, have to endure 

 greater hardships than those of private plantation; they will 

 be likely to have less cultivation and be subject to more abuse. 

 No matter how strict the rules, the soil about them will be 

 more or less trampled, and twigs will sometimes be broken 

 from their tops. Any tree that can not endure moderate abuse 

 of this kind should not be given a place on the school ground. 

 On account of difference in soil, a tree that thrives in one 

 place in a locality may not thrive in another place. Sandy 

 soils and clay soils are often found near together, and trees 

 that grow thriftily in sandy soil may have a hard struggle to 

 exist when planted in clay. For this reason both the soil and 

 the subsoil of the school ground should be carefully examined, 

 and a list should be made of trees in the neighborhood that are 

 thriving on soils of the same character, and no other species 

 should be used. Much better success may be expected with 

 a soil and subsoil of a porous character than with one that 

 is tenacious and impenetrable. Yet a careful study will show 

 numerous species adapted to each kind of soil. 



The school ground being permanent and the need of trees continu- 

 ous, for the most part long-lived trees should be used. But where the 

 present need of trees is great, there is another Me to the question. A 



short-lived tree grows quickly, coming into early usefulness, and serves 

 its purpose for from twenty-five to fifty years. A long-lived tree usually 



