STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING 75 



tance apart at which street-trees are to be set whether the 

 specimens are to be allowed to grow naturally, or whether 

 an attempt will be made to limit their spread. Thus, in the 

 city of Paris the spread of the trees is limited, and they are 

 kept rather small. Accordingly the distances above given 

 would be too far apart for the secting of its trees. In Paris, 

 therefore, the street-trees of the species above enumerated 

 are set at distances apart equal to about three-quarters or 

 less of the distances above given. 



When planting is not done by public officials, nearly every 

 individual wants one or more trees in front of his house. 

 His neighbor has the same desire, irrespective of the front 

 age of his property or the nearness of other trees. Exam 

 ples of the results of such methods of planting may be seen 

 on streets in any town. The trees are too close together, 

 frequently not more than twelve or fifteen feet apart. They 

 interfere with each other's growth, cut off the necessary 

 light and air, and prevent, by their shade, the growth of 

 grass under them. As a result the trees look like a thick 

 hedge and their individual beauty is lost. When the mistake 

 of having planted trees too close together is realized, one 

 frequently hears expressions of regret: "What a beautiful 

 street this would be, if those fine trees were ten or fifteen 

 feet farther apart." 



Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, has been a notable 

 example of the crowding of street-trees, due to the lack of 

 foresight of the original planters. The planting-space on 

 this prominent thoroughfare is one hundred feet wide, and 

 the plans provided for the planting of four rows of Ameri 

 can elms, the trees in the rows to stand opposite each other. 

 In 1880, Professor Charles Sprague Sargent and Frederick 

 Law Olmsted proposed the removal of the four rows of trees 



