1 82 Care in Planting Trees 



trees, will not be amiss, for it is a difficult question, and 

 rarely discussed with good reasons. 



The object to be attained and the character of the plant 

 material must form the basis for consideration. In forest 

 growing, with small plant material, where the immediate 

 object is as soon as possible to secure a close soil cover, 

 and the ultimate object to secure branchless boles, the spac- 

 ing is kept between three and six feet, rarely wider, whereby 

 both objects are best secured, when of the 1,500 to 5,000 plants 

 set out on an acre, not more than 250 to 350 are expected 

 or allowed to live till har\-est time. 



In ornamental planting we have to consider also the 

 immediate and the future effects, which, through the growth 

 of the trees, change continually. The landscape gardener 

 must foresee the ultimate relations into which the plant 

 material will grow, the final sky line which it will produce, 

 but if he planted solely with reference to that future, he 

 would miss producing immediate, or at least early, pleasing 

 effects. Like the forester, therefore, he must plant more 

 than is finally to remain. He deliberately designs to remove 

 at the proper time some of the trees which he has set out 

 in order to produce effects before they have attained their 

 full stature. The failure of the future manager of a park 

 in applying the axe at the proper time has spoiled the artistic 

 design of a Downing in the Smithsonian grounds in Wash- 

 ington, and is spoiling many other parks in this country, 

 wherever a monkey love of trees on the part of the public 

 has tied the hands of the manager and he dare not disturb 

 the original planting. 



There are two methods of rising trees in ornamental plant- 

 ing, namely, either in groups, or in single specimens. Closer 

 spacing is indicated in the former, wider spacing in the lat- 

 ter case. Where specimen trees are planted they should 



