112 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



well built road might be planted with trees without becoming too wet. 

 Mr. Wetherell alluded to the long and beautiful avenue of trees at 

 Col. Russell's farm in Milton, planted a hundred years ago, and 

 which surprised him by the taste displayed at that early day, and 

 to the roads in Amherst, Northampton, Hatfield, and Sunderland, 

 bordered with beautiful trees. Jenn^^ Lind and other foreigners 

 were attracted to Hatfield, summer after summer, by the beauty of 

 the elms. Mr. Wetherell said that although there are objections to 

 trees, he was not opposed to planting them, and it was delightful 

 to pass through a street lined on both sides with rock maples, which 

 tree he thought was surpassed b}' few for ornamental street plant- 

 ing. It succeeds better than the elm, and, though not as graceful, 

 is clean and free from vermin in summer, and far more beautiful 

 in its autumnal hues. Large quantities of sap for sugar making 

 are in some places drawn from rock maple trees growing in the 

 street. Mr. Wetherell spoke of the general formation of tree plant- 

 ing associations through the countr}', and agreed with Mr. Moore 

 in regard to the good effect of the by-law mentioned by him. He 

 would remove hedges from the roadside, especially the wild cherry 

 trees, which form a harbor for caterpillars. The eye of a traveller 

 is always attracted to a farm well cultivated inside, and with the 

 road kept clean and neat outside, 3'et he regretted to see in New 

 England so many good farms and farmhouses where the roadsides 

 were covered with woodpiles, tools, timber, carriages, etc., lying 

 and rotting, in a manner betokening the utmost slovenliness. 



Rev. A. B. Muzzey said that the subject had many bearings, and 

 one of the greatest obstacles in the wa}' of bringing about the 

 desired improvement is the prevalence of the iitilitarian spirit. 

 Our fathers, in the circumstances in which they were placed, could 

 not lay out roads properly, and so we find them in the country 

 located without reference to the principle of beauty, which, in its 

 place, is just as important as utility. Roads should be laid out so 

 as to produce a pleasing effect, but regard should also be had to 

 accessibility. Roads were frequently made too narrow, and conse- 

 quently large sums have been expended for widening them, in 

 Cambridge, where Mr. Muzzey resides, and in other places. Trees 

 should be planted in the right place, so that we shall not be obliged 

 hereafter to cut them down or make the sidewaUvS with reference to 

 the trees. The fertilization of trees in streets is often neglected, 

 or misjudged as to the material used. The pruning is often 



