82 OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 190 



Since evergreens are a favorite place for the nesting- of birds, 

 an increase in the number of our little feathered friends will be ob- 

 served wherever windbreaks are established. This is no small in- 

 centive for planting, whether viewed from the aspect of sentiment 

 or that of.economic advantage. The birds will many times compen- 

 sate for the consumption of fruit and grain by the destruction of 

 pernicious insects which are becoming more and more a menance to 

 the farmer and fruit-grower. 



For screens, to hide unsightly objects, or to secure a degree of 

 privacy to the home, evergreens, because of persistent foliage, serve 

 the purpose at all seasons. Used for this purpose they may be 

 planted in straight or curved rows, to suit the boundaries, or in al- 

 most any manner, so that the purpose sought is realized. Very 

 often, where a row of trees may be essential, in order to make a ser- 

 viceable screen, the object can be quite as well attained by grouping 

 and by mingling harmonious deciduous trees with evergreens. For 

 a formal screen a dwarf or half-dwarf species is best, but by shear- 

 ing-, or close clipping, even such tall growing trees as Norway spruce 

 can be used. The hemlock is admirable for the purpose and there 

 are a number of species and varieties of arborvitae, retinospora and 

 juniper which are good. 



An evergreen hedge is but a closely clipped screen and the same 

 species can be used for both. A screen needs some pruning to 

 prevent openings and to keep the trees in somewhat symmetrical 

 form, but a hedge should be clipped once or twice each year, the 

 first early and the second time in midseason. Arborvitae, retinos- 

 poras and junipers bear clipping- or shearing best of all, but spruces, 

 firs and even pines are quite tractable under the knife early in sum- 

 mer before the new buds are fully formed, provided the young 

 growth only is cut. 



An evergreen hedge should always be kept wider at the base 

 than at the top, otherwise those portions of the foliage which receive 

 insufficient light perish and unsightly dead spots appear. It is use- 

 less to attempt to start an evergreen hedge in the shade of trees. 

 If one is in doubt as to the propriety of planting an evergreen hedge, 

 a safe rule is not to locate one where it is not actually needed. 



PLANTING AND CULTURE. 



Probably best results will be secured by transplanting ever- 

 greens in May, just as the buds are beginning to swell. A rainy 

 time in September is also good. The size of holes will depend upon 

 the size of the tree to be planted, and they should be large enough to 

 hold the clump of roots without crowding. If it occur in digging that 



