HOMESTEAD LANDSCAPES. 169 



We are too apt to do what others say and not to look round and 

 work out plans for ourselves. A friend in the country had a stone 

 wall, which he thought it best to remove and put a picket fence in 

 its place ; but there was plenty of woodbine round, and he was ad- 

 vised to plant this and clematis against the wall and let them run 

 over it ; he did so and was much pleased with the results. In 

 the cemetery which the speaker has charge of, he was obliged to 

 build a piece of stone wall, and this was covered in the same way 

 with excellent effect. The woodbine needs a little pruning to keep 

 it within bounds. 



He agreed with Mr. Strong in regard to trees ; there is nothing 

 better than the American weeping elm, especially for broad 

 streets. For streets, they are better than maples, but the latter 

 are proper for lawns. There are some tulip trees in East Saugus, 

 which are very beautiful, especially when in flower. Their upright 

 growth adapts them for narrow streets. The superintendent of 

 tree planting in L3mn has come to the conclusion that young trees 

 are better than large ones cut down. The trouble with many 

 people is that their faculty of adaptation is never developed. The 

 speaker advised any one who is thinking of planting trees to take 

 the catalogue of some nurseryman who has a good variety, and go 

 to the nursery and make notes of what is best adapted to the pur- 

 pose in view ; or, better still, to go to the Arnold Arboretum. It 

 is astonishing what an amount of valuable information we are to 

 have from that source for the mere trouble of going and getting it, 

 or, indeed, how much can now be obtained. He felt grateful to the 

 Committee for having brought the subject of the essay before the 

 Society. 



Col. Henrj' W. Wilson said that the whole genius of our age is 

 against planting trees, on account of the slow returns from them. 

 The black walnut and white pine do not reach perfection for lum- 

 ber until they are over a hundred years old. Men cut down pine 

 trees as soon as they will bring eight dollars per thousand for box 

 boards. Our people are possessed by the spirit of unrest ; when 

 they plant corn they want to see it up the day after to-morrow. 



The question is how to show, to men who want trees for orna- 

 ment, some means of getting large handsome trees speedily. A 

 man does not generally feel justified in making a country residence 

 before he is fifty years old, and then his expectation of life is only 

 twenty years. Fine trees are often destroyed in laying out streets, 



