222 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



ping first its flowers, then its leaves, and then its burs. Worst of 

 all it attracts mischievous boys — not maliciously mischievous but 

 knowing no more than he did when a boy. The«Wiiite Oak is one 

 of the most beautiful lawn trees, but objectionable from its habit 

 of holding its old leaves until the last of May. When asked how 

 large a tree to plant he has advised to put one dollar into the tree 

 and two dollars into the preparation of the ground for it ; then in 

 five years you will have a tree worth looking at. Don't reverse 

 the process and put two dollars into the tree and only one into the 

 ground. 



Mr. Ross thought the selection of trees by Mr. Appleton and that 

 of shrubs b}' Mr. Strong both admirable. The Norway Maple is a 

 favorite with the red squirrels, who gnaw off the bark to get at 

 the sweet sap, as they do with the rock maples also ; and this 

 causes the branches to die. Shrubs are of great value in small 

 grounds ; in a plat of only a quarter or half an acre in extent you 

 cannot have a great noble tree, but you can have shrubs. 



Mr. Hersey said that the hemlock is very difficult to transplant 

 when large, but seedlings not above six inches high are trans- 

 planted easily. He dug up trees five or six feet high and set them 

 out with the greatest care ten years ago, and they have not got 

 over the effect of the transplanting 3-et. 



William D. Thilbrick had found the hemlock very unsatisfactory 

 as a hedge tree. He planted two hundred ver}' beautiful ones, 

 which after five or six years began to die off, one or two at a time. 

 He considered the red squirrel a nuisance from its habit of de- 

 stroying pears by the bushel to eat the seeds, and of robbing 

 birds' nests in June of the eggs and young birds. One squirrel 

 will take off a peck of pears in fifteen minutes. 



Mr. Strong said that the hemlock is not very diflicult to trans- 

 plant when two or three feet high. The roots must not be allowed 

 to get dry. Mr. I'hilbrick's trees were probably too crowded. It 

 is a magnificent tree in a sheltered place, but it will not endure 

 high winds. 



Mr. Hadwen said that more than thirty years ago he planted 

 large hemlock trees which he took from the woods with balls of 

 earth, and they are now fine specimens, forty feet high. They do 

 not like dry and gravelly soils, and are killed by severe autumn 

 droughts. lie thought it would be an excellent plan for park com- 

 missioners in cities and the selectmen of towns to give trees for 



