STREET-TREE PLANTING IN A WESTERN TOWN 



405 



comparatively rapid grower, symmetri- 

 cal, hardy and long-lived. Norway 

 maple, as linden, is a rare tree on 

 streets, although it has found a place on 

 lawns and in parks. It is a beautiful 

 tree, shapely, free from injury of high 

 winds and heavy snows, so common in 

 the west, and is a tree to be strongly 

 recommended for western planting. 

 Green ash is a tree for narrow streets. 

 It is more hardy than the white ash ; it 

 has a bright, green foliage, is remark- 

 ably free from insects and requires very 

 little pruning. Hackberry is another 

 satisfactory tree for street planting, but 

 needs considerable attention to prevent 

 a scraggly growth. 



In the second group of less desirable 

 trees for western streets may be in- 

 cluded silver maple, box elder, honey 

 locust, black locust, Carolina poplar, 

 willows and cottonwoods. Silver maple 

 suffers from sunscald ; its branches are 

 slender and weak, being easily broken 

 by wind or snow. It cannot be said to 

 do well under western conditions ; 

 everywhere one sees the pale colored 



foliage of sickly silver maples. Box- 

 elder is most illy-shaped ; no tree ex- 

 hibits such a strong tendency to de- 

 velop weak crotches ; its free use on 

 streets is not advisable. The locusts 

 have been quite extensively planted, but 

 for permanent street effects, cannot be 

 highly recomniended. Of the willows 

 and cottonwoods there are many species 

 which do well ; the western broadleafed 

 cottonwood and the lanceleaf cotton- 

 wood are most commonly planted. 

 These two trees are native throughout 

 the plains region of Colorado ; the 

 former is the most common shade tree. 

 The "cottonless" form of the lanceleaf 

 cottonwood is a very desirable tree, su- 

 perior or at least equal to the Carolina 

 poplar. Carolina poplar, however, is a 

 most valuable tree to the west. It pro- 

 duces abundant shade in from 6 to 8 

 years. Because of its erect habit, it will 

 stand crowding better than any other 

 cottonwood, and is an ideal tree for 

 alternating with long-lived species. The 

 "cottonless" form is distributed by most 

 western nurseries. 



Douglas Fir for Planting Successful 



A two-year-old plantation of Douglas fir on the Oregon national forest shows 94 per cent 

 of the trees living. Extensive plantings of young trees in Washington and Oregon are costing 

 only $8 an acre. Direct seeding of lodgepole pine has been successful without exception on 

 the Arapaho national forest, Colorado. Several of the areas sown two and three years ago- 

 show from 5,000 to 10,000 seedlings per acre. 



