WINDBREAKS WINDOW -GARDENS 241 



orchard, the row of fruit trees next the Windbreak will be 

 very likely to suffer from lack of moisture and food. 



A different type of Windbreak is that which is desired for 

 a shelter belt about the home grounds. The matter of at- 

 mospheric drainage does not enter into this problem to any 

 great extent. Such shelter belt is usually placed at the ex- 

 treme edge of the home yard, toward the heaviest or pre- 

 vailing wind. It may be a dense plantation of evergreens. 

 If so, the Norway spruce is one of the best for general pur- 

 poses. For a lower belt, the arborvitse is excellent. Some 

 of the pines, as the Scotch or Austrian, are also to be ad- 

 vised, particularly if the belt is at some distance from the 

 residence. As a rule, the coarser the tree the farther it 

 should be placed from the house. 



Persons may desire to use the Windbreak as a screen to 

 hide undesirable objects. If these objects are of a perma- 

 nent character, as a barn or an unkempt property, evergreen 

 trees should be used. For temporary screens, any of the 

 very large -growing herbaceous plants may be used. Very 

 excellent subjects are sunflowers, the large -growing nico- 

 tianas, castor beans, large varieties of Indian corn, and 

 plants of like growth. Very efficient summer screens may 

 be made with ailanthus, paulownia, basswood, sumac, and 

 other plants which tend to throw up succulent shoots from 

 the base. After these plants have been set a year or two, 

 they are cut back nearly to the ground every winter or 

 spring, and strong shoots are thrown up with great luxu- 

 riance during the summer, giving a dense screen and pre- 

 senting a semi-tropical effect. For such purposes, the roots 

 should be planted only two or three feet apart. If, after a 

 time, the roots become so crowded that the shoots are weak, 

 some of the plants may be removed. Top-dressing the area 

 every fall with manure will tend to make the ground rich 

 enough to afford a very heavy summer growth. 



Wind Flower. See Anemone. 

 Window-Gardens. The Summer Window- 



