Shade Trees for Prairie Cities. 



85 



The box elder is a shrub, which by trim- 

 ming has been forced to take the form 

 of a standard tree. 



Elm and Hackberrv^. 



Have you ever noticed that the trunk 

 of an American elm divides into two 

 branches and these again into two and 

 so on down to the smallest branches? 

 This habit, though interesting, is some- 

 times ruinous to the tree since the 

 weight of each half causes the tree to 

 split. To prevent this a bolt is some- 

 times run through the two main 

 branches. The elm grows slowly in this 

 region but is hardy and likely to be 

 long lived. 



The hackberry is not native to the 

 Canadian Northwest, but in North Da- 

 kota it is perfectly hardy. It has a leaf 

 formed much like an elm leaf, but it is 

 very rough to the touch. The branches 

 are quite like those of the elm. The 

 outer bark when the tree is about six 

 inches in diameter breaks into small 

 blocks resembling warts. The fruit is 

 a berry. The tree, which is a native of 

 the United States, is often called the 

 Lost Elm, as it grows very sporadically 

 in the northern states. In New York, 

 however, I have seen large groves of 

 this species. 



Mountain Ash. 



The mountain ash is a beautiful tree. 

 The dark green foliage of summer and 

 the red berries of autumn are a delight 

 to the eye. The smooth bark, too, with 

 its long lenticels is very attractive. 

 There is no other tree native to the 

 prairie provinces that has such beauti- 

 fully colored foliage in autumn. 



Many people have an idea that the 

 autumn colors are due to the frost. 

 Such is not the case. In the fall of 

 1902 I collected autumn leaves in New- 

 York City for five weeks before the 

 frost came and for one week after the 

 frost. I observed that the colors were 

 rather injured by the frost. 



Nor do the leaves fall on account of 

 the frost. A corky, brittle layer of cells 

 forms at the base of the leaves, and the 

 wind breaks off the leaves. The hickory 

 usually sheds its leaves before there is 

 any frost. 



Poplars and Willows. 

 Many people object to the cotton- 

 wood because it throws off so much 



down in the spiing. Cottonwood, balm 

 of Gilead, poplar and willow trees are 

 gaid to be dioecious, that is, some trees 

 are male and others female. It is only 

 the female trees that are so troublesome 

 in this respect. If the trees were raised 

 from cuttings and cuttings frora male 

 trees only were planted, the cottonwood 

 as an ornamental or shade tree would be 

 quite desirable. The tree is native to 

 these provinces. The cottonwood is a 

 kind of poplar and like all poplars the 

 branches are somewhat brittle. This 

 brittleness probably accounts in part 

 for the distribution of the poplars along 

 the streams. The twigs break off easily, 

 float down the stream, stick into the 

 banks and begin to grow. Willows are 

 much propagated in the same manner. 



The Russian poplar is an introduced 

 tree. It seems to be doing quite well in 

 some western cities. In some parts of 

 the country, especially in Alberta, it 

 rots early and is very subject to insect, 

 attack. 



The balm of Gilead is native. It is a 

 good tree to plant in this climate but 

 rriany people object to it on account of 

 the roots spreading so widely and send- 

 ing up suckers. 



The silver-leaf poplar is by many 

 people called the silver maple, probably 

 on account of the leaves being shaped 

 quite like the maple. The poplars can 

 easily be distinguished from the maples, 

 as the former have their leaves and 

 twigs arranged alternately on the 

 branch; the latter opposite. The 

 leaves of this tree have the lower side 

 covered with a thick, white down, which 

 is quite striking as the leaves flash in the 

 sunlight. The leaves are the chief 

 beauty of the tree. The branches are 

 inclined to spread much, which gives the 

 tree an unshapely appearance. The 

 species was introduced from Europe. 



The willows are likely to be used 

 in this country, as in the east, chiefly 

 for hedges and wind-breaks. The ever- 

 greens contrast beautifully with the 

 broadleaf trees in summer and lend 

 a charm to the city in the winter, and 

 should be encouraged as much as 

 possible, especially in the parks and 

 private lawns. 



Evergreens. 

 The white spruce is native to the 

 province and is perfectly hardy when 



