'ft 1851. 



THE GENESEE FARMER, 



23 



II 



Inrtiniltimil Df|nirtnifnf, 



EDITED BY P. BARRY, 



One of the most prevalent errors in the management 

 of small plantations of trees in door-yards, or in the 

 vicinity of dwellings, is the pruning or cutting ofl'the 

 side branches to such a height as to destroy, in a 

 great measure, the natural character and symmetry 

 of every individual tree composing the plantation. 

 In our own city, we cannot pass ten rods along any 

 of the old streets occupied with private dwellings, 

 without meeting with an example of this kind. 

 Beautiful little frontgardens that might accommodate 

 four or five fine, perfectly grown trees or shrubs, are 

 encumbered with a dozen skeltons so deformed by 

 continual mutilations that without the leaves, it is 

 difficult to determine what they are. In all our older 

 villages, numerous examples of the same kind are to 

 be met with, and it seems to be rapidly spreading. 

 We desire, therefore, to call attention to it, as a point 

 in the management of small gardens and door yards, 

 that stand greatly in need of reform. 



The evil originates, in most cases, in the planting. 

 When a man builds a house on a new lot of ground, 

 entirely destitute of trees, if he.plant at all, he does 

 so with a view, above all things, to immediate effect : 

 and this is all very well, if the after management 

 were conducted properly, but this is very seldom the 

 case. Without looking ten years ahead, he goes on 

 and plants twice or three times the number of trees 

 that his ground can properly accommodate, even at 

 ten years' growth, and he makes no provision for re- 

 moving a portion to make room for the others. In a 

 few years the branches begin to meet, the view from 

 the windows of the house is probably too much ob- 

 structed, and something- must be done. It would be 

 too bad to remove any after having planted and culti- 

 vated them until they have just attained a respecta- 

 ble size. To wait seven years, or, perhaps, ten years, 

 for a tree to grow, and then mercilessly cut it down 

 or dig it up, is a thing that cannot be done under any 

 circumstances; but it can be "pruned up," and so 

 all the lower branches that are coming in contact 

 with one another are hewn down. This is the mode 

 of "thiiniing" to which nearly all our door-yard plan- 

 tations are subjected. Evergreens, even, are not 

 exempted. It is not at all rare to see balsam firs, 

 spruce, 8ic., fee, "trimmed up" six or eight fefet 

 from the ground, making them, to our eyes, perfectly 

 hideous, compared with their natural pyramidal form, 

 cloLhed with branches from the bottom. 



Now we do not deny but that it is perfectly right 

 in planting new grounds to do something for imme- 



diate effect. This is an important point in forming 

 all new plantations, large or small. We should no 

 more think of planting a small piece of ground, that 

 we wished to devote to ornamental trees, with the 

 precise number that would cover the space after they 

 had attained full size, than we should of thinning by 

 cutting off the branches. The one course would be 

 little better than the other. Suppose the case of a 

 small front garden, thirty by fifty feet : now, two trees 

 of any kind that grow as large as a iicrse chestnut, 

 will fill such a space, in twenty years, to the exclu- 

 sion of everything else ; but for the first seven or 

 eight years, two such trees would occupy but a 'small 

 portion of the ground, and would afford abundant 

 space for the introduction of several other ornamental 

 plants or shrubs without any detriment to them what- 

 ever, and which would add greatly to the beauty of 

 the plot. We would, therefore, plant the permanent 

 trees in the places where they ought to be, taking 

 pains to ascertain the size such trees usually attained, 

 how far their heads usually spread, &lc.; and then, in 

 the remainder of the ground, we should plant some 

 flowering shrubs, pillar roses, and such things as we 

 could from time to time remove, as the growth of 

 those we wished to retain required it. And in plant- 

 ing these temporary articles, we should always place 

 them in such a manner thaf a part can be removed 

 before the whole. Two may be planted and remain 

 for three or four years, where only one afterwards 

 would be required. In some cases, where shelter is 

 an important point aimed at in planting front gar- 

 dens, twice, or even three times, the number of trees 

 can be planted, and at the end of five or six years be 

 thinned out. All door-yard trees should be consid- 

 ered as intended for ornament, and hence it is abso- 

 lutely necessary that they be not constrained or mu- 

 tilated in their growth. Their branches should have 

 ample room to spread in the natural way. All pines, 

 firs, larches, &:c., should be branched from the ground. 

 In this form alone do they show their natural gran- 

 deur. Other trees may be pruned to diflferent heights, 

 from four feet to eight, in small places. Unless 

 where some particular object may render it necfes^ary, 

 no trees shoidd be j)runed above seven or ei<i/.c feet, 

 and then the heads should have full scope. 



We see another error frequently committed l.i very 

 small places, and that is, planting a tree with a wide 

 spreading head where there is no room for it, say be- 

 tween the front of the house and the street, in ten or 

 twelve feet of space. Trees with spreading heads, 

 such as the horse chestnut, ailanthus, maple, or elm, 

 are quite inappropriate for such small places, and will 

 be continually in the way, getting their branches cut 

 off for venturing to go where tliey are not wanted. 

 The proper subjects for such places are those with 

 compact heads, like the European mountain ash ; or 

 pyramidal, like the firs. A tree should never be 

 planted for ornament where it cannot fully develop 

 its natural character. In very small places in front 

 of street houses, a climbing rose, trained on a tasteful 

 trellis, is a much more ornamental screen than a tree, 

 and a flowering shrub of some sort that will bear 

 cutting, if necessary, may be planted to fill up. No 

 matter when, or what we plant, we ouglit to consider 

 well the appropriateness of the subject for the place 

 where it is to be planted. The man who has half 

 an acre to plant or embellish, can plant a very differ- 

 ent class of trees from the one who has only a rod or 

 two. As a general thing, people are too apt to plant 

 what their neiglibor has planted, whether their cir- 



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