1890. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



127 



HOW TO PLANT A PLACE. 



A BRIEF ILLUSTRATED GUIDE SUITED TO POPULAR USE. 



By One of Our Staff. 



Some Reasons for 



Pl.wting. 

 1. It pays for the in- 

 crt<t»cd valttcimpartcd 

 ■ to hinil. 



Trees possess great 

 value. Certain fine 

 shade and fruit trees 

 are called to mind 

 which cost their owners 

 not three dollars apiece 

 all told, but which to- 

 day would not be 

 .spared for .*.300 apiece. 

 ' Railroads taking plant- 

 ed lands often pay from -$30 to ?300 each for 

 trees occupying the same. The writer knows 

 of setiO apiece having been awarded to the 

 owner for large Elm trees that stood on 

 some land that was needed for a certain 

 town park. 



The planting of these trees paid enorm- 

 ously. For besides the money realized in 

 the sales alluded to, the trees had previously 

 given priceless delight in shade, shelter and 

 beauty over many years. The cost was as 

 nothing. Such returns often follow on judic- 

 ious planting. 



2. It pays for the better living and increased 

 comforts that may spring from planted 

 grounds. 



The free use not only of fruits but also of 

 choice vegetables should be en joy ed by every 

 family in the land daily the year round. 

 The children especially should be treated to 

 all the luscious fruits, fresh and preserved, 

 that they may desire to eat— none should be 

 deprived of the light and excellent food to be 

 found in the choice culinary vegetables so 

 easily grown. 



Many troublesome diseases are unknown 

 to the free users ot a largely vegetable diet. 

 The value of fruit is clearly shown by this: 

 that settlers in a new country improve in 

 health as their orchards begin to yield freely. 



Statisticians prove beyond any doubt that 

 people on an average live longer now than 

 for many centuries past. Lay that fact to 

 from wintry storms. In the summer life for 



all is made more pleasant for the comfort 

 that is found in the shade of trees. 



3. It pays in the profits that may he derived 



from the sale of surplus products. 



Our population living in towns and villages 



become ready buyers from those who have 



a surplus. On this account the judicious 



The one attracts with an irresistible charm, 

 the other is forbidding in a measure. 



A costly house never can make up for a 

 lack of trees. One that i- inexpensive but 

 neat, with handsome garden surroundings, 

 shows to far better advantage than a home 

 costing double the money, but without the 

 advantages of trees, lawn and flowers about. 

 The wise home-maker accomplishes more by 

 investing three-fourths of his money for im- 

 provements in buildings and one-fourth in 

 good planting than by putting nearly all 

 into the house, leaving but a few dollars 

 for the grounds. 



When one tries to sell he may find this out. 

 We must not forget that our attachments to 

 trees and plants becomes almost as strong 



t^i 





Fig. 1. A new place unimproved as regards tree planting. 



culture of both fruits and vegetables is 

 among the most profitable branches of land 

 tillage. Tens of thousands of gardeners and 

 fruit growers all over our land derive larger 

 incomes from their small plats of less than 

 ten acres each devoted to these crops, than 

 does the average farmer from his many 

 acres given to farm crops. 



A neighbor of the writer's, from a Bartlett 

 Pear orchard of less than two acres clears 

 upwards of -?1,000 year after year on his crop 

 The annual sales from an acre of Strawl 

 berries in the vicinity of thriving towns or 

 villages is seldom less than *300, and often 

 reaches -$400 to -?S00 in case the labor is done 

 by the owner's family. 



Many a farmer with one-fourth of his land 

 devoted to a well-managed Apple orchard 

 obtains larger profits from that part than 

 from the entire three-fourths of his farm 

 besides. The demand for choice fruits at 

 paying prices is constantly growing: it will 

 be a long while before aU of our rapidly 



Fig 



The same as Fig. 1, but embellished with trees, shrubs, vines, orchards, etc. 



the increasing use of fruits and vegetables 

 in all civilized lands. 



The presence of trees about a place con- 

 tribute greatly to the comfort of man and 

 beast. A dense belt of trees, especially Ever- 

 greens, to the windward of a home will save 

 the consumption of many an additional ton 

 of coal in keeping the residence to an agree- 

 able temperature. A similar gain comes in 

 the saving of feed and theincreased thriftof 

 live stock in stables, that are well sheltered 



increasing population will be the free con- 

 sumers of fruit that they should be. 



4. It pays for the increased beauty and 

 interest which trees, shrubs and plants 

 are capable of giving. 



We have only to compare the desirability 

 of any home [planted with a profusion of 

 ornamental and fruit trees, shrubs, vines 

 and plants, with the same or similar grounds 

 (as for instance a new home) devoid of these. 



as to persons. Were parents to providetrees, 

 shrubs and flowers freely about the home, 

 and encourage their children to love, to 

 study and to care for them, they would be 

 bestowing the source of the highest, purest 

 and most constant enjoyment, and of health 

 and ruggedness besides. 



Latixg Out the Pi.anting. 



5. Work by plan from the beginning. 

 This should, as regards all the main feat- 

 ures, be decided upon ahead of the selection 

 of the planting stock or of operations on the 

 land. Then the details can be carried out 

 step by step, whether done in one year or 

 over several years. 



6. Crowd nothing. Crowding leads to crip- 

 ples. 



Have the full-grown tree, shrub or plant 

 in your mind's eye, as you plan for the young 

 slender stocks from the nursery or from the 

 plant bed. Many orchards when they should 

 be at their best are failures, because the 

 trees are crowded. 



Street and lawn trees often stand so close 

 that if one-half or two-thirds of their num- 

 ber were removed the distance would be 

 right for those remaining. Crowded trees 

 never can develop into magnificent speci- 

 mens, one of which would be worth a dozen 

 that are injured by crowding. Compare 

 Figures 3 and 4. 



The fault of crowding is a common one, 

 and attended with much injury in the cul- 

 ture of shrubs, vines and plants, even those 

 of the vegetable garden (see Fig. 5). It 

 should by all means be avoided. 



Crowding trees against buildings and 

 walks (see Fig. 6) is a common fault, which 

 arises from not having future size in mind 

 when the young trees are set. In the case 

 of buildings, it renders them damp, dark 

 and tmhealthy, leading also to decay of 

 the woodwork. 



To early relieve the barren appearance of 

 any place, plant the better kind of trees, etc., 

 at a suitable distance for them permanently, 

 and then fill in more ordinary and rapid 

 growing kinds between, to be removed as 

 the others require the space. Young Elm 

 trees, for instance, set along the street at 3.5 

 feet apart mayappear scant. But by putting 

 some quick-growing Poplars, Silver Maples 



Copyrighted, 1890, by the Poptilar Gardening Publishina Co. 



