THE COUNTRY HOME [chapter 



growth. It has leaves like the ash, but its seeds 

 class it among the maples. The paulownia, or 

 empress tree, is a superb importation from Japan. 

 Its flower buds are sometimes killed, but otherwise 

 it is able to endure our severest winters. The 

 leaves are twelve to fourteen inches across. In 

 some parts of the country the buckeye, or Ohio 

 horse-chestnut, is indispensable. It is much larger 

 than the ordinary horse-chestnut, and its leaves 

 are smoother. The nuts are an attractive feature of 

 this tree. Most of the poplars are a nuisance on a 

 lawn, but the Lombardy has its place, especially 

 on high points. It is also useful for windbreaks. 

 Reaching its steeplelike limbs straight upward, it 

 can be planted in close, hedge-like rows. The list 

 of good oaks is very long. The scarlet oak and the 

 pin oak are two of the very best. Several of the 

 willows are meritorious, because of their early blos- 

 soming or their golden or silvery foliage. The 

 royal willow and the golden willow and the laurel- 

 leaved are three of the best. On a small lawn the 

 Kilmarnock weeping willow is not out of place, if 

 not too conspicuous. Of the lindens, the Euro- 

 pean white-leaved, from Hungary, is a superb tree 

 in all ways. It is notable for its whitish color, its 



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