CHAPTER XVI 

 ENGLISH EFFECTS WITH HARDY TREES 



The two false gods we worship, Speed and Show Our mania for 

 abnormally quick and gaudy trees must give way to an enthusi- 

 asm for Permanence and Fitness. 



1DO not blame the hundred thousand Americans who annually 

 visit England, for desiring to duplicate the best English 



tree effects. For the English landscape possesses more lux- 

 uriance and mellowness than ours, and this is largely due to the 

 tree growth, since trees grow taller and live longer than other 

 plants. (See plate 68.) Also I am sorry when cultured people 

 plant English trees and they die. But I believe we are wholly 

 mistaken in throwing the blame for such failures on our methods, 

 when the real defect is in our spirit. The trouble is we worship 

 two false gods Speed and Show. 



For instance, we Americans have an insane passion for shade 

 by the speediest and cheapest route. The only method we can 

 conceive is to plant "fast growers." Yet there are two better 

 methods, one of which is actually quicker, while the other is cheaper 

 in the end. It is legitimate to alternate silver maples or box elders 

 with long-lived trees, but even this is usually a bad plan, for some 

 one will lack the sense or courage to chop down the temporary 

 trees before they injure the permanent ones. And every time we 

 plant fast-growing trees only, as most of us do, we are sure to reap 

 disappointment, for they are bound to die or become unsightly at 

 an early age. 



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