The Canadian Horticulturist. 



i75 



TOO THICK. 



||E shall never again probably have too many trees in our country. 

 There are too few now. Very many country homes are un- 

 sheltered, unshaded and unadorned by the beauties of nature. 

 In some of the older districts, however, trees have been planted 

 thickly in spots and allowed to grow up, crowding each other 

 out of shape, so that we rarely see fine specimens of any kind 

 of ornamental tree. I, as well as many others, have long ad- 

 vocated planting trees thickly, to be thinned out as growth 

 necessitates; but proper thinning has been so much neglected, 

 I am led to believe such advice should not have been so general. 



Not far from where I am writing, a large stone dwelling house is surrounded 

 by a wide belt of trees consisting of almost every known kind, and which, I am 

 sure the planter intended to have thinned in course of time ; but they have 

 been allowed to grow into a thicket of unsightly shrubs, without one well-formed 

 tree among them. To the present proprietor, who is a widow, I some years ago 

 suggested thinning, but was somewhat taken back, when told she wished they 

 were thicker, which verified the old adage, " proffered advice is seldom thank- 

 fully received." The love of trees is an admirable sentiment, but for the 

 judicious arrangement of trees, it needs to be accompanied with common sense. 

 I could point to a number of instances of plantations ruined for want of thinning. 

 The number, distribution and care of trees and shrubs about a rural 

 residence form an unerring indication of the taste of the owners or inhabitants. 

 The wonderful diversity in the form and habit of trees affords wide scope for 

 delightful study. Still, year after year, thousands of trees are being planted 

 which will never reach maturity, because they are not given room enough. 



In towns and villages the street trees are in many instances, crowding 

 each other so that we have much more shade than beauty. In very hot 

 weather, shade is desirable, and no doubt, is, to some extent, healthful, but there 

 is a possibility of having too much shade. We often see dwelling houses so 

 much shaded by trees that the sunshine is entirely excluded. We should not 

 need to be reminded that sunshine is essential to the healthy development of the 

 human race. It is clearly evidenced by the pale faces of the dwellers in over- 

 shaded houses, — their children growing up slender and white like potato sprouts 

 in a damp cellar, unable to withstand diseases, even in their slightest forms. Too 

 much shade causes rot in roofs and windows. Planters of shade and ornamental 

 trees, who make more judicious distribution, derive lasting benefits and gratifica- 

 tion without risk of injurious effects. 



Cataraqui. D. NlCHOL. 



