286 ON TREES AND SHRUBS IN LARGE TOWNS. 



ON TREES AND SHRUBS IN LARGE TOWNS 

 (Their Selection and Cultivation). 



\From " The Gardeners' Chronicle" October $\st and November Jth 

 1891,^. 513^^556.] 



THE desirability of planting trees, more or less, in and 

 around our large towns is, I think, now universally 

 admitted. The contention that the introduction of trees 

 occupies space already overcrowded, impedes the circula- 

 tion of the air, and minimises the light of heaven, will not 

 bear the test of examination. No sane person would 

 advocate the planting of every square yard of ground 

 in a town or city, nor would he recommend planting so 

 closely as to shut out the light or impede the circulation 

 of the air. One great fact in favour of the practice is, 

 I think, the influence of active tree life in purifying the air 

 and rendering it healthier and more suitable for human 

 consumption. 



It would seem, then, that the practice can be upheld on 

 the ground of utility alone, but the sum and substance of 

 human life are not bounded even by that comprehensive 

 word utility ; within its just limits, too, there is the shade 

 and shelter to enjoy, the eye to please, and the mind to 

 exercise and soothe, and what is more likely to attain 

 these ends than the introduction of beautiful trees with 

 their varied leaves and flowers amid the dingy and 

 monotonous masses of town buildings. It has always 

 seemed to me that the introduction of trees to towns 

 should be regarded by the inhabitants as a forecast of 

 work in the interests of health and enjoyment, and they 

 may be so managed as not to interfere with convenience 

 or comfort either in the present or the future. 



The subject seems fairly open to discussion under the 

 following heads: I, What to plant; 2, The selection of 

 individual trees ; and 3, How to plant and cultivate them. 



