8 AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS. 



IMPROVING THE HOME GROUNDS. 



It is a credit to the home loving and home making instincts of our 

 people that tree planting and the preservation of native trees about the" 

 home grounds is general throughout Texas. On the farms and ranches 

 as well as in the cities and towns of the plains section it is gratifying 

 to see the painstaking efforts to grow trees, even under conditions ex- 

 tremely unfavorable to tree growth, and the success which attends such 

 efforts. Farther east, where trees grow naturally and thrive with little 

 attention, the home grounds become bowers of verdure and furnish the 

 most comforting and restful shade. .Under these favorable conditions 

 a large variety of species is possible and planting is extensive. Neglect 

 in pruning and in the general care of trees, however, is far more notice- 

 able than in western sections. The grounds about the average home in 

 Texas, whether allowed to become a tangle of trees and shrubbery or 

 arranged formally and given the greatest care, indicate a love of trees 

 and a desire to make the home attractive even where street and road- 

 side trees may be neglected. 



Success in the planting of home grounds is much more easily at- 

 tained than along streets and roadsides. There is less danger of in- 

 jury by man and beast and the trees benefit from the superior soil con- 

 ditions, watering and mulching, which too often are not supplied to 

 the trees outside the grounds, but which the owner is painstaking to 

 give the trees about his house. Our grounds may be made more beauti- 

 ful, however, by selecting species for planting which are known to be 

 long lived and free from undesirable habits and by giving the trees 

 more attention when young as well as when old. A much wider range 

 of species may be planted than is practiced at present, and it is often 

 of interest to use as many different kinds as possible. Fruit and nut 

 trees have their place in the home grounds and may there be made to 

 furnish shade and the best of fruit and nuts at the same time. Conif- 

 erous evergreen trees are particularly desirable for home grounds, but 

 should not be planted close to buildings. Banks of shrubbery are most 

 desirable near the house, while trees should be placed some distance 

 away to allow for better circulation of air in summer and prevent in- 

 jury to buildings from dampness. Thin foliaged trees, however, may 

 bo placed closer than other trees if partial shade to windows and porches 

 is needed. Individual opinion should govern the arrangement of the 

 planting, but in general it is better to avoid a stiff, formal appearance. 

 For this reason groups of trees should supplement or take the place of 

 rows, except along drives or for background effects. Evergreens should 

 preferably be arranged in groups unless they are planted for a hedge. 



SCHOOL GROUNDS. 



In many cities and most country districts the school grounds are un- 

 attractive through lack of trees. There may be a few poorly placed 

 trees, but in too many ca.=es there are no trees at all and the appearance 

 is ^positively ugly. It is the exception rather than the rule when one 



