TREES OUTSIDE THE GARDEN 



the nurseryman's list was cut down one-third; and yet 

 in three years' time the question of thinning out most 

 of the shrubs and few of the trees was imminent. 



Naturally the character of a tree and the purpose 

 for which it is planted should determine, to a great 

 extent, how much or how little it should be crowded. 

 Too much space could hardly be given the American 

 elm, that its full beauty might mark a landscape, 

 while birches, although attractive as individual speci- 

 mens, form also charming pictures when planted fairly 

 close together. 



In general, trees chosen for permanence on the 

 open lawn should be set from seventy-five to a hundred 

 feet apart, and although this may produce at first a 

 somewhat barren effect, it can always be overcome 

 by shrubbery massed in particular places, and by the 

 use of dwarf varieties of trees. The development of 

 the large trees is then not hindered; and the melan- 

 choly work of uprooting them, made necessary by over- 

 crowding, is avoided. 



Unless for special reasons, the hardwood, deep- 

 rooting trees are to be preferred for lawn planting, 

 since those with surface roots are likely to cause the 

 grass to die out, leaving bare spots of earth. 



Trees should not be planted about a home only 

 for their beauty, but also to give shade and to produce 

 a cool, comfortable effect. It is by their assistance 

 that many of the landscape pictures have been made 

 at Newport and other places where an unusual amount 

 of thought has been expended on the home grounds. 

 The trees mentioned in this chapter are neither great 



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