114 PLAIN AND PLEASANT TALK 



SHADE-TREES. 



WE believe that no man ever walked under the magnifi- 

 cent elms upon the Boston Common, or beneath the Lin- 

 dens in Philadelphia, or through Elm street in New Haven, 

 without conviction of the beauty and utility of shade- 

 trees. Trees not only are objects of beauty the architecture 

 of Nature but they promote both health and comfort. Our 

 ardent summers, from June to October, make open, un- 

 shaded streets, almost impassable, and reflect heat upon our 

 dwellings from the side-walks and beaten road. 



In this country the growth of trees is so rapid, and the 

 supply from our own forests so abundant and convenient 

 that every village and city, and every well-conducted farm 

 should be lined with shade-trees. We will offer a few sug- 

 gestions upon the kinds to be selected and the manner of 

 setting. 



THE LOCUST (Rolinia pseudacacia). This tree is very 

 popular, and is almost the only one at the West set for 

 shade-trees. It has a beautiful form, grows very rapidly, 

 bears a profusion of beautiful and very fragrant blossoms 

 (pendulous racemes of pea-shaped flowers), its foliage is sin- 

 gularly pleasing the young leaves being of a light pea-' 

 green, and growing darker with age, so that in the same 

 tree three or four distinct shades of green may be seen ; it 

 grows freely in all soils, and is not infested by any worms ; 

 its timber is almost as durable as cedar, and in the West, is 

 not subject to the attacks of the borer, as it is in the East. 



On the other hand, the tree becomes unsymmetrical with 

 age, it is brittle, breaking easily at slight wounds, even 

 when they have healed over. It is not a long-lived tree, 

 and requires careful protection from cattle. 



We would advise a more sparing use of it. Let every 

 other tree be a Locust, and the alternate maple or elm, oak, 

 tulip, etc. By this method the Locust will afford immediate 

 shade, and when they become unsightly the intervening 



