TREES THEIR PLANTING AND CARE. 45 



amonnt, I would not discourage the study of the landscape 

 art by advising every one to have a plan made by a trained 

 landscape engineer; for the more general the knowledge 

 among our people there can be upon any subject the better 

 it will be for the whole community, while the monopoly of 

 any line of education or knowledge by the few is a crime 

 and an injury to the people as a whole; and many an 

 amateur has been able to produce results that have not 

 been reached by members of the profession. 



The details of the plan of arrangement and what trees to 

 use and how many must be largely settled by the require- 

 ments of the place to be decorated and the conditions and 

 tastes of the owner. On grounds of considerable extent 

 with an abundance of space large broad spreading trees in 

 considerable variety can be used, while in the village lot 

 few, if any, large trees are desirable. Yet under some con- 

 ditions a single large tree not far from the dwelling, even 

 on a small lot, may be productive of much comfort and 

 pleasure, and, while very little variety may be obtained, the 

 effect is often one of beauty. 



Improving Established Trees. 



In Chapter VII brief reference is made to the treatment 

 of trees already on the grounds. These, if large, should 

 be very carefully considered, and not a single healthy 

 tree be destroyed unless for a positively good reason; for 

 the most quickly growing trees that we have will not reach 

 the size to afford much shade until they are fifteen to 

 twenty years of age, and if what we have already growing 

 are not quite what we wish we may preserve them until 

 such a time as other and more desirable trees have grown 

 up to take their place 



