i io THE COMPLETE GARDEN 



unless the person using such plants expects the inevitable loss which 

 will be experienced during a very severe winter. 



2. CONDITION OF THE SOIL. The question of soil conditions 

 with reference to the planting of evergreens is more important in the 

 clayey sections of the Middle West than in most of the other sections 

 of the country. In the northern portions of the Middle West this is 

 not so evident, because the summer months are not as hot and dry as 

 they are farther south. Even the more hardy evergreens will not 

 withstand the stiff clay conditions of the Middle West during the hot 

 summer months, at which times this clay bakes very hard. Ever- 

 greens, to be grown most successfully, should be planted in a loose, 

 sandy-loam or clay-loam soil, and should not be planted directly in a 

 soil the predominating portion of which is clay. Therefore the soil 

 conditions should be examined closely before it is definitely decided to 

 use evergreens, and the list of evergreens shown under IX-B are those 

 which are most hardy and best adapted to the climatic conditions and 

 soil conditions of the Middle West, as proven by years of experience 

 and careful observation. 



3. EXPOSURE. If the more tender types of evergreens which 

 do not normally grow under the most severe climatic conditions 

 are selected for use in a section where the climatic conditions are 

 severe, then such plants should be so located that the exposure from the 

 prevailing winds of winter is greatly reduced. It is possible to use most 

 of the evergreens shown in Group IX-A in any section of the country, 

 provided a proper exposure is selected and the proper winter protection 

 is given. Many times this is impracticable, because evergreens are 

 selected to be of equal value during the winter months and during the 

 summer months. There is no windbreak or screen as yet developed 

 for the protection of evergreens against exposure which in itself 

 does not detract to a great extent from the beauty of these plantations 

 during a period of the year when their foliage should be most effective. 



4. ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS. Many evergreens are used in the 

 vicinity of our congested city districts, or in locations where the 

 prevailing winds surround them with an atmosphere polluted with 

 dust, smoke, and gases, all of which are very injurious to most ever- 

 greens. Only the most hardy evergreens should be used under such 

 conditions, and in order to keep them in a normal growing condition 



