The Canadian Horticulturist. 



315 



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PI.ANTINC; THE ROADSIDE AND ABOUT THE HOME. 



S students and admirers of nature, we are unable to name a 

 single native tree or shrub that is not interesting, and, in 

 some important respects, beautiful and worthy of consider- 

 ation in making a list for ornamental planting, especially on 

 a large estate. For certain places each kind of tree is "just 

 the thing." With a more extended knowledge of these 

 trees, one is usually much less liable to be hampered by 

 fashion. He will not make the same selections as his 

 neighbors, and will thereby exhibit more originality in his designs. 



In most species there is considerable variation in the modes of growth of 

 different individuals. The student of botany and horticulture is learning never 

 to express surprise at finding or hearing of specimens of any species of our trees 

 or shrubs which have a weeping habit. In like manner, time is almost sure to 

 produce dwarf specimens of every plant, and those with variegated or cut leaves, 

 as well as those with white or double flowers. Testimony regarding variations 

 of this sort is all the time coming in from different sources. 



For shade trees along the roadside, or in the front yard, in country or city, 

 among our deciduous-leaved trees, the sugar maple (including the black maple) 

 is a general favorite, and the one most extensively planted. It is a fashionable 

 tree, producing a dense, clean top, much the shape of a well-built hay stack 

 Too many trees of this sort, however beautiful they may be, give a monotonous 

 appearance to a yard or roadside. 



The American elm, when well grown, is the queen of the deciduous-leaved 

 trees of northern temperate regions, and is often planted. Our numerous species 

 of oaks are too much neglected as ornamental trees, partially, perhaps, because 

 they often hold their dead leaves during winter. 



Among evergreens, for general planting, the white pine, arbor vitK, hemlock, 

 red cedar, and Norway pine, can scarcely be equalled by any species in temper- 

 ate climates. Well-grown hemlocks have been considered by competent judges 

 to be the finest evergreens in cultivation, while, in many respects, the white pine 

 cannot be excelled. 



It should not be forgotten that a very large proportion of foreign trees and 

 shrubs have not proved hardy, or, after a few years, in some respects fail and 

 become unsightly. In this regard, if we try natives of our own region there is 

 scarcely any risk. 



Doubtless, the time will come, when the officers of at least some of our 



