STREET TREES. 



Good shade is so appreciated that its presence adds a value to 

 adjoining properties. Real-estate men recognize this factor and plant 

 shade trees as early as practicable on land which they develop. 

 That the beauty of a city is improved by good street trees is be- 

 coming recognized more and more and is finding expression in the 

 desire of garden clubs, civic improvement associations, and boards 

 of trade for information on this subject. 



Success in planting street trees can be attained only by planning 

 and controlling the planting as a whole, by selecting the most suit- 

 able varieties, by se- 

 curing trees in the best 

 condition and planting 

 them properly, and by 

 giving the necessary 

 later care. 



While towns were 

 small, conditions for 

 tree growth favorable, 

 and woodlands plenty, 

 so that native trees 

 were easily obtained 

 and started, the prac- 

 tice of each house- 

 holder planting his 

 own trees as he saw 

 fit gave good results. 

 As towns became 

 larger and impervious 

 pavements took the 

 place of earth roads, 

 the conditions for tree 

 growth became more 

 severe and the results 

 from the individual 

 planting of trees less uniform. In large cities the conditions to be 

 met are so extreme that it has become practically impossible for the 

 average householder to grow street trees successfully, or to do so only 

 at excessive cost. Then, too, a lineman in a few minutes often undoes 

 what the individual has achieved with care and years of patient 

 waiting (see fig. 5). The trees and the lines are both needed by the 

 public, but when provided by individual initiative at private expense, 

 but trimmed for the benefit of electric lines by employees of corpora- 

 tions intent on maintaining service at the least cost, the trees suffer 

 unduly. 



P16692HP 



Fig. 5.— a tree mutilated by linemen. An otherwise beautiful red 

 oak in Louisville, Ky., as it appeared in midsummer. 



