THE GROWING OF THE ORNAMENTAL PLANTS 219 



reduce his desires to a single tree, and then if that tree is planted 

 in the interior of a group of other trees, no harm can result. 



Windbreaks and screens. 



A shelter-belt for the home grounds is often placed at the 

 extreme edge of the home yard, toward the heaviest or pre- 

 vailing wind. It may be a dense plantation of evergreens. If 

 so, the Norway spruce is one of the best for general purposes 

 in the northeastern states. For a lower belt the arbor vitse is 

 excellent. Some of the pines, as the Scotch or Austrian, and 

 the native white pine, are also to be advised, particularly if the 

 belt is at some distance from the residence. As a rule, the 

 coarser the tree the farther it should be placed from the house. 



The common deciduous trees of the region (as elm, maple, 

 box-elder) may be planted in a row or rows for windbreaks. 

 Good temporary shelter belts are secured by poplars and large 

 willows. On the prairies and far north the laurel willow 

 (Salix laurifolia of the trade) is excellent. Where snow blows 

 very badly, two lines of breaks may be planted three to six 

 rods apart, so that the inclosed lane may catch the drift; this 

 method is employed in prairie regions. 



Persons may desire to use the break as a screen to hide un- 

 desirable objects. If these objects are of a permanent charac- 

 ter, as a barn or an unkempt property, evergreen trees should 

 be used. For temporary screens, any of the very large-growing 

 herbaceous plants may be employed. Very excellent subjects 

 are sunflowers, the large-growing nicotianas, castor beans, large 

 varieties of Indian com, and plants of like growth. Excellent 

 screens are sometimes made with vines on a trellis. 



Very efficient summer screens may be made with ailanthus, 

 paulownia, basswood, sumac, and other plants that tend to 

 throw up very vigorous shoots from the base. After these 

 plants have been set a year or two, they are cut back nearly to 

 the ground in winter or spring, and strong shoots are thrown 



