V. Sparing attti Arrangement 



j^tanbarntfen Planting Plana fnr ©antral Hanlialtan merits 



So much has been said and written about the evils of plant- 

 ing street trees too closely that it may seem almost unneces- 

 sary to mention it again. There is nothing more difficult to 

 secure in street planting than correct spacing and arrange- 

 ment and this is especially true if the wishes or opinions of 

 the abutting property owners are considered. The chief rea- 

 son for this is that young trees are so small at the time of 

 planting that when spaced as is commonly done from 20 to 

 30 feet apart they give no idea of the ultimate crowding 

 which will occur when the trees reach maturity. 



In addition to the injury to the appearance of the street as 

 well as to the trees themselves when planted so thickly that 

 normal development is prohibited when the trees mature, 

 such planting becomes a serious menace to health, as it cuts 

 off very largely from the lower stories of the buildings a 

 proper supply of sunlight and air. In Manhattan where the 

 buildings present a continuous facade 011 practically all 

 streets this question of air and sunlight is of special impor- 

 tance, and crowded planting is especially unwise. 



Besides these considerations of appearance and health the 

 question of cost is also to be noted. With the high cost of 

 planting and maintaining trees under Manhattan conditions 

 the greatest efficiency will be secured by the widest spacing 

 which it is possible to have, and still secure a satisfactory 

 appearance. To secure such efficiency a uniform or standard- 

 ized spacing is of course necessary. 



The beauty of any formal type of street tree planting de- 

 pends very largely upon regularity in the size, kind and 

 arrangement of the trees, all of which are impossible 

 unless a systematic scheme of planting is followed. 

 The planting of trees by individual property owners, 



(39) 



