286 HOME AND GARDEN 



far as I am able to judge, it had better be of no 

 greater length than from four hundred to five hun- 

 dred yards, with the trees set back quite fifty feet 

 from the roadway. In many cases a second row of 

 trees, showing through and behind the first, is much 

 to be advised. 



I am using the word " avenue " in its usual 

 English sense of an approach to a house bordered 

 by trees planted in straight lines, not in the 

 sense that I believe is usually accepted in Ireland, 

 and perhaps Scotland, as an approach to a house 

 only, and without any reference to trees. 



From what I have seen I should say that the 

 noblest tree of all for avenue planting is the Elm ; 

 the Common Elm first, and then the Wych Elm. 

 Next the Beech, then the Lime and the Spanish 

 Chestnut and the Hornbeam — a noble, large tree 

 that by no means deserves the neglect it usually 

 receives. 



Oaks are so much more suitable for informal 

 planting that I should scarcely reckon them among 

 avenue trees, neither should I favour Horse Chest- 

 nuts, because, though they are noble trees, their 

 drooping boughs hide too much of the bole, which 

 I think should always be visible. But they are 

 admirable in formal planting in large parks. The 

 Spanish Chestnut has also much the same habit of 

 growth, but it bears trimming up better than the 

 Horse Chestnut. 



