December, 1910 



THE (xARDEN MAGAZINE 



223 



Until eighteen years old an elm Is not very beautiful, 

 but improves steadily thereafter 



sole survivor of twenty others that were 

 set out with it some fifteen years ago. It 

 appears to be a question of getting the 

 tree established. 



ONLY ONE HARDY OAK 



Though oaks are abundant throughout 

 the rest of the Northwest, the prairies can 

 boast of only one — the bur oak — that 

 is hardy — and that is so slow a grower 

 that few attempt its culture. It is one 

 of the few oaks that afford no autumn 

 brown, yet is deserving of more attention 

 for it becomes a stately tree anii can be 

 depended upon to endure. 



If, on your grounds, there be one of 

 those gnarled old willows, with possibly 

 two or three trunks from the same root, 

 save it by all means, but plant willows 

 only in low wet places where the success 

 of other trees might be doubtful. 



THE ELM THE ONE BEST 



If you have room for but one tree let 

 that be an elm. It is just the tree for a 

 somewhat confined space so that it has 

 but room to spread overhead. Its grace- 

 fulness or length of years needs no 

 comment. I like to think of the elm as 

 the ugly duckling among trees for its un- 

 gainly growth in youth gives no promise 

 of its mature beauty. At first it is a slow 

 grower, and, though it grows as high, in 

 all other respects it lags behind a box- 

 elder for the first fifteen years; but there- 

 after the boxelder is simply outclassed. 

 As a street tree it has no equal, but the 

 street must be wide and the tree not 

 crowded. It is well fitted to grow up 

 between more rapid growers for while 

 these are growing round and full it strikes 

 upward, and then when given room it 

 spreads outward. The common Ameri- 

 can elm differs according to location, and 

 the rock and water elms of popular par- 

 lance are one and the same tree. On low 

 wet lands the wood is soggy, so soggy, in 



fact, that the water will spurt up when 

 an ax is driven into it; while on dry 

 land the wood is dry and clear. The 

 true rock elm can always be distin- 

 guished by the corky ridges on the 

 young branches. 



Resembling the elm in its foliage, and 

 somewhat in its growth (though it never 

 attains to the same proportions) is the 

 hackberry. Its trunk is too rigidly straight 

 to be altogether pleasing; its bark re- 

 sembles nothing so much as a nutmeg 

 grater. Its foliage remains green into 

 fall, while the leaves do not drop until 

 actually frozen off. On the prairies it is 

 not the most vigorous grower, though a 

 compact mass of fibrous roots facilitates 

 transplanting. There are some hack- 

 berry enthusiasts, but the fact remains 

 that the tree is not planted more frequently 



For group planting no tree is better than the ash. 

 A number seem to cluster together well 



because in most locations an elm takes 

 its place to better advantage. 



A TREE OF VARIED USES 



For longevity and symmetry of outline 

 while also being perfectly hardy in the 

 Northwest, the basswood or American 

 linden has few equals. It is a compara- 

 tively rapid grower. It is an all-around 

 tree, suitable for street, lawn, park, or 

 pasture. It will outlive the planter by 

 many a year. The tree carries its trunk 

 straight up through its branches. The 

 only pruning it ever requires is when as a 

 street tree some of its lowest branches may 

 have to be removed. The fragrance of 

 its bloom in June gives it a distinctive 

 place among trees. In proportion to its 

 height a basswood does not spread as 

 much as either a boxelder or an elm, and 

 for this reason can be used where an elm 

 might be too spreading. It is a strong 

 tree, though strangely enough its wood 

 is soft. I have known it to weather 

 storms that tore large branches from elms. 



The foliage turns yellow in fall, but on 

 the whole the tree contributes very little 

 toward autumnal shades. 



TREES THAT NEED iilORE CARE 



On rich soil and with some shelter we 

 can grow both the black walnut and the 

 butternut. I know of one tree that has 

 weathered the storms of the prairies for 

 over twenty years and have myself suc- 

 cessfully transplanted fair sized saplings. 

 Near me are several butternut trees that 

 are good for about a half bushel of nuts 

 each year. As specimen or street 

 trees, both are out of the question in the 

 Northwest. The catalpa is another tree 

 we can grow; but is unreliable even as 

 far south as Milwaukee. 



THE ASH AS A GROUP TREE 



For group planting I know of no tree 

 quite as good as the ash. It takes kindly 

 to crowding, has a clean straight trunk, 

 and the arched branches do not spread 

 exceedingly. It is the tree to use for a small 

 grove as individuals may be planted within 

 eight feet of each other. My observation 

 is that ashes do not show that same ten- 

 dency to grow away from each other wher^ 

 crowded that nearly all other trees do. The 

 clustered keys add to the tracery of the 

 twigs when the leaves are gone, though 

 it must be borne in mind that the ash is 

 dioecious. It is about the last tree to 

 leaf out in spring and only occasionally 

 will it assume as pretty an autumnal yel- 

 low as one may see. The leaflets 

 soon crumble to dust, and therefore are 

 almost useless as a mulch. As a speci- 

 men tree the ash shows perhaps too 

 much of its branches at all times of 

 the year. It does well on a narrow 

 street, though it may be said to be dis- 

 tinctively a forest tree. 



The elm is the one best tree for a majority of pur- 

 poses when beafety and durability together count 



