March, 1910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



107 



Trimming Street and Lawn Trees 



By E. P. Powell 



I'HE care of street and lawn trees is an art 

 by itself; although an art that is easily ac- 

 quired by every home maker. Not any- 

 thing like enough attention has been paid 

 to this sort of work. Our street trees all 

 over the country are simply stuck into the 

 ground, and left to shift for themselves. 

 The result is that the less said about them the better. Those 

 villages which are best shaded are, after all, those that have 

 been most neglected; for where any attention has been given, 

 it has been turned over to professional trimmers who have 

 heretofore been unmitigated nuisances. I believe it is pos- 

 sible now to secure from Washington, or from our agri- 

 cultural colleges young fellows who ha\'e been trained along 

 the line of tree culture. I should like to give your readers 

 a few simple rules covering my own experience anci which, if 

 followed, will secure for them healthy trees, well-shaped 

 and long-lived. My iirst rule is to cut the transplanted tree 

 very sharply back, before planting. In handling maples I 

 remove every limb, and I cut as closely with nearly all 

 other shade trees. If setting rather large trees which have 

 already formed large limbs, I leave four or five inches 

 of three or four limbs after removing the top down 

 to about ten feet. My next point is to watch the 

 starting of new shoots on these poles or trees, and remove 

 those which are not needed to make a well-formed head. 

 It is not advisable to remove these too rapidly, for if the 

 tree is full of vitality it must be allowed to express itself 

 in the way of limbs and leaves. Yet very soon I get out of 

 the way every twig that will be of no use, or will grow in 

 the wrong direction. At the same time, that is within a 

 month of the starting out of the shoots, I remove also all 

 sucker limbs around the bottom of the tree. By this time I 

 expect the development of a few stout shoots which are to 

 constitute the future head of the tree. 



My third point is to mulch every tree as soon as it is set 

 with a material that is pervious to the air, but retentive of 

 moisture. After experimenting with a great many ma- 

 terials, I have come to prefer the ashes of anthracite coal. 

 This material holds moisture admirably, and at the same 

 time it allows the roots to be aerated sufficiently. The ashes 

 of bituminous coal are too much charged with sulphur, and 

 not desirable in any quantity. Another excellent mulch is 

 autumn leaves, or sawdust, or both together, after they have 

 been used in the stable for bedding, and are pretty well mixed 

 with manure. Rank manure alone is not desirable. Any stable 

 bedding as a dressing around a tree must be used with dis- 

 cretion. Tan-bark and coal refuse, or for that matter 

 almost any old waste material will serve your purpose. 

 Those who apply compost for manure can take directly 

 from their compost piles, and apply freely. Understand 

 that this mulching is an absolute necessity at any time, and 

 especially if dry weather should follow your planting. 



Your fourth rule should be to start the head of your tree 

 at about the height it is desirable that it should remain 

 when full grown; and then let your trees stand in the row 

 so far apart that they will not collide seriously in after years. 

 Street trees should stand about forty feet apart or possibly 

 forty-five; and the head should be not less than eight feet 

 from the ground. The reason for this particularity is that 

 Nature did not originate trees simply to give you shade 

 from the sun. Every tree needs its leaves for its own in- 

 dividual purposes, and one of these is to shade its own bark 

 from the heat of the sun. Some trees are so delicate in their 



bark, that if you remove large limbs you will find that the 

 sun, striking directly on the body and limbs will cause the 

 bark to split, l^hen the worms work in, and the people say 

 the worms have killed the tree. They have done nothing of 

 the kind; they have only begun to work over the dying wood 

 into worm food. Some trees can stand this trimming up 

 very much better than others; but the maple is specially 

 sensitive, and that is the reason that we have so manv half 

 dead and worm eaten maple trees along our roadsides. 

 Properly grown and properly trimmed, the maple is very 

 resistant to insect attacks. There is, of course, a difference 

 in maples, and for street trees the Norway maple stands 

 eminently first. It is perhaps the best lawn tree in existence, 

 and if you will give it room one tree will almost shade a 

 whole lawn. The hard or sugar maple is most liable to be 

 injured by bad trimming. Its sweet juices are liked by in- 

 sects as well as by men. Cutting limbs generally sets these 

 juices running and invites mischief. 



My fifth rule in dealing with lawn and street trees is to 

 always have on hand kerosene emulsion, with which I give 

 them a thorough washing once a year at least, while young. 

 It is the best material for brushing well into the bark's 

 spaces, to drive out invaders. If insects have attacked the 

 tree, bore them out with flexible wire, and apply the emulsion 

 every two or three weeks. It should be applied very much 

 stronger than when sprinkled on your rose bushes or goose- 

 berries; take one pint of it to two gallons of water. This 

 emulsion can be made on any rainy day, and kept in a store- 

 room, in good condition for use for a whole year. This 

 use of kerosene emulsion does not, of course, make it un- 

 necessary at times to apply Bordeaux mixture. In fact, I 

 would apply this Bordeaux fungicide early in the spring, to 

 every decidious tree in my possession. This, of course, must 

 be done with a pump and a nozzle that throws a fine spray. 

 You need not expect to have clean, fine trees unless you take 

 care of them. In fact, a man should examine every tree 

 that he owns, however old it may be, at least twice each 

 year. If the bark is loose at any point he can find it out by 

 tapping with the handle of his knife. Loose bark should be 

 removed, and the scar washed with emulsion, especially 

 around the edges, so that it will heal over quickly. If 

 borers get in at the bottom, pile a bushel or two of coal 

 ashes around the base of the tree, so that they cover the en- 

 trance holes of the beetles. This is my rule for old trees, 

 and with such care a lawn may be kept in perfection for one 

 hundred years. 



The same rule holds for lawn trees as for shade trees, 

 that is, do not set them too close. You must allow for 

 growth. If you wish the ground to be better co^■ered at 

 once, put in what we call fillers, that is, trees that can be 

 cut out after they have served their purpose. It would be 

 just as well in many cases to bank shrubs about the tree lawn 

 for a few years. When the trees have become large enough 

 for individual beauty, remo^•e the shrubs. Onlv be sure that 

 choice trees, intended for permanent growth, are set far 

 enough apart to allow for full development. 



A few of our very best street trees are the linden, sugar 

 maple, white weeping elm, catalpa speciosa and white ash. 

 The maple does not heal over its wounds readilv. but 

 otherwise the sugar maple would be an ideal tree for our 

 roadsides. The white ash heals over readilv, as does also 

 the linden, making these two trees among the best for 

 street planting. The linden has the advantage of furnish- 

 ing an enormous amount of food for our bees. 



