Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



131 



it must practically be made over again at great expense of money and patience, 

 and we frequently plant and replant without any comprehensive plan to follow 

 when the time element is really of far greater moment than the expense involved. 



The chief element of beauty — and of utility in the warm countries — lies in 

 the border plantings of the avenue. It may be accepted as a foundation principle 

 that the finest effects are to be obtained only by absolute uniformity in the plant- 

 ings. Some of the later work on the Cuban country avenues has paved the way 

 for utter destruction of some of the magnificent effects formerly produced there. 

 This is resulting from a mixing of the plantings. Their finest avenues dating 

 from former days are planted with Enterolobium cyclocarpum, Pithecolobium 

 saman, and Ficus nitida, a portion of the Guines calzada planted with the last 



Figure 54. Alternating Camphor and Chamaerops excelsa in Pasadena. A poor 

 combination from any point of view. The palms cannot be permanent under the 

 rapidly extending camphors, and merely interfere with their growth, besides 

 destroying the fine effect always resulting from uniformity. 



named tree giving one of the most magnificent avenue effects known to me in the 

 two Americas. Unfortunately no attempt is made apparently to keep these plant- 

 ings uniform, open spaces being filled indiscriminately with Fitnu religiota, Al- 

 bizzia lebbek, Poinciana regia, and various other things, none of them so well 

 adapted for avenue planting in Cuha as arc the first three mentioned. 



Ideal avenue plantings for warm countries should employ trees with broadly 

 spreading tops which will shade the roadway, at least in the hottest season, and 

 still permit open views to the surrounding country. In warm countries with wet 



