320 



MANUAL OF GARDENING 



natural that the home-maker should hesitate about experiment- 

 ing, or trying kinds that he does not himself know. So the home- 

 maker in the North plants maples, elms, and a white birch, and 

 in the South a magnolia and China-berry. Yet there are nuna- 

 bers of trees as useful as these, the planting of which might give 

 our premises and streets a much richer expression. 



■It is much to be desired that some of the trees with "strong'' 

 and rugged characters be introduced into the larger grounds; 

 such, for example, as the hickories and oaks. These may often 

 transplant with difficulty, but the effort to secure them is worth 

 the expenditure. Good trees of oaks, and others supposed to be 

 difficult to transplant, may now be had of the leading nursery- 

 men. The pin oak {Quercus palustris) is one of the best street 

 trees and is now largely planted. 



It is at least possible to introduce a variety of trees into a city 

 or village, by devoting one street or a series of blocks to a single 

 kind of tree, — one street being known by its lindens, one by its 

 plane-trees, one by its oaks, one by its hickories, one by its native 

 birches, beech, coffee-tree, sassafras, gum or liquidambar, tulip 

 tree, and the like. There is every reason why a city, particu- 

 larly a small city or a village, should become to some extent an 

 artistic expression of its natural region. 



The home-maker is fortunate if his area already possesses 

 well-grown large trees. It may even be desirable to place the 

 residence with reference to such trees (Plate VI) ; and the plan- 

 ning of the grounds should accept them as fixed points to which 

 to work. The operator will take every care to preserve and 

 safeguard sufficient of the standing trees to give the place singu- 

 larity and character. 



The care of the tree should include not only the protecting of 

 it from enemies and accidents, but also the maintaining of its 

 characteristic features. For example, the natural rough bark 

 should be maintained against the raids of tree-scrapers; and 

 the grading should not be allowed to disguise the natural bulge 



