84 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



TREES FOR TOWNS. 

 By R. Lewis Castle. 



[Lecture given on August 29, 1905.] 



It is now generally recognised that until comparatively recently the 

 cultivation of trees in towns has been sadly neglected, but it is also felt 

 that from an artistic, as well as from a sanitary point of view, this 

 state of things should not be allowed to continue. Though there are 

 indications that the matter is receiving more consideration from public 

 bodies than formerly, the progress is deplorably slow, and something can 

 yet be said on the subject, it is hoped, with a prospect of improving the 

 present condition of affairs. 



Undoubtedly there are many impediments which only time and 

 extensive alterations in the design of cities can remove. For instance, 

 oar forefathers seemed to delight in narrow streets and in crowded 

 gardenless houses, and this too when land was cheap and more easily 

 obtained than it is at the present time. The undoing of such mistakes 

 has cost many thousands of pounds, and added heavy burdens to the 

 ratepayers, but no form of public expenditure has yielded better results 

 or more lasting satisfaction than that devoted to the widening of streets 

 and the provision of ample open spaces for the people. 



The excellent work performed by the London County Council in this 

 ■direction merits the highest commendation, and an admirable example 

 has been set for provincial towns to follow. The appreciation that such 

 work receives will certainly lead to extended efforts in the future, and 

 these should be made upon the lines which experience has shown to be 

 the most desirable. The remarks which follow are founded upon a long 

 acquaintance with the parks and gardens of the metropolis, and those of 

 many other large cities both at home and in France and Belgium. But 

 they have especially arisen out of a close examination of the London 

 parks, open spaces, and squares, during the summer and autumn of last 

 year. From the extreme west, where we have Royal Kew, proving by the 

 wonderful collection of trees and shrubs that flourish there, how great 

 and varied is the beauty that can be imparted to parks and gardens, to 

 the densest parts of the east of London, where Victoria Park affords a 

 remarkable example of tree-growth under most adverse conditions ; from 

 the northern heights of Highgate and Hampstead to Sydenham, Xunhead, 

 and Peckham on the south, all the larger spaces where trees are grown, 

 or could be grown, have been carefully examined as regards their soil, 

 their cultivation, and the kinds of trees grown in them. Much was seen 

 that was worthy of praise in a high degree, many examples were afforded 

 of the efforts that are being made to get rid of existing defects, and if 

 there were instances in which criticism seems necessary, it is not in 

 any carping or contentious spirit that they will be pointed out, and as 



