STREET TREES. 43 
and 12. The leaves are of unusual form, the upper half appearing 
to have been cut away, leaving a notch about where it would seem 
the middle of the leaf should be. The color is a light green. The 
roots are unusually soft and tender, and therefore the tree needs to 
be transplanted quickly and with great care. Small sizes should be 
planted, especially near the northern limits of growth. It should be 
transplanted only in the spring. If after transplanting it the top 
should die and a new vigorous shoot should put out from the root, it 
would be desirable to form a new top from this shoot rather than to 
transplant another tree. 
CULTURE OF STREET TREES. 
SELECTION OF INDIVIDUAL TREES. 
Nursery-grown trees should be used for street planting, and they 
should have been transplanted at least every two years while in the 
nursery. This is to insure a thorough root pruning and the produc- 
tion of numerous fibrous roots close to the trunk. Trees not fre- 
quently transplanted form a few long roots that are largely cut off 
when the tree is dug. Trees growing in the woods form a few very 
long roots, and when an attempt is made to dig them only a little of 
the root next the trunk is obtained, while most of the roots, includ- 
ing the fibrous ones, are left in the ground. If woodland trees are 
wanted for street purposes, most kinds should be grown for a few 
years in a nursery in order to form a good root system before being 
planted on the streets. 
In addition to a good root system, the tree should have a straight 
trunk for the variety, with a good set of branches, called the head, the 
bottom branches being from 7 to 9 feet from the ground. Trees 
which naturally head low should be started with a higher head than 
those varieties that have a tendency to an upright growth. A good 
head for a shade tree is a leader or upright branch with three or more 
side branches about equally spaced around the tree. The trees 
should be healthy, free from scars, and also free from evidences of 
insects or diseases. In the presence of insects, trees should be thor- 
oughly fumigated along approved methods before leaving nurseries, 
to insure against the introduction and distribution of pests. Weak- 
ened vitality resulting from transplanting and subsequent neglect 
will frequently invite attack by bark-boring insects which seriously 
damage or kill the trees. Mulching and watering will often prevent 
this damage. 
Opinion as to the size to plant differs somewhat, but for average 
conditions trees from 10 to 12 feet high and with trunks or stems 
from 2 to 24 inches in diameter! are very satisfactory in most 
—_— 
1 Designated by nurserymen as ‘‘caliper.’’ 
