STREET TREES. 3 
Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of 
Mexico. (Figs. 2,10,and13.) A few have planted better and more 
lasting trees (figs. 1, 3, and 4); but the tree growth on the streets 
of the average town or city is ragged and unkempt in appearance, 
while that of the suburb or small village is not much better unless 
the planting has been done under municipal control and the plant- 
ings on a street have been confined to a single kind of tree. 
The advent of such civilizing agencies as the telegraph, the tele- 
phone, the electric light, and the trolley car have added each its 
share toward the mutilation or destruction of the good trees that 
were in existence at the time of their coming. Faulty methods of 
PI2516HP 
Fig. 3.—American elms on a city street in midsummer. All these trees were planted at one time at 
uniform distances apart by the Commissioners of Washington, D.C. 
pruning also have caused much disfigurement and ruin. (Figs. 5 
and 21.) To this mutilation has been added the unnecessary de- 
struction of many trees in centers of business (fig. 6), because they 
excluded a little daylight, or made a store less prominent, or were 
somewhat in the way of using the sidewalk for merchandise. 
In spite of all these troubles tree planting has continued because 
people love trees, enjoy well-shaded streets, and are willing to make 
efforts to get them. The trees on well-shaded streets are not only 
pleasing, but also contribute toward the health of the community 
by transpiring moisture into the atmosphere and by producing a 
restful effect on eyes and nerves. Red, especially, is known to have 
an exciting effect on human beings, and where city streets are well 
