178 
The Garden Magazine, May, 1920 
“That they will!” answer the optimists, “or at any rate we 
hope so.” For that is just why the state of Michigan is using 
them. She wants the world to see, take, taste and thus to know 
about her most famous crop! 
The Rotary Club at Tampa, Fla., is planting a fifteen mile 
stretch of the West Coast Road as a memorial highway in honor 
of the men of Hillsborough County. The Dixie Highway is 
being planted in many places. The Women’s Club of York, Pa., 
has taken over the planting of twenty-five miles of the Lincoln 
Highway in and out of that city. The Jefferson Highway from 
New Orleans to Winnipeg has been planted with Victory Oaks 
for the distance of the road in Louisiana. The Technical High 
School of Indianapolis has planted two hundred and twenty- 
three memorial trees in honor of her boys in the service, the oc- 
casion being marked by a remarkable tree planting service, and 
in Minnesota a campaign for memorial tree planting among the 
school children has been started by the Minnesota State Forest 
Service. Instructions have been issued to the rangers who will 
be allowed a certain number of trees and aid in their distribu- 
tion. 
T HESE are just a few examples of what is going on all over 
the country, which will serve to indicate something of the 
splendid highways which will be the country’s pride within the 
coming generation. As to the planting of trees itself, the first 
question of course is what kind shall be selected. The answer 
depends upon a few factors which can easily be ascertained. One 
of these is the character of the soil in which the tree must grow. 
There are a few trees, such as the American Elm, that are adapt- 
able to a wide range of soils; but there are others, such as the 
Tulip tree, which require a special condition of deep, rich soil if 
they are to thrive. Then climate is to be considered. We 
know that a Live-oak grows in the South and that the Sugar 
Maple does best in New England and the North generally. 
Hence it is safest to use the kind of trees that are already 
thriving in the section where the proposed planting is to be 
made. 
But even with the general soil conditions and the matter of 
climatic requirements well satisfied, the special situation to be 
occupied by the tree should be considered. If there is but a 
small space which can be devoted to the future development of 
a solitary tree it would be folly to plant a group or one which will 
attain huge proportions. So the immediate location of the tree 
may determine its selection as much as soil and climate. Quite 
as important too as any other factor in tree selection is the tree’s 
function, as a tree. A Spruce will be less a success if planted for 
shade than an Elm, but the Spruce is admirable for shelter. A 
tree that is part of the landscape scheme of a place must be co- 
ordinated with its surroundings and the other trees or objects 
adjacent. 
There is another phase that is often not given sufficient 
thought at the time of selecting trees for planting and that is 
their longevity — otherwise their permanency. For this reason 
entire streets — sometimes whole towns — have been planted with 
short-lived and otherwise inferior trees. It is always much more 
desirable to plant trees of considerable permanency such as Oak 
and Sycamore than to select quick growing, hence fast maturing 
and comparatively short-lived trees, such as Silver Maple and 
many of the Poplars. And of course this is especially the case 
in making memorial plantings. 
Then as the cultural requirements of some trees are less ex- 
acting than those of others, it is well to select varieties that will 
require no more attention than the planter is prepared to give 
them. Beyond the first two or three years after planting, the 
Oaks, Maples, Elms, and Sycamores require very little cultural 
treatment. 
In sections where the surrounding woodlands offer countless 
young evergreens and saplings at no more trouble than the dig- 
ging, it has been customary for tree planters to go to these 
near-by woodlots and dig up the stockwith which to plant streets, 
home grounds, school grounds, and country roadsides. This 
method has in these days one — and only one! — special feature 
to commend it, however satisfactory it may have been once 
upon a time. It provides a variety of trees that are a product 
of the locality. But inasmuch as transplanting a tree is a shock 
to it at best and not infrequently fatal unless it has been espe- 
cially grown for the purpose, the right way is to buy, from some 
near-by nurseryman if possible the same variety of trees which 
have been especially grown for the purpose. In the nursery 
trees are transplanted often, root pruned and otherwise handled 
with the express purpose of preparing them for transplanting. 
This method of handling furnishes a tree that for one thing, 
begins growth with less set-back than when the same size tree 
is taken directly from the woods and that, for another, is not 
likely to succumb to the operation. 
A S TO the proper size of the tree to plant, this will depend 
to a great extent upon the kind of tree that is used and 
especially whether evergreen or deciduous. Nursery-grown 
evergreen trees up to five feet in height and deciduous trees 
of the same quality up to twelve feet in height, are the best sizes 
to plant. In the case of deciduous trees for lawns, either in 
groups or planted singly, there need not be the regularity and 
uniformity in shape which is required of trees for a street. In 
fact it is preferable to have in a group of trees, for lawn or coun- 
try road planting, individuals which are not too regular in form. 
For a street the lowest branches must eventually be trimmed 
away to twelve or fourteen feet from the ground after the tree 
has grown to a fain size, of course, but on a lawn lower 
branches may be allowed to persist if desired. And in the 
case of evergreens the lowest branches should never be cut 
away. 
After obtaining the trees certain preparations should be made 
for planting. Whether the tree is taken from a near-by woodland 
or is purchased from a nursery, its roots must be carefully pro- 
tected both as regards drying out and as to injury from scraping 
and bruises. When trees are shipped from a nursery their roots 
are covered with moist materials. Keep this covering around 
the roots until immediately before planting. The roots of trees 
locally dug should be similarly covered and protected, for the 
exposure of the uncovered roots for five minutes may be sufficient 
to injure a tree beyond recovery. This cannot be over- 
emphasized; and remember that the wind will dry them as well 
as the sun. 
Unless the trees have been given better than ordinary handl- 
ing in the operations of digging and transporting, their roots will 
need some trimming. Those that are broken and badly bruised 
should be pruned off with a clean cut; and the tops of deciduous 
trees should also be shaped up at this time and reduced to con- 
form to root loss. It is liable to be the case that too little prun- 
ing of the top is given rather than too much. In fact, many 
successful planters remove all of the side branches of a deciduous 
tree, leaving only the main shoot or leader at the time of planting. 
But never prune back or remove the leader of any tree! And 
evergreen trees need no top pruning at time of transplanting. 
All of this pruning should be done with a sharp pruner, such as 
can be secured at any hardware store if it is not already among 
the everyday tools of the planter. 
While some trees will undoubtedly grow in a poor soil after 
they have become established, there is certainly no advantage 
in starting them in anything except the best obtainable. That 
referred to usually as “top soil” is desirable to have on hand in 
sufficient quantity to cover the roots, in place of the subsoil 
taken from the excavation made to receive them. 
T HE two normal seasons for planting deciduous trees are 
spring and fall. The special advocates for either season 
have many arguments to advance for one or the other, and the 
inexperienced planter will find the early spring the better in the 
northern states. But as a rule it is safe to say that all deciduous 
trees may be planted at any time during the dormant period 
when it is possible to work the soil, i.e., when the ground is not 
