FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
25 
rises to its full river dignity. By follow¬ 
ing the crooks and turns of this creek and 
up a confluent that runs out of the ham¬ 
mock a few miles away, we should see the 
most of the species that we left, in the 
thicket and many more besides; innumer¬ 
ably more than the upland pines and low¬ 
land cypress which the traveler over our 
public highways gives us credit for. Here 
we should find chestnut oaks, with most 
magnificent, broad, and as their name in¬ 
dicates, chestnut-like foliage;" ash of 
several different species; the magnolia 
family including both grandiflora and the 
several varieties of bays; horn-beam or 
iron wood; poplar, myrtle, laurel, birch, 
alder, virburnum:, farkleberry or sparkle- 
berry, elm, several species of gums, includ¬ 
ing the so-called ogeche lime; red cedar, 
cabbage palmetto, and other species of 
trees, shrubs and plants, which in wealth 
of numbers or beauty of individuality 
might easily divert us from our search for 
those named. 
And herein lies the broader applica¬ 
tion of my thicket: Notwithstanding its 
attractions I did not keep myself within 
its confines, anymore than you will or can 
keep yourselves within the confines of a 
similar one, after you have become really 
interested in it. Once one becomes inter¬ 
ested in studying the various tree and 
plant growths, in all their wonderful 
varietal characteristics, he will not be con¬ 
tent with any stipulated boundaries, but 
will wander, as I have, over the fence, into 
the river swamp and nearby hammock. 
The more he investigates the more he will 
wonder why he himself, or his native 
town or village, has not drawn more free¬ 
ly on home-grown plants for the purposes 
of shade and embellishment—plants that 
are growing at his very door and a 
hundred times better adapted and more 
satisfactory than many of the high-priced 
exotics. 
Once having become really interested in 
the magnificent growths about us, the 
larger applications follow in rapid, 
natural sequence. We will transplant 
specimens that show natural advantages 
for the purpose wanted to our own home 
grounds. We will commence lining the 
streets that lead by our homes with other 
equally fine specimens. A little effort will 
induce others to become interested with us 
and our home village will have its streets 
lined with trees, and a village improve¬ 
ment association whose first thought will 
be for their welfare. The trees thus 
planted will themselves exert a salutary 
and benign influence, which will show it¬ 
self in many ways. Tin cans and other 
extraneous, undesirable village adorn¬ 
ments will be relegated to less conspicuous 
places than formerly and even the profes¬ 
sional village loafer with his perennial 
jack-knife and dry goods box, will be 
brought into line with those who have a 
higher conception of life’s duties—or 
pleasures. 
Civic pride is not hard to enlist and par¬ 
ticularly when that pride reaches out in a 
direction that is of equal benefit to all; 
but one must first become enthused him¬ 
self before he starts to enthuse others. 
This is a rule that applies to progress in 
any direction. And I speak from actual 
experience when I say that if in our re¬ 
spective localities, we demonstrate our 
tree-planting enthusiasm on our own 
grounds, we will not find it hard to in¬ 
terest others in the same direction. In 
our own little village, a few of us got to¬ 
gether this year and planted out over 400 
shade trees. I say few of us because the 
town itself is small. Not a single man but 
became immediately interested or soon fell 
