24 
TREES AS GOOD CITIZENS 
grass on the small city lot, is robbed of its best chance for 
attractiveness by a lack of shade and foliage. The transfor¬ 
mation brought about by the planting of trees and shrub¬ 
bery is sometimes beyond belief until the demonstration 
has been actually made. By careful planting, the compar¬ 
atively small place can be given the dignity of acres; the 
modest home may assume the appearance of the small-scale 
estate. The house glimpsed through foliage has a charm 
not possible to the more costly house in treeless setting. 
In lawn plantings, as in street plantings, the relation of 
cost to results is an important consideration. The 
increased value, accruing to all of the property on a tree- 
lined thoroughfare, is again made greater in the case of the 
individual home which adds trees of its own to those of the 
street. Any one of us, in buying a home or a site on which 
to build, would be influenced in favor of the lot with shade 
and foliage. Trees and shrubs give the contact with 
Nature which man instinctively craves, and for which he 
is willing to pay. 
Let it be remembered, then, that in beautifying the 
home with trees the outlay is to be regarded as an invest¬ 
ment, pure and simple; an investment in beauty, in health, 
in comfort, and, finally, in cash value. Any one of these 
would make the investment worth while. 
The tree, therefore, should be recognized as blending 
beauty, poetry, sentiment and romance with the practical 
and important elements of profit and health. 
The planting of shade trees, too, must be looked upon as 
an investment, not as an expense. Trees increase the dollar 
and cent value of property. Those familiar with the 
values of residence real estate recognize the greater worth 
of homes on streets lined with shade trees. Of two houses 
alike in design and structure, the place on the shaded 
street will always command the higher price. 
