SHADE TREE PLANTING 77 
opment of the crown in the way best suited for shade and 
ornament. 
In choosing nursery stock, when the city does not have 
its own nursery, the first consideration is the selection of 
the nursery itself. Strict care must be given to confining 
purchases to one of known reliability and responsibility. 
Trees from other sources are apt to be defective and 
improperly developed and trained. The cost of the 
specimen is of such small significance, that an attempt to 
economize by seeking trees commended by nothing but 
lowness of price, is mistaken thrift, and almost certain to 
prove expensive in the long run. 
The importance of dealing with a nurseryman of high 
repute is obvious. This dealer regards every tree with 
jealous eye because of its value in contributing to his 
prestige as a nurseryman. He is no more willing than the 
customer to have his trees prove defective and unsatis¬ 
factory. In addition, he will give valuable advice in the 
selection of individual specimens and in their planting and 
care. It is to his interest to do all this, and to aid the tree 
planter in every possible way, for every tree successfully 
planted does its share toward stimulating the industry of 
which his nursery is a part. 
Choose a tree that is in healthy condition and as 
nearly as possible perfect in shape. The nurseryman who 
tries to sell a deformed or misshapen tree is a good man 
to avoid in making purchases, for his effort in this direc¬ 
tion may be taken as fairly good evidence that other 
things are wrong with his stock. Be sure to insist on a 
properly trained root system. The trees best suited for 
transplanting into street environment are those in which 
the roots have been pruned into compact form, to fit 
them for life in a ground area restricted by paving, side¬ 
walks, curbs and underground pipe and conduit construe- 
