CHAPTER VIII. 
NUT TREES FOR ROADSIDE PLANTING 
F OR roadside planting many of the best authorities urge 
the use of nut trees, as combining the elements of shade 
tree beauty with those of crop-producing utility. They 
argue that for size, attractiveness and purely ornamental 
effect some members of the nut group are among the most 
desirable of American trees, and that they excel most 
other trees of hardwood timber value in rapid growth, 
length of life and resistance to insects and diseases. 
With this blend of the artistic and the practical, the 
advocates of this type of planting are constantly gaining 
new followers, and the growing of nut trees along the 
highways is steadily becoming more frequent. 
Perhaps the first objection offered when this type is 
suggested is the likelihood of raids on the nut crop by 
people passing along the highway. The simplest reply is, 
even in the event of complete loss of the crop, the property 
owner is as well off as he would have been with non¬ 
producing species. His highway has had the benefit of 
the shade, the landscape has had the added beauty and 
picturesqueness provided by magnificent trees, and his 
farm has the increased value that comes from these 
advantages. To carry the reply still farther, it may be 
pointed out that complete loss is neither necessary nor 
probable. In support of this the experience of nut and 
fruit growers in various parts of the country may be cited. 
In California, the Pacific Northwest, Michigan, and 
many other sections we find orange groves, or almond and 
walnut groves, apple or peach orchards, and extensive 
vineyards coming close to the highways, and more than 
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