224 
TREES AS GOOD CITIZENS 
fare. The planting of them according to the personal 
tastes of the different owners is as inimical to the general 
effect as would be the paving of the street in front of each 
property according to the personal preferences of its 
occupant. In this selection it is imperative that there 
should be harmony of choice and concert of action. In a 
real sense, each tree planted belongs to the entire neigh¬ 
borhood. That the man who cuts down his own fine tree 
injures the property of his neighbors is recognized in the 
law of one state. To plant an undesirable species or type 
of tree is an offence equally serious. 
With the lack of uniformity that goes hand in hand with 
haphazard planting is irregularity in the spacing of trees. 
One man may want a tree in the center of his lot frontage, 
while his next door neighbor may choose to place one at 
each side. Individual preference may cause one man’s 
tree to crowd that of his neighbor so closely that both will 
soon be completely misshapen. Across the street there may 
be a gap of 200 feet or more between trees. One con¬ 
dition is as bad as another. Overcrowding and exces¬ 
sive gaps are to be avoided, as harmony is as essential in 
spacing as in species. 
There is further danger in individual tastes being 
exercised on the trees throughout the period of develop¬ 
ment and growth. Such danger exists with reference to 
trimming. One may like the trees pruned so low that the 
branches touch the hats of passers-by. Another may pre¬ 
fer the complete elimination of the lower branches, and 
accordingly, trim his thrifty and growing shade tree close 
to the very top; while a third may be too busy to trim his 
trees either way. Such diversity brings about an uneven¬ 
ness and raggedness fatal to the desired effect. 
Choice of tree guards may give rise to further disparity, 
if one uses fancy pine pickets, painted red, another wire- 
