GARDEN WORK IN DECEMBER 
By Ernest Hemming 
T^ECEMBER closes the year. It is, perhaps, 
not a bad idea for the gardener to take a 
little time to himself and indulge in a retrospect 
of the past year and balance up accounts. Where 
there has been genuine love of nature, even with 
all the failures and disappointments, the balance 
will be found on the right side of the ledger, if not 
in actual cash, in health, interest in life, enjoyment 
and the joys of actual contact with nature. 
Besides these there are those assets in the form 
of trees and various plants set out that have not yet 
given returns, but which undoubtedly will in the 
future if looked after. 
No better monument can be left behind than 
a tree. It may not be quite so enduring as stone 
nor so closely identified with the planter, but it is 
more beautiful, and a duty we owe to the succeeding 
generation. There is a good deal of philosophy 
in the old Scotch proverb: “Be aye sticking a tree 
in, it will be growing while you are sleeping.” 
The English custom of planting a tree to com¬ 
memorate an event such as a distinguished visitor, 
birth or other memorable occasion is worthy of 
emulation. One of the Pennsylvania colleges is 
at the present 
time having elm 
trees grafted 
from the histor- 
cal and notable 
elm trees grow¬ 
ing in different 
parts of the 
United States. 
Among them will 
be Penn Treaty 
Elm, Washing¬ 
ton Elm, elm 
from the Valley 
Forge entrench¬ 
ments, battle¬ 
fields of Eex- 
ington and Con¬ 
cord, largest elm 
in Massachu- 
setts, etc. It vvill 
easily be imag¬ 
ined bow much 
added interest 
there will be 
attached to such 
a collection of 
trees. There is 
no reason why 
the different 
trees and plants on the home grounds should not 
have their own particular associations. 
This leads to the question of choice of trees to 
plant. The common desire is for something of 
rapid growth that will make a growth in a short 
time. Usually the rapid growing or soft wooded 
trees are not so choice or so long lived as the hard 
wooded kinds. The box elder, silver maple and 
willow are representative of the fast growing kinds, 
while the oak, beech and elm would represent the 
other. 
The writer recently had the pleasure of looking 
over the grounds of Mr. W. R. Nelson, the well- 
known editor of the Kansas City Star, who, by the 
way, is a great lover of trees, and is doing much to 
introduce different trees and plants into his State. 
During the conversation Mr. Nelson remarked 
that while the esthetic value of the tree was all 
right he liked to see a tree growing on his lawn 
that had intrinsic value when cut up into lumber. 
There is no reason why both values should not 
have consideration, for trees producing the most 
valuable lumber are generally the most ornamental. 
The oaks are among the finest trees we have, but 
are usually con¬ 
sidered of slow 
growth, yet such 
is really not the 
case They are 
a little slow in 
starting after 
transplanting, 
but aftertheyare 
established their 
growth compares 
very favorably 
with any of the 
better class of 
trees. The ac¬ 
companying il¬ 
lustration shows 
two rows of scar¬ 
let oaks, planted 
last springonthe 
estate of John 
T. Morris, Esq., 
Chestnut Hill. 
The photograph 
was taken seven 
months after 
planting, and 
gives a very good 
idea of about 
the amount of 
GIGANTIC ELM NEAR LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS 
286 
