Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1847-09-04

SC, ii Is u great desidgfaium to find o class
of trees and shrubs that will rapidly attain
tbs desired form aud size, afford q health
ial and aAfeeable shade, and are free from
tlis attacks Of insects or from accidents Of
any kind, aud at the same time will tend TO
bBautify The scenery aud ultimately prove
useful for fuel or construction in the arts.
With the great variety Of species and Va.
rietiss before dis, whether III q wild stats on
under cultivation, me might be led 10 sup.
pUse It an easy matter 10 select from among
them all that could be desired, yet, when we
take all their points or qualities into &C.
count, how few tbsrs are free from oblee.
ton. One class seemingly answer the de-.
sired end for the first ten OF fifteen years.
and then, by eHuberanee o fgrowth, become
too much expanded for the situations they
occupy, and, unless their beauty Is destroy
Cd by pruning. they grow top.heayy aud
are hhally uprooted or shattered by the
winds other kinds appear 10 flourish with
vigor during the first few years, assuming n
variety Of graceful and picturesque forms,
and then are checked in their growth be-.
como sickly Of staghoaded, and uosightly
to the eye while o third class although
they may possess satisfactory qualities In
most other respects, are attacked by uoxt-
Gus and disgusting insects during certain
seasons Of The year and are often greatly
injured thereby if not totally destroy d.
Hence the difficulties our early tree-plan-
tors labefad under, who CROPPED along in the
dark, IT many instances, and We need not
be surprised nor should we attach any
blaine 70 their praisew0rtry efforts, even
If they have not been tue most choice IN
their selections, and tho most iu1icious III
their maGag cement.
Without entering IN defH Into The mo.
notony Of that large "~sylvan park" The
Boston Common, with d variety Of soil and
surface lhst would admit of one Of the finest
arboret9us IN the world, Or 10 dwell upon
the seventeen other settles Of elms," In
other parts OF New Englabd. or upon the
long formal rows Of e60tirs In our national
metropolis, whote3 before all other places,
We might be led 10 expect "a conspicuous
display Of indigenous Trees, | will pass to
Brooklyn and New York. These two ci.
ties probably contain a greater number u
species Of cultivated trees. nativo and
foreign, than Is occupied by the safis ex.
tent Of ground in any part a the Union.
Hence it may be- Inferred, that, IN planning
streets, out NJ SO largo q number oftrees nm
injndlci0tfs choice, in many cases, would
betnade which would tmavoidai1y he at.
tended with consequent evils The trees
Of this description which most predomipate,
are the weeping willow, the button VOID
(sycauuore the European linden, the Anne
rican and European elms, the silver.leaved
maple, the cataIp pa, the three thorned gle1.
i~tschia, the tulip tree, (whttewood,) tho
horse cheantt, the paper mulberry, and the
abcle. None 0f these trees, nor any others
Ofequal dimensions should ever be- suffered
10 attain onc.half Of their maximum sire.
within fifty feet Of my human dwelling,
either in country or town. These trees,
10 be sure, when young, like striplines,
shoot into graceful forms with n lightneas
and an a]iriness about them that is pleasing;
but when they expand into their natural
proportions and attain their full growth,
they become too large for the situations
they were intended to occupy, and. by the
fullness Of their foliage, often produce an
unhealthy shade. For we have every re&-
son to believe that many residences, which
naturally would have been salubrious under
other circumstances, are rendered damp,
gloomy, and unhealthy, during certain pc.
RODS Of the year, by the sup~erabundance
oftrees and shrubbery growing in their i'm.
mediate proximity: and besides, when thus
planted, the leaves Of several Of the afore
named trees serve as the food Of myriads Of
millions of insects, or their Larvae, which 80
often infeSt the rooms Of our houses and
annoy passengers IN the streets. The
pruning ofthese trees, in many cases, has
been entirely neglected, while in others the
operation has been carried TOO far. 1t has
not unfrequently happened, that, when the
tops ofthe trees became sufficiently expand.
cd to darken the houses, or intercept the
view; in ordE to remedy the evil, the whole
Of the lower branches have been cut away,
leaving the upper ones to form an unnatural
and often I.shapen head.
The streets ofthe cities and larger towns
Of this State seldom exceed three or four
rodstn width, and, consequently, will not adj.
NIT Of the growth Of trees much more than
ffteeno or twenty feet in height, without more
OF less iujnryor Inconvenience to- the neigh.
boring habrtations. In several eilie ofEurop,
the planting oftrees and shrubs IN streets i
regulated by law, and, ID some cases, It i
required that they be Of such q character d
viii not reach above the lover parts of tht
windows Of the second stories. The tree.
and shrubs that would answer such 4 pur