Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1859-04-12

| Nhy do we not see the lariu HOUSES
more frequently graced with trees, and
with a bit Of lawn in front to welcome
the guest with its velvcty turf, and to
refresh the eve Of the traveller AS he
Masses We know there has been ex-
tcnsive tree planting for the past eight
or ton wears, and that the nursery bus.
mess was never so brisk and lively in
this country as in the last decade
Not only have our own establishments
produced Largely, but foreign nurseries
have sent us trees by the million, or
dered by dealers here, and in many in
stances by gentlemen travelling In Eu-
rope, who desire the best of everything
for their fruit Yards and ornamental
grounds. But if we look At the pres
ent location Of these trees we shall lind
them mainly in cities and villages, and
| in their Immediate suburbs. Among
this class of our people, tree planting
has become popularized, and there are
a multitude Of charming rural houses
near all our northern cities, with
grounds well land out and planted, to
which every passing year will add new
attractions for a generation to come.
Even in villages, upon half-acre home
steads, a multitude Of beautiful and
useful things have been gathered, that
one ignorant of the mysteries Of hori-
culture could hardly suppose possible.
The dwellers in these tasteful houses
have flowers and fruits Of their own
raising for nine months Of the year,
shade the live long summer, and shell
ter that breaks the violence and terror
of the winter winds. There is thus
kept up beautiful communion of the
family with nature, which is essential
to the highest happiness and usefulness
of the race.
But as we recede from these great
social centers, the evidence OF horicul-
tural taste are more and more want
ing. We know, indeed, that there are
exceptions, farmers homes that are as
perfect models Of good taste as any
thing that can be found in the country.
They are built and adorned with the
profits of Legitimate farming, are with
in the means of their owner, and are
the out growth of taste and mental
culture developed upon the farm. The
trees and shrubbery are well selected
for the climate, and we'll planted, the
lawn is ample enough, and yet in keep
ing with the size of the farm and the
means of the owner. But still such
homes are rare exceptions in the coun-
try. There is no generous enthusiasm
for tree planting among the great mass
of our farming population, and even
our readers, apt scholars as they are,
and rapidly improving in their rural
tastes, are not quite up to the stand
ard. There is many farm long Guilt
waited, where there is no orchard, no
fruit yard, and not even solitary
shade tree. There are many others
where the fields are we'll titled, and the
fruit is abundant, that have still no
adornments from the trees of the for
rest. Every approach to the house is
without shade or ornament, and there
Is hardly fruit tree visible.
And this neglect of planting is not
owing generally to any want of appre-
citation or desire for tasteful houses
Let any one of these careless farmers
pass neighbours house that has ap-
propriate surroundings of trees, shrubs,
and flowers, and he can not refrain
from expressing his qualification. He
may know nothing Of the laws of es-
thetics, and yet pleasing impression
is made upon his mind by every indi-
vidual object in the plantation, and by
the general arrangement of the whole.
A we'll grown elm, or maple in good
foliage, fills every beholder with pleas
ing emotions. The form, the color,
the shade are all delightful, and leave
pleasant memories behind when sum-
mer is gone. The wide spreading oak
in the meadow is often sought by the
farmer, and his sons, and workmen,
during the labors of the hay and the
grain harvests. 1t brings no pecunia-
~ gains, yea, is positive tax upon
the soil, spelling all that it covers, fol
his crops, and yet he would sooner
loose his best cow, than have it cut
down. 1t is beautiful object in the
landscape, he loves to look up into its
green boughs, and hear the. rustling Of
It's leaves in the summer breeze. II
redeems the scene of his labors from
the grossness of mere utility. One
thing, at least, is loved not for its pc
cuniary value, but for what it is in it.
self, an object of taste.
And yet lover Of trees as he is, he
did not plant this old oak in the
meadow, and he has never planted a
tree for shade or ornament by the road
side, or around his dwelling. He ha,
often wished some full grown monarch
of the forest could be taken up, and
put down by his door, but that was i'm
practicable. He has often thought Of
planting saplings, and been tempted
by their clean trunks and thrifty limbs
but just as often has thought that he
might not stay more than another
year in his present location. lie has
felt the emigration fever, and it is only
owing to untoward circumstances that
he has not long since scught a new
home. This unsettled disposition
which affects more or less all classes O,
our farming population, especially per.
haps in eastern sections, is the secret
we imagine, Of our neglected road
sides and unadorned homesteads.
1t was not so with the early settlers
in the older states. They took posses
sion of the wilderness. and exnected