The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1869-01-23
TREES FOR VILLAGE STREETS.
BY \. j. GRIDLEY, OF HAMILTON coLLEGE

Blessed be the man who first invented
shadc-trccs for village Streets He
must have been one who loved his irl-
loW-men, wise and sagacious man,
with an eye for the beautiful. What Il
relief they afford pedestrians in the pur-
suit of business or pleasure! They en-
nance the market value of the lands
aside which they are planted. They
relieve the dull monotony Of a formal
row of buildings. Whether one con-
siders their form or color, or the endless
play of light and shade among their
branches, they are pleasant to look
upon. They promote the public health,
and are not wanting even in moral in
fiuence.
On certain highway, in town IA
miliar to us, many of the native forest
trees were left standing by the first set
tiers, at intervals of forty to eighty
feet, and the road winds among them in
graceful curves. These trees arc now
quite venerable With age. What makes
that road the favoritc resort of pleasure
riders in summer? Plainly, as every
body admits, because Of the grand old
trees and the winding road, and nothing
beside 1t might not be advisable to
have trees scattered about thus in every
highway, but they should be there
somewhere, and most properly by the
sides Of the road.
| 1t is asked, (which are the best trees
for village-steets? If we were to report
Oh the most desirable trees for lawns,
or parks, or rural cemeteries, it would be
an easier matter But it is lor streets
/ that unguardcd public domain where
cattle of high and low degree do con-
grc@atc; where scnsclcss men hitch
their horses TO living trees rather than
TO dead posts; where wagon-hubs daily
| find the roadway too narrow for them ;
where adolcScent George aShin@tons
I furtivcly flesh their maiden Eatchcts ;
where trees are economy set out in haste,
and in soil unsuitcd to their growth
it is of trees in such conditions that we
are to speak The circumstances OF the
/ case will, of course, rule out many eX-
]
which are most hardy, easily trans
planted, not faStidious about soils, and
most patient under ill-uSaec. No tree
possesses all these qualities in periec-
ton, yet some are better than others,
and of these we shall speak
, Oar thoughts turn first to Elm; but
not every sort Of Elm Some persons,
not discriminating, plant the Red or
Slippery Elm, and fad at last that they
. have chosen q second rate tree, and one
whose mucilaginous inner-bark is con-
stantly peeled by boys for chawing."
/ Others set out tho Cerk-bark Elm,
which, though a lefty tree, does not
| spread its branches sufficiently for
arcnuc-pIanting. Tie Scotch Elm is 4
/ favorite with some for streets. 1t crows
/ rapidly, the leaves are broad, dari. green
/ in color, and the bark Of the LIMBS quite
+ smooth. 1t, however. is not Il large
tree, its average height being about
forty feet, and in wet soil it is short
lived.
The best elm for villasc-strccts is the
American White, or Weeping Elm, as
At is sometimes called 1t is easily
transplanted, grows fast, reaching in
rich lands eighty or ninety feet in height,
islong-liyed, and increases i'll beauty as
it increases in Years. Its majestic
trunk, braccd below with buttrcSscs,
divides into branches above, which sup
port leafv dome, or bend off in finely
.dircrgin& lines, until they sweep the
ground with their pendent foliage. 1t
is this tree which has given the villages
and suburban. towns Of Nrw-England
I national reputation for sylvan beauty
We do not forget the liability of this
tree to defuliation by worms; but if
lcailen cutters filed with tar and fish
oil do not prevent their scaling the
trunk, the English sparrow will drive
them from the branches
j. From the Elm we turn to the Maple.
This hus net the graceful dignity of the
Elm, and does not grow as fast, but vet
ii pos scSscs great MORT for q roadside
tree. The Maple family Is numerous,
and nearly all its members are quite re-
spectacle.
! The NhIte or silver Maple, so called
from the siivcry color of the undcr-sur-
: face of Its leaves, IS one of the finest OF
our native trees Its branches spread
and form a broad head, though they dc
mot afford a very dense shade. The
chief fault of this tree lies in the loose,
spreading habi Ct it,. branches without
i much ramification which renders them
liable to he broken by heavy winds,
The Black Maple, with IFS leaves OF
darker green than any other native
spc"irs, is u noble tree fer the park or
the highway. Ii has the merit of com
ING into leaf weak earlier than the
ioc> sial.is., though it has not quite
the symmetry OF that saccharine tree.
The Red or Swamp Maple adopts it
= self to all kinds Of soil, and grows fast
nuou~b for Young America Its tufts