The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1882-04-15
BEAUTIFY THE STREETS.
From the Pioneer Press.

l.,
by dint of much discussion, has reach
ed that point where its theoretical i'm
portance is acknowledged by every
body, while no one is willing in prac-
tlce to act according to its teachings.
This, at any rate is substantial gain.
lhe next phase of it will be when
harsh necessity compels the rigid en-
torcement Of laws preventing the in
discriminate destruction of woodlands,
and makes systematic tree planting
| compulsory. But to one branch of the
T subject no attention whatever has been
paid. While all admit, in a general
way, the intimate relation between
forests and the physical geography of
country, few comprehend that it is
most desirable to have the streets and
avenues of our cities lined with shade
trees, The grounds upon which this
may be urged are these sanitary, es
thetic, and, little as some people think
it, financial, A tract of land entirely
destitute Of trees is as prejudicial to
health as the rank vegetation and de-
cay of tropical Jungle All the more
true is this, if it is inhabited by a
dense population. Animal life con-
sumes OXYGEN and exhales carbonic
acid, Plant life consumes carbonic
acid and exhales oxygen. The one is
the correlate and corrective Of the 9th
er. Fever-haunted districts have been
reclaimed for the use Of man by plant
ing them thickly. The Sanitary in
fnence of the famous eucalyptus is
shared, though in lesser degree, by the
other members of the aboreal king
dom. 1t is, therefore, at once clear to
how great an extent the planting of
trees along the streets of cities will
purge the polluted air of its impurities,
and mollify the baneful effect which it
produces upon the mental and physi-
cal constitution Of man
The aesthetics Of urban tree-plant-
ing need no assertion or demonstra-
ton. A proflsion of foliage conceaIs
eccentricities and lends to the metro
pOlitan highway, at best but an un-
pleasant spectacle, q charm which
nothing else can give. The most beau
tiful cities OF the world owe much of
their fame to the sylvan borders of
their streets. No building in Europe.
is any more famous than is the noble
Lindenstrasse. To the chance travel
er, obliyious Of historical associations,
it is the great charm of an ancient
capital. In this conntry the same rule
holds true Perhaps the city of Amer
lea which is most frequently made
the standard of comparative loveliness
is New Haven. But New Haven
without its famous elms would be moth
ing but quiet, struggling New En-
gland town, with dusty, glaring oys-
ser-shell roads leading down, to a
muddy and ill-smelling harbor. It's. |
college campus would be an arid quad |
rangle, upon which a lot Of unsightly |
buildings of more different styles than
any architect had dreamed of, had set |
tied down according to squatter's law.
Every recollection of the visitor is one |
of a city embowered among graceful |
forms and spreading branches. The
vistas where the giants of two centu-
ries meet in a perfect archway over
streets one hundred feet wide the
pretty glimpses of secluded dwelling
half revealed the miles on miles Of |
sidewalk which is never heated by the
direct rays of the sun, and the saun
terer needs no artificial shade the air
of antiquity which these venerable
bear-these are what give
the city its beauty and its charm.
Next to castle or an ivy-mantled
ruin, the best emblem Of antiquity is a
tree, huge of girth and wide of limb.
To large class of people, consider
ations such as these have no especial
They enjoy reasonable good
health, and when it fails they call in
the doctor. The aesthetic argument is
one at which they sniff contemptuous-
ly. Such as these may be interested to
know that the subject of tree-planting
in cities has financial side, which
even Mr.. Gradgrind would not have
despised. Shade-trees along the side
walks or upon the frontage of a pro-
perty add to its market value a very
handsome percentage. In this eli
mate we cannot afford to be obGvious
to either sun or shade. In the newer
portions of the city, south frontages
are first built upon. A site upon which
the full force of the summer sun can
stream unbroken will never be the first
choice for residence. A recent writer