The Wilmingtonian., 1885-06-13
SATURDAY, JUNE Is, 1885.
OUR SHADE TREES.

AT this season, when nature has thor |
oughly awakened from her Winters nap,
and has appeared to man in full-dress cos
tune, our attention is naturally directed to
the trees.
Wilmington is sigually blessed in this par
ticular. Most of our streets are lined with
graceful and beautiful trees, affording COM
fort by their shade and pleasure by their ap-
pearauoe. Most of our gardens and yards
contain fine aud valuable trees
Probably the majority of trees in the city |
are silver naples. They possess beauty and |
strength, though they require considerable
care. They should be trimmed about every |
ten years; or they become ragged and strag |
Cling with dead branches struggling |
through the foliage.
The Norway maple appears to be the
most popular tree. 1t possesses particu-
larly graceful shape and a rich outrageous
foliage. The leaves are dark beautiful
shade, very pleasing to the eye. This tree
requires very little care and never grows to
an inconvenient height. The foliage is very
dense; affording the deepest shade.
In the northerly section of the city, along
parts of Washington street and the Avenue,
is seen the North Carolina poplar. 1t is a
tree of very rapid growth and quite hardy.
Some objection is found to it for the reason
of its slenderness and height; but few trees
surpass it in beauty.
Much praise is bestowed upon the beauti-
full horse chestnut, with its pointed pictu,-
esque leaves and graceful symmetry. 1t is
one of the first to appear in leaf in the
Spring, aud one Of the last to loose its leaves
in the Autumn.
The paper Mulberry seems to be loosiug
its hold upon the public favor. 1t is seen
only in the older sections of the city. The
colorsd people seem to fancy this tree, and
their dwellings are generally shaded by it,
The ailantus is large tree of much beauty,
but Objectionable to many persons on ac-
count of the strong odor which It exhales
when in blossom.
The grandest tree of all is the silver popr
lar. How it towers majestically above its
neighbors, and d'spreads its enormous branch
es over them! When the eye is dimmed by
the quivering heat of midsummer's after
noon, how refreshing is the sight of the
white upturned leaves dancing in the
breeze
But this tree is considered too large for
the ordinary street, being better fitted for
open places.
The catalpa is pretty tree, though not
by any means plentiful in this section. Its
leaves are large, and of light green
About July it appears in flower. The flow.
er is a beautiful cluster of white cups; each
delicately masked with red, blue and or
ange. A fine specimen of this tree is in the
yard OF MIR. George W. Bush,
The elm is not much seen in Whining ton
In the yard of the Friends Meeting a
Fourth and West streets are some fine spec
linens of this species.
One of the largest and Oldest trees in tn
city is an enormous sycamore, or button
wood in the garden of DR.. Garrett, at Della
ware Avenue and West streets. A very oil
tree and somewhat of landmark, is situa
ted near the corner of Eighth aud Van Bu
ren streets. This vetern stands on the lin
of the old Kings Road.
Its top has been broken off, and its heal
eaten out by fire, but it still bears sugge
tons of its former grandeur. An elm
great size and beauty grows in the yard
the Orphan Asylum, at Sixth and We
streets.
Persons in setting out shade trees alor
the streets are prone to the mistake of plan
lug them too close together. Indeed most
the trees of Wilmington suffer from til
cause. They need plenty of room to thro
out their roots and branches. Many a fit
tree is considered sickly and OF no value
its owner, simply because it is too near
some lusty neighbor who consumes all Il
sustensRce that the sur rounding soil q
fords.