Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-10-12

have read with much interest your recent ar
ticles on street and shade trees for North Texa<
towns. The subject is one over which the people
of Ennis are now much concerning themselves.
Some of US strongly favor one kind or class OF
trees, while others favor something else, hence
l thank you for your writings in THE GAZETTE
OF shade trees, as 1 consider it ahead of any
thing we have had up.
as pin oak in some localitiesl
must state that there is more beautiful tree
in all the South, becoming almost perfect
sugar-loaf in shape when 1t has attained to the
height of from fifteen to twenty five feet.
Another great beauty attaching to it lies in the
fact that it is an evergreen, and hence continues
to look its best when all deciduous trees are
bare. 1t is furthermore one of the most rapidly
growing oaks known, as you state, and 1 can
bear witness.
The laurel oak already grows in various Sec
tons of Texas, where the young trees may be
had on made alluyial lands along river and
creek bottoms.
You also struck it right on the mock orange. a
tree somstimes called wild peach. 1t is most
beautiful evergreen, hardy and thrifty along the
rivers of Southwestern Texas, where it makes
good sized trees. Can be trapspla nted to any of
our uplands, either black waxy sandy loan,
and does we'll every time.
Our wild cherry, though not an evergreen, is
another beautiful shade tree too much neglected
in Texas. 1t is easily grown and though con-
siderably used by our people as shade tree, it
ought to be more widely adopted. Then. the
live oak with US is perfect success and per-
manent evergreen, making grand shade tree.
1t ought to be extensively planted IN every
North Texas city. As you stated, slow growth
seems to be the leading objection to it, but if
thrifty young trees are carefully selected only
few years would elapse ere they would be giving
our towns quite tropical appearance to visitors
from the North down to spend Christmas with
US. G. T. HOGAN.
Ennis, Tex.
The live oak (Quercus virens) is, sure
enough, one of our grandest trees, and
its name is as closely associated with the
sub-tropical South as is that of the mag
nole. 1t ought to be largely planted,
for it is entirely at home in every part of
Texas, and even though the planter
should not live to see 1t a large tree
(Which he would not be apt to do) it is
entirely beautiful as small tree. In
Mobile, Ala, there are many live oaks
measuring more than three feet in diam
eter, and extending their branches over
near 100 feet, but they are very old,
having been planted in the early days of
the town, say $50 years ago. We'd
always plant live oaks, but for quick de-
velopme nt either the laurel or the water
oak is to be preferred, of course. The
laurel oak would be larger at thirty
years of age than the live oak would be
at the age of 100 years, and the former
is certainly the most beautiful tree in
every respect. Strangers from the North
never think of the laurel oak as being
other than the live oak. There is plenty
of room for both species, however.
We would have expected to fud both
the laurel aud the water oak growing In
the pine regions of Eastern Texas, but
we have never yet seen either along
streams in other portions of the state.
OF course this is not TO question the cor
rectness of our correspondent when he
says the laurel oak grows along streams
in various sections of Texas, for he is a
well informed gentleman, and doubtless
knows exactly what he is talking about.
We gave the botanical name of the tree
(Quercus laurifolia), in the article re-
ferred to by him else from what he saws
of its sometimes being called pin oak
we ID think he might have mistook us as
to species, though his description of the
tree tallies well with the appearance of our
"swamp' laurel oak. The true pin oak
IQuercus paiustris) grows abundautly
along many of our rivers-the finest
specimens we ever saw we met With
growing on tee Brazos not far from CAL