New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-28
rop REALTY. HEALTH AND COMFORT.

In no respect are the pOtentialities OF uhio'c-
Illness I'm n great city made more conspicuous
in \cw-York than in the lack of vegetation
This is q characteristic of the place There are
marks # is true though far too few OF them
But apart from them the bulk of the city proper
Is as treeless and grassless rs the mld-Sahara.
Tbcrc are miles of the statellcst avenues ana
most populous streets in the world, hhed Oh
throe sides with barren brick and stone ana
rooted on the fourth with the inhospitaDic SKY.
The maddening monotony of masonry Is unrc
lieved by so much as one green leaf here ana
tbere on some old-fashioncd, half-forgotteh
side streets there are trees. and bits OF sward
boforo tho houses: Mt which the average citi-
zen rozes with wondering curiosity, as on the
outworn relics of n haf-barbarous age Even
uIon lower Broadway itself three lively oases
appear. preserved by the stubborn CONSERVATISM
of rich church corporations; perennial CAUSES
of breal,iny of the Tenth Commandment by
multitudinous Gradgrinds, who would cover
them with piles of steel and stone. But these
serve merely to emphasize the arid drearlheSS
of the vast bulk of the town. On the great
avenues, where wealth might manifest ltseu Ill
beauty as well as in show, the seeming am
has bccn to make each mansion cover every
available inch of ground Men nave spent
fortunes in carved stone but could not spend
n 1.-THE thereof in open spaces about thcir
houses. with trees and grass and fountains.
The rus in urbe' that makes so many other
cities beautiful is here wellngh unknown.
Does one ask why? Two answers are forth
coming. neither of which is worth the empty
breath 1t takes to utter it, The one Is that lahd
is here too valuable 10 be abandoned 10 mere
grass and trees. That is to say, we are TOO
thrifty to be anything else than ugly. surely
such a contention Is not seriously to DE lhaue
by a civilized community. The other Is the
wrctched whine, I'VE can't" which we were
taught in schoolday copy-books to despse, anu
which in this case is as false as it is usually
cowordly. The example of a hundred other
cities great and small, gives it the lie. Ihey
have streets edged and shaded with verdure
rich and luxurant often in circumstances not
half as favorable as those that prevail here
The moist sea air freed from the blighting salt
the freedom from smoke and gas, the genial
climate. all give New-York special advantages
over most other cities; advantages as great as
her neglect of them is deplorable. Nor are any
of the detailed technical objections valid The
gas pipes the steam-pipes and the electric wires,
men say, destroy the roots and Kill the trees.
But is not that to argue merely that we are
too ignorant or too sloveny properly to dispose
such things? There Is, indeed, not one convinc-
ing reason. outside Of bad taste, indifference
or greed. why all the residence and many OF the
business streets OF the city should not be made
beautiful with grass and plants and trees
Nor is the question merely an aesthetic one.
The comfort Of the people is involved. NO
meteorological expert is required to tell us that
shaded street is cooler in summer than an I'M
! shaded one; that a house surrounded by
greensward and overgrown with vines Is vastly
more pleasant to dwell in than one whose stone
walls are open in all their nakedness to the
dogdays' sun. The whole city would be far
more agreeable as a place of residence and re-
sort if trees and grass and Ivy were made to
| abound amid the brick and stone. Nor yet Is
that ALL There can be no doubt that the san
itary condition of the city would thus he inn
proved and its vital statistics make Il more
favorable showing. 1t is no mere fad, this de-
sire for greenery along our city streets IT is no
mere drcamer's fancy. 1t is one Of the most
benefcent and practical of things, to which
every publicspirted citizen-yes. and every
seeker of selfish good well-should earnestly
support The newly formed Tree Planting As
sociaton is prominently an organization for
| beauty comfort and health. and its efforts de-
serve to be crowned with the largest possible
measure Of success.