Evening star., 1901-09-07
STREET TREES.
Relative Value of Species for Plant
Ing i'm City Ways.
ne lad

Relative Value of Species for Plant
Ing i'm City Ways.
From the Philadelphia Ledger. A..
AS result Of editorial comment on the
condition of the trees planted on Broad
street, several correspondents have ex-
pressed desire for some advice concern
ing the best species of trees for city street
planting. The answer Is not an easy one,
because very much depends on the object
to be attained. Where there is long,
solid block of houses, newly erected, cool
ing shade is generally desired quickly, be-
cause the building operator looks only for
immediate results. What may occur fifteen
or twenty years hence is of little concern
to him. A rapidly growing tree, and one
easy to manage, is what he requires. To
this end the ordinary Carolina poplar or
the silver maple meets the requirements ex-
actly. But the owner of property VINO
expects to use 1t as permanent home
would not be justified in selecting either of
these trees, because in a few years they
be ecome too large, and the tree butcher,
with saw and ak, is likely to be called
in, and he is only the precursor of the final
decay of the trunk and branches within a
skCrt time
The genuine tree lover wants something
more satisfactory and enduring. He is
willing to have the shade come more grad
ually, providing he can have beautiful
tree at the same time. This Is where the
difficulty Of selection comes In, for, while
the rapidly growing species cited thrive In
almost any soil or situation, the rarer
trees are apt to have likes and d1slikes In
this particular. Further, some which might
do well have not been well tested, others
which will thrive have peculiarities which
detract somewhat from their value. For
example. the gingko, or maidenhair tree,
has a remarkable power of ourishing In
spite of noxious gases prevalent IN cities,
and which are so detrimental to Norway
and sugar naples, but 1t has most too
much of an erect habit for shade-giving
habits.
Nurserymen of experience declare that
in a combination of good characters, that
is to say, comparatively rapid growth, an
outrageous head and freedom from dis
ease and the attacks Of insects, the Var1-
Gus species of oak promise to be among
the best selections for city streets. Like
the gingko, the oaks do not seem to suffer
much from gases, and this is particu-
larly true of the pin oak. OF other trees
of comparatively rapid growth, the white
ash is showing a similar adaptation. IN
like the Carolina poplar and the silver
maple, they grow in beauty from year to
year, instead of becoming painful objects
to the eye. The cataipa. has been much
praised of late but aside from its winter
Disagreement on account of it's dry bean
pods, a worm has recently shown par
ticular fOndness for the leaves and thus
it can hardly be considered further
With many, successful tree Is the horse
chestnut. 1t is sometimes regarded of
slow growth; but this depends in a great
measure on the character of the soil IN
which 1t is planted. In rich earth, if of
considerable depth to accommodate the
tap root the tree will often make an an
nual growth of from eighteen to twenty
inches, which is not far behind trees classed
as rapid growing. The horse chestnut
never requires be-heading, and has nat
ural tendency to spread without becoming
too tall The chief objection to the tree
is that its leaves mature as early as the
Il is among the first TO welcome the coming
spring with it's unfolding leaves.
There is another class, sometimes named
as desirable, but which is apt to become
too large and unwieldy before many years
have passed: The European plane is one,
and the white and yellow American elms
are others The first named sometimes
reaches such mammoth proportions that
one of them is said to have sheltered a
large detachment of Alexander the Greats
army. The elm Is susceptible of injury
from the elm leaf beetle, but where the
English sparrow f1ourishes there is no dam
ger to be apprehended from this source.
But lately a destructive parasite, which de-
stroys entire branches in single night,
has fastened on the elm.
A number of trees have been named as
being among the possibilities for city street
planting; but their merits are compare
lively unknown, and they are not grown
by nurserymen to any great extent. Many
of these are to be found in Paramount
Park and those particularly interested in
the subject would do we'll to make personal
investigation, and judge therefrom which
would most likely fill the many require
ments for city street shade tree.