Rock Island Argus., 1904-02-17

tie planting on the highways? Why Is
lit not solitary example can be point
eI TO where roadside trees have been
lcoTrectly planted and thoroughly well
feared for? In most cases the trees
when planted are practically left to
shift for themselves. If they do de-
velcp well the credit belongs rather
to the trees themselves than to the
tree culturist. We can always find
Iabrndant illustrations of how to do it.
but it Is no doubt correct to say that
there is not in Illinois street or road
upon which the trees are so well cho-
sen and so well ordered and cared for
that we could accept the results as a
model to be carefully followed in new
work. Nhy is this? Why is an exceed
ingly desirable. high priced thing,
which costs little or nothing. never
Iobtained?
This cannot be directly answered
Men everywhere try to satisfy the
cravings of the stomach before they
lrecognizc the hunger Of the eyes for
the beautiful. Attention i given and
must be given to the grading and
drainage of the road before anything
concerning appearance is thought of.
IN this way what il al first necessity
becomes a custom. and this rules out
! Icverything except these first most
! necessary matters.
The fact i. the commercial value ac
tuaily added to the property may Of
ten Ee much greater from such trees
than any common agricultural crops
ever Yield in total through Il series of
! years. With all Of Our shortcomings
| IN regard to the planting and care Of
| trees. there are in every town of 1000
or more people in Illinois specimens
which would not be parted with for
| : 900 apiece. In numerous instances
town lots have sold for double their
value because of the trees some one
else has planted The following illus
tration is not an unusual case. Two
lots were offered for sale on the same
street and essentially similar in every
way except that in one case there
were four trees about - wears old,
two in the street and two inside Of the
sidewalk. while in the other case the
only trees we're outside of the side
walk. and these were less than half
the age &c the others. The prices
asked we're respectively $500 and 81.
$50. y man wishing To build Il home
for himself compared the two lots and
decided i'm favor of the formcr-$l. 600
for four trees. or we might say for
two trecS-in connection with Il lot
Of % feet frontage and containing.
about onc-fourth of an acre. On such
an area the net profit for - crops of
corn might perhaps have been S2j. If
20. each crop would have received
more care than did the trees durir"
the whole Cr the - wears.
The comparison of $1,000 to So j. in |
stTuctive, yet there are today more F,
than twenty-five TO one persons of in |
tcliigence who in looking forward for |
results will prefer to trust the corn.
This must always be 50 until men find
themselves well established and until
experience in the past may confidently |
he used a. Il basis upon which To Judge |
the future.
II j. the wise man. the thoughtful |
man. the trustfuI man, the man of
large views and of clear perceptions
to whom we must look for successful |
tree planting. As we grow older as !
people. as we gain in culture, a. we
come more highly To value the bcauti- !
that there are possibilities of enjoy
ment in life higher in kind than those
of eating and drinking or Of ostenta- |
tious exhibition of wealth. we shall |
plant more trees for ornament and es
pecially for the decoration and better |
utilization Of public grounds and |
thoroughfarcs. and we shall in some |
way find methods by which they can |
be much better cared for.
This has already come 10 pass in |
older countries. In our own country |
much advance has been made in the |
last half century. In the eastern states !
especially village Improvement socie- |
ties have rendered excellent service in !
regard to tree planting and tree man
agemcnt upon the streets. The city |
Of Washington. ID. G.. has become an /
example from which profitable inspi- |
ration and instruction may be gained. |
Here The work has long been under
the direction of special committee |
or commission appointed for the pur- /
pose. and the results clearly justify 1
this kind of supervision. In some of
the towns and cities of the miCdle /
west most attempts have been made I
through the voluntary cooperation of
citizens in one way or another To inn !
prove the streets. including attention /
to the street trees and encouraging, !
II not notable. results have been at /
tainCd.
This plea l. intended for more and !
better trees upon the highways. but
the writer i of the opinion that very /
common error j. made in planting |
too many trees. where planting Il un-
dertaken. both in town and country. /
When the Saplings are set cut 80 feet |
seems long way apart. Yet this
should be the minimum distance for /
such trees a. are ordinarily used for |
the purpose. l; i often argued that F,
quick growing kinds should be set
alternating with Others of more per
manent character. and in due time the !
former NAV he cut away. This i n !