The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-03-28

on q lawn in Charlotte where some one
has been wise enough to let the limbs
lie on the ground to hide its baroness
ana the tree is a beautiful object. Of
course where these trees are planted
in little yards where they have to be
passed under ii is necessary to trim
them up. But in planting small yards
large growing trees should never be
used. Grass will grow Wen under
the tail small leaved elms as they are
deep rooters and cast as thin shade.
But in planting a lawn take care to-
have an open sweep of grass in front
and use the trees and shrubbery to
frame i'm the green. Keep the SNOWY
flower beds to the sides and do not
break up the repoSe of the place with
bright colored beds right in front.
Street trees must of course be trim
med to good height, but wherever
there is room on lawn let the trees
take their natural shape. Where a
lawn is formed amidst a growth of
natural forest trees these have grown
up with tall trunks because of the
thick way in which they have grown.
But do not make them taller and barer
by trimming up the side branches and
dobbing the stumps with white paint.
If it is necessary to cut off q large
limb from q tree it is wise to paint
the stump to prevent decay but put
to a natural color of bark. These tall
forest trees can be made very beauti-
full by heading back the tall limbs
and causing a thick and rounded
growth.
AT the Miller school in Virginia
where l formerly lived the lawns were
cut out of the original forest, The
trees were dug out leaving only those
we wished to preserve and these We're
headed back and now they are beauti-
fully rounded heads and the lawns are
the admiration of all visitors. Another
reason for heading back these tall for
est trees is that it lessons the danger
of their blowing down. An oak with
a stem thirty feet or more high and
wide spreading top gives the wind an
terrible leverage and many tree
here has been blown down that could
have been saved had it been topped
sooner. While the sugar maple is a
fine tree where there is room for it
TO spread in its natural shape, / Go
not think it is the best tree for street
planting because of it's wide spreading
habit. On Blount street the trees are
getting too thick and some should
be taken out and the others will have
to be trimmed up higher than would
be needed by trees of a more upright
growth. The American Linden or Bass
wood is a fine street tree. l would
never plant the silver maple as it is
too brittle and breaks too easily though
it is a rapid growing tree. OF all the
poor trees that are planted here the
Carolina poplar or cotton wood is the
poorest. It's only good feature is rapid
growth. 1t puts out late and drops
its leaves early and is generally an
ugly tree. The water oaks, willow
oaks and red oaks in general are fairly
rapid growers and should be more
planted on the streets. Another danger
TO the street trees of Raleigh is the
cement pavement. A narrow cement
walk is all right provided there is a
wide space of grass for the trees be-
tween it and the curb. But cement
placed right up around q tree is GER
tain death to it. The roots of tree
need air and moisture and the cement
walk shuts out these. Brick pavements
are porous and admit moisture anu
air to the roots, but the cement is
impervious and kills the roots when
too close to them. Then let every one
strive to keep the grass border on
the street as neat and perfect as their
lawn inside. Then all over our streets
we see blowing abouc with every wind
scraps of paper. Fayetteville street in
front of the postoffice is fairly yarie-
gated with white paper scraps. The
streets will never be kept neat till the
city fathers forbid this scattering of
paper as is done in most of the North
ern cities
Another practice in Raleigh which |
do not like is the planting of q COM
plete screen of running vines OH the
porches thus shutting out the light
and air from the houses Vines on the
porches are pretty put it is far better
to train them in arches from pillar to
pillar than to let them cover the whole
front. Then TOO we should use the
Towering Shrubbery more IN our yards |
and try to get away from the sole Use
of the shrubs that are common North.
for We can grow many things that the
Northern people cannot All the !
SNOWY Azaleas that the florists bloom
in pots IN the spri1g are hardy here
if planted where the morning sun
does not strike them in winter when
frozen, aid when they get large they
get large they are very snowy. The |
camellia too is hardy and q SNOWY |
evergreen shrub and has beautiful rose
like flowers in early spring, and yet
we seldom see them except in the
eastern towns. | measured one once
at WhiteVille in Columbus county that |
was Is inches around the stem at the |
ground, and we estimated that it had |
at least 1000 flower buds on it. Ana |
vet | know from experience that the |
camellia is as hardy here as there |
also a beautiful evergreen shrub and |
has a wealth of very sweet flowers |
in spring and would do we'll in small I
yards where the tree magnolia is out
OF place. Photinia Japonica the Japa-
neee medlar is another handsome |
broad-leaved evergreen. 1t has fruit |
like and apricot but does not fruit here
as it blooms late in the fall and the
winter is too hard for the fruit to form |
But it is We'll worth growing and grows
rapidly. Then the European Cherry
Laurels are splendid and hardy ever
greens. The clump of these in front |
of the Mechanical building at the col
lege Will show any one their charac-
ter. Then we have IN tie same place
the Holly-leaved Osmanthus which is
perfectly evergreen and has leaves like
the holly but grows much faster. In
the same clump is Il large plant of the
golden leaved Eleagnus which gives a
bright color with its persistent golden
leaves in winter Then among the
coniferous evergreens we have many
that are suited to small grounds such
as the japanese Retinisporas and the
Dwarf Biotas. The Northern Arbor
Vitae and the White Pine should never
be planted here, for the climate is too
warm for them and for the Norv ay