The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1909-04-09
TREES AS BEAUT|F|ERS.
Results Obtained In Holland
Through Systematic Culture.
EXAMPLES FOR AMERICANS.
Small Cost Per Capita For Cars u
Trees In Utrecht and The Hague.
Valuable From Hysienie Point Of
view-Thsir Worst Enemy.


Now that there is beginning gen
eral movement in the United States to
bring about systematic cultivation of
trees. not only by reforestation on n
grand scale. but by the growth of
orna mentation Of streets. the expert
ence of Holland In providing forest
effects for its citizens should be of In
terest to Americans. There Is perhaps
no ether well populated country in the
world which has so many well wooded
towns as has Holland. Most of the
streets and grachts, or canals. have av-
enues Of trees Utrecht has two rows
Of trees on either side of its quaint ca
nails. It's canal banks are constructed
as If in two stories. The lower story
almost flush with the water level. is
lined with warehouses and vaults,
while the upper story has dwellings
and sl ps. Both levels are planted
with trees, the tops of the lower ones
Just reaching the street level
So many avenues of trees make a
Dutch town exceedingly pleasant. es-
pecfally on a hot day. The foliage
tempers the glare of the sun, and the
vistas Of green are refreshing to the
eye. But these abundant growths in
thickly populated towns are highly
useful as well as ornamental. 1t is rec
ognized that from hysienic point of
view they are valuable to the citizens.
Not only do shady walks tempt peo-
pie to enjoy the open air, but the liv-
ing roots In the soil have purifying
effect which was by no means to be
despised In the past. when the drain
age Of Dutch towns left much to be
desired. Further, the foliage produces
ozone and puri6es the air. 1t also
tends to keep the air moist and to
temper the wind. thus causing less
dust to be blown about. In the au-
tumn the fallen leaves give the same
kind of service that is given by tea
leaves scattered on floor when the
room is to be swept-they lay the dust.
More important STILL trees wage war
upon noXious bacteria for inyestiga-
lions by scientists show that these
harmful growths are comparatively
rare where trees are plentiful Be
sides all this, the aesthetic value Of
beautiful trees certainly is not small.
In Holland all these useful services
are gratefully recognized and the trees
are carefully tended by the municipali-
ties. The cost Of this care per capita
In the different towns varies some
what. Last year, for example, Utrecht
devoted p cents Dutch to its trees
Tor each fnhabitant and The Hague %
cents for each of its 259OOO citizens
1t takes 2la Dutch cents to equal an
American cent. About ten years ago
the annual cost of caring for the trees
of The Hague was 10 cents Dutch
per capita, but since that time many
new trees and shrubs have been plant.
ed throughout the city, ard new parks
have been laid out
1t has been found that not every
kind of tree will thrive in the streets
of town. for trees have many enc
mics both above and below ground
Gas escaping from pipes underground
Is the worst enemy of trees. because
quite small quantities of it are deadly
For this reason special precautions are
taken against the leakage of gas in
Dutch towns. How electricity escap-
Ing under ground acts upon trees as
yet has not been sufficiently studied
to be understood. Trees will not grow
In very narrow streets where the
no., Ii
thrive if the pavement does not let in
moisture and air in sufficient uuanti-
ties
The best trees for street planting In
Holland are elms and lindens, but the
elm is the harder of the two and will
grow where u linden will not Trees
OF these kinds reach a great age, like
the old elms along the quiet grachts of
Edam. one of the dead" cities of the
Zuyder Zee, which saw the fleets of
Van Tromp and De Ruyter in the har-
Dor of Edam-the harbor which ap-
pears SO tiny to modern eyes that one
with difficulty imagines 1.-The terror of
the North sea" anchoring there. Then
there are the magnificent lindens of
the Maliebaan in Utrecht. which ap-
pealed to the French monarch, King
Louis XIV. Those lindens he COM
manded his soldiers to spare on peril Of
their lives. And there are the lirdens
OF the Workout at The Hague. Who
can ever forget them after having
oreathed their perfume on an evening
In late June or early July or seen them
IN their array Of gold and Oropoo in
September or October?-W ]. l.. Kiehl
In Chicago News.