The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1916-04-20
THE VALUE UF SHADE TREES.

The Journal recently printed an article
on The Shade Trees of belfast-and
what a sad looking place it would be
without them and reader kindly sent
US the following editorial clipped from
the Boston Herald:
TREES IN THE STREETS.
a notable object lesson as to the civil
| izing value of shade trees in city street
may be obtained from the corner of
Huntington and Massachusetts avenues.
/ Looking outward from that point, Hunt
/ ington avenue shows two lines of young
| trees beautiful in their fresh LEAKAGE:
! looking inward, the avenues broad
stretch is bare of vegetation. The con-
trast is marked Why cannot the latter
section be similarly favored? A street
ordinarily unprepossessing may be made
attractive and even beautiful by trees
A handsome street may be made much
handsomer also. Beacon street, from
the Public Garden outward, is con-
spicuous instance. 1t has always been a
stately avenue, but it's looks have been
greatly enhanced by the rows of horse
cbestnuts planted there few years ago
under the direction Of the Metropolitan
ACeaSd 1HC oyStC udllS
movement on the part of the Beacon
street abutters which made this work
possible deserves imitation on other resi-
Dental streets. Not long ago the city
forester instituted policy of annually
planting trees along main thoroughfares
so far as possible. A comparatively
small appropriation made an excellent
showing. The policy deserves to be per-
manent. The Huntington avenue plant
atoms are one of its fruits.
The cost is not excessive, and the re-
suits more than justify the outlay, these
being economic as we'll as aesthetic. At
Effectiveness in environment is tangible
asset. A significant instance is street
in one of our Greater Boston suburbs. 1t
was laid out and built upon as a whole.
The promoter had the good taste and en-
terprise to plant the street handsomely
with trees and shrubbery. Not only
were the houses sold promptly at good
prices, but they easily command rents
something like 80 per cent. higher than
the same class of houses in neighboring
treeless streets.
The appearance of tree-planted
street may be of more value than the
shade. In the latter respect discretion
should be observed. If comparatively
narrow street is planted with trees of
lofty habit, the exclusion OF sunlight and
air from the houses may be harmful. For
such streets trees low in growth and
spaced nearer together are more desir-
able. Plantations of this character may
also be kept within bounds by judicious
trimming.
Wendell Phillips, in one of his lectures,
used to speak of the attractiveness given
to European cities by such simple en-
bellshments as plants and shrubs in
tubs or boxes in doorways; window gar
dens and the like, adding, regretfully,
that our destructive juvenile population
made such charming customs impossible
with US. We seem to be growing more
civilized in this respect; these things are
growing common in our cities and des-
Effectiveness is correspondingly infre
quent. Embellishments like those at
Park Street Church and in the business
and residential sections of Boston-win-
COW gardens, bay trees, savins and yews
and clipped box-add immensely to the
attractiveness of our streets.