Chapter 4 - Trees—Their Planting And Care

Importance of trees and shrubs
Improving old trees
Preparation of trees for planting
Planting and care of trees
The arrangement or grouping
Rules for Grouping.

The lawn may be considered the canvas upon which the home-picture is to be made, and trees and shrubs, together with the buildings, make up the most important materials to be used in the work, and no comfortable or beautiful home can be made without them. No country can boast of so many beautiful trees and shrubs as the United States, and, with the addition of the choicest species and varieties from many countries now offered by our nurserymen, we have the greatest wealth of material for the most elaborate work of home decoration.

In Chapter X will be found a full description of the most desirable trees and shrubs for growth in the United States, giving special conditions required for perfect growth of each kind, to which the reader is referred.

Shade Needed about the Home.

Some shade about the house is an absolute necessity for comfort during the hot days of our summer months, and much shelter may be afforded by them during our bleak and stormy winters. But, more than this, they are necessary in many places to cover up unsightly or unpleasant objects, to open vistas, to form backgrounds for other ornamental materials, and also for their own individual beauty and the variety they afford in their varying shades of color and form. What beautiful shades and tints of color may be found in the foliage of different trees and in the same trees at different seasons of the year, and when skillfully arranged and blended together what beautiful pictures may be made with them.

Some of our trees produce beautiful flowers, others beautifully colored leaves; some take the spiry form, and others grow with well-rounded outline; some grow with a spreading or graceful habit, while others are close and massive in their build; some have thick and compact foliage, while others are provided with light and airy leaves;—and the true lover of nature will find much pleasure in the study of the numberless forms and varieties, and especially in arranging them so as to obtain the most real beauty possible.

A Plan.

Before any planting is done a plan of arrangement must be decided upon. As with plans for dwellings, much good work can be and is done by amateurs in making plans for ornamental planting, but unless one has made considerable study of the materials to be used and the results to be obtained by their combination, and has investigated all of the points as to the special requirements of soil, planting, training, etc., of each species or variety, the advice of an expert should be sought.

While in making plans for the arrangement of ornamental trees, shrubs, etc., the money paid to a skilled landscape-gardener for a detailed plan often saves many times this amount, I would not discourage the study of the landscape art by advising every one to have a plan made by a trained landscape engineer; for the more general the knowledge among oar people there can be upon any subject the better it will be for the whole community, while the monopoly of any line of education or knowledge by the few is a crime and an injury to the people as a whole; and many an amateur has been able to produce results that have not been reached by members of the profession.

The details of the plan of arrangement and what trees to use and how many must be largely settled by the requirements of the place to be decorated and the conditions and tastes of the owner. On grounds of considerable extent with an abundance of space large broad spreading trees in considerable variety can be used, while in the village lot few, if any, large trees are desirable. Yet under some conditions a single large tree not far from the dwelling, even on a small lot, may be productive of much comfort and pleasure, and, while very little variety may be obtained, the effect is often one of beauty.

Improving Established Trees.

In Chapter VII brief reference is made to the treatment of trees already on the grounds. These, if large, should be very carefully considered, and not a single healthy tree be destroyed unless for a positively good reason; for the most quickly growing trees that we have will not reach the size to afford much shade until they are fifteen to twenty years of age, and if what we have already growing are not quite what we wish we may preserve them until such a time as other and more desirable trees have grown up to take their place.

The condition of these trees often, especially where they have grown closely together, is generally such that severe trimming and some training may be necessary to bring them up to their most beautiful and perfect condition; but trees with sound trunks and good roots in good soil even though large and ill-shaped may be made ornamental.    Figs. 17, 19, 20, and 21 illustrate trees as they are often found, and the dotted lines a show where they should be cut or headed back to give them the proper start to renew their growth. Fig. 19 shows a very tall tree with branches and leaves

so far from the ground that when the foliage is covered with moisture or the shoots with ice or snow it may be injured by bending to the ground; when if cut as shown at a to the height desired and a leader encouraged to form the centre of the growth, with laterals at intervals of from six to ten inches apart, as perfect a tree will be formed as if grown from seed or obtained from the nursery (see Fig. 18). When cut off in this way, the branches should not be allowed to grow in a cluster at the top, as in Fig. 24, thus forming a fork which is sure, sooner or later, to break down from weight of foliage, crowding of branches, or ice and snow. Many trees grow up with forked branches not very far from the ground, as shown in Fig8. 20 and 21, which when they reach large size will split down and thus ruin the whole tree. In this case the smaller of the two forked branches should be cut away at line a, the head be cut back if needed, and a perfectly formed tree will be the result. This fork is sometimes near the ground and the sooner one of the trunks is cut away the better.    In Fig. 17 is shown a one-sided tree, which may be put into condition to make a good form by cutting of! the branches at the lines a, when with full exposure to air and sunlight it will take an upright symmetrical growth.

FIG. 17.           FIG. 18.           FIG. 19.

FIG. 20.           FIG. 21.           FIG. 33.

FIGS. 20-22.—TREKS AS OFTEN FOUND ON BUILDING-LOTS.

FIG. 23.                   FIG. 24.

FIG.23.— Lines For The Proper Trimming Of  Ornamental Trees.

FIG. 24 —Clustered Growth Of Branches.

Pruning Old Trees.

Fig. 25 illustrates an old tree which has been severely pruned. Before pruning, long straggling branches were exposed to the hot sun and drying winds and the sap so retarded that very little new growth could be made. If these branches be headed back as shown in the figure, a new growth will soon be sent out, the trunk and branches soon be clothed and protected, and the form much improved. The best instance of the success of this kind of pruning to which I can call the reader's attention may be seen at the Arnold Arboretum at Jamaica Plains, Mass., where.- under the skilful management of Prof. C.S. Sargent and Jackson Dawson, the large, more  or less unsymmetrical forest trees upon the grounds when the planting of other trees began have become most beautiful and symmetrical trees.

FIG. 25.—An Old Tbee Headed Back.

Covering Wounds.

"Whenever large branches are cut off or wounds are made upon the trunk or branches, the injured part should be thickly covered over with gas-tar or linseed-oil paint. This will prevent very rapid decay of the wood, and when grown over the injured parts will remain comparatively sound for many years.
 
Selection of Varieties.

In the selection of varieties the inexperienced especially must give the matter very careful consideration. Dependence cannot be placed on the often exaggerated descriptions found in the average nurseryman's catalogue. Especially is this true of new varieties, for no one can tell just how they will do under differing conditions and what insects or diseases may be found to destroy them as they grow toward maturity; and nothing should be planted, in the main features of the place at least, which has not been fully tested under many varying conditions. New and untried things should, if planted at all, be put where they may be replaced, should they fail, without injury to the main features of the grounds.

With the large numbers of parks, arboretums, and extensive planting on large estates, and especially the experiment-stations in all of our States, any one can learn what are desirable trees and shrubs for any given locality, and there is no need for taking any risk in planting ornamental grounds with untried varieties.

In selecting the varieties best adapted to one's own locality a few visits to some of the above-mentioned places, a careful inspection. of such as maybe found growing in the vicinity, and a study of their adaptability to the various kinds of soil will enable one to make a satisfactory selection.

Size of Trees.

The size to which different kinds of trees will grow must be fully understood, although this will vary very much with the condition of the soil in which they are planted.

While young they occupy but little space, and the desire to have enough planted to give immediate effect often leads to too close planting. The larger the space to be decorated the more and larger trees may be used and the greater variety obtained.

The reader is again urged to study carefully the descriptions given in Chapter X.

Distance for Planting.

Specimen trees should never be planted so closely that they will touch, even when fully grown; but if grouped for the formation of a grove, for dense shade, close planting is advisable, and the more closely planted the taller will they grow and the fewer will be the lower branches.

While of small size it may be well to plant closely for immediate effect, removing the least desirable specimens before they touch so as to injure the more valuable.

For avenues, for shade of walks and drives, the distance should be such as to give full development and yet give the desired shade.

If the walk or roadway-space is narrow, the distance lengthwise may be much greater than across the space, as in Fig. 26. For the large-growing trees, like the elm and oak, 50 feet is about the best distance for roadside shade, and for the maples, poplars, tulip-tree, etc., not less than 30 to 40 feet. If shade is desired more quickly than can be obtained by full growth, the trees may be set out at half the above distances, and then when they come together so as to endanger the beauty of all every other one may be cut out. The great danger of this practice, however, is that we are liable to neglect the desired thinning out until too late. If this close planting is practised, it must be borne in mind that two or more trees planted on a given space will require more plant-food and more care than one, but, on the other hand, in very exposed places one may serve more or less as a shelter for the others, and thus a better growth be obtained than if but one were planted.

FIG. 26.—Arrangement Of Trees On Narrow Streets, Drives, Ok Walks.

Where to Obtain Trees.

With the large number of good nurseries in the country no one need find any difficulty in obtaining good trees for planting. Other things being equal, the nearer home the trees are obtained the better, as there is a great deal of risk to run in buying trees from distant nurseries on account of the danger from injury by delay in transportation.

If one is skilled in caring for trees in the nursery, small seedlings or grafted trees may be obtained a few years before they are needed, and when ready for planting they will be in the most perfect condition for successful growth, as they may be dug one at a time and be planted with the least possible exposure to the air. The work of planting also can then be done at the proper time.

Much pleasure may be derived from this work in watching the growth of the young trees started from seed or very young grafted stock, and in training them into proper forms. Good trees of the elm, maple, and other deciduous trees, and some of the evergreens, may often be dug from pastures and roadsides with success and if properly treated will make a satisfactory growth. The oaks, hickories, and others having a long tap-root and few fibres need to be dug around one or two seasons before transplanting, cutting a trench 2 feet deep and a foot wide and filling it in with good soil. This will cause fine roots to grow and then the trees can be successfully transplanted.

Time for Planting.

In light land not too much exposed to drying winds and in climates where the growth of the trees matures early the early fall is the best time to transplant most of our deciduous trees, but in places much exposed to sweeping winds or in heavy soils much injury is often done to fall-set trees by this exposure.

Except under the above favorable conditions spring is by far the most favorable season for transplanting. This work should be done as early as possible, but not until the soil will work up fine and mellow.

If possible, the trees should be on the ground ready for transplanting at the earliest possible moment, and if ordered from distant nurseries the order should be sent in time for prompt and early shipment.  If the orders are sent during the rush of shipment, there are many chances for delays, and more injury will result from delay at this time than if shipped early in the season. If purchased in the fall and carefully heeled in in rather light, well-drained soil, a considerahle part of the trunk covered with soil, and the tops protected by pine boughs or some other light airy covering, they will keep in perfect condition and be ready for planting at the earliest possible moment in the spring. Evergreens may be transplanted with success at any time of the year from April to December, when the ground will work up fine and mellow, if the weather is moist arid soil not very dry; but in July and August there is often danger from drouth, and in November the ground often freezes up before the soil has become fully settled about the roots, therefore these months are not so desirable for transplanting as April, May and June. For transplanting evergreens a moist day, just after an abundant rain, gives the most perfect conditions. Perhaps the most favorable conditions for transplanting evergreens will be found in the months of May and June.

Preparation of the Soil.

Without a good soil properly prepared no one should expect to make newly transplanted trees grow satisfactorily. If the land is smooth and free from rocks, the subsoiling and manuring done when fitting the land for the lawn will be sufficient for a good growth of the trees, but if it has not been worked in this way special preparation must be given the soil for the roots of each tree. In a naturally rich soil, if the subsoil is worked up and partly replaced by the surface-soil, and good enriched soil be worked in around the roots, a vigorous growth may be expected; but if the soil be poor, some fine compost must be put in around them.

Unfermented manures in large quantities, or fertilizers containing the salts of potash or soda, should never be placed in contact with the roots, but, if used at all, should be spread on and worked into the surface-soil.

The space to be prepared for the roots of each tree should be considerably larger than the spread of the roots, varying the size according to the soil; the poorer the soil the larger should be the space that is worked up.

Digging Trees for Transplanting.

More trees die from injury received in digging than from any other cause, and the greatest care must be exercised in this work, as so much of the success in transplanting depends upon how well the work is done. Without a good root system, no matter how favorable the other conditions are, there can be but little growth.

In digging the trees the first thing to be done is to remove the surface-soil down to the roots and then to cut a trench around the tree at a distance of from 1 to 4 feet, according to its size. With young trees, or those that have been transplanted once or more, cutting down with a sharp spade in a circle around the trunk will be all that is necessary, when, with the aid of a strong spade on each side and a strong man to pull, the tree may be loosened from the soil with a good supply of roots. If the trees be large, the soil must be removed from the trench to the depth of the lowest roots, which will be from one to two feet, and the roots be then loosened and freed from the soil, until the ball can be lifted from the hole or raised upon planks to be mounted on a stone-boat or low truck for moving it to the place of transplanting.

Sometimes this moving can be done best in the winter, the trench about the tree being dug in the fall and the ball allowed to freeze, when it can be more easily handled. But if proper care is exercised no difficulty need be experienced in moving large trees either in the fall or spring. Trees with trunks a foot or more in diameter may be moved if an excavation is made under the root system and a large ball of earth is taken up with the roots. To move such trees requires great expense, and appliances of screws and lifting-apparatus for raising and moving many tons of soil.

Pruning Trees for Transplanting.

No matter how carefully a tree may be dug many of the roots will be injured, and with trees that have been dug several weeks, as they often are when purchased from a considerable distance, nearly all of the feeding-roots are destroyed, and can supply but a small amount of sap to replace the moisture that evaporates from the large number of branches and buds, so that growth starts very slowly or the trees fail entirely. By removing the branches and buds in proportion to the injury of the roots a balance is created. Considerable heading in of the top should be done even if there are but few roots injured and only a small surface of branches and buds to be supplied with sap, for there will be a much better chance of the remaining buds starting, and they will grow with greater vigor than if no pruning were done. After a few strong active leaves have been grown vigorous new cells will be formed rapidly, instead of the weak sickly growth of the unpruned tree.

Figs. 22 and 23 illustrate trees properly pruned for planting, the dotted lines showing where the cuts should be made.

Pruning too at the time of transplanting is often necessary in order to start the branches at the desired height. If low-branching trees are desired, it is often necessary to head them in severely from the top, as in Fig. 19. This is especially the case with trees taken from swamps, pastures, and roadsides. If all the branches are cut off to a " bean-pole " condition, as is often done with very tall and top-heavy trees, much care must be exercised that the branches do not all come out nearly at one point, as in Fig. 24. A leader should always be started, as shown in Figs. 18 and 23, and the laterals must grow slowly and at considerable distance apart to prevent the formation of forks that will split down when the trees are heavily loaded with snow or ice. The height at which the main brandies shall be started depends upon the surrounding conditions. For covering avenues or walks a height that will clear the heads of pedestrians when the branches are weighted with rain or snow is sufficient; and for a drive a height that will clear any carriage or loaded team that may be driven under them is sufficiently high, unless it is desirable to get views or vistas under the branches through to pleasing objects.

With trees from the nursery less pruning is needed than if taken from the woods or roadside, as their root system is generally more compact, owing to transplanting and cultivation; but it will be better to prune as much as is necessary to start the tree in proper shape, cutting out all shoots not in proper position to form the head, and shortening in all of the permanent shoots,   always preserving and en-couraging a leader whether the tree be naturally a round or conical-formed one; but this applies more especially to all avenue trees, which should be kept growing most vigorously at the centre. In Figs. 22 and 23 the dotted lines illustrate where the cuts should be made. All ends of roots that are cut off or injured in digging should be pared with a sharp knife to facilitate the formation of new roots, and when large branches are cut off the wounds should be painted over with some waterproof covering, like shellac, grafting-wax, or linseed-oil paint, to prevent decay.

Evergreen trees are not generally pruned much at transplanting, but they will be benefited by some shortening in of the end branches, cutting out all but one leader, and removing any branches that are not needed to produce a symmetrical form.

Planting the Tree.

No matter how well the soil may be prepared, how fresh the trees may be when received, or how well they may have been prepared for planting, if the work of planting is not properly done, they may fail to grow at all or grow so poorly as to give little satisfaction.
Many failures in tree-planting result from the slovenly and imperfect way in which the work is done, and the nurserymen are too often blamed for the failures.

In planting, the roots of all trees should have a fine mellow bed of good soil, which should be pressed firmly into contact with every fibre, leaving no air-spaces around any of them, and every one should be spread out in a natural position and so that no two shall touch each other. Immediately in contact with these roots good soil should be very firmly pressed, so that new roots will be encouraged to start out at the earliest possible moment.

The late Peter Henderson, than whom there have been few, if any, more successful growers of all kinds of plants and trees, tells a story in one of his catalogues illustrating the benefit from the firm pressure of the soil about the roots. "A lady to whom he had sold some roses wrote to him about the condition of her plants after she had spent much time in planting and caring for them, stating that only one out of a dozen had lived, and that one her husband, who weighed 240 lbs., had accidentally stepped upon soon after planting. "It is also sometimes said that the "heaviest man or the one with the largest feet is the best man to plant trees."

Too much pressure may be given to the soil above the roots in planting, but generally the error is in the opposite direction. To crowd the soil under and around the roots and press it firmly, a pointed stick is often better than the foot.

In planting, the tree is placed in the hole at the same depth it grew in the nursery if the soil is of the same character, a little deeper if it is lighter, and perhaps a little nearer the surface if heavier, and after carefully spreading out the roots it is ready for the covering. Only fine, moderately rich soil should be used for filling in around the roots, and this should be carefully worked into place with the hands and firmly pressed, until all the roots are covered two or three inches deep, when the work may be completed by treading down and tamping, taking care that the bark of the roots is not injured in the process.

After the fine soil to the depth of three or four inches is firmly pressed in place that remaining is thrown loosely on top and not trodden at all, thus serving as a mulch.

When the soil is compacted on the surface, it is in condition to rapidly carry off the moisture, but if it is light and mellow its capillary condition is broken up and the moisture cannot escape.

Watering at Planting.

If the soil is fairly moist and firmly pressed about the roots, there is no need of applying water to the roots of trees at planting; but if in a very dry state, water may be used in the hole before setting the tree, filling it up several times, and after it settles away put the tree in place. Another very good way of watering in a very dry time is, after the roots have been covered with three or four inches of soil, if water is filled in two or three times and be allowed to settle away, and then the surface-soil be filled in light and loose, better results will be obtained with a few pail-fuls of water than if large quantities is used on the surface after the tree is planted. Little benefit can result from the application of water to the surface after planting unless a large quantity is used, so as to saturate the soil down to the roots, for the diffusion of water through the soil when applied to the surface is so slow that it will take a long time to obtain this result; besides, this surface-watering compacts the soil so that after it is done the moisture escapes more rapidly than before. This evaporation after watering may in a measure be prevented, however, if the surface-soil is stirred up with a fine rake two or three inches deep, the fine soil serving as a mulch.

Mulching.

Many newly planted trees start into growth in the early summer and then from lack of moisture fail to grow.
 
Where water is not available a mulch of some coarse organic matter, like straw, meadow hay, corn-stalks, fine brush, weeds, or even planing-machine shavings or spent tan-bark, covering a little larger area than the size of the hole in which the tree was set, will aid in keeping the moisture from escaping. This should not be put on more than two or three inches in thickness, for if too thick it causes the roots to grow near the surface, when they would  be liable to injury during the winter or in extreme dry weather.

Keeping up an After-growth.

When the trees are planted, it must not be expected that the end of one's work has come, for unless the soil is naturally very rich or is made so by heavy manuring trees will not continue to grow without some additional plant food each year. When planted on the lawn, if the grass is clipped once or twice each week and liberally dressed in the fall or spring, little or no further fertilizing for the trees may be needed; but even under this condition a mound of manure banked against the trunks before the ground freezes in the fall will be of great protection to the collar or crown of the roots. This method of manuring trees in poor soil is advisable, a liberal supply being used, and in the spring spreading it around on the lawn about the trees. Commercial fertilizers, like ground bone and potash, fish and potash, or even the specially prepared fruit-tree fertilizers, may be successfully used.

The Arrangement of Trees.

Trees are arranged or grouped together in ornamental gardening to accomplish the following results: for shelter from cold winds, for screens to shut out objectionable views, and in groups alone or combined with shrubs for ornamental effect or to serve as a background for or setting to the house, thus completing or finishing the home-picture.

Trees For Shelter.

Scarcely a location can be selected where there is not some point that needs protection or shelter from prevailing winds or from storms, and generally only those trees that are very hardy and provided with an abundance of thick tough foliage should be used. They are more commonly planted on the north or west exposure, and should be set as closely as possible and have them grow to a good degree of perfection. If immediate shelter is needed, close planting may be advisable, but the surplus trees should be removed as soon as they begin to interfere with the perfection of those desired for permanent growth. It is always best to plant those that are the most desirable for permanent growth at the proper distance for full development, and then arrange the more temporary kinds so that they may be finally cut out. In this work, as in all grouping .of trees and shrubs, it is best to obtain as much contrast and variety of form and color as possible, and yet have a pleasant blending of all the characteristic features.

Evergreens are generally planted for purposes of shelter, as they hold their foliage during the winter, though a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees will give the most satisfactory picture. The evergreens, especially when massed, produce a sombre effect, which is lightened and relieved by the introduction of some deciduous trees, like the birches, golden willows, etc.

The larger and more stately trees should be set at the border of a corner group, or, as in Fig. 27, in the centre of isolated groups, the smaller or more graceful and ornamental kinds being grouped about them, and if possible so that there may be a gradual diminution in size at all points of view from the centre to outside of the group.

Fie. S7.—Large-Growing Trees Arranged In Centre Of Groups.

The size of the trees to be used must vary with the extent of the grounds on which they are planted and the height of the desired shelter. On very small lots a single large tree with a few smaller ones grouped around it will afford much shelter.
 
Trees Foe Screens.

The useful and ornamental may be combined with good effect in grouping trees for screens, i.e., to cut off objectionable views or to enhance the beauty of desirable ones. The same rules should be observed in their arrangement as in planting for shelter. The effects to be obtained in this kind of grouping are many. Unsightly objects viewed from the house may be covered or hidden front view, as well as objects on the grounds that it is desired to screen from the house or from public view, as the clothes-yard, stable and other outbuildings, etc. The quiet retreat where one may be away from the public gaze is a feature to be desired in every more or less thickly settled community, bat the great mistake often made of planting a close hedge or screen around the entire grounds, shutting off all view from both inside and outside, should be avoided.

The ornamental features of our grounds should be made with the view of adding as much of beauty and comfort to them as possible, and if we succeed in creating anything of beauty or comfort others are entitled to share it with us to the extent at least of looking upon its beauty.

Grouping for Ornamentation.

When neither shelter nor screens are needed, ornamental trees are planted as a setting to the buildings or for the decoration of the grounds, and in this work much knowledge of the various forms, colorings, and distinctively characteristic features of trees is needed. The more one studies trees and shrubs and their artistic grouping the greater will be his success.
 
Bat in this grouping the effect both of shelter or screens and of beauty may be obtained by careful study of materials and their skilful arrangement.

Nature As A Guide.

In nature we sometimes find most beautiful illustrations of the grouping of trees, on knolls, in the shady dell or open field, and much may be learned by following this most versatile teacher. In many cases, however, art can improve upon nature. We can improve upon most of the effects we find about us by providing the best possible conditions of soil and surroundings for the development of each specimen. We can collect from all quarters of the globe the most beautiful of her treasures, and make each specimen of a group grow to its greatest perfection, which seldom occurs in nature's grouping. We can create nothing, but we can use all of nature's blessings so that beauty and good may be the result.

Too Close Planting.

One of the greatest mistakes made in grouping ornamental trees is too close planting, as has been suggested on a previous page, and unless immediate results are desired each specimen should be given space sufficient for its full development. In this work as much variety is desirable as it is possible to obtain and at the same time secure harmony of forms and colors. (Fig- 55.)

Rules For Grouping.

Groups of trees of similar characteristics should generally be avoided unless the place is of large extent. If we plant all conical trees, like the spruces, larch, Lombardy poplar, fastigiate oak, etc., all low-growing spreading trees, all trees with yellow foliage or those with purple foliage, by themselves, we do not get as pleasing results as if a variety of forms, colors, and sizes are used and are arranged in a natural and artistic manner. In Fig. 27 we have a very pleasing arrangement of large and small trees and shrubs, as well as a pleasing blending of forms, each placed so as to bring out the peculiar features and all producing a pleasant picture. In Fig. 31 is illustrated the grouping of trees and shrubs along the borders of a walk or a curved roadway, in which vistas are left open. The larger and heavier trees are grouped in the centre and the smaller ones around them.

As in the arrangement for shelter or screens, so in the ornamental groups the tallest trees and those most spiry will be more pleasing if grouped in the center or background, with the lower, more rounded or graceful kinds placed in order of size, keeping in mind, of course, variety and contrast, and yet securing harmony of colors as much as possible. Trees with very heavy or dark foliage should not be planted by the side of those with light,
feathery or very fine foliage, but something of an intermediate tone should be introduced between them.  So a very small tree should not be planted close up to one of large size if its branches are carried high, but if the branches come to the ground with a broad slope, as in Fig. 27, both a distant and close planting will be pleasing.

The trees having the greatest individual beauty should be put in such position that their beauty will be enhanced by having a good background or a good setting. Thus the appearance of a purple-leaved beech will be improved if planted in front of or in the angle formed by silver maples  and golden poplars. The foliage of tree3 like the golden poplar, maple, or elm will be injured in effect if planted in contrast with trees of a bluish or very glaucous color, while trees with showy flowers will be made more conspicuous if planted with a mass of dark-colored foliage for a batik-ground.

Specimen trees, i.e., those that stand oat on the lawn conspicuously, should be those of characteristic beauty. The oak has the characteristic beauty of strength; the elm that of graceful, arching form; the purple beech, Nordmann's fir, and the Colorado blue spruce great beauty of coloring; the cut-leaved weeping birch and Japanese weeping cherry the beauty of graceful, flowing outline; and each and all of the more common ornamental trees have some characteristic beauty which it should be the study of the landscape artist to bring out in grouping them together.

Groups should not be planted so as to present a too solid appearance, and if arranged so as to give each specimen its proper distance and setting   there will   be little danger of this result.  To still further lighten up a group
that has a tendency to too much compactness, small isolated specimens in the lawn at a little distance from the outside tree may be planted, as shown in Pigs. 27 and 28.

Where the surface of the lawn is rolling, instead of arranging the trees, as in Fig. 29, much better effect will be produced by dividing the group, as shown in Fig. 30. In this.way a much smaller number of trees will give more real beauty to the grounds than if all were planted in a line or a close group.

When planting along walks or drives, an effort should be made to group as naturally as possible and, if the curve of the walk or drive is made to extend around and beyond what seems to be the natural and direct line of travel, to so place the trees or shrubs as to overcome the feeling that a greater distance is being travelled to go from one place to another than is necessary. A very good idea of this grouping is shown in Figs. 31 and 32.

  FIG. 30.—Trees Set In Natural Groups.

FIG. 31.—Treks And Shrubs Grouped Along Walks And Drives.

  FIG. 32.—Trees And Shrubs Grouped Along Walks And Drives.

FIG. 33.—Trees Akd Shrubs Planted Along Radiating Lines To Afford Vistas.

FIG. 34.—Trees And Shrubs Planted Along Many Radiating Lines To Afford Vistas Ih Many Directions.

Vistas or openings should be provided wherever interesting objects or views are presented, and the arrangement of trees and shrubs be in radiating lines, as shown in Figs. 33 and 34. In this manner vistas or pleasing views may be arranged from the prominent points of the house, as from the verandas, bay windows, or piazzas, from various points on the lawn, and the planting may be so made that the pleasing features of the grounds may be enjoyed by those outside. Considerable skill will be required sometimes to afford a screen at certain points from an intrusive public, to open views to others, and at the same time to secure the best of the outside beauty to the occupants of the house. Very pretty views or vistas are shown in Fig. 13 and in the frontispiece, at the left in both pictures.

If the groups are planted near the house, trees or shrubs of small size will often cut off objectionable views which would require much larger specimens if planted at greater distance, as shown in Fig. 35.   In case of large trees near the dwelling vistas may be obtained from under the branches, and a tree well headed up gives an abundance of shade and at the same time a good circulation of air, which are very desirable during the hot summer months.

FIG.35—Effect Of Screen Treks At Different Distances From House.

The beauty and comfort obtained in all this work of grouping depends very largely upon how carefully every point suggested above is studied and viewed from all sides, and how fully the planter understands the height which each of the species planted will attain under different conditions of soil, exposure, etc.; for while the trees are young the vistas and covering may be just right, it may take but a few feet of growth at one side or above the group often to hide from view some of the most beautiful features of the place. 11. Groups of trees are generally in good taste planted on both sides of a walk or drive at the entrance from the street, Fig. 3G. Arranged in this way they serve to mark the exit or entrance in a definite way when seen from a distance or during the night-time.

FIG.36—Trees And Shrubs Grouped At Gateway Or Opening Of Walk Or Drive.

Corners or abrupt angles in the boundary-line may be filled up with trees and shrubs so as to present a most pleasing effect, not secured if these features are left without decorations.

In nature we often find most beautiful groups of trees on the tops of rounded surfaces which we may well copy in this particular where such features of surface are found. This point is shown in Figs. 37 and 38, and if, as in these illustrations, some picturesque or strikingly beautiful tree is planted in the group it is sure to attract attention. 14.  To cover up or to break the monotony of a straight line of trees, a hedge, or a bank wall, trees and shrubs may be grouped in a more or less irregular yet artistic manner some distance away with very pleasing effect.

In the grouping of trees and shrubs there should be an effort made to obtain vistas of as great extent as possible in one or more places. By such an arrangement even small places will appear of much larger extent than if only short vistas within the grounds are provided, and more pleasing to the eye from the fact that a greater variety of objects may be seen at once.

Ornamental grounds will be pleasing in proportion to the number of beautiful pictures presented. If all parts are seen at one time, interest is soon satisfied. It is possible, however, to provide very many pleasing features on places even of small extent if the foregoing rules are carefully studied.

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