usual, ranks first.

are noble, attractive trees, but they are sometimes affected by the borer and other diseases. If one readily could grow oaks and hickories, they would fairly rival in value any other of the

The Birch Tree.

shade trees already mentioned. The oaks, although slow-growing, may be successfully transplanted if taken when five or six feet high. The hickory, with its tap-root, should be taken a foot high, or better still, from the seed. One of the best of ornamental shade trees is also a tap-rooted tree, the tulip (Liriodendron tulipifera). The tulip trees,

The liquid ambar has also curious leaves, and a ridged and furrowed and many colored bark. It is a sturdy tree, and picturesque and attractive. The beech, both European and American, are most attractive to the eye of all

trees.

Rich in foliage, picturesque in form and marking of stem, no other ornamental tree is more richly endowed. It is, doubtless, somewhat slow of growth and difficult to transplant, but it is nevertheless in all its forms a royal tree. Don't forget to use the American beech. Its delicate gray tints of stem and branches, and picturesque lateral growth, have a beauty all their own. A noble tree allied to the tulip is Magnolia macrophylla. The leaves are the largest that appear on any northern tree, extending sometimes two feet in length. In the coloring of the bark and in the shape of stem one is reminded somewhat of the tulip tree. It is entirely hardy-hardier, perhaps, than any other Magnolia. The horse chestnut is one of the favorite ornamental trees in every land; and certainly, in May and June, the fresh green color of the large rounded masses of the foliage, penetrated everywhere by spikes of white or red flowers, make a beautiful effect on the lawn. Unfortunately, however, in the case of the horse-chestnut, late July and August tell another tale. Sere and brown leaves fall every

where, and the effect of the lately beautiful tree of June is somewhat sad and distressed-looking. Many trees lose their foliage, especially in dry summers, earlier than others, but with the horsechestnut this habit is most unvarying. But, after all, so altogether delightful are the soft, rounded masses of the horse-chestnut foliage, that we can forgive it for shortening its season somewhat by what seems to be premature decay. The white birch is one of the most delicate and graceful of trees, with colors of white bark and red tints of branches that are entirely unique among the denizens of the lawn. It is, indeed, the "Lady of the woods," and whether in winter or summer, its tender and refined charms steal into the regard of the beholder. Be careful not to prune birches severely, especially their main stems and topmost branches; they will not stand it. The birch is a little shy and fanciful in some of its habits, as befits its ladyship. For instance, it is at times difficult to transplant. Ordinarily entirely hardy and easy to move, it will sometimes winter-kill if set out in the fall, and if set out late in spring it will often go off in a dry spell. Therefore, plant it early in spring, and cherish and water it, if necessary, and it will repay you by becoming the most charming object on the lawn. Plant the birch on either side of your entrance-gates and in the midst of the shrubberies. The honey locust is a lofty tree with somewhat straggling, yet graceful and delicate, green foliage. Thorn-covered bark somewhat disfigures the genuine beauty of the coloring of the trunk, but its great value lies in its extreme hardiness. It will grow in a bit of soil in a cleft of a rock, and it will grow in the most dusty, crowded spot of a great city. Apparently there is no place in which it will not thrive.

The American ash is also a lofty tree of fine foliage and shapely growth. It

should be used more than it is. An ornamental tree of fine traits is the Kentucky coffee - tree. The bark is ridged and furrowed in picturesque fashion, and the leaves of a light, tender green, slanting in such a way that the light shifts through in a pleasant manner. An old and well-known, and yet little used, shade-tree is the Platanus orientalis, the oriental plane. The foliage is large and effective, and the color of the bark attractive. It grows rapidly, and is especially valuable because it thrives so well in crowded cities and on the sea-shore-in fact, in every place where any trees will flourish. The plane requires sharp pruning when it has attained considerable age, as it is apt to grow into irregular, unsymmetrical forms. Be careful to give it plenty of room to grow. The trouble with most specimens we meet is that they have been crowded. Old plane trees have also a habit of dropping great pieces of bark.

The Gingko tree (Salisburia adiantifolia) is a somewhat rare Japan tree of considerable size. It has a picturesque striking habit, and its outline is bold and characteristic. This tree is hardy and free from disease, and on account of the up-growing tendency of its branches, would make an excellent. street tree. The lower branches of elms and maples are apt to interfere with the heads of passers-by.

I must say something about evergreens: Some of them are beautiful objects on the lawn, but alas! most of them are uncertain. They have a way of dying off unexpectedly, and nearly all of them lose their beauty in this country in twenty or twenty-five years. You will, doubtless, see many fine evergreens on lawns throughout the country, but you will never know how many have died in the process of transplanting. All evergreens transplant with difficulty. You will find that an invari