Roadside Plantations of Trees in Belgium.
The roadside planting of trees is carried out on a most extensive scale in Belgium, forming a marked feature in the landscape of that country. According to the report of M. J. Houba, State Head Bailiff or Ranger of Woods and Rivers in Belgium, recently published in the Revue Horticole, the total length of the highroads of Belgium in 1881 amounted to 4,227 miles, classified, as regards tree planting, in the following manner:
| Miles. | |
|---|---|
| Roads already planted | 2,417 |
| „ still to be planted | 264 |
| „ which cannot be planted | 1,546 |
| 4,227 |
From this it will appear that, at the date mentioned, more than half the entire length of the Belgian highroads had been planted, and that the proportion would soon reach two‐thirds.
The number of trees used in forming these plantations amounted to 871,685, representing in 1881 a money value of £415,986, the average cost of each tree when planted having been about 2s. 6d. The plantations had therefore at this date increased in value to nearly four times the amount of the capital originally expended upon them.
The trees principally employed in these roadside plantations (already made) are: Elms, 371,621; oaks, 130,828; poplars, 80,853; ash, 73,893; beech, 32,970; maples, 27,755; service trees, 24,630; Norway spruce, 43,767; larch, 41,699. It will be seen from this list that coniferous trees are largely used in Belgium for roadside planting. On the other hand, the report only gives 897 plane trees, 976 acacias, and 672 cherry trees, apple trees, and pear trees, showing that while the Belgian authorities fully recognize the great utility of these roadside plantations in other respects, they especially aim at the production of timber of good quality in a commercial point of view.—The Garden.