Do not make the mistake of planting too much. A small lawn can be overdressed as is sometimes the case with women. Lilac, Japan quince, syringa, hydrangea, and like common shrubs, could be planted if the opportunities of space seem to warrant.
I hope it will be your taste to allow the limbs of the trees to start low and those of the shrubs to begin as near the ground as possible. I am aware that among country people it is the practice to tolerate only the higher limbs. I can give a reason for this only on the supposition that they must do something in pruning, and the lower limbs are the most convenient to reach. I know a man who came into possession of a place having a fine lot of evergreens with the lower branches at the ground. By way of proclaiming a change of ownership he cut away the lower branches, leaving a bare trunk of about five feet. Before he touched them they were beautiful green cones and when passing the place I always turned my face in their direction to enjoy the beauty. When he was through they were standing on one leg, and a wooden leg at that. I have never felt kindly toward the man since.
In the matter of planting I know of no better method than that of the experienced orchardist. As a rule he buys his trees of a nurseryman. They are often dug in the fall, and are planted the following spring. During the interval they are stored in specially constructed cellars, and at no time are the roots permitted to become dry. When packed for shipment damp moss is placed about the roots. When the orchardist removes them from the packing box he "heels" them in, which is a kind of probationary planting in shallow furrows where they stand until ready to be set out permanently. When that time comes the trees are taken from the trench and the roots plunged in a tub of thin mud or doused with water and covered with a blanket. An orchardist counts a tree lost if the roots have been allowed to remain in the sun until the small rootlets have so dried that they have a gray appearance.
In taking the young tree from the nursery row only a fraction of the original roots go with the tree, and these are badly bruised at the point of cleavage. These ragged ends should be dressed smoothly by means of a slanting cut with a knife. All mutilated roots should be removed. You must bear in mind that the roots you find with the trees are capable of performing but a small part of what was done by all the roots when growing in their native place.
The hole in which the tree is set should be large enough to accommodate the roots without cramping them out of their natural positions. It is important that the earth used for filling should be fertile, and it is doubly important that it should be fine—even superfine. Clods, even small clods like marbles, will not snuggle up to the bark of the root as closely as is absolutely necessary. Set the tree about an inch deeper than you think it originally stood, so that when planted and the earth settles, it will really be about the same depth. All the earth should not be dumped in at once and then the surface pressed firm with the feet. A close examination will show that the soil has "bridged" in places, leaving many roots in tiny caverns. It is important that fine soil should be snuggled close to each little rootlet, not for warmth but for moisture. Fill the hole by installments of one-third at each filling. Sprinkle the fine earth about the roots. Then dash in a third of a pail of water. This will give the roots much needed moisture and, best of all, will wash the earth about each root fiber. I urge the adoption of this careful method for all trees and shrubs, not excepting the sumac and willow. Even wallows will show their gratitude for such considerate treatment, even though they are able to survive rougher usage. They will pay for it when the drought and neglect of summer come.
The most common mistake made in the selection of trees is in taking those that are too large. For the conditions that we have under consideration, I suggest that a tree no larger than a broom-handle be chosen. I know that the common feeling is, "we shall have to wait too long for our shade." Unless the larger tree is in the hands of an expert, the smaller will be the more desirable at the end of five years. I much prefer, moreover, the selection of a tree or shrub growing in the sunshine, rather than one from the shade.
I have one final request to make, which to the novice will be the most difficult of all and one which he is quite likely to fail in performing because of lack of moral courage. I mean the cutting back of the top of the tree or shrub after planting. Before the removal of the tree, the roots probably found pasturage in a cart load of soil. After planting, the root pasturage is not more than half a bushel of soil. What follows when the forces of plant growth begin? A demand for soil products, with a very much restricted means of supply. The top must be cut back to match the shortened root system. Thousand of trees die every year because this principle is not duly observed and the failure is often attributed to the nurseryman. The amount necessary to cut back differs with different trees and shrubs. No hard and fast rules can be given. With willows and sumacs one-third to one-half of everything bearing leaf buds can be cut away. With a maple having a diameter of one and a half inches at the butt, I should suggest that about one-third of the branch area be left to grow.
In this article I have had in mind the improvement of school grounds where all the conditions are at zero—where the building would be a discredit to any owner, where the patrons are totally indifferent, and where the only resource is to awaken a public spirit on the part of the children. With better school buildings, more ample grounds, and a small number of patrons favorable to improvement, the foregoing ideas need not be followed closely. However, they do contain principles and some details that deserve careful consideration, even in landscape planting of the highest form. The first step should be the development of local pride. Something may be accomplished among the parents; but it is a problem as to what extent that may be done. To the true teacher the pupils may be counted upon as the mainstay in such an undertaking. To such a teacher I should say, Do not for a moment believe that the improvements seen about the school grounds will be all the good that is wrought. Fifty years from now there will be a few gray-haired men and women who take more interest in the appearance of their "front-door-yard," and give their children encouragement in having a posy bed "all their own," and who extend sympathy and service to the better appearance of the school grounds, because of your altruism when you taught district school.
We have some aids that may be helpful to you and to which you are welcome. Bulletin 160, spoken of at the beginning, specifically treats of this work, and Bulletin 121, on "Planting of Shrubbery," has been very popular. We have published a number of articles on children's gardening, all of which will be sent you free if you request it. If you have specific problems we shall be glad to have you write and we will help you all we can by correspondence.
The most efficient help we can give you is through the organizing of your pupils into Junior Naturalist clubs. We give these clubs especial instruction in gardening and the improvement of home and school grounds. Children receive great inspiration from large numbers doing the same thing, while we can give instruction to ten thousand as easily as to one child. Many hundreds of teachers and thousands of children find the study of nature a beam of sunshine in the schoolroom and a great aid in the English period without being a burden to the teacher.