The kinds of trees that may be planted upon a city street are few, for the life is so hard that only the hardiest can stand it. If we name Norway Maple, Ginkgo, Sycamore, White Elm, Red Oak, the list of the best is exhausted. Others may often be planted where conditions are favorable, and for lawns and parks the list of availables is almost endless, but in any case the wisest course is to avoid novelties and get some one who is experienced to do the planting.
But more important than to plant a tree is to protect and develop one already in the right place. This applies especially to trees beside country roads. A newly planted tree has a precarious hold on life for several years, whereas an old one has survived many dangers. Let, therefore, the care of the trees that are found in place be the first concern. Guard them from all that may increase their infirmities, keep in check the insects that seek to destroy them, have their wounds attended to and their branches pruned where necessary. This is work for one who knows how, not for the butcher who "tops" a tree "to make it grow"; or for the "tree doctor" who uses cement without knowing whether it will do good or do harm. Reputable men can be found to do any work of this kind. Under wise direction there should be no hesitation about cutting down a tree that is in the way. In many places houses and streets are too much shaded.
The fundamental idea to be grasped is that every tree is an organism; in one view an individual, in another a community. We must satisfy at least its strongest requirements or it cannot live. To the extent that all are satisfied is the tree healthy and vigorous.
As with trees so with the tree communities called forests. Our duty in New Jersey is to improve the forests we have rather than to concern ourselves about getting more. Of course, waste land may be redeemed by planting with trees, but where there is a remnant of the old forest, nature can be trusted to bring another if she is given a fair chance. The forest secured in this way may not yield so much lumber as one that was planted, and it will not satisfy a forester, but it will answer our most immediate needs, and can be secured more quickly than any other.