Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 212, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1918 — Useful Trees Needed. [ARTICLE]

Useful Trees Needed.

In many countries of Europe the highways are lined with fruit trees, pruned each year by the government Tn this country our highways are decorated with hedges, a few tame shade trees, willows, catalpas, elms, cottonwood, poplar, soft maple, box elder — all useless trees. We need black walnut, butternut, hickory, oak, hard maple for sugar and various fruit trees. We need spruce for airplanes and pine trees for lumber. Thorn hedges are a nuisance. We need hazelnuts, mulberries, cherries, currants, raspberries, blackberries, apples, plums, crabs, peaches, pears, grapes. Where is a more suitable place than our highways and streets? A public landscape gardener would more than earn his keep and be an added blessing to the people each year. This functionary could be given authority to root out such obnoxlxous shrubs as the barberry bush.