Chapter XXVII

PUBLIC PLEASURE GROUNDS AND STREET TREES.

Amongst the clauses of the Public Health Act 1875 which affect the duties of the town surveyor will be found the following:

“Any urban authority may purchase or take on lease, lay out, plant, improve, and maintain lands for the purpose of being used as public walks or pleasure grounds, and may support or contribute to the support of public walks or pleasure grounds provided by any person whomsoever.

“Any urban authority may make bye-laws for the regulation of any such public walk or pleasure ground, and may by such bye-laws provide for the removal from such public walk or pleasure ground of any person infringing any such bye-law by any officer of the urban authority or constable” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 164).

There are very few, if any, cities or towns in this country that have not availed themselves of this clause, even if they did not already possess one if not more public parks or pleasure grounds of some description, these having either been given by some benevolent citizen or acquired in some other manner by the urban authority.[215]

Included in the powers given by the above clause are no doubt those regulating the acquisition and support of recreation or public playgrounds, public walks, or old city walls or other places, and disused burying grounds.[216]

In connection with the above clause of the Public Health Act, the town surveyor may have the following duties to perform:

To advise his corporation upon the value, suitability, and desirability of any site that is intended for use as a public park or recreation ground, and after its acquisition to adapt it for the requisite purposes. To effect this it must be drained and laid out with carriage-drives, walks, lawns, flower-beds, plantations, and sometimes streams, waterfalls, and lakes. He must design and erect the necessary lodges, entrance gates, fences, shelters, seats,[217] band-stands, and fountains, and must afterwards superintend the maintenance of these and the rest of the works in connection with the pleasure ground.

It would be impossible to lay down any rules for the guidance of a surveyor in carrying out these works, for each case must be dealt with as its exigencies require, and a great deal of common sense, as well as engineering, architectural, and artistic skill must be displayed by him in carrying out any works of this description, details of which could not possibly be given in a book of this size dealing with so many subjects.[218]

A few suggestions may, however, be of some service on these points.

Public playgrounds for children should be composed of large, level, well-rolled, gravelled spaces, with a few trees for shade, and some sheds for shelter. Turf soon gets spoiled and worn bare, when it is not so pleasant as well-rolled gravel, as it is far more dusty in dry weather and very damp in wet, besides having an uncared-for appearance.

In public parks, shrubs planted singly directly on the lawns without any beds around them have a very pleasing look, although it adds somewhat to the difficulty of mowing the grass. The grass itself is greatly improved if it is well dressed with manure in the spring and constantly watered all the year round.

Paths should be gravelled in the autumn, care being taken to wait until all the leaves have fallen, which are swept up and removed at once. A good fence for a path, if any protection is necessary, is either a strained wire fence or cast-iron hoops representing bent sticks. They are both cheap, and stand well against weather and rough treatment.

A very economical and neat border to the footpaths can be made from the old used-up flagstones from the foot pavements of the streets, these cut up and placed on edge, especially if in conjunction with a pitched channel gutter of pebbles, look remarkably well.

Ornamental flints make a pretty border, but they are nasty things for a child to fall upon.

For flower-beds a flat border or edge of ivy has a very telling effect. If there are ponds or lakes in the park there should be a broad path or road close to the water’s edge. It is surprising what a great advantage in effect this has over the plan of leaving a strip of green between the path and the water.

The selection of the proper shrubs for a park and their distribution is a matter that requires the advice of an expert gardener. The following list of ordinary shrubs that will thrive well almost anywhere in this country may however be of use for reference:

Aucubas.
Azaleas.
Box.
Berberises.
Euonymus.
Hollies.
Ivies.
Laurels.
Lilacs.
Mahorrias.
Pampas grass.
Privet.
Rhododendrons.
Thorns.
Yuccas.

With regard to the selection of trees, this also requires skilled advice, but a list is given further on in this chapter, of trees suitable for street planting, which may be also some guide in this respect.

In high gales of wind the surveyor may be expected to endeavour to save valuable trees in a public park from being blown down. This may sometimes be effected by a judicious application of chains or ropes, but the better plan is to keep all trees well pruned and as free as possible from “top hamper” and undue leverage from overhanging limbs.

On the pruning of trees and the removal of large limbs I must refer my readers to a most admirable little book recently published in America, being a translation from the celebrated ‘Treatise on Pruning Forest and Ornamental Trees, by A. des Cars,’ which enters most fully into the subject, and being of great practical value, should be studied by anyone who has anything to do with the care of forest or other trees.[219]

With regard to the planting of trees along the sides of streets, our French neighbours are much in advance of us.[220] It is true that in this country, owing to the much larger consumption of coal as a domestic fuel, there is more soot in the air, but it is erroneous to suppose that trees will not thrive well in England. No doubt the moisture of our climate causes the soot or “blacks” to adhere to the leaves and limbs of the trees, but for that reason deciduous and not evergreen trees should be selected for planting in towns, and these, if well chosen and carefully planted, will most undoubtedly fully repay their first cost and maintenance by the additional beauty to the street, the agreeable shade they cast, and their generally healthful action on the population.

In selecting trees to plant along the sides of the streets or roads in any towns, it is well to bear in mind that the following qualities are necessary:--

The tree must be hardy; it must not be affected by a long-continued drought; heat must not wither it nor make it look rusty; it must be able to withstand dust, smoke, soot, foul air, and the insidious attacks of insects, and be able to recover from any malicious or accidental injury it may receive.

The tree must be of rapid growth, and develope a straight, clean stem with shady foliage. It must be graceful either in full leaf or when bare as in winter; its roots must not require too much room, and they must be able to withstand the effects of pollution or rough treatment.

Although the foregoing list of requirements may seem rather formidable, yet amongst the trees whose names now follow there will be found some which meet many, if not all of these requirements, and which, if properly planted with all reasonable care, may be expected to thrive if planted at the sides of the streets in any town in this country.

LIST OF TREES SUITABLE FOR PLANTING AT THE SIDES OF STREETS.

Western Plane.
Lime.
Maple.
Horse Chestnut.
Elm.
Tulip tree.
Lombardy Poplar.
Ash.
Willow.
Beech.
Birch.
Oak.
Sycamore.
Copper Beech.
Pawlonia.
Ailantus Glandulosa.
Laburnum.
Lilac.
Almond.
Peach.
Hawthorn.
Acacia.
Double Cherry, etc.

Of the above list the western plane for many reasons is the most desirable. Its freshness when it bursts into green buds is well known, and it is proverbial for its hardiness.

The lime was at one time the most popular tree for this purpose, but it has several defects, the most notable being that its leaves wither before the summer is over, and the tree assumes a lifeless look at a time when most shade and freshness are required of it.

Of the remainder of the trees I have enumerated some are slow in growth, which is a considerable drawback; others are not wholly free from being affected by cold winds in the spring or by lice in the winter, and the assistance of an expert is very necessary in selecting trees for this important purpose.

Whatever trees are selected, the following precautions should be taken:

The young tree should have been well nourished in its nursery before removal, and should on no account be planted in the street until its stem is nearly 10 feet in height and about 3 inches in diameter. The stem should be clean and straight, and the whole tree symmetrical.

The great difficulty in this country is to obtain sufficient numbers of trees of the exact size and description, when it becomes necessary to plant out a street. They have often to be imported, when it is found that they are frequently unsuited both for soil and climate, besides being very costly; thus many failures have arisen in consequence. To obviate this necessity in Paris the Government have for many years instituted and maintained special nurseries where trees are grown for this purpose alone, these nurseries being situated at Passy, the Jardin Fleuriste, and Petit Buy, no less than 115 men being constantly employed in the work. Some further particulars will be given presently on the cost of this work.

The trees thus nourished and selected should be planted in the autumn, for there is a well-known saying that “a tree planted before Christmas can be _ordered_ to grow; if planted after Christmas it must be _asked_ to do so”; and there is no doubt that if trees are planted too late in the season great difficulty in getting them to grow is generally experienced.

The excavated pits must be well drained, and filling the bottom of the pit with rubble is a good plan. The further the tree can be planted from the kerb the better, so as not only to give it a larger body of soil, but to lessen the risk of killing the tree by the pollution of the ground with gas from a defective main, and also excess of moisture from the channel gutters. The distance apart of the trees is a matter of choice. In Paris this is only 16 to 18 feet, but I think half a chain (33 feet) is quite close enough; it economises trees and gives plenty of room for the limbs of each tree to spread, and the intermediate lamp-posts, watering hydrants, or other standards are not crowded out.

Each tree should have a cast-iron grating around its roots similar to the following drawing:--

This should be about 4 feet square. It prevents the ground getting hard about the trees, and permits air and water to enter to the roots. It also makes it easy to give any attention to the trees that they may require when young, such as manuring, digging, &c.

The tree should also be protected with a slight iron grill or railing to prevent mischievous persons from cutting their names on the trunk, climbing up into the tree, or breaking off its branches whilst still young. The following sketch shows the description of grill necessary, which is light, cheap, and at the same time effective.

The following interesting particulars of the manner in which street planting of trees is conducted in Paris will be useful, and are given _in extenso_:[221]

“When the boulevarde is marked out and levelled, if the soil is of bad quality, as is nearly always the case, trenches are dug in the footway from one end of the boulevarde to the other. The width of this trench is usually about 6 feet, and its depth 4 or 5; and before filling it in drain-pipes are laid along the sides made with lapped joints so that the roots shall not enter between them. The trench is then filled with good garden earth, raising it a little higher than the level so as to allow for settling. In this ground the trees are planted about 6 yards apart. They should be carefully chosen with perfect roots, and moderately pruned. Formerly the stem was cut at about 9 feet from the ground, but this had the bad effect of preventing the top of the tree from being straight, and the practice has been given up. The trees are next staked and tied with wire over a neat wad of straw, which prevents all injury to the stem. A protecting cage, neither heavy nor very expensive, is placed round the tree to prevent accidents; and if the weather be at all dry at the time of planting, the trees are copiously watered.”

The cost of planting a tree in the Paris boulevarde is thus given:[222]

fr. c.

15 cubic metres of excavation at 4 francs =60·00
15 cubic metres of vegetable mould at 4 francs =60·00
Training poles about 5 metres in height = 1·50
------
121·50
Average deduction of 15 per cent. resulting from
letting by tender 18·23
------
Price by contract 103·27
Pipe drainage and materials 11·15
Watering appliance (average) 2·50
Cast iron grating round the base 46·69
Transport of tree from nursery 2·00
Planting, including stakes 3·00
Iron basket (to protect stem) 8·70
The tree 5·00
Labour for planting 1·69
------
184·00

The maintenance of each tree costs 1·58 francs.

The total cost, therefore, of each tree capitalised reaches about 8_l._, and its life is said not to exceed twelve years.

Before closing this chapter it is well to advert to the evident importance that the legislature attach to the planting and preservation of trees along the sides of the public streets in this country and their desire to protect them, as the following clause of the Public Health Act 1875 will show. “. . . Any person who, without the consent of the urban authority, wilfully displaces or takes up, or who injures the pavement, stones, materials, fences, or posts of, _or the trees_ in any such street shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, and to a further penalty not exceeding five shillings for every square foot of pavement, stones, or other materials so displaced, taken up, or injured; he shall also be liable in the case of _any injury to trees_ to pay to the local authority such amount of compensation as the court may award” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 149).

It is a great source of regret that mischievous persons can be found who by their wilful malice injure the trees planted at the sides of streets out of the public funds and with great expense and trouble.

[215] By the “Commons Act 1876,” powers were given to acquire and lay
out commons for purposes of public recreation, etc.

[216] Upon this latter point _Vide_ 24 & 25 Vic. c. 61, s. 21.

[217] As a preservative against the malicious disfigurement of wooden
seats, I have seen the following inscription placed upon some seats in
an old public park, “Never cut a friend,” and it had apparently the
desired effect.

[218] As an instance of the size and importance works of this
description may assume, the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, is an example. It
covers an area of 2000 acres, of which one half is forest, one quarter
is grass, one-eighth roads, and about 70 acres is water. One of the
most beautifully arranged public parks in this country is Sefton Park,
Liverpool, where the most perfect arrangements of lawns, plantations,
lakes and drives, have been carried out.

[219] ‘A Treatise on Pruning Forest and Ornamental Trees,’ by A. des
Cars, translated from the 7th French edition, with an introduction by
Charles S. Sargent, etc. Published by A. Williams and Co., Boston,
U.S.A., 1881.

[220] In Paris in the year 1880, there were 90,000 trees in the
streets, besides 20,000 more in the cemeteries. (_Vide_ Report of Mr.
Till, the Borough Surveyor of Birmingham, 20th December, 1880.) There
are also upwards of 8000 seats in public places; the trees and seats
costing nearly 100,000_l._ per annum to maintain.

[221] _Vide_ ‘The Parks, Promenades, and Gardens of Paris,’ by W.
Robinson, F.L.S., 1869, p. 128.

[222] _Vide_ ‘L’Architecte,’ 20th November, 1880, p. 370.