as upon private property. They will be as
beautiful and as useful upon public grounds as they are upon private
property, speaking in a large way, although disposal of their products
will go along different channels perhaps. Nut trees of various species
will be quite as beautiful and distinctly more useful than any of the
other trees that are commonly selected for planting upon public grounds.
Because of the inclusion of the economic factor the question as to
whether nut trees may well supplant the kinds of trees commonly selected
is not a debatable question.

Let us leave this part of the subject however and take up question
number two, relating to the human nature side. A little examination into
this phase of the matter will disclose reasons why nut trees are not
already along our highways and in parks and other public grounds. The
supplying of trees on a large scale for such a purpose is commonly done
by contract with nurserymen. Nurserymen find it more profitable to raise
certain kinds of trees instead of other kinds. Nurserymen are prone to
raise kinds which are most profitable. Public officials who are making
contracts sometimes look for perquisites. These include acceptance from
nurserymen of bonuses for letting the contract. Here then we have at the
very outset of the problem two large obstacles to the purchase of nut
trees for public places. The carrying forward of any large project of
this sort means reliance upon someone with legislative resources. In my
experience legislators are commonly keen to approve of any project which
will render public service when they are fully convinced of that fact.
If not fully convinced of that fact and reserving the feeling that
private interests are being served they wait until somebody who knows
how to see the legislator has seen him. Another phase of the question
relates to the attitude of the people toward public property in a
so-called free country. People are prone to take anything that they
please from anything which is so impersonal as a country. Nut trees
planted in public places would have their crops carried off by every
passer by to such an extent that revenue for the upkeep of the trees
would be difficult to obtain. In some of the European countries this
obstacle has not been insurmountable. There are many villages in Europe
in which privately owned fields are not even fenced and fruit and nut
trees growing for the benefit of the village are left untouched by the