The Bismarck Tribune

PRIZE ESSAY
The prize winning essay from the junior high school at Richholt school on "The Use of Our Native Trees, Shrubs and Flowering plants in beautifying our homes and our city," by Thelma Liessman reads as follows:

If we plant native trees and plants we will build up a natural outdoor museum of our own plant life and could preserve some species that are in danger of being completely destroyed by fires, breaking up of land, close pasturing and careless destruction of the thoughtless people. Plants are more beautiful when allowed to grow in natural surroundings and in groups or clusters.

We can plant the native pine and red cedar on higher ground. The ground or creeping cedar forms mats on buttes and can be used on terraces.

Oaks. Ash and the historic Elm made famous by Washington and Penn can be used on lower ground.

The cottonwood, Poplar, Box Elder and Willow need more moisture so if you have a low place where you water a great deal you can put these trees there. The Birch, Aspen and Poplar should grow on slopes sloping northward.

We should be very careful when transplanting trees and shrubs so as not to cut off the fine roots.

The woodland and prairie Rose are very fragrant and grow on the prairie. The Prairie Rose was made our state flower by the Legislature.

The Russian Olive or Silver Berry has silver colored leaves and makes a very attractive hedge, along side walks or fences. Fruit bearing hedges are the Flowering Currant, High Bush Cranberry, Wild Gooseberry. Sand Cherry, and the Choke Cherry, which are very nice to put along the house or fence to make it look better. The Dog wood is a beautiful shrub with white blossoms and berries. The bark is red and is very pretty in the winter. The Indians used the inner bark for tobacco.

Vines are desirable for climbing and twining and they produce much shade. They hide bare walls: the Virginia Creeper, Hog Vine, Wild Cucumber, Clematis and Bittersweet are hardy vines and grow in low places and need quite a lot of moisture. We all love the Wild Grape It needs plenty of moisture. It could grow on walls to make them look more attractive. We can make our Public buildings such as churches and bare red railroad buildings look better by planting vines in such a way as to partly cover their walls and in our alleys we can plant vines along fences and garages. Our homes look much better and add more joy and beauty to our lives by having our kind little friends climbing around them. The Columbine is of interest to us because the Indian used it for perfume. It grows in shady places and it must have plenty of leaf mold.

It would be very pretty growing on fences so it could climb. The Pasque flower has a song and legend from the Indians. It is the first to bid us "good-morning" in the spring. It has gray hair like an old man. It would look nice against the house so to hide the foundation. The Yellow and Purple Violet are very pretty to put in a flower bed in the front yard. The Anemone has little white flowers and would look nice in a flower bed or between the trees. The Blue Bell has blue bell shaped flowers.

It is a delicate plant. It is suitable for a flower bed. The Long-headed Cone flower is very fragrant,

The Wild Geranium is a pretty
It is suitable to put around the little flower.

It would look nice.