I herewith send you a design for completing the court and exterior ground of the Jeffersonville Depot of your Department. Every condition required and every suggestion which I have recieved from you and from the officers of the Department is, I believe, complied with.

The subdivision of the court is similar in motive to, and more convenient and symmetrical than that suggested by Col. Lee.

The trees within the court are all nut and fruit-trees and the shrubs are in part fruit-bearing.

The trees are so arranged that when they are full grown the watchman in the tower will still have every door of the stores under observation.

In case of necessity, on the occurrence of war all the outer part of the court may be occupied for storage to the extent of three quarters of its entire area, without impediment from or injury to the important trees; (the smaller and rapidly growing fruit trees and shrubs only being removed), ample space for the movement of wagons being left between the larger and more valuable trees.

The planting is so arranged that when the trees are well grown they will form a cone-shaped mass of verdure with the top of the tower at its apex; [60]

Olmsted’s Plan For The Jeffersonville Depot
Circle nearest center is pecans; next circle is pears; third circle is plums; outer row is, alternately, apricots and peaches.

An obvious adaptation of every elemnt of the plan to its special ends and the accommodation and consistancy of these special ends with the primary general ends of the Depot as a whole has been studied.

The satisfaction to be expected from the arrangement will depend entirely on the completeness with which the plan is executed — with a view to the health and perfection of growth of the trees and the consistent neatness of the whole establishment. This will, it is believed, be easily secured with such means as, after a few years of preparation, the officer in command will at all times be able to control.

[61]

To avoid an excessive shading of the building and to secure an effect of complete arrangement in the outer planting it is proposed that the government property should be divided from the street only by a light rail or by posts and chains, and that the wall or stronger fence should be placed five feet within this outer line. By this arrangement the Dépôt may be bordered as proposed in the drawing, with a Mall of considerably more dignity than an ordinary sidewalk.

The trees of each double line should be of the same species and variety but each of the four double lines may be of a different species, as one of the Elm (American), one of the Lime (American), one of Maple, (sugar or scarlet) and one of Tulip. Or for either of the above English elm, Norway Maple or Sycamore Maple may be substituted if found more practicable.

In the detailed planting plan for the court varieties of the several kinds of fruit trees are not named as it will be easy for the officer in charge to obtain information of the results of local experience which would outweigh any advice that, without such special information, I could give. He will also be better able to judge than I of the most desirable proportions of early and late bearing kinds.

I would repeat the advice offered in a previous communication to you that all trees designed to be planted should be first planted with a considerable excess of numbers in nursery on the ground; that the process of transplanting to their final position should be conducted with great care and deliberation and no tree set except under favorable circumstances, the work being continued, if necessary, through several planting seasons.

Particular caution may be necessary to prevent the trees from being planted at too great a depth. The swell of the roots (or “collar” of the tree) should be above the general surface.

The whole ground both where planted and where not planted should be trenched three spits deep and heavily manured. It will be much better that this work should be done a season in advance of the planting so that the sub-soil may be reconsolidated and the manure well incorporated.

That portion of the ground not to be planted should be treated in the same way, a soil rich at considerable depth from the surface being particularly desirable to avoid the bad effects of drouth. It should be brought to a fine surface tilth and sown with two bushels of red-top and one of white clover seed to the acre. If Kentucky blue-grass is indigenous in the neighborhood it may be substituted for one half the quantity of red-top. Care should be taken to secure fresh seed. The ground should be rolled and as soon as the grass is generally two inches above ground, mowed. If very irregular in growth the first mowing may need to be by hand. Afterwards it should be mown with a lawn-mower once a fortnight or oftener except in periods of severe drouth, and frequently rolled until a firm close velvety sod is established.

If to follow all the above advice would be too expensive, plowing with a subsoil plow, or trench plowing (plowing twice or thrice in the same furrow) [62] or both may be substituted for hand trenching; the shrub and berry bushes may be dispensed with; the turf may then be kept by pasturing it closely with sheep instead of by frequent mowing and rolling.

If more display in decoration is desired, annual and perennial flowering plants may be set in the edge of the shrub plantations. The borders of the drives and walks may be planted with roses and other flowering shrubs grown as standards. Either of these additions to the plan will however add much to the difficulty and cost of maintaining a high character of neatness and elegance which should be regarded as a matter of the first importance.