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SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS
AND CITIES
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS
AND CITIES
THEIR SELECTION, PLANTING, AND CARE AS APPLIED
TO THE ART OF STREET DECORATION ; THEIR
DISEASES AND REMEDIES; THEIR MUNI
CIPAL CONTROL AND SUPERVISION
BY
WILLIAM SOLOTAROFF, B.S.
SECRETARY AND SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SHADE-TREE
COMMISSION OF EAST ORANGE, N. J
TOTAL ISSUE, FOUR THOUSAND
NEW YORK
JOHN WILEY & SONS
LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LIMITED
Copyright, 1911'
BY WILLIAM SOLOTAROFF
12/20
PRESS OP
BRAUNWORTH & CO.
BOOK MANUFACTURERS
BROOKLYN, N. Y.
TO EVERY TOWN
AND CITY DWELLER
THIS BOOK
IS EARNESTLY DEDICATED
PREFACE
DURING the last few years there has been a remarkable
growth of interest in the planting of trees for ornament and
shade. In an editorial of February 10, 1909, the Savannah
News remarked: "The increasing interest in shade-trees
in practically all of the cities of the country is worthy of
more than a passing notice. This interest seems to be
keeping abreast of the sanitary reforms that are being in
augurated. While it isn't stated that there is a connection
between tree-planting and hygienic reforms, there is no
doubt that shade-trees contribute to the healthfulness of a
city The shade-trees have a restful effect, because
making homes more attractive. That which tends to give
rest and pleasure must also contribute to healthfulness."
The awakening of interest in tree-planting has been fol
lowed by the development of the movement for shade-tree
departments in towns and cities. The Shade-Tree Com
mission of East Orange, N. J., organized in the spring of
1904, was the third in the State. There are now thirty-one
towns and cities in New Jersey that have such departments.
The work of the Shade-Tree Commissions, of Newark and
East Orange especially, has proved very successful, and
during the last few years there have come to these depart
ments hundreds of requests from different parts of the
country for information regarding methods of work and
forms of organization. The cities of New Jersey may have
inspired others. In 1907, Pennsylvania passed a shade-tree
vii
viii PREFACE
law modeled after the New Jersey statute. Within the last
three or four years the cities of Buffalo, St. Louis, Chicago,
New Orleans, and Pittsburg have established shade-tree
departments.
The Harrisburg Patriot, in an editorial, January 13, 1909,
said: "We do not see how any one .... can doubt the
wisdom of a speedy acceptance of the law of 1907 authori
zing the placing of all shade-trees in charge of a Shade-Tree
Commission. The fine results obtained in East Orange
and elsewhere .... could never have been obtained by
individual effort at any outlay of money. But it has been
demonstrated in East Orange that it is less expensive to
get and maintain a splendid, harmonious, and beautiful
system of shade-trees, than it is to have such a haphazard
arrangement as prevails in most cities where great pos
sibilities are ruined sometimes through indifference and
inattention, but more often through ignorance.'*
To supply the needs of the growing demand for informa
tion regarding the planting, care, and control of shade-trees
in towns and cities is the aim of this book. It is the result
of the study of shade-trees in a great many towns and
cities of the country and experience gained in the ad
ministration of the work of the East Orange Shade-Tree
Commission since its organization. While in the prepar
ation of the book the author has used for reference the
bulletins of agricultural experiment stations, treating of
some phases of the subject, the material has to him taken
on a living form through actual practise. The principles
laid down are of general application, and it is the writer's
hope that the book may prove helpful in spreading the tree-
planting movement throughout the United States.
With the increase of the number of shade-tree depart-
PREFACE ix
ments has grown the demand for trained men to take charge
of the work, and as a result many forest schools are intro
ducing courses in the care of trees. The writer has tried to
shape and present the material in such a way as to make the
book useful to the private owner of trees, to those endeavor
ing to establish municipal tree departments, and to those in
charge of the work of such departments.
The book treats particularly of the planting and care of
street-trees. As in this work, however, the most adverse
conditions for tree growth have to be overcome, the problem
is considered from the severest standpoint; and the book,
therefore, covers the planting and care of shade and orna
mental trees in state and county roads, public parks, private
grounds, and other places. Some of the methods, such as
pruning and tree surgery, apply to fruit-trees as well.
The writer wishes to acknowledge his gratitude to the
members of the East Orange Shade-Tree Commission for
their encouragement in the preparation of this work. All
references to the methods of tree-planting in the city of
Washington are the result of personal visits and study and
information kindly furnished by Mr. Trueman Lanham,
Superintendent of the Trees and Parkings Division of the
District of Columbia, whose courtesy has been very much
appreciated. Authorities for reference to methods used in
the city of Paris have been correspondence with the Prefect
of the Seine, who has charge of the street-trees of Paris, and
Les Arbres de la Ville de Paris, by A. Chargueraud. Ac
knowledgment is due to Dr. N. L. Britton, Director-in-Chief
of the New York Botanical Garden, for looking over the
manuscript of Chapter III. ; to Mr. George B. Sudworth,
Dendrologist, United States Forest Service, for looking over
the manuscript of the first half of the book; to Dr. W. A.
x PREFACE
Murrill, First Assistant of the New York Botanical Garden,
for suggestions as to the method of treatment of the part of
the book on fungous diseases and for naming some species
of fungi ; and to Mr. Irving T. Guild, Secretary of the Mas
sachusetts Forestry Association for furnishing information
regarding the shade-tree laws of Massachusetts. The author
also wishes to remember the many kindnesses of Dr. James
P. Haney, of the New York City Department of Education,
who first suggested to him the idea of writing the book.
All the photographs and sketches for the illustrations are
by the author, with the exception, of Plate 24, Fig. 4; Plate
41, Fig. 4; and Plate 42, Fig. 5. The making of the photo
graphs extended over a period of more than five years.
Those elucidating methods of work were taken during oper
ations in East Orange.
WILLIAM SOLOTAROFF.
EAST ORANGE, N. J., January, 1911.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. TREES IN THE LIFE OF A CITY 1
Development of Modern Civic Ideals — Esthetic
Value of Trees — Sanitary Value — Economic
Value — Moral Value.
II. SELECTION OF TREES FOR STREET USE .... 6
Picture of Ideal Street. Qualities that Street- Trees
Should Possess. Hardiness — Straightness and
Symmetry — Immunity from Insect Attack —
Abundance of Shade — Cleanliness — Longevity.
Few Species Answer Requirements.
III. SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 10
The Maples: Norway, Sycamore, Sugar, Red,
Ash-Leaved, White. The Poplars: Carolina,
Lombardy. The Oaks: Pin, Red, Scarlet,
White, Swamp White, Chestnut. The Lindens:
American, European, Silver- leaved, Crimean,
Large-leaved. The Elms : White or American,
European. Horse-chestnut. The Plane Trees:
Oriental, Sycamore, or Button-Ball — Tulip-Tree.
White Ash. Hackberry. Gingko. Sweet Gum.
TheCatalpas: Hardy, Western. Ailantus. The
Locusts: Black, Honey. Species for Southern
States : Live Oak, Water Oak, Willow Oak, and
Laurel Oak. Great Laurel Magnolia. Pecan.
Camphor. The Palms. Conifers.
xi
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
IV. STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING .... 62
The Soil. Amount of Soil — Subsoil — Prepara
tion of the Soil. Arrangement of Trees on Street.
Parking Strips — Width of Roadway — Divisions
of the Street — Height of Buildings — Distance
from Buildings — Distance from Sidewalk Curb
— Distance Apart of Specimens — Trees Set with
Relation to the Street — The Spacing Uniform —
Opposite or Alternate — Treatment of Corners —
Setting Trees between Sidewalk and Property-
Line — Double Row — Number of Rows of Trees.
One Species on a Street. What Determines the
Choice of Species — Rows of Different Species.
V. THE PLANTING OF STREET-TREES 82
The Tree in the Woods. The Tree in the Nursery.
Developing of the Roots — Developing of the
Stem — Limitation of Size — Transplanting Large
Specimens — Points in Selecting Trees — How
Shipped — A Municipal Nursery. Precautions in
Planting. Heeling-in — Top and Root Pruning
—How the Tree is Set— When to Plant. Staking.
Single Stake. Guarding. Box — Wire Guards.
Grills. Subirrigation — Drainage of Subsoil.
VI. THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 102
How a Tree Grows. Evolution of a Tree — The
Seedling — Growth in Height — Growth in Diam
eter — Essentials for Normal Growth — Reserve
Material. Watering. How much Water — Kow
to Water. Cultivating and Fertilizing. Training
and Pruning. Fixing Height of Branching —
Forming the Crown — The Street as a Unit —
The Individual Tree— How Best to Prune-
Origin of Branch— The Wrong Way— The Right
CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER PAGE
Way — How the Wound Heals — Limb Must Not
Split — First Method of Removing Limb — Second
Method of Removing Limb — The Rule to Fol
low — Healing of Scar — A Dressing must be Ap
plied — Training to Artificial Forms — Keeping
Crown Within Limits — Heading Back Old Trees
— When to Prune — Pruning Tools — Hints to
Tree-Climbers.
VII. INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES AND How TO PROTECT
THEM 136
Poor Soil. Roots Lack Air and Water. Salt
Water. Dust, Smoke, and Injurious Gases in
the Air. Oiling of Roads. Illuminating Gas.
Symptoms of Gas-Poisoning — How to Detect
Leaks — Laying of Gas-Mains — Damages for
Trees Killed. Overhead Wires. Escaping Elec
trical Currents — How to Protect Branches —
Damages for Injuries. Street Improvements.
Opening New Streets — Changing Grade. Build
ing Operations. Mutilations by Horses. Trees
Must Have Guards.
VIII. INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS AND OTHER DISEASES . 159
Treatment of Trees for Insect Pests. Leaf-Eating
Insects. Tussock Moth — Gipsy Moth — Brown
Tail Moth— Fall Webworm— Bag Worm— Elm-
Leaf Beetle. Sucking Insects. Cottony Maple
Scale — Woolly Maple Scale — San Jose Scale —
Scurfy Scale— Oyster-Shell Scale— Plant Lice.
Borers. Leopard Moth — Sugar Maple Borer —
Maple Tree Sesiid — Bark Borers. Fungous Dis
eases. Wood-Destroying Fungi. False-Tinder
Fungus — Sulfur Polyporus — Heart -Rot of
Sugar Maple. Sap-Rots of Trees. Common
Bracket Fungus. Root-Rots. Canker. Leaf
xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
Diseases — Rusts — Mildews — Blights. Diseases
Due to Conditions of Soil and Climate. Soil Con
ditions — Ulcers — Drying Out and Leaf Scorch —
Frost.
IX. INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES, AND SPRAYING . . . 203
Insecticides. Stomach Poisons — Contact Poisons
— Vapors. Fungicides. Bordeaux Mixture —
Ammoniacal Copper Carbonate. Spraying Ap
paratus. Bucket- Pumps — Barrel Hand -Pumps —
Power Sprayers — Spraying Hose — Nozzles — Ex
tension Poles and Spray-Rods — Precautions in
Spraying.
X. THE REPAIR AND REPLACING OF TREES . . .218
The Repair of Trees. Abrasion of Bark — Bridge
Grafting — Breakages in Storms — Filling of Cav
ities — Knot-Holes — Crotches. Maintenance of
Uniformity. Partial Replacing. Renewal of Plan
tations.
XL WHO SHALL PLANT AND CARE FOR STREET-TREES . 231
Individual Planting. Municipal Control. Wash
ington — Paris — New York and Other Cities —
States — New Jersey and Pennsylvania — Massa
chusetts. Principles Underlying Shade-Tree Laws.
XII. A DEPARTMENT OF MUNICIPAL ARBORICULTURE . 244
Official in Charge of Street-Trees. Tree Census.
Field Books — Mapping the Trees — Value of
Tree Census. Records of New Trees. Other
Records. Assessment Lists. Labeling Trees.
XIII. LEGISLATION 258
New Jersey. Pennsylvania. Massachusetts. Ordi
nances.
INDEX 277
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATES
Street of Pin Oaks Frontispiece
PLATE PAGE
1. The Maples 11
2. Sugar Maple 13
3. Street of Sugar Maples 14
4. Red Maple ' 17
5. White Maple 20
6. Carolina Poplar 23
7. Carolina and Lombardy Poplars 24
8. The Oaks 29
9. Street of Red Oaks 33
10. The Lindens 36
11. American Elm 39
12. Street of White Elms 40
13. Horse-Chestnut 43
14. The Plane Trees 45
15. Tulip-Tree 48
16. White Ash 50
17. Sweet Gum, Hackberry, and Gingko 52
18. Catalpa, Ailantus, and Honey Locust 55
19. Street of Live Oaks 57
20. Some Southern Trees 59
21. From the Nursery to the Street 83
22. Transplanting a Twelve-Inch European Linden 85
xv
xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE PAGE
23. Guarding and Staking 94
24. Guards and Grills 97
25. Guard-Rolling Machine. Seedlings. Watering- Cart. .. 103
26. The Evolution of a Knot-Hole 116
27. The Healing of a Pruning-Scar 118
28. First Method of Removing Branch 122
29. Second Method of Removing Branch 124
30. Pruning Tools 131
31. Injuries by Gas and Overhead Wires 141
32. Injuries to Street-Trees 151
33. Injuries to Street-Trees 156
34. Life History of Tussock Moth 163
35. Brown Tail Moth and Gipsy Moth 165
36. Fall Webworm and Bag Worm 169
37. Life History of Elm-Leaf Beetle 172
38. Scalelnsects 176
39. Borers 183
40. Fungous Diseases. 188
41. Fungous and Other Diseases 192
42. Sprayers 210
43. Filling a Large Cavity of an Elm-Tree 221
44. Examples of Tree-Surgery „ 224
45. Street-Planting by Municipal Tree Department . . , 237
FIGURES
FIG. PAGE
1. Layout of a street fifty feet wide 67
2. Layout of a street sixty feet wide 67
3. Layout of a street eighty feet wide T 68
4. Layout of a street one hundred feet wide 68
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvii
FIG. PAGE
5. Layout of Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D. C 69
6. Layout of street sixty-six feet wide, buildings thirty-five
feet high 70
7. Layout of street one hundred and twenty feet wide, build
ings sixty-five feet high 71
8. Single row of trees on narrow street having tall buildings 7.2
9. Small trees on a narrow street having tall buildings .... 73
10. The disposition of trees at street intersections 78
11. Young Sugar Maple before being top-pruned 90
12. Same Sugar Maple after being top-pruned 90
13. Pin Oak, top-pruned ready for planting 91
14. Method of placing grill 98
15. Sectional view and plan of a subirrigation device 99
16. Sectional view and plan of a subirrigation device 100
17. A street the trees of which are in need of pruning 113
18. Transverse section through callus on a horse-chestnut. . 119
19. Tree with branch to be removed 120
20. Split caused by improper method of pruning 120
21. Oriental Plane to beheaded back 126
22. The same Oriental Plane headed back. 126
23. The same Oriental Plane a year after the operation 127
24. The same Oriental Plane several years after the operation 127
25. A dendroscope 129
26. Combination chisel and hook 132
27. Method of making tight joints in gas-pipes 144
28. Method of protecting a branch from abrasion by wire
cable 148
29. A "well" constructed about an elm-tree when grade was
raised 153
30. Spray nozzles 214
31. Spray "Ys".. . 215
xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG. PAGE
32. Method of bridge-grafting a girdled trunk 219
33. A transverse section of a tree showing the precautions to
be taken when preparing a cavity for filling 222
34. Methods of strengthening a weak crotch 225
35. Showing method of plotting street-trees 249
Sample pages from field book for enumerating street-
trees After page 275
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS
AND CITIES
CHAPTER I
TREES IN THE LIFE OF A CITY
IT is a well-known fact that cities are founded in certain
particular localities on account of some commercial incen
tive. Any situation offering special advantages as a place
where business men may conveniently meet, or commodities
may be cheaply manufactured or easily exchanged, is likely
to be occupied by a town or city. Places that are near to
sources of natural wealth, at the mouths of navigable rivers,
at falls or rapids of streams or at large and deep harbors,
are sites favorable for the location of large cities.
Whatever the reason may be that induces people to settle
in a certain place, their first desire is to build shelters and
homes in which to live. With this thought in mind, every
natural feature of the land is swept away to make room for
the city. As it grows there is an addition of square block
to square block, and a plan of the resulting city looks like a
huge checkerboard.
Such, briefly, has been the history of the development 01
most of our cities. When this country was first settled the
forest was regarded as an enemy to be vanquished rather
than as a friend to be protected. The country seemed so
vast and the natural resources so limitless that no one ever
i
2 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
supposed there would come a time when we should be in
danger of losing our natural heritage. When cities were
built there was no attempt, in most cases, to set aside certain
areas for park purposes or to conserve portions of the natu
ral forests as playgrounds for the people. The cities of to
day show the lack of foresight of the original builders. At
a meeting for the discussion of tree-planting, held in Fuller-
ton Hall, Chicago, on January 31, 1909, Mr. Franklin Mac-
Veagh, who presided, said that when he first saw Chicago it
was a tree city. The trees were many and fine. Splendid
trees were cut down over large areas where the city now
stands. This statement would apply equally as well not
only to Chicago but to a great many other cities.
With the development of society, acquisition of wealth,
and increased culture through education and travel, there
has come the recognition that cities must not only be the
sites of manufacture and commerce, but attractive places
in which one would enjoy to live. This spirit for better
ment is finding expression in a great many ways. There
are efforts to secure clean streets, to inaugurate sanitary
reforms, to build better dwellings, and to improve trans
portation facilities. The acquirement of land for parks and
playgrounds is becoming a necessity, and the importance
of comprehensive city planning is being felt.
One of the material aids to the health and attractiveness
of cities and towns is trees, and the increasing interest in
shade-trees in practically all of the cities of the country is a
proof that their value is being recognized. The cultivation
of trees in cities is beneficial in many ways. In the realiza
tion of the City Beautiful shade-trees play a very important
part. No city in America possesses such avenues of fine
shade-trees as the city of Washington. While visitors ad-
TREES IN THE LIFE OF A CITY 3
mire the fine public buildings, every one will admit that the
chief attractions of Washington are the beautiful avenues of
shade- trees, which make it one magnificent park.
The eighty-six thousand trees of the city of Paris consti
tute one of its glories. They are not only the most potent
factor of the city's beauty, but also illustrate most strikingly
the possibilities of cultivating a large variety of trees in
streets and public places cf large cities under adverse condi
tions. The Prefect of the Department of the Seine, who has
jurisdiction over the trees of Paris, writes me that the soil
along the Paris streets is generally very poor. That the
trees of that city succeed is largely due to the great care
taken in setting them out and maintaining them.
In the more recently developed suburban towns, where
property is high, the houses are built near together and
close to the street-line, so that there is not much of front
lawn. On such streets the uniform planting of trees relieves
the harshness of the perspective of a row of bare houses.
Besides softening the hard lines of buildings, the trees,
because of their beauty, are a continuous source of pleasure.
They have a restful effect and possess an unceasing inter
est at all seasons of the year. In the winter, we can study
their outlines, branching, bark, and buds. In the spring,
we look forward to the appearance of the tree flowers. In
the summer, the trees are in the full majesty of their beauty.
In the fall, before they lose their leaves, the trees attract our
attention by the brilliant coloring of their autumn livery.
From the viewpoint of health, we need but recall a few
well-known facts. Trees help to purify the air by absorb
ing the carbonic-acid gas that is exhaled by man, and
giving back the pure oxygen he needs. The animal and the
vegetable world therefore complement each other, and one
4 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
furnishes the conditions and forces by which the other
maintains life and health. Trees also help to modify the
temperature of our streets, and add to the comfort of the
residents. The normal heat of summer is still further
intensified in cities by the reflections from the pavements
and the buildings. Besides cutting off the direct and the
reflected rays of the sun, foliage exercises a marked effect
on the temperature by evaporating large quantities of
water from its surface, and the reduction of the temper
ature so resulting is greatest on dry, hot days when relief
is much needed.
The appraisal of the tree as a sanitary factor in the life
of the city was confirmed by the Commissioner of Health of
the city of New York, who, in 1872, reported on the causes
of the high death-rate during the summer months in the
city of New York. The chief cause was determined to be
the excessive heat which characterized those months.1 It
was recommended in the report to the Board of Health that
legislation be secured empowering and requiring the De
partment of Parks to plant and cultivate trees in all of the
streets, avenues, and public places in the city. The value of
trees to the health of a city was further emphasized by the
passage of the following resolution by the New York County
Medical Society:
"Resolved, that one of the most effective means for miti
gating the intense heat of the summer months and diminish
ing the death-rate among children is the cultivation of an
adequate number of trees in the streets."
The economic value of shade-trees is inestimable. They
add to the value of real estate, and are among the first
*" Vegetation a Remedy for the Summer Heat of Cities," by Stephen
Smith, M.D., LL.D., Popular Science Monthly, February, 1899.
TREES IN THE LIFE OF A CITY 5
things that impress a stranger as to whether a city is or is
not a good place to live in. Real -estate people are aware
that beautiful trees will increase the value of their property
and draw men and money to a city. Consequently we find
that in the majority of cases of modern land development,
trees are set out as soon as the streets are opened. It is
unfortunate at such times that the choice of species is not
always wise ; but the planting serves to illustrate the fact
that the trees are recognized as an asset to the property.
The first cost of planting shade-trees is very small com
pared with the other assessments for street improvements.
The cost of planting trees properly is a very small percent
age of the cost of the improvement of the roadway proper.
While the use of the road will cause it to deteriorate and it
will need repairs, the trees, when properly cared for, will
thrive and grow. Their first cost of setting out will be
insignificant when compared with their increased value a
number of years after planting.
Finally, the uplifting influence of an environment of
trees is such as to make people not only happier but better.
A modern progressive city possesses three assets — its indus
tries, its commerce, and its appearance, the outward and vis
ible evidence of character. "Show me your town or city
and I will tell you the kind and quality of your citizens,"
is a rule of universal application invariably correct. The
morale of a people is unquestionably in exact keeping with
the outward and manifest appearance of the municipal
home. Few things contribute more to the cultivation of
local pride and civic patriotism than beautiful trees in the
parks and in the streets.
CHAPTER II
SELECTION OF TREES FOR STREET USE
As important as the task of planting shade-trees is the
problem of selecting the proper species. In tree-planting,
perhaps more than in most other work, great care, foresight,
and judgment are required. The street of mature trees
looks quite different from the street of young saplings ; yet
it is the selection of young trees, their proper setting apart,
and their care after planting that make the beautiful street
possible.
In every undertaking there should be a well-defined
object toward the attainment of which every effort should
be directed. In the planting of shade-trees, as in the con
struction of a building, the plan for the completed work
should be determined in advance. The tree-planter must
picture to himself how his work will look a great number of
years later; and it rests with him whether the result is to be
one of satisfaction or regret.
PICTURE OF IDEAL STREET
What shall the image of the ideal street be? Looking
down the long perspective we observe that but one spe
cies of tree has been planted throughout its entire length.
These trees are alike in size. The distance between them is
uniform, and is such that, when the trees mature, their out
stretching limbs will not meet; but will leave sufficient
6
SELECTION OF TREES FOR STREET USE 7
space between the trees for the admission of light and the
free circulation of air. Other elements that contribute to the
making of the ideal street have not been overlooked. Each
tree has a neat and substantial guard that effectively pro
tects it from harm, and these guards contribute their share
to the beauty of the street by being all alike. There is also
evidence that the trees have been judiciously pruned, for no
low and drooping branches obstruct the vista of the street.
Good judgment has been exercised in the selection of the
tree for this model street. The system of branching is
pleasing, and there is symmetry in its general outline ; the
head is well filled, being neither too open nor too compact ;
there is the necessary strength in the branches to sustain
their own weight, and the leaves remain in a healthy condi
tion till they are ready to fall in the autumn. The perspec
tive of a street, as shown in the frontispiece, is strikingly
beautiful at all seasons of the year, when the trees are bare
of foliage or when they are in blossom or in leaf.
QUALITIES THAT STREET-TREES SHOULD POSSESS
From a natural standpoint every tree is interesting: the
outline, the mode of branching, the bark, the leaf, the
flower, and the fruit are all worth studying. Considered
from the standpoint of adaptability for street-planting, a
tree must possess certain characteristics to be desirable.
Hardiness. — In the first place it must be hardy and capa
ble of withstanding the unfavorable conditions of city life;
such as those of poor soil, heat, drought, smoke, and dust.
Street-trees are usually unprotected from heavy storms, and
they should have strength to resist winds, sleet, and snow.
They should possess the ability to endure transplanting
well, and be easily propagated.
8 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
Straightness and Symmetry. — A tree planted on a lawn
may have the branches drooping, the stem crooked, and the
shape unsymmetrical ; but in this case these oddities in its
habits are in themselves elements of beauty. A tree, in
order to be adapted for street use, however, must have a
straight stem, a rounded, well-filled head and be symmetri
cal in growth. Its shape is to be, in a certain sense, formal ;
but, at the same time, it should not be produced entirely by
artificial pruning. The tree must lend itself to the require
ments of the public use of the highway and preserve, as far
as possible, its natural habit of growth.
Immunity from Insect Attack. — In the selection of shade-
trees, their relative immunity from insect attack is a point
to be considered. While there are few trees that are abso
lutely free from pests, some trees enjoy greater immunity
than others, and, if otherwise desirable, such trees should
be preferred.
Abundance of Shade. — Trees that retain their foliage in
good condition throughout the summer and show changes of
color in autumn are most desirable. Trees that naturally
grow an open, scraggly head are not adequate for shade
production, and, again, a dense shade during the summer
is objectionable because it cuts off sunlight, prevents the
growth of grass under the trees, and retards the drying of
the highway after rain.
Cleanliness. — Cleanliness in habits of growth is an es
sential characteristic of good street-trees. The falling of
leaves, twigs, bark, flowers, and fruits keep the sidewalks
in a state of untidiness, while slippery fruits are dangerous
as well as unsightly. Tempting flowers or fruits cause peo
ple to injure the trees, and it is manifestly out of place to
attempt to grow trees for their fruit on the street.
SELECTION OF TREES FOR STREET USE 9
Longevity. — The ideal street-tree must also be of
medium growth and long-lived. The desirability of having
good-sized shade-trees, as soon as possible after planting, is
admitted ; but it is unfortunate that the trees growing most
rapidly are not the most desirable. They are short-lived,
the wood is soft and easily broken by the wind, and money
spent on them is worse than wasted.
FEW SPECIES ANSWER REQUIREMENTS
Although we have more than five hundred native species
of trees, they do not all possess the same kinds of useful
ness. Many of them are valuable for their timber, others are
cultivated for their fruit, and a great number are desirable
for parks and lawns. That comparatively few are adapted
for street use will not be a surprising fact if some of the
qualities that shade-trees must possess are recalled. Only a
limited number of trees are sufficiently hard to withstand
city conditions, easy to transplant, straight and symmetrical
in growth, immune from insect attack, free from the litter
of flowers and fruit, and long-lived.
CHAPTER III
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING
IT is appreciated by the writer that any attempt made to
give a list of trees suitable for street-planting must neces
sarily be inadequate. The choice of material is one phase
of tree -planting which cannot be of general application to
cities situated in different sections of the country. A
planter can usually receive valuable help from his State Ex
periment Station. Frequently, however, the same species
will not do as well in one part of a city as in another, or
even in different parts of the same street. Only very care
ful study of local conditions and experience, extending over
a period of years, can aid in determining what species to
plant. One of the best ways perhaps of deciding upon this
point is to note the trees in one's vicinity and see which do
best.
Study and experimentation reveal the fact that the num
ber of trees suitable for street-planting in any locality is
very limited. This need not be surprising if the severe con
ditions under which city trees grow are recalled. In the
city of Washington, where the street-trees have been under
municipal control since 1872, some thirty varieties of trees
have been experimented with. Now all of the desirable
street-trees of that city can be included in ten or twelve
varieties. The same is true of the city of Paris, where the
list of species, represented by more than a hundred individ-
. 10
PLATE 1.— THE MAPLES.
1. Sycamore Maple, leaves and fruit. 2. Ash-Leaved Maple, leaves and fruit.
3-6. Norway Maple: 3. Winter twig. 4. Leaves and fruit. 5. Flowers.
6. Street of Norway Maples: North Eighteenth Street, East Orange, N, J.
Four years after planting.
12 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
uals, numbers eleven. The species represented by more
than a thousand specimens number nine.
It has been thought best, however, to give a list of the
trees from which selections for street-planting are generally
made, in the hope that this list will be helpful to the planter
in selecting his material under certain conditions. The trees
are described from the point of view of their desirability or
undesirability for street-planting. Undoubtedly there are
trees other than those enumerated which, under favorable
conditions of soil, climate, and care, will make good street-
trees.
THE MAPLES
Norway Maple (Acer platanoides Linn.). — This tree ap
pears to be the best maple that we have for street use. It
comes to us from Europe, its range extending from Nor
way to Switzerland. It withstands city conditions well and
seems to have remarkable resistance to insect attack. While
the tussock moth and the leopard moth frequently injure the
tree, the greatest damage is sometimes done by certain
species of plant lice which lodge themselves on the under
side of the leaves, causing them to dry, curl up, and fall
from the tree. The natural enemies of the plant lice, how
ever, are very numerous, and the spraying of this species of
tree is seldom necessary.
On streets where the houses are in solid rows this spe
cies of tree is to be preferred, for the reason that it does
not grow so large as the native hard maple. The trees
should be set about thirty-eight feet apart. Care must be
taken to prevent their heading too low and making too
dense a shade. This can be easily done by timely and skil
ful pruning.
PLATE 2.— SUGAR MAPLE.
1. Flowers. 2. Leaves and fruit. 3. Winter twig. 4. Tree in winter.
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 15
The Norway maple bursts into a profuse bloom in the
latter part of April and early May, and is densely covered
with greenish-yellow flowers. They come out of the same
buds as the leaves, but develop much more rapidly, the leaves
being only half grown when the flowers begin to turn to seed.
In the same cluster may be found separate pistillate and stami-
nate flowers, and some flowers having both pistils and sta
mens. The pistillate flowers mature into samaras, or keys,
with widely divergent wings. The fruit does not become
ripe until the fall, although it is fully grown in late spring.
The leaves have a marked resemblance to those of the sugar
maple, but they are darker and generally a little larger.
The leaf -stem exudes an acrid milky sap, which quickly
coagulates. This peculiarity of the tree makes it easily rec
ognized. It has closely fissured bark, and grows a round,
compact head. The winter buds are much larger than
those of the sugar maple.
The Norway maple is very hardy and easily trans
planted. It is always rich in appearance, and looks attract
ive on a street when other trees begin to show the waning
of summer. It puts forth its leaves earlier in the spring
and retains its verdure later in the season than our native
maples. Its leaves turn a clear yellow before falling.
Sycamore Maple (Acer pseudo-platanus Linn.). — This is
also a European tree, and it takes its name from the fact
that its leaves bear a resemblance to the sycamore. In its
habit of growth it follows the Norway maple, excepting that
the top is not so compact. It is not so hardy as the Norway
maple, however, nor is there anything distinctive about the
tree to make it preferable to the other hard maples. It is
also greatly subjected to the attacks of borers, and is not
so desirable for street use.
16 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.).— Hardy, erect, of
symmetrical habit and with a well -filled, rounded head, the
sugar maple is an ornament on any street. In the forest it
frequently rises to sixty or seventy feet without a branch.
When growing in the open or on a street it sends out stout,
upright branches ten or twelve feet from the ground, form
ing, while the tree is young, a narrow, egg-shaped head,
which ultimately spreads into a broad, round-topped dome.
When set on a street the trees should be from forty to forty-
five feet apart, to allow for free development in growth and
non-interference when near maturity.
The flowers of the sugar maple, which come out in early
May, are greenish-yellow and rather inconspicuous. The
staminate and the pistillate flowers are borne either on
different trees or on different flower stalks of the same
cluster on the same tree. The staminate flowers drop off in
the latter part of May, but the pistillate flowers mature into
the winged fruit called a samara, or key.
Most of the splendor of our trees in the woods and on
the streets in the early autumn is due to the brilliant color
ing of the sugar maple. It glows in yellow, orange, and red.
The beauty of the sugar maple in the summer and in the
fall is not lost after the falling of the leaves. During
the winter the erect, shapely, and symmetrical outline of
the tree is clearly brought out. The buds are narrow and
sharp -pointed, and the twigs and branches form a fine net
work against the sky. The limbs of the trees are smooth
and clean. In the old trees the bark of the trunk breaks
away by long, shallow fissures, with curling ridges, giving
the trunk a plowed appearance. When properly pruned,
the trees make a low archway, giving the street a very
pleasing perspective.
PLATE 4.-RED MAPLE.
1. Leaves and fruit. 2. Staminate and pistillate flowers. 3. Winter twig.
4. Tree in winter. 5. Leaves.
18 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
While naturally the sugar maple is very beautiful, it un
fortunately does not thrive in cities. Its requirements as to
soil and water are extremely exacting, and its foliage is very
sensitive to dust and smoke, especially during periods of
drought. The sugar maple borer and the leopard moth are
the chief enemies of the sugar maple, and the death of limbs
and of entire trees is frequently due to the work of these
pests. Another pest that does considerable injury to this
tree is the woolly maple scale. The natural range of the
sugar maple is from Newfoundland to Georgia, and west
ward to Manitoba and Texas.
Red Maple (Acer rubrum Linn.). — Although it is some
times called a soft maple, the red maple makes a very good
street-tree. Its wood is softer than that of the sugar or the
Norway maple, and the tree grows a little faster than either
of these, but its frame is admirably adapted to resist heavy
winds. Its branches are short, numerous, and erect, but not
heavy or spreading enough to be torn loose from the trunk
like those of the silver maple. It naturally grows a low,
compact, rounded head, and, as it seldom attains its full
size when planted in cities, it is well adapted to narrow
streets.
The red maple was appropriately named. Its tiny red
blossoms are among the earliest to appear in the latter part
of March and early April. Especially bright in color are
the trees bearing the pistillate, or female flowers; the stam-
inate, or male flowers, are of a lighter hue. The pistillate
flowers ripen into scarlet keys or samaras in early May.
All summer long the light green leaves swing on red stems,
and in the early autumn the tree stands preeminent in the
beauty of its scarlet foliage. The red maple looks well at
all ages and at all seasons. While young, its smooth, gray
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 19
bark affords a pleasing contrast to its bright green foliage,
and in the winter the fineness of its branches and the
slightly upward turn of the slender twigs impart to it a
grace possessed by few other native trees.
The tree is generally distributed throughout eastern
North America and naturally grows in low swamp lands,
and loves the borders of streams, which it sometimes covers
to the exclusion of other trees. Hence it requires a moder
ately rich and rather moist soil when planted on a street.
The tree grows rather slowly when first transplanted,
and is apt to look less promising than the hard maples ; but
when it is once established it makes rapid progress. The
red maple is moderately free from insect attack. Some
times it is a prey of the leopard moth, and frequently in the
early summer these trees are infested with plant lice that
cause the leaves to curl. The plant lice, however, seldom
do much damage, but the leopard moth requires the same
treatment as in the case of the hard maple. The trees
should be planted about thirty-eight or forty feet apart
when set on the streets.
Box Elder or Ash- Leaved Maple (Acernegundo Linn.). —
The box elder has a wide natural range. Its habitation ex
tends from the eastern slope of the Alleghany Mountains
west to the foothills of the Rockies, and south to Texas.
The tree is of rapid growth and is very extensively used in
cities in the middle part of the United States. It is not
native along the Atlantic coast, but is planted for ornament
and shade.
White or Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum Linn. ) . — While
the sugar maple, the Norway maple, and the red maple make
admirable street-trees, the white maple is one of the poor
est. The characteristic that has recommended it for most
PLATE 5.— WHITE MAPLE.
1. Winter twigs: A, Flower buds; B, Leaf buds. 2. Leaves and fruit. 3. Stam-
inate and pistillate flowers. 4. Row of White Maples, about twenty years old,
t!most entirely destroyed by insects and wind-storms. The White Maple makes
a poor street-tree.
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 21
extensive planting in the past is the rapidity of its growth;
but rapid growth implies, as a rule, short life and brittle,
weak wood. It is so with the white maple. Its wood is not
strong, and its mode of branching is such that when its
limbs become large they cannot sustain their own weight.
It is a common thing after a storm to find a great many
broken limbs of the white maple.
Unlike the other trees of the same group, this tree does
not form a compact head of fine branches, but usually
divides ten or twelve feet above the ground into three or
four secondary stems, forming a wide, spreading head with
drooping branches. The twigs hang down from the tree
something like those of the weeping willow, and it is this
habit that makes it very difficult to prune the tree and keep
the branches a certain height above the ground. The tree
suggests the elm in outline, except that its limbs do not pos
sess the graceful arching of the elm, but shoot obliquely up
ward in almost straight lines. Its rapidity of growth makes
it sometimes too large for ordinary city streets, so that old
trees are often cut back to a few main stubs above the
trunk. A new top is soon formed by suckers that rise from
the shortened limbs, but the tree's symmetry is lost forever.
The white maple is one of the first trees to blossom in the
early spring. Its tiny flowers open during the first warm
days of the late winter or early spring, long before the
appearance of its leaves and a week or two before the blos
soming of the red maple or the elm. The staminate and
pistillate flowers are borne on different trees. The fruit of
the white maple ripens in April and May, about the time
when the leaves unfold. The samaras, or keys, are larger
than those of the other maples.
The fruit of the maples usually ripens in the autumn and
22 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
germinates the following spring. The seeds of the red and
the white maples, however, ripen at the end of a few weeks
after the trees flower, fall to the ground and germinate
at once. The leaves of the silver maple are deeply divi
ded, and are a bright pale green above and silvery white
beneath. In a light breeze the under sides of the leaves are
exposed, giving the entire tree a silvery appearance.
The white maple can be readily recognized by its light
brown bark, which, from the old trunks, peels off in long
pieces, free at either end and attached to the middle. The
wood is soft and perishable. The breaking of the limbs in
storms causes the rough ends that remain to dry, and these
decay and carry disease to the heart of the main limbs. In
a short time the entire tree suffers and looks unsightly.
Numerous insect pests prey upon this species, among
which are the cottony maple scale, the tussock moth, the
bag worm, the leopard moth and other borers. The tree
requires the greatest care. It gives much trouble by the
breaking of its limbs, and in the end it does not make a
beautiful shade -tree. Many persons a generation ago made
the mistake of planting a great number of these trees on the
streets. The rapidity of growth was the only point consid
ered, and now, while the hard maples set out at the same
time are healthy and thriving, the white ones are in a con
dition of decay. When selecting a tree for street- plan ting
the white maple should be avoided.
THE POPLARS.
Carolina Poplar (Populus deltoides Marsh.). — Planted
within recent years more extensively than the white maple,
and possessing even greater disadvantages as a shade-tree, is
the Carolina poplar, or cottonwood. As in the case of the
PLATE 6.— CAROLINA POPLAR
I
Winter twig. 2. Mesh of roots removed from 4-inch tile sewer. 3 and 4. Caro
lina Poplars and Norway Maples, thirteen years after planting. 5. Leaves of
Carolina Poplar.
PLATE 7.-CAROLINA AND LOMBARDY POPLARS.
1 and 2. Carolina Poplars disfigured by severe pruning. 3. Staminate flowers of
Carolina Poplar. 4. Street of Lombardy Poplars: Ninth Street, S. E., corner G
Street, Washington, D. C. Fifteen years old.
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 25
white maple, its rapidity of growth is the only point consid
ered by many persons and all its bad habits are lost sight of.
One of the incongruities connected with the Carolina
poplar, that appear to any one who has studied this tree at
all, is the fact that its rapidity of growth, which is the char
acteristic often sought, is something that the planter tries
to counteract soon after the tree is set out. In other words
the man who plants a poplar knows — or if he does not, the
nursery man will tell him — that the tree must be headed
back frequently to cause it to spread. The result is that
every year the limbs are cut back and the top is reduced
to a few stubs.
In the meantime the trunk continues its growth, and after
a few years of such treatment the result is a tree of abnor
mal shape — one that has a thick trunk and small top. So
far the tree has required constant attention, but it has not
given much shade nor has it been an object of beauty. On
the other hand, if a hard maple or other tree of like habit
and growth had been planted in its place it would have
produced naturally what, with the poplar, was attempted
artificially — namely, a medium-sized tree with a rounded,
compact head.
If it is allowed to grow untouched the Carolina poplar in
a short time becomes too large for the average street. It
does not produce an oval head, but shoots upward to a great
height. The illustrations, Plate 6, Figs. 3 and 4, show the
comparative rates of growth of the Carolina poplar and the
Norway maple. In these cases, the trees were set out at the
same time, thirteen years ago, on opposite sides of the same
street. The Norway maples are now eight inches in diameter,
of medium height and of round-shaped head; whereas, the
Carolina poplars are twenty-one inches in diameter and have
26 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
grown so high as to completely hide the house from view.
The beauty of the Norway maples will increase with age and
add to the attractiveness of the house; but in a few years
the poplars will have reached maturity and have begun to
decay.
The wood of this species is very weak and extremely
brittle. In storms a great many limbs break and not only
disfigure the tree, but become a source of danger. The
tree sends out many roots near the surface of the ground,
that in time become so thick that they raise the flagstones
and crack concrete walks. The trunks also become so
thick at the base that they push the curbstones out of line.
The poplar belongs to the willow family, and, like the other
members of the group, loves water. If there is the slight
est crevice in a sewer-pipe in the vicinity of a tree its fine
rootlets will penetrate the pipe and form a compact mesh
of fibers. In a short time this stops the flow of water.
Plate 6, Fig. 2, shows such a network of rootlets taken out
of a four-inch sewer-pipe.
When in flower, fruit, or leaf, the Carolina poplar is an
undesirable object on a street. The flowers appear in March
and April before the leaves and, like those of the willow,
the staminate and the pistillate flowers are borne on differ
ent trees. The staminate trees are densely covered with
aments four or five inches long, which ripen in a short
time, drop to the ground, and lie in heaps that make the
sidewalks slippery. The trees bearing pistillate flowers
mature their fruit in May. This -consists of aments of
small capsules which, on maturing, split open and shed
a white, cottony mass of seeds. These fill the meshes of
doors and window-screens, and stick to the clothing of
passers-by. Pistillate trees when planted become an exas-
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 27
peration to the whole neighborhood. In June, when other
trees are at their best, the leaves of this tree begin to drop
and keep the street littered all summer until the final shed
ding of the leaves in the fall.
With so many bad habits and no redeeming traits, it is
little wonder that in many towns it is forbidden to plant
poplars and in others orders have been issued for their
removal. In Albany an ordinance was passed in 1871 which
provides that no person in that city shall plant or maintain a
cottonwood, and any person who allows such tree to remain
on his street premises is guilty of a misdemeanor, punish
able by a fine of ten dollars. Pursuant to this law, which is
still in force, all the cottonwoods in the streets of Albany
were cut down.
The " poplar habit" is a short-sighted one and an ex
pensive one in the long run. Every part of the tree of this
species possesses some undesirable feature : the rootlets, the
roots, the trunk, the branches, the flower, the leaf, and the
fruit ; and for these reasons it is felt that there is no other
tree on our streets that is so objectionable as the Carolina
poplar. If other trees will grow, the Carolina poplar should
not be planted, or, if used at all, it should be planted with
the plan of cutting the trees out within a few years.
Lombardy Poplar (Populus italica Mcench). — For very
narrow streets and sidewalks, the spire-shaped, erect form of
the Lombardy poplar is sometimes available. The Lombardy
poplar is picturesque, a single tree properly placed being
sometimes very effective. The tree is called the "exclama
tion point" in landscape architecture. It is very tall and
has little spread. Its branches, of almost equal length at
the base and at the top of the tree, point upward at a sharp
angle with the trunk. When planted close together these
28 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
trees make an admirable windbreak. On the street they give
little shade. While the tree grows very rapidly, it is short
lived, and hence it is only in extremely special cases that its
use as a street-tree is advisable.
THE OAKS
While on the one hand there seems to be a general
desire to plant rapidly growing trees, such as the soft
maple and the Carolina poplar, there is, on the other, a pop
ular notion that the oaks are "slow growers," and for that
reason officials sometimes meet with opposition when they
attempt to plant these trees. On closer study, however, it
will be found that the oaks recommended for street-plant
ing grow as rapidly as the hard maples and are some of the
best shade-trees for cities. They are strong, durable, and
beautiful, and have practically no insect enemies. Some of
the finest streets of Eastern cities are planted with oaks.
Some of the streets of Flushing, Long Island, admirably
illustrate what municipal authorities try to accomplish,
namely the uniform planting of one species of tree on a
street. There are many examples in that city of thorough
fares set with elms and maples, but the finest in appearance
are the streets of pin oaks. Of all species planted in the
city of Washington, the oaks make the finest appearance and
produce the most striking effect on a street. There are in
all about five miles of streets planted with pin oaks in that
city, the finest stretch being half a mile long on East Penn
sylvania Avenue, between Eleventh Street and the eastern
branch of the Potomac.
Rapidity of growth is not the most desirable character
istic of a shade-tree. Besides, the terms rapid growth and
slow growth are only relative. On comparison it will be
PLATE 8.-THE OAKS.
Red Oak, leaves and fruit. 2. Pin Oak, leaves and fruit. 3. White Oak,
leaves and fruit. 4. Red Oak, flowering twig: A, Pistillate flowers;
B, Stammate flowers; C, Partly grown acorns of preceding year. 5. Street
of Pin Oaks: Pennsylvania Avenue, S. E., at Thirteenth Street, Washing
ton, D. C. Nineteen years old.
30 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
found that there is little difference in the rate of growth of
the good shade-trees.
In a pamphlet on " Tree-Planting on Streets and High
ways," by the late William F. Fox, Superintendent of the
New York State Forests, is given a table of the growth-rate
of some well-known species of trees. Beginning with a
three-inch sapling, the trees here named will in twenty
years, under favorable conditions, attain a diameter approx
imately as follows :
Inches Inches
White or Silver Maple ...21 Yellow Locust 14
American Elm 19 Hard Maple 13
Sycamore or Buttonball . . 18 Horse-chestnut 13
Tulip-tree 18 Honey Locust 13
Basswood 17 Red Oak 13
Catalpa 16 Pin Oak 13
Red Maple 16 Scarlet Oak 13
Ailantus 16 White Ash. 12
Cucumber-tree 15 White Oak 11
Chestnut 14 Hackberry 10
It will be seen from this that there is no difference in
growth between the hard maple and the red, the pin and the
scarlet oaks. The oaks make little headway during the first
and second years after transplanting, but after that time
their growth is very rapid, in many cases exceeding that of
the hard maples.
Perhaps one of the reasons for the existing prejudice
against the oak is that it has not received as fair a test as
other trees. In Chapter V, the importance of developing
the root system of a tree by frequent transplanting in the
nursery is dwelt upon. It is only during the last ten or fif
teen years, since the demand for oaks has grown, that nurs
eries have begun to cultivate these trees on a large scale.
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 31
As a result the nursery-trained oaks grow as fast as the
hard maples.
Pin Oak (Quercus palustris Linn.).— Planted more exten
sively than others of the genus is the pin oak. Its charac
teristic pyramidal form distinguishes it from most decidu
ous trees. The stem rises like an unbroken shaft. The
branches are slender and stretch out almost horizontally,
those at the bottom being the longest. Its deeply cut, light
green, shining leaves give the foliage a massing that is fern-
like in grace. The lower branches have a tendency to
droop ; but this habit can be corrected by proper pruning.
The dense branching of this tree causes some of the twigs
to die, and it is these spurlike projections from the branches
that form the ' 'pins" which give the tree its common name.
The oaks have two sets of flowers — staminate, or male
and pistillate, or female. The two sets of flowers are borne
on the same tree, and hence the flowers are said to be mo
noecious — of one household.
Some oaks, such as the white oak, mature their acorns
the same season in which they flower; but the pin oak
belongs to the group of biennials — the oaks that take two
years for the fruit to mature. In autumn, after the spring
flowering, the acorns of these trees are only partly grown ;
they remain in that condition during the winter, continue
their growth the next summer, and mature in the fall of the
following year.
The leaves of the pin oak turn a deep scarlet in autumn,
and as in the case of most of the oaks, they fall late in the
season. They are not like the leaves of the white oak,
however, some of which remain on the trees all winter.
Red Oak (Quercus rubra Linn.). — There is a street in
the city of Washington which once seen cannot be forgot-
32 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
ten. It is Twelfth Street, between North and South B
Streets, and is planted with red oaks, the gorgeous beauty
of which cannot fail to impress itself on the mind of every
observer. See Plate 9.
All prejudices against the oak as a shade-tree must dis
appear on beholding that street. The red oak grows faster
than any other native oak, and in a greater variety of soils.
It forms a round or oval shaped head, and its large, dark
green leathery leaves give it a richness possessed by few
other trees. There is no American tree more prized in
Europe than the red oak, which has been cultivated there
for two centuries. It is the brilliant foliage of the red oak
which is conspicuous in the English parks in the autumn,
when the native species of that country fall without the
bright coloring which we always expect in our autumn
woods.
In May the red oak is fairly draped with the long yellow
catkins, forming the staminate flowers. The pistillate flow
ers are extremely tiny, and these, after being fertilized,
mature into acorns the following year.
Scarlet Oak (Quercus cocdnea Muench.). — While the pin
oak and the red oak are the trees most extensively planted
as shade-trees, the scarlet oak is coming to be recognized
as superior to both, while in hardiness and rapidity of
growth it is equal to either. When growing in the open the
scarlet oak forms a round, domelike head. The leaves are
a bright shiny green, borne on slender petioles that cause
them to respond to every breeze. The splendor of our
autumnal forests owes much to the color of the scarlet oaks.
The tints of other oaks are beautiful, but they are pale
before the gleam of the scarlet.
White Oak (Quercus alba Linn.).— The white oak is the
34 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
noblest tree of its race, and is justly called the king of the
forest. It is superior in vigor and longevity, and attains a
greater spread than the other oaks. As a street-tree, how
ever, it has fewer points to recommend it than the other
members of the group that have been treated. It grows
much more slowly than either the pin, the red, or the scarlet
oak. Its red and russet colored autumn leaves are very per
sistent, often clinging to the tree the entire winter. This is
a feature which may be regarded with unfailing interest in
the forest, but in the city it makes the trees rather objec
tionable because of the continued litter of the street.
The white oak belongs to the group of oaks that ma
ture their acorns in one season. Other things being
equal the oaks require more care in transplanting than the
maples. The wood is harder and the roots dry more rap
idly. The first year after these trees are planted, their
growth is very slow. During the second and third years,
however, the trees make a remarkable growth and an
increase of a foot or more in height may be expected yearly.
When the oaks are set out the twigs must be cut back
almost to the main stem. By this means the draft on the
roots is reduced, it gives the tree a chance to reestablish
itself, and the top makes up the original loss in a very short
time. See Fig. 13.
Other oaks that are sometimes planted on streets and high
ways in the Northern States are swamp white oak (Quercus
bicolor Willd.) and chestnut oak (Quercus prinus Linn.).
THE LINDENS
American Linden (Tilia americana Linn.).— This tree,
which is also known as basswood, commends itself as a
shade-tree in many ways. It is a vigorous grower. When
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 35
young it is of pyramidal form and eventually becomes a
large, round-headed tree. Its foliage is of light green color,
very large and abundant, and produces a dense shade. The
leaves are heart-shaped and always one sided. They open
late in the spring, and in the latter part of June are followed
by clusters of fragrant flowers. They are yellowish-white
and are suspended from curious ribbonlike appendages
called bracts.
The flowers mature into pealike seeds which drop from
the tree in the fall of the year. The bracts to which the
seed clusters are attached act as parachutes, which launch
the fruit some distance beyond the tree. The bark of the
linden is rather smooth, with shallow, close furrows. The
main trunk of this tree frequently extends upward undi
vided to the top, with small branches growing from the
limbs all the way up. This characteristic of the linden is
especially marked in young trees. Large ones generally
have two or three main trunks, like the elm or white maple.
After the leaves have fallen the linden displays a graceful
outline, making it attractive in winter.
The American linden is at its best before midsummer.
After that time the tree grows coarse and the leaves begin
to show the effects of the attacks of the numerous insects to
which it is a prey. It is the susceptibility to insect attack
that forms the objectionable feature of the tree. In early
summer plant lice cover the leaves with patches of honey
dew, and the sticky surfaces catch dust and smoke. The
leaves are also subject to the attack of a fungus which gives
them the appearance of being covered with soot. American
lindens are sometimes completely defoliated by the cater
pillars of the tussock moth, and are seriously injured by
borers. As a result of the insect attacks the leaves turn
PLATE 10.-THE LINDENS.
1. American Linden, leaves and fruit. 2. European Linden in winter. 3. Euro
pean Linden, leaves and flowers. 4. European Linden, winter twig. 5. Street
of American Lindens: Massachusetts Avenue, N. E., at Eleventh Street, Wash
ington, D. C. Thirty years old.
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 37
and fall prematurely. Their faded yellow is not like the
gold of the beech and hickory leaves.
While the American linden possesses natural character
istics desirable for a shade-tree, these are largely offset by
its numerous insect enemies. The tree also requires a deep
rich soil, is less tolerable of city conditions, and requires
greater care than other trees.
European Linden (Tilia europcea Linn.). — In beauty,
symmetry, and grace few trees surpass or equal the Euro
pean linden. It grows perfectly straight, the trunk and
main limbs are subdivided into a great many twigs forming
a compact, oval head. When the tree is left to grow natu
rally, the lower limbs are drooping, but when trimmed up
the branches acquire a graceful, upward turn.
The leaves of the European linden are more regularly
heart-shaped and smaller than those of the American linden,
and the twigs are more slender and numerous. In winter
the fine twigs of this species make a delicate network
against the sky. The flowers of the European linden are
very fragrant, and are borne in clusters attached to a ribbon-
like bract very much resembling the American linden. The
pealike fruit matures in the fall, but is very persistent,
some of the bracts remaining on the trees all winter.
While also subject to the attacks of plant lice and cater
pillars, the European linden withstands city conditions a
little better than the native tree and preserves the natural
beauty of its foliage later in the season. It grows into a
medium-sized shapely tree, and is especially adapted for
narrow streets.
There are a number of varieties of the American and the
European lindens which make good street-trees, of which
may be mentioned the following: the silver-leaved linden
38 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
(Tilia argented), the Crimean, or yellow-twigged linden
( Tilia dasystyla} , and the large-leaved European linden (Tilia
platyphylld) . Tilia dasystyla is one of the best varieties for
street-planting. The leaves are leathery and tough, and re
main green until a hard frost, then they fall at one time.
THE ELMS
White or American Elm (Ulmus americana Linn.). —
Standing absolutely alone for its especial kind of beauty, the
white elm is deservedly the most familiar and popular of our
native trees. No other tree combines such strength with so
much grace. It is the striking ornament of New England
landscapes, and in many towns the white elm is the predom
inant tree. New Haven has attained national fame as the
Elm City. \ •
At all seasons of the year the elm is beautiful. In sum
mer it rises like a great fountain of brilliant green, and
in winter the detail of the arching limbs and pendulous
branches stands out in relief against the sky. The white
elm is one of the first trees to blossom in the spring. As
early as the latter part of February, or the early part of
March, the flower-buds begin to swell, and shortly afterward
the small reddish-brown blossoms appear, so tiny that they
frequently pass unnoticed. The fruit of the elm, or samara,
as it is called, matures in May, when the leaves unfold.
Flat, oval -shaped wings, about half an inch long, sur
round the small seeds and help the wind to scatter them
from the parent tree. The leaves of the white elm are
unequal at the base, are rough above and downy beneath.
In autumn they turn a brown or golden yellow.
Considered from the standpoint of adaptability for street-
planting, it has been found that in spite of the natural
PLATE 11.— AMERICAN ELM.
I. Winter twig. 2. Flowers. 3. Fruit and developing leaves. 4. Leaves*
5. Tree in winter.
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 41
beauty of the white elm, it has a great many limitations.
The greatest objection to this tree is its susceptibility to the
attacks of more insect pests than any other one species
of tree. Some of its enemies are the elm-leaf beetle, the
tussock moth, the leopard moth, elm borers, the elm-bark
louse, the spiny elm caterpillar, the bag worm, the gipsy
moth, and the brown tail moth. Of these, the elm-leaf
beetle, the tussock and the leopard moths, are the most
destructive. The aspect of the elm-trees infested with the
beetle is one of devastation. They look as if they had been
swept by fire.
The elm is adapted to wide streets, for it grows to a
great size. The characteristics that make it one of the
most beautiful of our native trees do not develop until the
tree is of considerable age. In the ordinary street, espe
cially in places where the houses are close to the sidewalk,
the tree has no room. Standing as an individual, the Ameri
can elm is very picturesque. Lining a broad avenue, the
trees form a perfect Gothic archway like a cathedral nave,
the beauty of which is not surpassed by any other species.
On the street of ordinary width the elm has no place. In
the case of this tree, too, more than most other species of
trees, provision must be made for regular and thorough
spraying to hold the insect enemies in check.
European Elm (Ulmus campestris Linn.). — The European
elm is sometimes used as a street-tree. In form it is "better
suited for such planting, as it grows a smaller and more
rounded head. It also retains its foliage later in the sea
son. However, the natural advantages of this tree are more
than offset by insect pests. The European elm is greed
ily attacked by the elm-leaf beetle, the destructiveness of
which is greater than in the case of the native species.
42 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
Horse-Chestnut (JEsculus hippocastanum Linn.). — The
spring is the redeeming season of the horse-chestnut.
When in bloom the tree is a superb sight, "a pyramid of
green supporting a thousand pyramids of white. ' '
The unfolding of its leaves is also extremely interesting
and beautiful. By opening one of the buds of the tree with
a knife in winter one finds the little leaves and miniature
flower clusters carefully packed in the downy wool under
the gummy scales. When the warm days of spring come,
the resinous bud-scales drop off, and the little fuzzy, light
green leaves come out of the buds. The leaflets are close
together, like the fingers of a tiny hand, and they hang limp
from their stems like moths just emerged from their co
coons. The leaves grow with remarkable rapidity, however,
and soon the trees become covered with a dense foliage.
The horse-chestnut is a native of southeastern Europe,
and has for centuries been a favorite tree for avenues and
parks in Europe. One of the finest plantations of horse-
chestnuts in the world is that in Bushey Park, near London.
Five rows of the trees stand on either side of the avenue,
and when they are in bloom the fact is announced in the
newspapers. Then the public go to see the sight. This spe
cies is extensively used in Paris. There are over 17,000
horse-chestnut trees in the streets of that city.
The tree was first introduced in the United States in
1746. It belongs to the same genus as our native buckeye,
with which it is sometimes confused. If one remembers the
difference in the leaves, however, it is easy to distinguish
the two trees. The leaves of the buckeye are five-fingered,
while those of the horse-chestnut are seven-fingered. The
horse-chestnut is the sturdier of the two, and the flowers
are more profuse and beautiful than those of the buckeye.
PLATE 13.— HORSE-CHESTNUT.
1. Leaves and flowers. 2. Leaf and fruit. 3. Tree in winter.
4. Winter twig. 5. Tree in flower.
44 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
While the horse-chestnut possesses many features of
natural and historic interest, it has few points that recom
mend it for use as a street-tree. In early summer the
leaves become discolored, shrivel and fall. In fact, this tree
is continually dropping something. The bud-scales and the
flowers fall in the spring, the leaves in the summer, and the
husks and nuts of the fruit in the autumn. The tree is also
subject to the attacks of many insect enemies, the chief of
which are the leopard moth and the tussock moth. The tree
is at its best when grown in the open ; but where maples
and oaks can be successfully grown there is little in the
horse-chestnut to recommend it for street-planting.
THE PLANE TREES
Oriental Plane (Platanus orien talis Linn. ). — The oriental
plane combines, to a greater degree than any other tree,
the characteristics of rapid growth with everything that is
desirable in shade-trees. It is perfectly hardy, grows a
straight stem, and forms a symmetrical, compact, and round
head. It has the advantage of the rapid growth of the white
maple and the Carolina poplar, and possesses none of their
many defects.
The leaves of the oriental plane are very large, and the
tree gives ample shade, but, at the same time, the foliage i£
not too dense. It is disposed to grow rather large, but it
may be pruned without injury at any time and with any
degree of severity to make it conform to the width of any
street.
All points considered, the oriental plane makes such an
admirable street-tree that there is a temptation to plant it to
the exclusion of other trees. For the last few years it has
been most extensively used in the cities of Washington and
PLATE 14.— THE PLANE TREES.
1. Sycamore, winter twig. 2. Sycamore, developing leaves and flowers, upper pistil
late and lower staminate. 3. Oriental Plane, leaves and fruit. 4. Oriental
Plane, bark. 5. Street of Oriental Planes: S Street, at North Capitol Street,
Washington, D. C. Twelve years old.
46 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
Philadelphia— in greater numbers, in fact, than any other
single species of tree. Of the 86,000 trees in the city of
Paris, over 26,000 are oriental planes.
The oriental plane is of the same genus as the Western
plane or sycamore, or button-ball (Platanus occidentalis
Linn.), which also makes a splendid street-tree. It resem
bles our native species in leaf, fruit, and bark, but it grows
more compactly and symmetrically than the Western plane.
The most striking feature of both species of trees is that
they shed their bark as well as their leaves. All trees shed
their bark to some degree, as the outer layers yield to the
pressure of the growing stem.
The dropping of the bark is noticeable in the silver
maple and the shagbark hickory ; and it is especially marked
in the planes. The bark of the trunk and larger limbs flakes
off in great irregular masses, leaving the surface a mottled
greenish-white and gray and brown. The characteristic
bark is especially noticeable in winter, although the thickest
foliage of summer never quite conceals it.
The male and the female flowers of the planes are borne
in heads on separate buds of the same twigs. The pistillate
flowers ripen into the familiar globular fruits of the planes
which remain suspended from the slender stems almost the
entire winter. The oriental plane can be readily distin
guished from the sycamore after the leaves have fallen.
The fruit of the sycamore is generally borne in solitary
heads, and in extremely rare cases two heads are found on
a single stem. The oriental plane bears from two to four
of these globular fruits on a single stem.
The heads of fruit of the planes are composed of thin
seeds, about half an inch long, packed tightly around a cen
tral spherical core. Each seed is surrounded by hairs that
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 47
close around it like the ribs of an umbrella. When the ripe
fruit is released the hairs open up and form a little para
chute that keeps the seed suspended in the air for a consid
erable period of time, and enables the wind to carry it far
away from the parent tree.
The oriental plane is not troubled by many insect pests.
The tussock moth and the fall web-worm sometimes attack
it, but they never cause serious injury. The sycamore is
subject to a fungous disease that attacks the young leaves as
they come out of the bud, causing them to turn brown and
shrivel up. The European species is less subject to this
disease.
Tulip-Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera Linn.). — The tulip-
tree is one of the largest and most beautiful of our native
trees. It belongs to the magnolia family and, like all the
members of that group, it has large, brilliant flowers.
Their color is greenish-yellow, with dashes of red and orange,
and their resemblance to a tulip is marked. They open in
May, shortly after the development of the leaves, and are
borne on stout stems that keep them erect.
The flowers of the tulip are complete. The fruit of the
tulip is a cone, two or three inches long, composed of thin,
narrow scales attached to a common axis. These scales are
each a seed surrounded by a thin wing. The fruit ripens
during October, and, beginning at the top of each cone, one
by one the seeds become detached from the central axis,
and by the aid of the wind each seed is carried some dis
tance from the tree.
The leaves of the tulip are unique in shape, the
' 'chopped off " ends giving them an individuality of their
own. When fully developed the leaves have a tremulous
motion, resembling those cf the poplars, and for that reason
PLATE 15.— TULIP-TREE.
1. Tree in winter. 2. Leaves and flower. 3. Fruit in winter, only a few re
maining seeds attached to axis. 4. Winter twig. 5. Street of Tulip-Trees,
North Capitol Street, at M Street, Washington, D. C.
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 49
the tulip is sometimes called the tulip poplar. It is not to
be confounded with poplars, however, as there is no rela
tionship between them, the poplars belonging to the willow
family.
As a shade-tree the tulip is very beautiful and symmet
rical ; but it is adapted for only the widest avenues, as it
becomes too large for the average street. It thrives best in
places where there is a quantity of rich, deep soil, condi
tions which do not obtain along the street curb. While the
tulip is moderately free from enemies, its leaves are subject
to the attack of an insect that forms the tulip-tree spot gall.
These galls are brown spots covering the surface of the
leaves in midsummer. The leaves turn yellow and drop
from the trees throughout the season.
The tulip-tree is one of the most difficult trees to trans
plant. Like all the magnolias, it has tender, succulent roots
that dry on the least exposure. It is one of the trees that it
is quite impossible to transplant in the fall ; for if its roots
do not begin immediate growth after planting the tree dies.
White Ash (Fraxinus americana Linn.). — Although so
far the ash has not been much used in cities, it possesses
many characteristics that recommend it for a shade-tree.
It is a rapid grower, perfectly hardy in many sections of
the country and has no serious insect enemies. It grows
straight and symmetrical, and forms a round top. The foli
age is pleasing in appearance, growing in irregular wavy
masses, and not compact like the maples or the oaks. In
fact, some sunlight always finds its way through the foliage
of this tree, even in midsummer.
The white ash has compound leaves about ten inches
long. They have from five to nine leaflets — usually seven.
The leaves are dark green in summer, and in autumn turn
PLATE 16— WHITE ASH.
1. Winter twig. 2. Pistillate flowers. 3. Staminate flowers. 4. Leaf and fruit.
5. Tree in summer.
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 51
brownish purple and yellow. Like most trees with large
compound leaves, the ash sheds its spray with the foliage in
the fall, leaving the erect rigid twigs that somewhat detract
from the beauty of the tree in winter. When stripped of
foliage the characteristic open head of the tree is marked.
The bark is closely furrowed with irregular ridges and the
twigs form a network of crosses against the sky.
The staminate, or male flowers, and the pistillate, or
female flowers, are borne on separate trees. They open in
May before the leaves and are borne in small, compact clus
ters. The staminate, or male trees, ordinarily shed their
flowers about the time the leaves unfold, when the bursting
pollen shells are mature. Sometimes the undeveloped male
flower clusters are attacked by tiny mites that cause them
to change into berrylike growths, which hang on in dry
clusters on the ends of the branches. Frequently these
abnormal formations, which resemble the familiar oak-galls,
are mistaken for the fruit of the ash.
The pistillate, or female flowers, mature into seeds. The
fruit of the white ash comes in crowded, drooping panicles
which hang upon the branches until after the leaves have
fallen, almost until midwinter. On examination it will be
found that each seed of the ash is provided with a thin
membranous appendage, or wing, which keeps the seed bal
anced in the air when it drops from the tree and allows the
wind to carry it far from the parent tree.
Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis Linn. ) . — The hackberry is
a medium-sized tree, which, in its general appearance,
resembles the elm. Its straight trunk does not divide until
it has attained considerable height, a peculiarity which is
an advantage in a street -tree. It is tolerant of many con
ditions of soil ancj climate, prefers rich, moist soil, but can
PLATE 17. — SWEET GUM, HACKBERRY, AND GINGKO.
,v
1. Sweet Gum, leaves and fruit. 2. Hackberry in winter. 3. Gingko, winter
twig. 4. Gingko, leaves. 5. Street of Gingkos, leading from grounds of the
United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Thirty years old.
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 53
live in dry situations as well. It is comparatively free from
insect pests and diseases. The hackberry has a peculiar
bark, covered with hard, warty excrescences.
Gingko (Gingko biloba Linn.) (Salisburia adiantifolia) . —
A new and very promising tree for street use is the gingko,
a most remarkable species from China and Japan. It is
hardy, and is one of the few trees that is entirely free from
enemies of any kind. Its natural shape is pyramidal. The
branches have a tendency to hug the central stem, while a
few limbs shoot outwardly beyond the general contour of
the tree. This mode of branching is not perhaps the most
ideal for a shade-tree ; but by careful pruning the limbs can
be made to spread and the head of the tree may be trained
into a more oval form. One of the most beautiful and
striking examples of the gingko as a street -tree is an
avenue leading to the Department of Agriculture Building
in Washington, Plate 17, Fig. 5.
The leaf of the gingko is its most curious feature. There
is nothing like it in the foliage of trees in America or
Europe. It resembles that of the maiden -hair fern, and
hence one of the common names of the gingko is the
maiden-hair tree. The leaves are two-lobed and parallel
veined ; that is, there is no midrib with diverging veins as
in our native trees. The veins run nearly parallel with each
other from the base to the end of the leaf. The foliage of
the gingko turns a clear, golden yellow before it drops from
the trees in autumn.
What may appear strange is that the gingko belongs to
the pine family. It is not an evergreen, however, and in
this respect resembles the larch and the bald cypress. The
falling of the leaves is but an outward and visible sign of an
inward structural difference, which removes the pines from
54 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
their other neighbors of the forest. It is the flower of a
plant that largely determines its position in botanical classi
fication.
The gingko, although differing from the pines in many
other ways, is like them in its mode of flowering. The
staminate and the pistillate flowers are borne on different
branches of the same tree. The female flowers consist of
two naked ovules which receive the pollen. These ripen
into the fruit of the gingko, which is a fleshy drupe resem
bling a small plum. The drupes are ill-scented, and are con
sidered by some as an objection to the tree. Gingkos, how
ever, do not fruit until they are about thirty or forty years
old, and the fruiting season does not last very long.
Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua Linn.). — In bril
liancy of autumn foliage few trees surpass the liquidam-
bar, or sweet gum. The color of its beautiful star-shaped
leaves varies from deep red to yellow, and, in addition, some
leaves are dark purple and brown. It grows perfectly
straight and forms a symmetrical top. Like the magnolias,
however, it has succulent roots, and is somewhat difficult to
transplant. Naturally, the sweet gum is usually found in
wet, rich soil bordering streams or swamps. The average
street is too dry for them. When under favorable condi
tions the trees once become established they are extremely
beautiful and more than offset the extra care that is required
in transplanting and the litter caused by their fruit.
THE CATALPAS
Hardy Catalpa (Catalpa Catalpa (Linn.) Karst.).— The
catalpa is an ornamental tree. It has very large leaves and
in June is resplendent with pyramid-shaped clusters of
flowers resembling those of the horse-chestnut. It naturally
PLATE 18.— CATALPA, AILANTUS, AND HONEY LOCUST.
1. Hardy Catalpa, leaves and flowers. 2. Hardy Catalpa, fruit. 3. Ailantus,
leaf and fruit. 4. Honey Locust, leaves and fruit. 5. Street of Honey
Locusts: G Street, corner Twelfth Street, S. E., Washington, D. C.
56 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
grows crooked, with a short, thick trunk and long strag
gling branches, and forms an irregular head. These charac
teristics are against its employment for street-planting.
Western Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa Ward.). — This is a
Western species which is very hardy, of rapid growth, and
has proved a much better tree for street use than the
common or hardy catalpa.
Ailantus (Ailanthus glandulosa Desf.). — The ailantus,
also spelled ailanthus, is sometimes used for street-planting,
but outside of the fact that it will thrive in the poorest soil
and amid the most unfavorable conditions of city streets
there is very little to recommend it. When young, the
ailantus is vigorous and shapely, if properly trained, and
its large leaves are green until frost, but most old trees pre
sent a very scraggly and unsightly appearance. The tree
possesses little grace in winter after the large compound
leaves fall and the thick, rigid twigs are revealed. At blos
soming time the odor of the staminate or male flowers is
extremely unpleasant. Where other trees will grow the
ailantus should not be considered.
THE LOCUSTS
The Black Locust (Robinia pseudacacia Linn.) and the
Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos Linn.) are sometimes
used as shade-trees. The former is successfully cultivated
in Paris, where the top is kept small and spherical, and the
branches thickly clustered. If allowed to grow freely, how
ever, this tree does not form a round, compact head, but is
angular in form. Its branches are extremely brittle, its foli
age short-lived, its pods persistent and given to sprouting.
In the city of Washington there are a few streets planted
with the honey locust. They do not look so beautiful as
58 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
those planted with other species. Besides, the honey locust
gives practically no shade at all. Its foliage is fine and
delicate, and comes out very late in the season. In late sum
mer, the long, twisted pods bearing the seeds of the trees
are more conspicuous than the leaves. They remain on the
trees almost all winter. The sharp, stout thorns, two or
three inches long, which are a characteristic feature of these
trees make it almost impossible for a man to prune them.
Both the black locust and the honey locust are attacked
by borers and caterpillars that cause great injury to them.
SPECIES FOR SOUTHERN STATES
The establishment of a Parking Commission in New
Orleans, to have charge of the planting and care of street-
trees in that city, will act as an incentive to other Southern
cities to establish similar departments. On account of the
climate and great variety of native flora no section of the
land offers greater opportunities for the embellishment of
the home and the street than the Southern States. Many
of the species described before are hardy in the South.
Among the trees that are native, or can be grown only in
the Southern States, may be mentioned the following:
Live Oak (Quercus virginiana Mil.). — Some of the most
magnificent, stately, and highly esteemed trees for street-
planting in the Southern States belong to the oak genus, the
grandest and most beautiful of which is the live oak. It is
an evergreen occurring naturally near the Atlantic coast,
from Virginia to Florida and westward along the Gulf of
Mexico to Texas. It is one of the most rapid growing of
American oaks. Some grand specimens of the live oak may
be found in the Audubon and City Parks in New Orleans,
Plate 19.
PLATE 20.— SOME SOUTHERN TREES.
1. Pecan in winter, Spanish moss on tree. 2. Great Laurel Magnolia.
3. Water Oak. 4. Avenue of Palmettos. Views taken in February,
New Orleans, La.
60 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
The water oak (Quercus nigra Linn.), the willow oak
(Quercus phellos Linn.), and the laurel oak (Quercus laurifo-
lia Michx. ) are also commonly planted as shade-trees in the
streets and squares of the cities and towns of the Southern
States.
Great Laurel Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora Linn.). —
This is one of the grandest of the evergreen trees of the
South, and is well adapted for street-planting. Its massive
evergreen leaves and large white blossoms make it most
conspicuous. It succeeds best in a rich soil, and should
have plenty of room for spreading.
Pecan (Hicoria pecan Britt.).— This tree is hardy as far
north as Philadelphia. It is a very handsome tree, the
largest of the hickories, and is native of rich moist soils
of river valleys from Indiana to Iowa, Missouri, and Kan
sas, south to Alabama and Texas. It is a fine shade and
ornamental tree.
Camphor-Tree (Cinnamomum camphora Linn.). — This is
a fast-growing, handsome evergreen tree, with bright,
shiny leaves, symmetrical in growth and thriving even in
poor soil. It is a native of Japan. It grows to medium size,
and is suitable for narrow streets.
The Palmetto (Sabal palmetto Walt.) and the Desert
Palm (Neowashingtonia robusta (Wend.) Britt.) are very
generally planted for shade and ornament in the Southern
States. The palmetto grows from eastern North Carolina to
Florida. The trunk reaches a maximum height of about
sixty feet, which is surmounted by a crown of spreading, fan-
like leaves, seven to eight feet broad. The desert palm, or
Washington palm, is a striking feature of the Colorado des
ert. It is found in groves or in isolated clumps in wet alka
li soil, rising to a height of from fifty to seventy-five feet.
SPECIES FOR STREET-PLANTING 61
This elegant palm is much planted for ornament in Cali
fornia and Florida.
THE CONIFERS
The conifers cannot be used on the street as shade-trees.
Their branching and mode of growth are such as to make
them absolutely impossible to prune. They must be left to
grow naturally. When growing close together in the forest,
a process of natural pruning goes on, the lateral limbs die
out for want of light and air, and the trees shoot upward,
producing straight, tall trunks. When growing in the open,
on the other hand, the lower branches commence near the
ground. Any attempt to remove the lower limbs disfigures
the tree, and, therefore, while these trees are useful and
highly decorative for lawn and park purposes they cannot
be used for the street.
CHAPTER IV
STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING
PRELIMINARY to planting, a survey of the street must
be made. This consists of an examination of the soil, the
noting of the width of the street and the sidewalks, the
height of the buildings bordering the street, the direction of
the street, and all the local conditions that enter into the
determination of the choice of species for the street.
The Soil. — A great deal, if not all of the success in tree-
growing, depends upon the nature and the preparation of the
soil. An examination of the soil will show whether by its
nature, extent, and depth it is favorable or unfavorable to
tree-growth. It is very seldom that the soil existing along
city streets is good for planting. In grading streets and
avenues there is always more or less cutting down and fill
ing up, and in either case the original surface soil is ren
dered unavailable. It then becomes an absolute necessity to
make liberal provision of good soil for the future well-being
of the tree.
By excavations or borings four or five feet deep, the
kind and depth of the soil and the nature of the subsoil
should be determined. In the planting of street-trees,
where the conditions are sometimes not alike for two suc
cessive trees, it is indispensable to make a survey and keep
an exact record of the kind of soil where the trees are to be
planted, the nature of the adjoining soil and subsoil, the
62
STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING 63
proximity of sewers, water and gas mains to the proposed
line of planting, and all other conditions that could influence
vegetation favorably or unfavorably. Such records will be
found very valuable not only for the planting, but also for
the future care of the trees, particularly their watering, fer
tilizing, and training, and approximation of their length of
life.
Soil suitable for tree-planting must contain the elements
essential to vegetation, and must be of ample extent to sup
ply the needs of the growing tree. An average light sandy
loam, easily worked, uniform, finely grained and smooth to
the touch, is ideal for trees. A heavy clay soil is unfavor
able for trees, because it is not permeable to water and air,
and when it dries it becomes excessively hard and cracks.
A soil that is too sandy does not retain moisture necessary
to maintain vegetation. A soil containing on the average
about 70 per cent, sand, 20 per cent, clay, and 10 per cent,
humus is found to be suitable for most trees. Soil of aver
age fertility contains in a dry state .1 per cent, to .2 per
cent., by weight, of nitrogen, .1 per cent, to .2 per cent,
phosphoric acid, .1 per cent, to .2 per cent, of potash, and
.4 per cent, to .6 per cent, of lime. When a soil fulfilling the
above conditions is found along the line of the proposed
planting, and the subsoil is pervious to water and permits
of good drainage, it will produce conditions for good growth
and long life of the trees planted.
When choosing soil to replace poor street soil it is well to
observe the conditions making up the ideal soil and obtain it,
if possible. It is found that soil stripped from an old pas
ture land, or other land which has had some cultivation,
makes the best earth for trees. When doing considerable
planting, it is a good plan to prepare a compost heap the
64 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
year before by putting soil and manure in alternate layers,
and turning the pile two or three times in the season to mix
them thoroughly. In no case should fresh manure or patent
fertilizers be used with the soil.
Amount of Soil. — The amount and extent of soil neces
sary for the normal development of the root system of trees
is about proportional to the spread of the top. It will be
readily understood that when trees are planted along side
walk strips, from four to six feet wide, that good soil
ought to exist along the entire line of the planting to a
depth of at least three feet. It is very seldom, however,
in actual planting operations that the entire soil along
the planting strip is removed. In the city of Washing
ton, holes for trees are dug eight feet long, three or
three and a half feet wide, and three feet deep, the con
tents removed and good soil substituted. This is about the
size of holes dug for the trees in the city of Paris. This
size of hole and quantity of soil give the trees a good start
in life, and insure satisfactory growth for at least five or
six years. After that the roots will, in most cases, extend
into the ordinary surrounding soil, even if it is not of the
best description. If at that time the tree shows signs of
restricted growth and early casting of leaves, it will be
necessary to supply additional good soil beyond the original
excavation when the tree was planted. If the original soil
is workable it can be improved by cultivation and fertiliza
tion, so as to supply the extending roots.
Plantations on excavated ground are generally less favor
ably situated than those on filled-in ground. The surround
ing soil in the former case is apt to be poorer, less workable,
and less pervious to moisture than filled-in ground. In the
planting of street-trees it is always best for immediate
STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING 65
results and for future economy to supply as large a quantity
of soil as is possible, in order to insure the establishment
and long life of the trees set out.
Subsoil. — If, on account of the impervious nature of the
subsoil, moisture is liable to collect and stagnate near the
roots and prevent a circulation of air, the soil will have to
be underdrained to insure the success of the plantation.
Preparation of the Soil. — How the soil for the tree is to
be prepared depends upon the condition of the original
ground, whether it is entirely good, partly good, or entirely
bad. If the soil is recognized as good and ample, it will
always be best to dig the hole of the regulation size and then
replace the original soil. The digging up of the soil will
make it more pervious to water and render the plant food
more available.
If part of the soil is to be replaced, the hole should be
dug the full size, and the bad soil removed. The good soil
should then be mixed with the remainder and the hole
refilled. When all the soil is bad it will have to be entirely
replaced. When the soil is entirely or partly replaced, care
must be taken to supply enough to allow for settling, which
is about 1J inches to the foot.
The preparation of the hole should precede the planting
some months, to allow for the settling of the soil. For spring
planting it is best to prepare the holes in the fall, so as
to leave more time for the setting of the trees during the
spring rush.
ARRANGEMENT OF TREES ON STREET
Parking Strips.— On the street of average width, shade-
trees are usually planted on the sidewalk between the curb
and the walk. There should be a continuous parking strip
66 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES-
provided, at least four feet in width, along which trees may
be planted. If the width of the street permits, these strips
may be made up to ten feet or more, but a width of four
feet is about the minimum space along which trees can be
planted. Frequently no planting-strip is provided at all, or
it is made so narrow that it is impossible to set out trees.
Width of Roadway.— The determining factor of the width
of the roadway is the amount of vehicular traffic it carries,
and it should not be made wider than necessary. In the first
place it costs more to construct and maintain a wide road
than a narrow one. The wider the road the greater the
volume of dust, and the closer the road comes to the side
walk the nearer the dust is to the pedestrians. A broad strip
of turf between walk and curb enhances the beauty of the
street, and gives the trees a better chance for life and vigor.
In some cities and towns the streets are laid out with no
provision for trees, and the widths of the roadway and the
sidewalks are not in proportion to the use of the highway.
In Carlisle, Pa., for example, most of the streets are sixty
feet wide. Although the street traffic is not extensive, the
roadways are made forty feet wide and the sidewalks ten
feet wide. The houses are built close to the sidewalks, and as
soon as the trees become of considerable size the branches
grow against the buildings. As a result of such conditions,
an ordinance was enacted in Carlisle requiring the setting
of the trees in the gutter. It is evident that such a system
of tree-planting is very bad. Trees planted in the gutter
become an obstruction to the highway, they prevent the
running off of storm-water, and prevent the keeping of the
roadways clean. Plate 32, Fig. 5.
Divisions of the Street. — The division of the street into
walks and drives, and the determination of the number of
STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING
67
rows of trees to be set out, will be governed by its width,
height of the buildings along the street, and their proximity
to the planting-line. On the average street the width from
* / i / 2
FIG. 1. — Layout of a street fifty feet wide from property line to property line.
fence- line to fence-line is divided into two-fifths for side
walks and three-fifths for the roadway. Residence streets
are usually fifty feet wide. This arrangement leaves the
sidewalk space tan feet wide, and it can be divided into a
4-foot planting-strip, 4-foot walk, and a 2-foot sod space be
tween the walk and the property-line, as shown in Fig. 1.
Streets sixty feet wide from fence-line to fence-line are
ROADWAY
— 30- —
QQL
FIG. 2. — Layout of a street sixty feet wide.
68
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
of ideal width for residential cities. This width can be
divided into a roadway thirty feet wide and sidewalks fif
teen feet wide. A 6-foot planting-strip can be provided on
ROADWAY
- — 40- —
FIG. 3. — Layout of a street eighty feet wide.
a sidewalk of such width, as shown in Fig. 2. A residence
street eighty feet wide may have a roadway forty feet in
width and sidewalks twenty feet wide. The sidewalk may
be divided into an 8-foot lawn-strip, an 8-foot sidewalk,
and a 4-foot strip between the walk and the fence-line, as
shown in Fig. 3. A residence street one hundred feet wide
ROADWAY PARKING
25 >l* -20- *{*-- •
ROADWAY
25^
FIG. 4.— Layout of a street one hundred feet wide: two rows of trees and a
parking space for shrubs in centre.
o
70
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
may have two roadways separated by a planting-space
along its centre. The arrangement is shown in Fig. 4.
The central space may be used for shrubs and dwarf trees,
but such a street is hardly of sufficient width to permit the
planting of more than two rows of large trees, one row
along each sidewalk. Avenues or boulevards one hundred
and twenty or one hundred and fifty feet wide permit of
an arrangement of four rows of trees : two rows along the
SIDEWALK ROADWAY SIDEWALK
• 20- >*- 26- >K-- 20-
-66-
FIG. 6. — Streets having buildings thirty-five feet high, on both sides, should have a
width of sixty-six feet. The divisions of the street and the positions of the
trees are shown.
sidewalks and two rows in the central space. In the city of
Washington the streets having four rows of trees are about
one hundred and fifty feet in width. Pennsylvania Avenue
may be taken as a typical example, shown in Fig. 5.
Height of Buildings. — On residential streets the houses
are set back some distance from the sidewalk, twenty feet
or more. When this is the case there is more room for the
trees to develop. When tall buildings are close to the side
walk, the conditions for growth are not so favorable. In
.__!
1
^1
(U J^
%l
•s«
J5 S
SS
\!/ * O
j_. *+
72
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
Paris the height of buildings is limited to sixty-six feet on
streets thirty-three feet wide. On streets less than twenty-
six feet wide, the height of buildings is limited to forty feet.
In order that street-trees might get enough light to develop
vigorously, it is found on the average that streets bounded
on both sides with buildings thirty-five feet high should
have a width of sixty-six feet, and streets having lines of
buildings sixty-five feet high should have a width of one
hundred and twenty feet, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.
On narrow streets having tall buildings, it is possible to
maintain trees in good condition by planting a single row in
the centre of the roadway, as shown in Fig. 8.
Distance from Buildings. — To secure the best results the
distance at which trees are set from the building-line should
-lrtffl.ffM..'1-....'.^BB^r
SIDEWALK [ ROADWAY ] PARKING
ROADWAY ] SIDEWALK
- - - -18- >*< - -10-'-
FIG. 8. — Single row of trees on narrow street having tall buildings.
STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING
73
equal about half the height of the houses. In the city of
Paris no trees are planted on streets which have tall build
ings and which have sidewalks less than thirteen feet wide
and roadways twenty feet wide.
It is sometimes possible, however, to secure fair results
even on narrow streets having tall buildings, by choosing a
j SIDEWALK I ROADWAY I SIDEWALK
'^--lO'-^K- 20- >U — 10--- >
FIG. 9. — Small trees on a narrow street having tall building's.
species that will keep small, or one that will permit of annual
heading back to small dimensions, as shown in Fig. 9.
Distance from Sidewalk Curb.— Trees should be set not
nearer than two feet from the curb, and, when the plant
ing strips permit, it is better to put the trees farther away
from the curb than two feet. In resetting curbs, the roots
of trees must necessarily be cut, and if the trees are farther
away from the curb less injury is likely to result to them.
74 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
There is one phase of modern street-work that does not
tend to improve the highway trees, and that is the laying of
concrete walks. In order to lay these walks, there must be
an excavation of about eighteen inches, and if there are old
trees along the curb their roots are usually cut in the pro
cess. Flag walks should be preferred in such cases.
Frequently builders make it a practise to extend a strip
of concrete of the width of the stoop of the house from the
sidewalk to the curb. This is sometimes ten or twelve feet
wide, and this encroachment on the parking space takes
away still more from the possible nourishment of the tree,
that is already severely hedged in by the curb on one side
and the concrete walk on the other. It should be the desire
of builders to make suburban streets as country like as pos
sible, and not to extend these concrete strips.
Distance Apart of Specimens.— Even after the proper
species has been selected there can be no greater mistake
in street-planting than setting trees too close together. The
distance between specimens should be such as to permit
them to develop perfectly, and the outstretching limbs
should not touch, even when the trees are fully grown.
Forty feet is about the average distance at which street-
trees should be set. The American elm should be set about
fifty feet apart; the sugar maple, the red oak, the chestnut
oak, and the oriental plane about forty-five feet apart; the
Norway maple and the red maple about forty feet apart;
the American linden and the pin oak about thirty-eight. feet
apart ; the European linden, the sweet gum, and the horse-
chestnut about thirty-five feet apart; the gingko, the catalpa,
the hackberry about thirty feet apart; the ailantus and the
Carolina poplar about twenty-eight feet apart.
It must also be remembered in determining the dis-
STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING 75
tance apart at which street-trees are to be set whether the
specimens are to be allowed to grow naturally, or whether
an attempt will be made to limit their spread. Thus, in the
city of Paris the spread of the trees is limited, and they are
kept rather small. Accordingly the distances above given
would be too far apart for the secting of its trees. In Paris,
therefore, the street-trees of the species above enumerated
are set at distances apart equal to about three-quarters or
less of the distances above given.
When planting is not done by public officials, nearly every
individual wants one or more trees in front of his house.
His neighbor has the same desire, irrespective of the front
age of his property or the nearness of other trees. Exam
ples of the results of such methods of planting may be seen
on streets in any town. The trees are too close together,
frequently not more than twelve or fifteen feet apart. They
interfere with each other's growth, cut off the necessary
light and air, and prevent, by their shade, the growth of
grass under them. As a result the trees look like a thick
hedge and their individual beauty is lost. When the mistake
of having planted trees too close together is realized, one
frequently hears expressions of regret: "What a beautiful
street this would be, if those fine trees were ten or fifteen
feet farther apart."
Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, has been a notable
example of the crowding of street-trees, due to the lack of
foresight of the original planters. The planting-space on
this prominent thoroughfare is one hundred feet wide, and
the plans provided for the planting of four rows of Ameri
can elms, the trees in the rows to stand opposite each other.
In 1880, Professor Charles Sprague Sargent and Frederick
Law Olmsted proposed the removal of the four rows of trees
/6 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
which had already been planted between Arlington and
Dartmouth Streets, and the planting in their place of two
rows of trees from one end of the avenue to the other. The
city government, however, refused to act on their sugges
tion. In 1880 and 1881, by order of the Common Council,
the planting of four rows of trees was continued in this
avenue up to Massachusetts Avenue. The Park Commis
sioners of Boston are now confronted with the problem of
thinning out the trees.
Trees Set with Relation to the Street. — Trees should be
set out with relation to each other and the street as a whole,
and not with relation to the frontage of individual property.
In the more recently developed sections of cities where
property is high, single lots may range in width from
twenty to thirty feet. The average distance required by
shade-trees for proper development is from thirty-five to
forty-five feet ; hence there must necessarily be some houses
that will not have trees in front of them. Fine shade-trees,
however, benefit the entire street, and after they become
large every house profits by them. When that time comes
it matters little in front of which particular property the
stem of the tree is located.
The Spacing Uniform. — The spacing of the trees should
be uniform, and the specimens on the two sides of the
street opposite each other. There will be many obstacles in
the ordinary street, such as lamp -posts, water hydrants,
house, water, and gas connections, that will prevent an
absolutely uniform spacing of trees. Judgment will then
have to be used as to how to redistribute the distance so
that there will be least deviation from a uniform plan.
Trees should be kept away at least eight feet from lamp
posts and about ten feet from water hydrants.
STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING 77
Opposite or Alternate. — On narrow walks and streets the
plan of alternating the trees zigzag fashion on both sides of
the way is found preferable, because the distance at right
angles across the space is so small that the trees would in
terfere with each other's growth, but in the case of broad
streets more effective results are obtained by placing the
trees opposite each other. By that method the trees at the
intersection of the two streets are symmetrically disposed
with respect to the four corners.
Treatment of Corners. — Exactly at a corner is a bad place
for a tree, as that spot is usually reserved for a lamp -post,
letter-box, fire-alarm box, catch basin, or other street fix
ture. At a corner, also, a tree would be exposed to injury,
and the curbstones, half surrounding it, would cut off a
great deal of the nourishment from the soil. The best
arrangement for trees at street crossings, therefore, is to
set them from twenty to twenty-five feet from the inter
section of the curbs, so that there will be eight trees at
every four corners, as shown in Fig. 10.
Setting Trees Between Sidewalk and Property-Line. —
While the usual space reserved for tree-planting is the strip
between the curb and the sidewalk, trees are sometimes set
on the strip between the sidewalk and the property-line.
Trees so located are not exposed to the injury of horses and
passing vehicles. The soil between the sidewalk and the
property-line is also likely to be of better quality, and the
trees will grow better. Such plan of planting is to be pre
ferred if the street roadway is rather narrow and the houses
are set far back from the sidewalk. If the houses are very
near the fence-line it is evident that the trees will be too
close to them and will shade them too much. On the other
hand, the roadway will get too little shade. It is for these
78
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
reasons that in the great majority of cases the plan of plant
ing shade -trees along the strip between the sidewalk and
the curb is followed. The sidewalk and the roadway get
FIG. 10. — The disposition of trees at street intersections.
their fair share of shade and the trees are not too close to
the houses.
When sidewalks are placed next to the roadway, pedes
trians are more likely to become spattered with dust and
mud than when protected by an intervening space. The
.effect of a walk separated from the roadway by trees, which
STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING
79
give it a certain amount of seclusion, is also far better than
that of a walk which exposes those using it to the continued
gaze of passers-by.
Double Row.— Frequently a double row of trees is planted
on the sidewalk — one row along the curb and a second row
between the sidewalk and the property-line or immediately
within the property -line and parallel with the street. Such
a plan should be avoided. While the trees are small the
result is likely to be effective, but within a few years af
ter planting the trees begin to interfere with each other's
growth, and the result is a bad crowding. The inside row
of trees grows much more vigorously than the outside row,
because it usually has better soil, and crowds the outside
row and dwarfs its growth. The row of trees along the
curb, however, is the more desirable; and if any trees are
to be removed, those inside can be better spared. They
are, as a rule, however, the better trees, and it is a difficult
problem to decide which trees are to go if one wants to
rectify the mistake of the original planter.
Number of Rows of Trees. — The total number of rows of
trees that might be planted on a street depends upon the
width of the highway, the width of the sidewalks or plant
ing strips, and the species used. In the city of Paris an
ordinance prescribes the planting of trees according to the
following regulations :
Width of
Highway.
Width of
Roadway.
Width of
Sidewalks.
Number of
Rows of
Trees.
Distance from
Houses.
Distance
from
Roadway.
86 ft. to 92 ft.
40ft.
23 ft. to 26 ft.
2
18 ft. to 21 ft.
5ft
100 ft. to 112 ft.
46ft
26 ft to 33 ft.
2
21 ft. to 28 ft.
5ft
120 ft. to 125 ft.
40 ft. to 43 ft.
40 ft. to 41 ft
4
16.5 ft. to 18 ft.
5ft
132 ft.
46ft.
43ft
4
21 ft
5ft
80 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
ONE SPECIES ON A STREET
Not only to obtain variety but also to offset the whole
sale spread of tree diseases, it is important that as many
good shade-trees as possible should be planted in a city. All
the specimens on a street, however, should be of the same
kind. When such a plan is followed there is secured in
creased stateliness, impressiveness, and charm. The beauty
and uniformity that are produced by a repetition of the
same object are lost when a mixture of species differing in
habits of growth and in foliage is introduced, and it is as
much at variance with good taste as would be a mixture of
orders in the columns of a temple.
Streets that have become famous for their beautiful
shade-trees, both in this country and abroad, are planted
with one variety. No better illustration of the effective
results of uniform planting can be found in America than
in the city of Washington. Some of the most imposing
streets are New Jersey Avenue, nearly three miles in length,
lined with four rows of American elms; Massachusetts
Avenue, three and a half miles in length, planted with
American lindens ; Indiana Avenue, set with oriental planes,
and Pennsylvania Avenue, with pin oaks. In the capitals of
Europe the plan of planting one species of tree on a street is
also followed.
What Determines the Choice of Species. — The factors
which determine the choice of species for a particular
street are the width of the street, the nature of the soil,
particular local conditions and the general character of
the trees in a row as contributing to the beauty of the
street.
'STUDIES PRELIMINARY TO PLANTING 81
Rows of Different Species. — When the plantation consists
of more than two parallel rows, highly decorative effects
can be obtained by having the central rows of different
species than the outside rows. These species may vary in
character of growth, color of the foliage or flowers, so as to
produce the most striking effects.
CHAPTER V
THE PLANTING OF STREET-TREES
THE TREE IN THE WOODS
AFTER the planting plan is complete the trees must be
selected in the nursery. If in the woods you will pull a tree
seedling out of the ground you will see that the downward
or tap-root is almost as long as the stem. If left to grow,
the root system of such a seedling would become as large as
the top. If you wished to transplant it after a few years'
growth, it would be difficult to take up all the roots ; and if
many of them were left behind, the tree would have a poor
chance to live after transplanting. There is always a bal
ance between the roots and the top of a tree. The cutting
away of the roots will tend to retard the growth of the crown.
Because of the risk attending the successful transplanting
of trees from the woods, it is the practise in the planting of
shade-trees to get all the specimens from a nursery.
THE TREE IN THE NURSERY
Developing of the Roots.— In the nursery the tree is
trained to withstand the hardship of being transplanted to
its final home. Seedlings a few feet high are dug up, the
tap-roots are removed to within a few inches of the stem
and set out in nursery rows, the rows being about five feet
apart. The seedlings no longer send downward roots, but
develop a lateral root system; just as when the leader of a
82
PLATE 21.— FROM THE NURSERY TO THE STREET.
1. Seedling in the woods, with long tap-root. 2. Seedlings of White Elm in nursery
rows. 3. Fibrous root system of a 2j-inch nursery-grown Norway Maple.
4. Trees shipped in gondola-car. 5. Trees heeled-in. 6. Planting a Norway
Maple.
84 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
tree is removed it sends out horizontal branches. After one
or two years of growth the trees are again transplanted, and
this time the ends of the lateral roots are shortened. As an
additional means of preventing the spread of the roots, a
plow is sometimes run between the nursery rows. In this
manner the transplanting process is continued every year or
two, and the roots, being prevented from spreading, develop
a compact fibrous bundle near the stem. As a result, when
the tree is finally moved to be set out on the street, it has
all the roots necessary to supply the top.
Developing of the Stem. — In addition to the development
of the root system the main stems of nursery-grown shade-
trees are kept free from branches to a height of several feet
from the ground by removing the lateral buds or small
shoots. The upper twigs are shortened from time to time
to produce a well-filled top.
Limitation of Size. — It is apparent that the processes out
lined above cannot be continued indefinitely, and as a tree
becomes larger less of the root system can be taken up on
final transplanting. There is, therefore, a natural limitation
to the size of the tree that may be most advantageously
planted. A larger tree takes longer to recover from the loss
of roots and makes little growth ; while a smaller one con
tinues its growth after transplanting with the least interrup
tion. It is found that for general planting, trees from two
inches and a half to three inches in diameter give the best
results.
From an economic standpoint also the planting of large
trees is impracticable. Trees of considerable size, seven or
eight inches in diameter, set out with the care necessary in
such cases, are very expensive; because the frequent trans-
plantings of the trees in the nursery bring their final cost
|i|l!|
*sssi
M3 .^2
e.sb-*-~
86 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
rather high. Of course in special cases, where an immedi
ate effect is desired and the expense can be incurred, larger
trees may be planted with very good results. On the other
hand, if one plants an entire street, where perhaps few
houses have been built, it is clearly more economical to set
out small, thrifty trees that will grow to fair size by the
time the street will have been entirely improved.
Transplanting Large Specimens. — Very large trees, twelve
or fifteen inches in diameter, are sometimes successfully
transplanted. It is important in such cases to take up as
much of the root system as possible; and there are two pro
cesses of accomplishing that end. One method is to take up
the tree with a large ball of earth around the roots, ten or
twelve feet in diameter, and transport it to its new place.
This is best done when there is frost in the ground. Another
way is to dig a circular trench around the tree, about twenty
feet in diameter, work toward the stem by liberating the
fine rootlets and large roots, and then, by means of heavy
machinery, lift the entire tree and haul it to where it is
to be placed. Either of these processes is very expensive.
When a tree so transplanted is to be placed on a lawn, it
is possible to preserve all the roots; but it is evident that
if it were to be placed on a street all the roots would have
to be cut to accommodate it between the curb and the side
walk, and the chances of its surviving the ordeal would be
very small. Besides, on a highway the tree would be a
source of danger, because of the loss of the anchor roots.
In the city of Paris, in order to maintain the uniformity
of plantations along the streets, when trees fifteen or twenty
years old die, they are replaced with specimens as nearly as
possible of the same size. To accomplish this successfully
the trees are trained for that in the municipal nursery. The
THE PLANTING OF STREET-TREES 87
roots are cut round every three or four years by digging a
circular trench around the base of the trees to prevent the
elongation of the roots. By this means the root system is
formed in a compact mass within a limited volume. The
trees are transported from the nursery in heavy trucks
especially constructed for the purpose.
Points in Selecting Trees.— In selecting a shade-tree a
compact root system is of greater importance than a large
top; although, of course, both are desirable. The abundant
roots will cause rapid growth; but a large head and scant
roots will result in little growth if the tree survives at all.
The ideal street-tree must also have a straight stem, clear of
branches to a height of at least seven feet from the ground
and a well-defined leader.
It is always best to order trees from a nursery as near-by
as possible. The less exposure of the roots from the time
of digging to final transplanting the better for the tree. It
is not always possible, however, to get desirable stock at a
near-by place, and the planter may be obliged to go a con
siderable distance from home to select his trees. If proper
precautions are taken in the digging, packing, shipping,
unloading, and protection of the trees on arrival, the danger
of loss is greatly reduced.
How Shipped. — The trees selected by the purchaser are
marked and left in the nursery until the time of shipment.
When digging, care is taken to get the entire root system.
To insure the delivery of the trees in as perfect a condition
as when they left the nursery they are carefully packed. If
only a few trees constitute the order they are generally
shipped in bales; the roots are packed in wet moss and bur-
lapped, and the stems and branches are wrapped in straw.
A hundred trees or more are shipped in a closed car. The
88 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
trees are piled in rows and the roots are covered with wet
straw and moss. The doors of the car being tightly closed
the evaporation is reduced to a minimum, and the trees
remain in good condition for one or two weeks. When too
many trees are packed in a box car it is difficult to unload
them without breaking some of the twigs. Hence it is bet
ter to ship four or five hundred trees in a gondola car with
the sides and the roof built up of boards. The top of such
car can be removed on arrival and the trees lifted out with
absolutely no injury.
A Municipal Nursery.— Even with the greatest care ex
ercised in digging, packing, and shipping stock from a
nursery, the trees suffer a great deal from these hardships,
and their chances to reestablish themselves when set out are
not so good as when trees are grown in a municipal nursery,
and can be dug and planted the same day. A municipal
nursery is a necessary adjunct to a shade-tree department.
When a nursery is controlled and operated by a city it is
possible to get the quality of trees wanted. Their training
from the seedling stage to the time when they are ready
to be set out on the street is with the point in view of
their use as street-trees. Their branching can be fixed
at the proper height and the trees developed with single
leaders. The trees from the municipal nursery are available
whenever wanted, and they can be taken up and trans
planted with all the roots and the least exposure. The cost
of self-grown stock is also frequently much less than that
purchased from a nursery.
It is also possible in a municipal nursery to keep in re
serve large specimens of different species to take the place
of any that die in the streets, and in that way the uniform
ity of the plantations can be maintained.
THE PLANTING OF STREET-TREES 89
PRECAUTIONS IN PLANTING
Heeling-In.— So far in the history of the tree it has been
out of the hands of the planter; but after its arrival success
depends upon the protection of the roots, the preparation of
the soil, and the careful planting. If the stock cannot be
planted immediately on arrival it should be "heeled-in."
This is done by digging a trench about a foot and a half
deep, and of sufficient width to accommodate the roots of
the trees without bending. In this trench the trees are set
close together and the roots covered with soil, care being
taken that it is well worked in about them so as not to leave
vacant spaces. Trees so protected can be kept for some
weeks, and a few planted at a time as the holes are ready.
Top and Root Pruning.— Before setting the tree, a few
points are to be observed. Since even with the greatest care
it is impossible to take up all the roots when transplanting a
tree, it is necessary to cut back the top to maintain the bal
ance with the roots. The amount of cutting depends on the
condition of the roots ; the more fibrous they are the less the
necessity of reducing the top. It is a good rule to remove
about four-fifths of last year's growth from all the branches,
making a clean cut just above some strong bud. This can
be done more easily and rapidly before the trees are planted.
All broken roots should be carefully trimmed to enable them
to heal.
The amount of top-pruning also depends upon the spe
cies, as not all trees transplant with the same ease. The
soft maples, planes, elms, and poplars, for example, do not
require as severe pruning as the oaks, the magnolias, or the
sweet gum. It must be borne in mind, however, that it is
better to prune more than not enough. In a year or two the
90
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
trees recover by rapid growth the loss of the shortening of
the branches. New shoots begin close to the stem, and the
trees form a compact top. If a tree is not cut back suffi
ciently when transplanted, if it survives at all, the foliage
is thin and borne only on the ends of the branches. Figs. 11,
\
FIG. 11. — Young Sugar Maple
before tree has been top-
pruned.
FIG. 12. — Same Sugar Maple
after being top-pruned,
preparatory to setting out.
12, and 13 will suggest about the way in which trees should
be top-pruned. Fig. 12 will serve as an example of top-
pruning such species as maples, elms, planes, and lindens.
Fig. 13 will serve as an illustration for such trees as the
oaks, magnolias, and sweet gum.
How the Tree is Set.— The tree is set the same depth it
THE PLANTING OF STREET-TREES 91
stood in the nursery, and the roots are spread naturally,
without twisting or crowding them. Fine soil is sifted
over the roots and carefully worked between and under
them, so that no spaces remain unfilled. A pointed stick
helps to crowd the soil under and around them. The
soil is filled by layers and packed with r
the feet until within about three or four
inches of the top. The last of the soil )
is thrown loosely on top, so that it acts
as a mulch and helps to retain the
moisture.
When to Plant. — A question frequently
raised in tree-planting is: When is the
best time to plant, in the spring or in the
fall? The problem will be better under
stood if some of the points in tree -growth
are mentioned. During the summer — the
period of growth — there is a constant
demand on the roots to supply the top of
the tree. Fatal injury would result to the
tree if an attempt were made to trans
plant it at that time, as the leaves would
immediately dry. From the time of the
falling of the leaves in the autumn to FIG. 13.— Pin Oak,
the swelling of the buds in the spring is J°J? pSJJ^ ^eady
the period of rest, and it is during that
time, in the dormant state, that trees may be safely moved.
Theoretically the best time to transplant trees would be
after the leaves have fallen— about the end of October or the
beginning of November. The trees would then be ready to
resume growth the following spring. Practically, however,
the best results are not always obtained in fall planting.
92* SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
Work in the fall is most successful when the following
winter is mild and a heavy mulching of manure is placed on
the ground at the base of the tree. One of the dangers of
fall -planting is the upheaval of the tree by the freezing and
the thawing of the ground.
It is seldom that trees planted in the fall make new roots
before the ground freezes. In the meantime the evaporation
of moisture from the trunk and branches goes on ; the roots
likewise suffer, so that the tree is not in so good a state as
if it had been allowed to remain in the nursery and trans
planted in the latter part of March or early April. At that
time it would be perfectly healthy; and, as growth would
begin, new roots would start to form. Of course, there is
danger in spring-planting of the unfolding leaves making
too great a draft on the roots for sap and moisture that is
not always supplied by rain. Artificial watering is then
necessary to carry the tree over the critical period of trans
planting, which at best is a severe shock to the tree.
Experience has shown that trees planted in the fall, if
they come up in the spring at all, grow very slowly, unfold
ing their leaves later than trees of the same stock coming
from the same nursery planted in the following spring.
While a good deal depends on weather conditions, it may
be said that the fall is not a bad season to plant, but the
spring is a much better one, provided the trees are planted
before the buds begin to swell. Certain trees which have
succulent roots, like the tulip-tree, sweet gum, and mag
nolias, cannot be transplanted successfully in the autumn
at all.
The difficulty in spring-planting is that the season is
very short. Everybody is rushed, and trees are sometimes
not handled so carefully as the longer fall -planting season
THE PLANTING OF STREET-TREES 93
permits. From the natural consideration, however, of the
tree's growth, better success is obtained by careful spring
work.
STAKING
One of the elements of beauty in the planting of shade-
trees, is to have them perfectly vertical. In spite of the
greatest care in planting, the settling of the earth and the
swaying of the trees in the wind cause them to get
out of vertical. Attempts to straighten the trees from
time to time disturb the roots and injure the tree. The
staking of trees, therefore, is an absolute necessity to
keep them straight until their roots take firm hold of the
ground.
An elaborate but effective device for holding the trees
upright after being planted is employed in Washington,
shown in Plate 23, Fig. 3. This consists of a four-sided
wooden box around each tree, which is nailed to four stakes
driven into the ground. The trees are fastened by means of
leather straps to each corner of the box and are kept per
fectly vertical. The boxes, which also serve as guards, are
retained for eight or ten years until the trees outgrow them.
They are then removed and wire netting is put around the
trees to protect them from injury.
Single Stake.— It must be borne in mind that in every
device designed to keep young trees upright there must be
provision made to keep the top from swaying and bending
over as well as keeping the stem rigid at a height of six or
seven feet from the ground. Oriental planes, and oaks es
pecially, have a tendency to bend over on account of their
weight of foliage, and sometimes the tops snap off in a wind.
It has been found, therefore, that one long stake is the best
thing to use to support young trees.
PLATE 23.— GUARDING AND STAKING.
Guarding and staking of trees in East Orange. Guard is of No. 16, Mi-inch square wire mesh,
seven inches in diameter and six feet high, stake is fifteen feet long, driven to depth of three
feet. 2. Go9d guard for large trees, made of No. 16, 2-inch hexagonal wire mesh. 3. Guard
ing and staking device used in Washington, D. C. 4. Making hole with crowbar for stake. End
of tarred stake on the ground is seen. 5. Driving stake. An 18-foot "A" ladder is used.
THE PLANTING OF STREET-TREES 95
Stakes fifteen feet long are used which are driven to a
depth of three feet, thus leaving twelve feet above ground.
The tree is tied to the stake at two or three places by means
of one-fourth inch Manila rope slipped through a piece
of three-quarter inch rubber hose, Plate 23, Fig. 1. The
pieces of hose are about eight or nine inches long. The
rope is slipped through them, is wrapped around the tree
and a double knot is tied, then the ends of the rope are tied
around the stake. In that way the stem of the tree does
not come in contact with the stake. If only possible, the
stake is driven on the side of the tree contrary to the
direction of the prevailing winds, so that the tree will be
blown away from the stake and chafing will be minimized.
The stakes should not be of sawn lumber but of young
growth, about three and one-half inches at the bottom
and two inches at the top. To make the stakes more
durable, they should be tarred to a distance of about four
feet from the bottom. Stakes usually rot at the ground
level. By leaving them tarred a foot above ground this
will be prevented. The bark should be removed to the
required distance and the stakes covered with molten
pitch.
The stakes are placed about ten inches from the base of
the tree. When tree-guards of small diameter are used, the
stakes may be placed on the outside; or, if the guards permit
it, the supports may be inside. To drive the stake easily a
hole is made in the ground with a crowbar, flaring out at
the bottom to a cross-section of about two inches square and
terminating in a sharp point. The stakes are driven with a
sledge hammer, "A" ladders, eighteen feet high, being used
by the workmen to get up to the required height, as shown
in Plate 23, Figs. 4 and 5.
96 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
GUARDING
The combination support and tree-guard used in the city
of Washington has already been spoken of. While rather
clumsy, these guards are very efficient, and remain around
the trees for eight or nine years. Some forms of iron
guards are used in other cities, which are rather expensive.
Unless a tree is exposed to continuous and severe injury a
cheaper form of wire guard will be found just as service
able, especially on residential streets.
There are many tree-guards on the market with which
trees can be protected. A good economical guard for young
trees has been adopted by the East Orange Shade-Tree Com
mission. It is made of No. 16, one-half inch square wire
mesh, coming in rolls twenty inches wide. It is cut into
six-foot lengths, and these are rolled by means of a machine
into cylinders. A good guard for trees of any size is made
of hexagonal wire netting six or seven feet high. In the
case of larger guards the width of the wire cloth ordered
should be the same as the required height of the guard.
The amount of wire cut off from the roll will depend upon
the diameter of each tree protected.
GRILLS
Grills are used around the base of trees along streets
to prevent the soil from being tramped on by pedestrians.
They are especially needed on sidewalks covered with
concrete or other material impervious to air and moisture,
and where every available bit of room is necessary for the
public use of the street.
They are circular, hexagonal, or rectangular in form,
and are made of cast-iron sections set together around the
PLATE 24.— GUARDS AND GRILLS.
1. Guard and circular grill, Webster Avenue, New York. 2. Guards and rectangular grills, row oi
Norway Maples, Rutherford Place, New York. 3. Form of guard used by the Department
of Parks, Bronx Borough, New York. 4. Guard and rectangular grill, Baird Court, New
York Zoological Garden (Photo, by Hermann W. Merkel, Forester of the Garden). 5. Railing
around base of trees on West Fifty-Ninth Street, New York. A railing is excellent if the
sidewalk room can be spared. The soil within can be kept loose and the trees watered,
mulched, and fertilized.
98 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
tree. They are placed on a level with the pavement and are
supported by wooden pins driven in the ground. The soil
under the grill is left depressed or basin-shaped, the deepest
portion being that farthest from the base of the tree. This
FIG. 14.— Method of placing grill. The soil beneath is left depressed.
depression of the soil affords a means of watering the trees.
The soil immediately around the trunk is left at grade. See
Fig. 14.
SUBIRRIGATION
The installation of a system of subirrigation becomes
necessary to permit the watering of trees by sending the
water directly to the soil through tile pipes. This usually
consists of tile pipes about three inches in diameter, placed
with open joints at a depth of about a foot or a foot and a
half. A branch pipe, carried up to the surface of the ground,
furnishes an inlet to water delivered to the tree from a
water-cart or a hydrant hose. The drains are laid either in
the form of a rectangle surrounding the tree, or simply in a
straight line on one side of the tree, as shown in Figs. 15
and 16. In either case there is a branch pipe for the ad
mission of the water.
A cast-iron cap may be used to cover the opening at the
top of the branch pipe to prevent clogging with soil. To
guard against any tampering with the irrigation device, the
THE PLANTING OF STREET-TREES
99
top of the branch pipe may end slightly below the surface of
the ground, the opening covered with a cap, and the soil
brought to grade. When watering, the soil is stirred aside
and the cap lifted, and when through the cap is again re
placed and covered with soil so as not to show on the outside.
The ground in which the tree is planted must be thor-
A B
FIG. 15. —Sectional view and plan of a subirrigation device of 4-inch tile pipes laid
with open joints. A, Tile pipe. B, Layer of broken stone. C, Branch pipe.
oughly settled before the drain is placed. Then a channel is
dug for the drain and the tile pipes are laid perfectly level
and separated from the earth by a layer of broken stone or
coarse gravel three or four inches in thickness. This inter
mediary layer is necessary to facilitate the flow of water and
to prevent the soil from washing into the drain.
Such irrigation devices are costly and are not always
efficient. They become clogged with soil and roots of the
100
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
growing trees, and in a short time are no longer serviceable.
There is nothing better for the welfare of trees than the
planting of them in such a way as to make it possible to
loosen the soil around the roots and water them from the
A B
_ .__ _ _ _ __ __ , ^ ^ _ _
:^vW^I>§^^^
FIG. 16. — Sectional view and plan of subirrigation device of 3 -inch perforated
agricultural tile. A, Perforated tile. JB, Layer of broken stone. C, Branch
pipe and cap.
surface. If grills are used, they can be removed from time to
time, the soil loosened, and then the watering done through
the grills.
DRAINAGE OF SUBSOIL
What is absolutely essential to the welfare of a tree is
proper subsoil drainage. It does not matter how good the
soil may be, or how much care has been exercised in the
THE PLANTING OF STREET-TREES 101
selection and planting of a tree, if the water table is so low
that the roots are always moist and there is no access of air
to it, the tree will die. Proper subsoil drainage frequently
presents one of the most insuperable problems in tree-
planting. If the soil is of an impervious nature, but limited
in thickness, it should be either dug through to the more
pervious soil or a drain carried to the lower stratum. A
drain connecting with a street-sewer will also serve to carry
off water that is likely to collect at the roots. Such drains
should be placed at a depth of from three and one-half to
four feet
CHAPTER VI
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES
HOW A TREE GROWS
Evolution of a Tree.— Success in the care of trees neces
sarily depends upon the knowledge of their requirements to
maintain life and their mode of growth. Let us, therefore,
for a moment trace the evolution of a tree. The tree's begin
ning is long before it becomes established in the soil, and
shows the differentiating parts of root system, stem, and
crown. Its birth really occurs on the parent-tree from which
the seed comes. The seed contains the rudiments of all
the parts of the mature tree.
The Seedling. — In Plate 25, Fig. 4, is shown a common
lima bean dissected. The thick fleshy parts, which form the
initial leaves on germination, are called cotyledons. These
are attached to the very short initial stem. Below that is
the initial root, which on germination turns downward and
penetrates into the soil. As the root continues its growth,
the stem adds to its length, and, in seeking the light, brings
the seed up out of the ground. In the case of the lima bean
the cotyledons become the first pair of leaves. Many seeds
of trees germinate in the same way.
In the case of the seeds of other trees, as the white maple,
for example, the cotyledons are not lifted out of the soil and
transformed into actual leaves. The growth below the co
tyledons is nearly all root. The rudimentary bud between
102
104 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
them makes the upward growth of stem and leaves. The
materials for the growth are supplied by the cotyledons or
seed leaves. The seedling, although diminutive and most
simple, possesses all the organs of the fully developed tree;
namely, roots in the soil, the stem rising out of it, and the
leaves in the light and open air. It now draws in moisture
and food materials from the soil by its roots, conveys them
through the stem into the leaves, where these materials
together with the other crude food which the leaves imbibe
from the air, are assimilated into growing tissue.
Growth in Height.— In the autumn, after the leaves have
fallen from the seedling, the bare stem represents the height
and thickness of the first season's growth. If the seedling
is carefully examined, it is seen that just above the points
where the leaves were attacked during the growing season
are the buds, from which the growth of stems and leaves
will be continued. The shoot from the terminal bud will pro
long the height of the central stem, and the lateral buds will
form the branches. Growth in height ceases for the season as
soon as the shoot develops from the bud, and this is usually
indicated when the terminal leaves are fully grown. The
tree adds no other way to the length of limb and trunk.
There is a general impression that trees add to their
height by the gradual lengthening of the trunks and limbs.
If this were true, nails driven into the trunk one above
the other, would gradually become farther apart, and wire
fences nailed to trees would rise in the air.
Growth in Diameter. — While the growth of a tree in
height is the result only of the shoots developing from the
buds, the growth in diameter of the trunk, main branches,
and twigs is a process affecting every part of the entire plant.
Separating the bark from the wood is a colorless, muci-
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 105
laginous substance called the cambium layer. The cam
bium is under every portion of the bark, which covers the
tree completely from the tip of the deepest root to the top of
the highest twig. Through the sapwood the soluble inor
ganic materials drawn from the soil by the roots ascend to
the leaves, and are there elaborated in connection with the
materials taken from the air into organized compounds.
This elaborated food material descends through the cambium
layer to every part of the plant to build up its tissues. All
the tissue arising from the inner side of the cambium ring
goes to form the wood, while that produced on the outside
goes to make up the bark.
The cambium is the life of the tree. If the limb of a tree
is removed, a new one may develop near its place. Trees
live for years with the trunks hollow, but if they are girdled
by the cutting away of a ring of bark, there is interrupted the
tissue through which the descending food material is con
ducted from the leaves, and the roots are starved and the
tree dies.
Owing to the climatic variations during the growing
season, the cambium tissue is not uniformly active. Dur
ing the spring, the period of energetic growth, wood of a
coarser texture is deposited than later in the season, when
it is more closely grained. Through the contrast in the
structure of the early and the late wood, the limits between
successive annual rings become sharply defined and serve
as a means of computing the age of a tree.
Essentials for Normal Growth. — The food of trees comes
from two sources — the air and the soil. The tree can trans
form the raw materials into wood tissue only under the
proper conditions of soil, water, light, air, and climate.
Water serves the double purpose of keeping in solution the
106 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
minerals taken up by the roots, and helps to convey these
nutrient substances of the soil into the tree body. A large
quantity of the water taken up by the roots passes through
the tree merely as a medium for the transport of nourish
ment, and is again discharged through the leaves by evap
oration. This evaporation of water through the leaves is
called transpiration.
The watery fluid absorbed by the roots is carried by the
transpiration current to the leaves. These in turn take up
the carbonic acid from the air, and under the action of sun
light the carbonic acid is decomposed, the carbon combined
with the minerals from the soil into food materials used in
building up the tree. This process is called assimilation.
The leaves, therefore, perform a very vital function in the
life of the tree, and it is evident that defoliation by insects
or other causes will seriously affect its growth.
Besides, trees, like animals, in order to live must have
air to breathe, and in this process of respiration they
take up oxygen and give off carbonic acid. Respiration
and assimilation are two distinct vital processes, carried on
independently by trees and other plants. The process of
assimilation is carried on only in the light, carbonic acid is
decomposed, and oxygen given off. The process of respira
tion is carried on both by day and by night, oxygen is taken
up, and carbonic acid given off. Furthermore, not only the
leaves but the twigs, the branches, the trunk, and the roots
have breathing pores, and require air for the maintenance
of life.
It will, therefore, be seen how important it is to keep the
soil in a state of culture, and to see that the supply of air is
not cut off from the roots by pavements, by filling in around
the base, or by flooding of the roots.
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 107
Reserve Material.— All the products of assimilation are
not at once consumed by the tree, but some are accumulated
for future use. This surplus of reserve material is greatest
at the close of the growing season in the fall. It is stored
by the tree during the winter, and all growth of buds and
leaves of the succeeding spring is dependent upon this store
of elaborated food.
WATERING
Artificial watering of trees is necessary when they do
not get by natural means the moisture essential to maintain
the soil in a condition most favorable to vegetation. In
cities the water from rainfall runs off quickly, and very
little finds its way into the soil and subsoil around the roots
of trees where it is most needed. Watering depends upon
the climate, species of tree, and the nature and extent of
the soil and subsoil. Young trees need more frequent
watering than older ones. Trees that have surface roots
need more watering than deeply rooted ones; also rapidly
growing trees more so than those of slow growth.
Especially after transplanting, when they begin to rees
tablish themselves and during their first season's growth,
trees need an abundance of water. Before the trees are
able to care for themselves, new roots must be formed to
take hold of the soil. In the meantime the evaporation
from the branches and the developing leaves must be sup
plied artificially.
How Much Water.— How much water to give trees, and
at what intervals, depend upon the extent of soil occupied
by the roots and the nature of the soil and subsoil. Young
trees, two or three years after planting, of which the roots
occupy a volume of about a cubic yard, require from twenty
108 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
to twenty-five gallons at every watering. Older trees re
quire more water. It must always be borne in mind that
enough water should be used to penetrate the soil in which
the roots of the tree extend. Watering at intervals of every
week or ten days will, on the average, be found sufficient if
every time the soil around the roots is thoroughly saturated.
While on the one hand there must be enough watering to
maintain a uniform degree of moisture in the soil, on the
other hand care must be taken not to allow too much mois
ture around the roots.
How to Water.— When watering is provided for by a sys
tem of subirrigation of tile pipes, the process is simple, as
the necessary quantity of water can be supplied through the
branch pipe carried to the surface. When there is no such
provision made for watering, the soil around the base of the
tree should be thoroughly loosened and a shallow basin
formed around the tree about eight inches deep. The size
of this basin will depend upon the extent of the roots of the
trees desired to water. Ordinarily the extent of the roots
of trees is about the same diameter as that of the crown.
The deepest part of the basin should be the portion farthest
away from the stem of the tree. When trees have grills, the
soil underneath should be left depressed in the form of a
basin, to permit of watering.
The water is applied from a hydrant or from a watering-
cart, and is allowed to run slowly, so that all of it will soak
into the soil. Before the soil hardens and packs, the loose
soil that was removed to form the basin should be replaced,
and the ground brought to grade. By keeping the soil por
ous the moisture is retained for a longer period of time. In
the city of Paris watering devices, covered with grills, are
installed in the intermediary spaces between very large
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 109
trees, the root systems of which have become very exten
sive. Watering of trees should be avoided during the hot
test part of the day. It is best to do it in the early morning
and late in the afternoon or evening. In the city of East
Orange the watering of the street-trees is done at night,
from 7P.M. to 6 A.M.
CULTIVATING AND FERTILIZING
The principal elements in the soil essential to plant
growth are nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash. It is
generally found in cities that it is not the deficiency of the
nutritive elements in the soil that causes the decline of
trees, but rather the physical condition of the soil which
renders it impossible for trees to perform their normal func
tions. The keeping of the soil around trees cultivated and
free from weeds is one of the most important aids to their
growth. The keeping of the ground loose allows air to
reach the roots, renders more available the plant food the
soil contains, and prevents the rapid evaporation of mois
ture. If the ground is hard it becomes heated, the water
forces itself to the surface, and passes into the atmosphere.
If kept cultivated it acts like a blanket, and prevents the
loss of water by surface evaporation.
Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of
cultivation, the full value of which is not generally appre
ciated. When there is no water available, trees can fre
quently be brought through in good condition during a
period of drought by just keeping the soil dug up and loose
around their base.
One of the best ways of improving the condition of the
soil of trees is to put a mulching of manure around them in
the fall, allow that to remain all winter, and then turn the
110 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
manure into the soil the following spring. The manure not
only enriches the soil chemically, but improves its physical
condition by making it more porous and less liable of
becoming packed and impervious to air and moisture. In
the case of young trees this treatment is especially bene
ficial.
Instead of manure, chemical fertilizers can be used very
advantageously, to stimulate the trees in their growth. The
following mixture is recommended by Dr. Jacob G. Lipman,
soil chemist of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment
Station:
Acid phosphate 700 pounds
Muriate of potash 300 pounds
The above mixture is used in the fall at the rate of about
fifteen hundred pounds per acre of ground. Proportionately
the amount is determined for each tree according to the
area it is desired to fertilize. In the succeeding spring the
fertilizing is continued by an application of nitrate of soda
at the rate of 300 pounds to the acre. The latter can be
best applied by dissolving the chemical in water and then
sprinkling the solution over the area to be fertilized.
TRAINING AND PRUNING
In the shaping and pruning of shade-trees, one is largely
governed by the same points as when selecting a tree
for planting. A lawn-tree may branch low or may be
crooked and unsymmetrical. The very imperfections give
it its character. The tree requires very little attention, and
is left to grow naturally. A street-tree, on the other hand,
must be perfectly straight, symmetrical, and the branches
must begin at a height from the ground that will allow the
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 111
free public use of the street. Besides, the tree must have
a well -developed, compact head, as nearly as possible of
oval outline. Many of the requisites of the good tree will
be obtained by selecting the proper species for planting.
To produce symmetry, good outline, and branching at a
fixed height from the ground are the functions of training
and pruning.
! Fixing Height of Branching. — The training of the tree
should begin soon after planting. The fixing of the branch
ing at a certain height above the ground must be done grad
ually, however. It is desirable that a tree should grow in
diameter as well as in height in order to support the top
without bending. Low branching will cause a more rapid
growth in thickness. The lower layers of branches should
be removed at intervals of a year or more until the proper
height of clean stem, ten or twelve feet, is reached.
Forming the Crown. — The training of the crown consists
in shaping it for symmetry by the suppression of some
branches and the encouragement of the growth of others.
If possible, trees should be left with single leaders. Two or
three main stems produce crotches which are likely to split
in later years. When there is a tendency to the formation
of two or more main stems, the central stem should be left
and the others entirely removed, or so shortened that the
entire vigor of growth will be thrown into the central stem.
In the case of young oaks and other species of trees, of
which the wood is very flexible, the leaders have a tendency
to bend over, and the tops in time become drooping. In
such cases the leaders should be tied to bamboo poles of
about an inch or an inch and a quarter in diameter. Raffia
is one of the best materials to use in tying trees to bamboo
poles. When a tree loses its leader, it can be made to re-
112 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
sume the growth of a central stem by tying a lateral twig
to a bamboo pole and training it upward for a few years.
The training of street-trees when young saves a great
deal of work when the trees become older, when they do
not lend themselves so readily to the process of shaping,
and it is necessary to form large scars by removing large
branches.
The Street as a Unit. — Very frequently, however, it is
found necessary to prune trees of considerable age, and
certain principles have to be borne in mind. As in the
planting of shade-trees the street is treated as a unit, so in
the pruning, each tree must be considered in relation to the
others on the street. All trees should be trimmed to a
height that will allow the unimpeded passage of pedestrians
and vehicles. No limbs or foliage should be left to obstruct
the street-lights. The shading of lamps is a trouble very
common on many streets. The limbs are so low that the
entire light is shut off at night, and the street is left in
darkness.
No matter how healthy and perfect shade-trees may be,
if the limbs are too low the full beauty of the street is not
realized. In walking you may not actually be obliged to
stoop in order to keep clear of the leaves; but there is a
depressing effect produced by looking down the street and
seeing the branches and the sidewalk almost meet. The
foliage seems to oppress you with its density. The individ
uality of the trees is frequently lost, and the trees look like
a great overgrown hedge. On the other hand, if one comes
to a street the trees of which are properly pruned on both
sides to a uniform height, the ends of the limbs turning
upward instead of drooping, one cannot help perceive the
improvement. The depressed effect is gone and one looks
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES
113
up. Every tree, instead of seeming like one mass of foliage,
shows a prominent trunk, and the branching is clearly
brought out. The perspective of the street resembles a
great archway. Nothing of the health or utility of the trees
has been sacrificed; and from an esthetic standpoint the
maximum effect has been obtained. Contrast the appear
ance of the street shown in Fig. 17, and that shown in Plate 3.
FIG. 17. — A street the trees of which are in need of pruning.
Plate 3 shows Midland Avenue in East Orange, after the
sugar maples were trimmed. Fig. 17 shows the continua
tion of the same street in Glen Ridge, where the pruning
was stopped. The former street shows all the lamps, the
branches turn upward and every tree stands out clearly.
Fig. 17 shows the drooping limbs forming one mass of
foliage that reaches almost to the ground.
The Individual Tree. — In the actual treatment of each
114 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
individual tree, great care and judgment are necessary. No
two trees have their mode of branching alike, and each case
must be studied separately before deciding what limbs are
to go in order that the tree may be improved. No branch
should be removed from a tree without good reason.
There are some points to be observed, however, that are
applicable to all trees. All dead and imperfect limbs should
be removed. The top of a tree should not be allowed to
become so extremely dense as to exclude the sun from the
soil or from the buildings near-by, or interfere with the free
circulation of air. The tops of sugar maples and red maples
particularly have a tendency to become too thick. To thin
out the tops of such trees, the main limbs and the branches
immediately radiating from them should best be left, and
all cutting limited to the third and fourth divisions in the
branching. In that way the character of the tree is not
changed. Also in the removing of the lower branches of
a tree that interfere with the public use of the street or
obstruct street- lights, it is not necessary to clear the main
trunk of limbs to a very great height; but subdivisions can
be removed, giving the branches a graceful upward turn.
The ends of the branches can be shortened. In that way
the prime object in the pruning of shade-trees, to secure the
unobstructed use of the street, is accomplished, and the
natural habit of the trees is preserved.
In fact, the point to be constantly borne in mind in the
pruning of shade-trees is to preserve, as far as possible, the
character, natural shape, and habit of growth of each tree,
and to avoid all artificial shaping of trees. The art of pru
ning consists of making the finished tree look as if no limbs
had been removed at all.
How Best to Prune. — The work of pruning should begin
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 115
at the top of the tree, be continued in a downward direction,
and completed at the bottom. It is easier to shape the tree
by that method, and time is saved in clearing the tree of the
pruned limbs. Frequently a limb gets caught in its fall;
but as the man works downward he is able to free the limbs
and do the cutting at the same time. All cuts should be
made close to the base of a limb, and the plane of the scar
should be nearly parallel to the axis of the trunk. How to
make the cut to prevent splitting and to insure the healing
of the scar are the important points in the pruning of all
trees.
Origin of Branch. — A branch of a tree originates from a
lateral bud of the main stem. The first year's growth of
the shoot from the bud is similar to the first year's growth
of the seedling from the seed. As the growth continues and
the annual layers of wood are deposited on the main stem,
the draft of the sap of the lateral shoot causes these layers
to continue up and around the limb. If one were to stand
and hold his arms up, the garments around his body would
represent the successive annual layers of wood on the tree-
trunk, and the sleeves of these garments around the arms
would represent the continuation of these layers around the
limbs of the trees.
The Wrong Way. —In Plate 26, Fig. 1, is shown the trunk
of a tree with a limb that is to be removed. Frequently such
work is done by making a cut the shortest way across the
limb, line AB, Plate 26, Fig. 1, and the result is that a stub
is left, similar to that shown in Plate 26, Fig. 2. When the
limb is so removed, let us see what will happen. There
being no draft of sap into the stub, because the end is
removed, the next annual layer of wood of the main trunk
will not be continued up around the limb, but will end at
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 117
the base of the stub, as shown in Plate 26, Fig. 2. The
stub of wood being no longer living tissue and exposed to
the weather, will dry, check, lose its bark, and the successive
annual layers deposited on the trunk will form a collar at the
base of the stub, as shown in Plate 26, Fig. 3.
In Plate 26, Fig. 4, which is a section of the specimen in
the former figure, is shown the result of such a method of
pruning. The decay caused by the stub has been carried to
the heart of the tree. As time goes on the stub further rots,
and breaks off at the collar, forming an ugly knot-hole, Plate
26, Fig. 5. Knot-holes resulting from improper pruning are
very numerous. They form an admirable spot for the ger
mination of fungus spores and the entrance of borers, and
are frequently the first cause of the serious injury and final
death of trees.
The Right Way.— Returning to Plate 26, Fig. 1, suppose
the limb had been cut off close to the trunk, along the line
CD, as far as possible parallel with the axis of the tree.
Separating the wood from the bark is the cambium layer.
All the tissue arising from the inner side of the cambium
layer goes to form the wood, while the outside produces the
bark. When a limb is cut off, as in Plate 26, Fig. 1, along
the line CD, the living cells of the cambium bordering on
the wound put forth an abnormal growth of tissue, called a
callus. It first arises from the exposed cambium, like a thin
ring, as shown in Plate 26, Fig. 8. With the growth of the
tree it rolls over the scar and finally overcaps it.
How the Wound Heals.— While the callus tissue is in the
process of overgrowing the wounded surface, it forms a
protective bark and a new cambium under it,., which is con
tinuous with the cambium of the growing stem. When the
margins of the overgrowing callus tissue meet, the edges of
•HK I £&
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES
119
the cambium unite and form a complete layer over the sur
face of the wound. This layer is a continuation of the
cambium of the growing stem, and during the next season
a layer of growth will be added over the wound continuous
with the annual ring added to the tree. The wood produced
over wounds differs in structure from normal wood and is
called callus wood. Eventually, however, the successive
layers become more like natural wood.
The callus overgrowing the end of a severed branch
never coalesces with the old wood.
It simply seals up the remaining stub
of the branch, which becomes like
so much dead material buried in the
wood of the tree. Fig. 18 and Plate
27, Fig. 3, show the transverse and
the longitudinal sections of healed
wounds caused by the removal of
branches. It will be seen that the
stubs remained exactly in the same
condition as when the limbs were
cut off, and that the layers of tissue
of the subsequent growth of the trees
have overcapped them.
The importance of the proper healing of wounds cannot
be overestimated. As has been pointed out before, limbs of
trees originate in many cases from the very centre of the
tree-trunks. After a limb is removed the remaining stub,
which becomes lifeless, is like a cylindrical block of wood
driven into the tree with the end exposed to the weather.
If nature did not provide for the healing of the wound, or
rather its overgrowing with new tissue, the stub would form
a soil for fungus spores and the entrance of insects, and
FIG. 18. — Transverse sec
tion through callus on a
horse-chestnut, showing
stub A overcapped by
tissue.
120
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
the decay would be carried to the centre of the tree. It will
be seen, therefore, that it is extremely necessary when
removing a limb to make the cut in such a way as to aid
FIG. 19.— Tree with branch to
be removed along line A B.
FIG, 20. — Split caused by improper
method of pruning.
nature to heal the wound as effectively and as rapidly as
possible.
The way to do this is to make the cut as close as possible
to the base of the limb, and in a way that the plane of the
scar is nearly parallel with the axis of the tree. Two pur
poses are served by such a method : the wound is brought
into the most intimate contact with the healing tissues, and
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 121
the wood being deeper, there is less danger from drying
and checking while the wound is healing.
Limb Must Not Split. — The necessity of making the cut,
as described above, being apparent, the question now com
ing up is how to make the proper cut. In removing the
branch in Fig. 19, the cut would have to be made along
the line AB. If one were to start the cut with a saw at A,
the weight of the limb would cause it to split when near the
end of the cut, and the injury caused by the stripping of the
bark would be very great. A safe way, perhaps, of remov
ing the limb would be to cut it off about two feet from the
shoulder, and then remove the stub. While it would be a
safe way, it would not be the easiest or the most practicable
way. The green wood across the junction of two branches
is very tough, in which the saw binds, no matter how coarse
a set it may have. It is desirable to utilize the weight of
the branch to spread the saw cut; but at the same time the
splitting of the wood must be guarded against.
First Method of Removing Limb.— There are two methods
of sawing off a limb properly. Plate 28, Fig. 1, shows the tree.
Begin with a cut on the under side of the limb, about eight
or ten inches from the shoulder, sawing about half way
through, Plate 28, Fig. 2. Then remove the saw and make the
cut close to the shoulder, as in Plate 28, Fig. 3. When the
limb is cut about two-thirds or three-quarters across, the
weight of the end will cause it to split up to the under cut,
and it will fall off, Plate 28, Fig. 4. You can then safely
finish the cut, supporting the stub with the hand, so that
none of the bark is stripped.
Second Method of Removing Limb.— In the case of a
large limb, as in Plate 29, Fig. 1, the swelling at the base may
be such that it will not split horizontally, and then there
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 123
will be risk of the limb's splitting at the shoulder. In
such case begin as before with an undercut, Plate 29, Fig. 2 ;
then, in order to utilize the weight of the end of the limb to
spread the cut for the clearance of the saw, cut close to the
shoulder, about half way through the limb, Plate 29, Fig. 3.
Then remove the saw, and cut on top of the limb, a little
above the undercut, Plate 29, Fig. 4. When the two saw-
cuts meet on the same level, the limb will drop off, Plate
29, Fig. 4. Then finish as before, by sawing off the stub.
The Rule to Follow.— Hence the rule for the proper re
moval of a limb is: Always begin with an undercut about
eight or ten inches from the base of the limb you want
to remove. Then saw close to the shoulder, as has been
pointed out before. When past the centre of the limb, pro
ceed cautiously. If the swelling at the base of the limb is
not too great, the limb will split horizontally, turn about the
remaining stub as a pivot, and fall off. You can then safely
finish the cut. If, however, the chances are that the limb
will not split horizontally, but break at the shoulder, saw
above the undercut till the limb drops off and then remove
the stub. By following the above directions there is no
danger of causing injury to the trunk of a tree.
Healing of Scar. — The time it takes a pruning-scar to
heal completely depends upon its size and the rapidity of
growth of the tree. A rapidly growing tree, like the Caro
lina poplar, can heal a wound on its trunk, three or four
inches in diameter, in one growing season; while it takes
a hard maple a few years to accomplish a like result.
While the callus is overgrowing the scar from the periphery
toward the centre, the end grain of the remaining stub is
exposed to the weather. The wood dries and checks, and
although all precautions may have been taken to remove
I
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 125
the limb close to the trunk, by the time the wound heals
the decay may be carried deeply into the tree.
A Dressing Must be Applied. — It is necessary, therefore,
to apply a dressing to the surface of a scar when a limb is
removed that will, as far as possible, prevent the decay of
the old wood until it is overcapped with new callus. Thick
paint makes a good dressing; but the best way of preserving
the condition of the exposed stub is by an application of
thick coal-tar.1 This fills the pores of the wood; and, when
it sets, becomes as hard as enamel. It checks the evapora
tion of the sap and prevents the entrance of water. The
coal-tar also acts as an antiseptic, and prevents the forma
tion by moisture and dust of a fertile spot for the entrance
of fungus spores and insects.
The function of dressings is not to hasten the growth of
the callus; but simply to prevent the decay of the stub. In
the case of scars, two or three inches in diameter, on hard
wood trees, one application of coal-tar will be sufficient to
keep the exposed wood intact until the healing process is
completed. Larger scars may need further applications of
tar, one in about every two years, until the surface is over
grown. So long as the exposed wood is kept intact, there
is no danger of injury resulting from pruning, no matter
how long it takes the wound to heal.
Training to Artificial Forms.— In the city of Paris, street-
trees are sometimes trained to artificial geometrical forms.
1 Coal-tar is a waste product of gas works obtained in the process of dis
tilling bituminous coal in retorts. The crude tar contains carbolic acid and
other impurities that may corrode plant tissues if present in large quantities.
The coal-tar found on the market is usually a refined product from which the
injurious ingredients have been removed. The coal-tar sold for roof-coating
is an efficient and safe dressing for wounds. One must avoid the use of tars
having injurious elements in their composition.
126
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
FIG. 21. — Oriental Plane, fifty feet in
height, denuded at the base; to be
headed back.
Keeping Crown Within Limits.
—Street-trees, however, should
not be permitted to grow beyond
certain bounds, for a number of
reasons. It is desirable to restrict
the spread of trees when they
begin to touch houses or extend
over the roadway so as to give
too much shade. To maintain a
compact crown on some trees, it
is necessary to shorten the ends
Such formal treat
ment of trees is a
matter of taste; but
trees always appear
more interesting and
exhibit more individ
ual character when
their natural mode of
growth is preserved
as much as possible.
In this country the
training of trees into
unnatural symmetri
cal shapes is little
practised.
FIG. 22.— The same Oriental Plane,
headed back to three-quarters of
the original height, with the lateral
branches shortened in proportion.
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES
127
FIG. 23.— The same Oriental
Plane a year after the oper
ation.
producing a condition
known as ''stag-head"
or "top-dry." Trees
can be maintained in
better condition by lim
iting the spread of the
top so as to reduce the
draft on the roots, and
frequently failing speci
mens can be restored to
vigor by shortening the
branches.
Heading Back Old
Trees. — When early pru-
of the branches to send more
energy into the portions
near the stem. The diam
eter of the root system of a
tree is about the same as
that of the crown. On city
streets, where the soil is
usually poor and the growth
of the roots restricted, the
ends of the branches be
come ragged in time, the
foliage thin, and finally the
top of the tree dies back,
FIG. 24. — The same Oriental Plane several
years after the operation.
128 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
ning is neglected the problems of restoring trees to sym
metry, of suppressing certain branches, and of forcing
others become very difficult. Not all trees have the
same power of sending out new shoots when branches
are cut back. Rapidly growing trees, like planes, soft
maples, elms, and poplars, lend themselves more readily
to heading back than other trees. One of the advantages
of the use of the planes as street-trees is that they recover
quickly from the effects of severe pruning.
When trees are cut back, numerous shoots develop from
buds near the ends of the remaining branches. Plane-trees
especially send out a whorl of new twigs. Two or three
years after heading back, it is necessary to suppress or
entirely remove some of these new branches, and leave only
the more vigorous ones to maintain the growth of the top.
Figs. 21 to 24 show the various steps in the process of res
toration of an old oriental plane that had become denuded
at the base.
An instrument called a dendroscope, Fig. 25, devised by
Des Cars,1 is sometimes helpful when shaping or heading
back a number of trees to the same form and dimensions.
It consists of a piece of thin paper or wooden board, about
4x8 inches, in which is cut an opening proportional in out
line to the form it is desired to give the trees. With this
device the foreman can indicate to the pruner in the tree the
exact places where cuts should be made.
The foreman stands removed from the tree at a distance
about equal to its height, holds the dendroscope vertically
and at such a distance from the eye that when he looks
through the opening, the bottom of it coincides with the base
of the tree and the top with the place marking the height to
1 "A Treatise on Pruning Forest and Ornamental Trees," by A. Des Cars.
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES
129
which the tree is to be cut back. As he stands in one posi
tion he directs the cutting of all the branches that are parallel
to the plane of the card. Then he slowly goes round the
tree and indicates where the other branches are to be cut.
Sometimes when large branches are removed close to the
trunk, adventitious or dormant buds near the place where
the cut was made are stimulated into a forced growth,
and they produce suckers or water
sprouts. If these are desirable to
fill out the crown they should be
retained; but if they occur low on
the trunk they should be removed,
for they rob the upper branches of
food materials.
When to Prune. — Careful atten
tion to the time of pruning shade-
trees is not so important as in
the case of trimming shrubs for
flowers and fruit-trees for fruit.
Very heavy pruning and heading
back of old trees are best done in very late fall or during
the winter, when trees are dormant. The store of reserve
material will cause a rapid growth of new shoots the follow
ing spring.
The shaping of trees can be done best when the foliage
is on. It is also easier to discover dead, imperfect, and
weak branches. For general pruning, therefore, it may be
said that any time after midsummer is a good time to prune.
During the spring and the early summer, when the sap is
most active, it is apt to flow too freely from the wounds,
and prevent the adhesion of any dressing, and the bark can
be easily stripped from the trunk by accidental splitting of
FIG. 25.— A Dendroscope.
130 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
branches. At this time also the removal of very much of
the crown is apt to react unfavorably upon the roots by
robbing them of so much elaborated food material. It has
not been observed that the rapidity of the healing of the
wounds is dependent to any extent upon the season when
pruning is done.
Pruning Tools.— While the tools required for pruning are
simple, one will find that a great deal of experimenting will
be required to strike the right kind. The saw is the chief
requisite, and the kinds actually sold as pruning-saws are
very inefficient. A cross-cut saw, that is satisfactory for
cutting dry, seasoned wood, is worthless for sawing the
sappy, tough wood which is at the base of a limb, where it
joins the trunk. After a great deal of trials with all kinds
of saws, the writer was on the point of having a special
kind of saw made, when he discovered on the market a saw
which is far more satisfactory than any other commonly
used for pruning. It is Atkins' Universal Saw, No. 83,
having a patent tooth, as shown in Plate 30, Fig. 4, and is ad
mirable for the green wood of living trees. It works easy,
and there is no pressure required on the saw to make it cut.
Work can be done very rapidly with this tool.
The best way to carry the saw when going up a tree is
to suspend it from a belt having a loop provided for that
purpose. When hung just behind the hip it leaves the arms
and body of the pruner free to climb or shin up any
branches. Plate 30, Fig. 8, shows an admirable form of
pruner's belt for carrying a saw, a small axe, a rope, and a
leather holder for supporting the pruner's body while work
ing. The holder is passed around the tree and the ends
clasped to two rings in the belt, one on each side ot the
body. When not in use it is suspended from one of the
132 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
rings of the belt. A rope, when necessary, can also be
attached to one of the rings.
A small, one-handed axe is used to remove sprouts,
suckers, and dead twigs and small branches. A pole-saw is
used on the end of long branches. A combination chisel and
hook, Fig. 26, on a long pole, can be used to pull down dead
limbs at the tops of trees, and also to remove suckers and
sprouts. It is operated either by a downward stroke of the
hook or an upward one of the chisel.
The cutting edge of the chisel is con
cave, so that it does not glance off to
one side when striking a_branch.
To shape the ends of the lower limbs
of trees and to remove small twigs up
to an inch in diameter, the pole-pruner
will be found an extremely efficient tool.
Of these tools, there are many on the
:• ij market; but some of them fall to pieces
FIG. 26.-Comttnation after a few hours» WQrk> Qne of the
chisel and hook. .
best pole-pruners made is the Tele
graph' ' tree-pruner shown in Plate 30, Fig. 1. It is best
to buy the pruner separately, and have a pole especially
made. This should be of straight grained spruce, two
inches in diameter and twelve or fourteen feet long. Plate
30, Fig. 2, shows the method of using it. It is operated by
means of a rope, and the spiral spring brings the knife into
position again for another cut. Extra knives and springs
can be bought, so that they can be easily replaced when
broken. The pruner will last through a summer's work in
good condition.
Hand pruning-shears are useful for cutting back trees
when setting them out, and for pruning broken roots; also
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 133
in shaping young trees during their first few years of
growth. The cutting part of pruning-shears is the one
blade — the crescent shaped portion just presses against the
branch. When using the shears they should be held in such
a way that the crescent is turned toward the side of the
branch that is being removed. When trimming back twigs
the cuts should be made about half an inch or an inch above
a strong bud, which on developing will continue the growth
of the branch. The short stub will dry and fall off, so that
the active tissue near the bud will form a callus over the
wound. When the cut is made too close to the bud, it is
likely to be injured by drying, and will not develop.
When removing heavy branches it is sometimes best to
support the ends, and a rope and pulley-blocks are found
very useful. When cutting back the ends of branches that
cannot easily be reached by a ladder, the workmen can sup
port themselves partly by means of ropes attached to the
belt, and running over a crotch near the stem at the top of
the tree.
Hints to Tree-Climbers. — The Department of Parks of
the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens issues, in pamphlet
form, the following " Hints to Tree- Climbers" to its men:
"1. Before starting out on a tree, judge its general con
dition. The trunk of a tree that shows age, disease, or
wood -destroy ing insects generally has its branches in an
equally unhealthy condition. Greater precautions should,
therefore, be taken with a tree in this condition than with a
young, vigorous tree.
"2. The different kinds of wood differ naturally in their
strength and pliability. The soft and brash woods need
greater precautions than the strong and pliable ones. All
the poplars, the ailantus, the silver maple, the chestnut,
134 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
catalpa, and willow are either too soft or brittle to depend
on without special care. The elm, hickory, and oak have
strong, flexible woods and are, therefore, safer than any
others. The red oak is weaker than the other oaks. The
sycamore and beech have a tough cross-grained wood and
are, therefore, fairly strong. The linden has a soft wood,
while the ash and gum, though strong and flexible, are apt
to split.
"3. Look out for a limb that shows fungous growths.
Every fungus sends out a lot of fibers into the main body of
the limb which draw out its sap. The interior of the branch
then loses all strength and becomes like powder. Outside
appearances sometimes do not show the interior condition,
but one can be sure that every time he sees a fungus prop
ping out, there is trouble behind it, and the limb is not alto
gether safe.
"4. When a limb is full of holes or knots, it generally
indicates that borers have been working all kinds of gal
leries through it, making it unsafe. The silver maple and
sycamore maple are especially full of borers, which in many
cases work on the under side of the branch, so that the man
in the tree looking down cannot see its dangerous con
dition.
"5. A dead limb with bark falling off indicates that it
died at least three months before and is, therefore, less safe
than one with its bark tightly adhering to it.
"6. Branches are more apt to snap on a frosty day when
they are covered with an icy coating than on a warm, sum
mer day.
"7. A rainy or drizzly day causes the branches of a tree
to be slippery, and greater precautions are then necessary.
"8. Always use the pole-saw and pole-shear on the tips
THE CARE OF STREET-TREES 135
of long branches, and use the pole-hook in removing dead
branches of the ailantus and other brittle trees where it
would be too dangerous to reach them otherwise.
''9. Examine your ladder before using it.
' ' 10. Be sure of the strength of your branch before tying
an extension -ladder to it.
"11. Do not slant the extension-ladder too much.
"12. Always watch the upper end of your ladder.
"13. Do not forget to use the 'danger sign' on streets
where falling branches are apt to injure careless passers-by.
' ' 14. Always consult your foreman before taking up any
job where risk is involved. ' '
CHAPTER VII
INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES AND HOW TO
PROTECT THEM
EVEN in the forest the enemies of trees are very many.
Winds break their limbs, snow and ice maim and deform
them, hail beats off their leaves and twigs, frost nips their
buds and tender shoots, lightning shatters them, and fungi
and insects prey upon them. Added to natural enemies, the
unfavorable city conditions make the life of a street-tree
a hard one.
The intelligent planting of trees must be supplemented
by their protection, both by personal and legal means. It is
idle to plant trees unless their safety can be assured. The
vast majority of people have no conception that a tree has
any right to be respected, just as they are slow of compre
hension where the rights of animals are in question, or the
right of posterity to what we now enjoy.
There is another point to be remembered in dealing with
trees ; that while they are living objects, and in their modes
of growth and reproduction greatly resemble animals, they
do not possess the power of locomotion. If a man dislikes
his environment, he moves to a more congenial place.
A tree cannot move, and its surroundings must be made
agreeable to its well being. The writer has often thought of
what would happen if trees could run away from the place
where they are maltreated and abused. Many people would
136
INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES 13?
find their specimens gone — departed to more hospitable
regions.
The chief sources of injury to street-trees are:
POOR SOIL
The street-soil is generally very poor and the trees con
stantly take the available plant-food out of it. A part of
this matter assimilated by the trees is converted into wood ;
but by far the larger portion goes into the leaves. In the
forest the fallen leaves pile up and form a humus, by means
of which the mineral matter contained in the leaves is
returned to the soil. In the city, however, the successive
crops of leaves are removed and the soil becomes impover
ished. Just as one would not think of success in farming
without the yearly use of fertilizers of some sort to enrich
the ground, so in the case of shade-trees, the periodic appli
cation of some suitable fertilizer to the soil about them is of
the highest importance to aid their growth.
ROOTS LACK AIR AND WATER
To insure the proper performance of the tree's functions
its roots must have a supply of air and water. The exclu
sion of either of these requisites from the soil is fatal. It is
a matter of common observation that a filling of earth, two
or three feet deep, about a thrifty tree will damage or kill it.
The covering of earth works this injury simply by excluding
air from the active rootlets. Street-trees are greatly limited
in their supply of air and moisture by the pavements.
SALT WATER
Salt used in freezing ice-cream is sometimes emptied
near trees. When it is dissolved by rains and carried to the
roots it becomes very injurious. Plate 33, Fig. 6.
138 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
DUST, SMOKE, AND INJURIOUS GASES IN THE AIR
Dust and smoke are liable to choke up the breathing
pores of the leaves, and their natural functions are severely
hindered. Some trees suffer more than others from this
nuisance. The leaves of the sugar maple are especially
susceptible; their stomata or breathing pores become clogged
up by dust, and they acquire a hard, metallic state.
In cities where large quantities of bituminous coal are
used and in the vicinity of manufacturing establishments,
such as fertilizer mills, paper-pulp mills, copper-smelting
and blast furnaces, particularly where sulfur gases are pro
duced, the effects upon all kinds of foliage are very evident.
It has been shown that sulfuric-acid gas is the most injuri
ous component of the fumes that prove injurious to foliage,
and European investigations have proved that the presence
of sulfuric-acid gas in the air, in the ratio of 1 to 50,000, is
enough to lead to the destruction of the leaves of deciduous
trees. The effects of sulfurous fumes are shown by the
turning of the leaves reddish-brown in spots or along the
edges, and eventually of their drying up entirely.
All the evidence goes to show that little can be done
toward mitigating the trouble caused by poisonous gases in
the air. In cities suffering from the smoke nuisance it is
very difficult to grow many of the ordinary street-trees.
The European and the American planes will stand adverse
conditions better than any of the other good street-trees.
OILING OF ROADS
The oiling of roadways during the last few years has led
to a great deal of speculation regarding the effect of the
dust from such roads on the vegetation bordering them. No
INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES 139
case of injury to the foliage of trees or shrubs resulting
from the oiling of roads has come to the observation of the
writer. The Director of Public Roads of the United States
Department of Agriculture writes, under date of September
2, 1910: "I am pleased to advise that from personal observa
tions and from conversations with officials in a position to
know, I am confident that where roads are oiled, so that the
roots of trees or shrubbery do not come in contact with the
oil, no injury occurs to the foliage."
On the other hand, the writer noticed some items in the
newspapers stating that in Paris the oiling of streets proved
injurious to foliage. He wrote to the Prefect of the Seine,
who has charge of the street-trees of Paris, and under date
of August 23, 1910, received, through the American Ambas
sador in Paris, a reply as follows :
"I am just in receipt of a report of the Commissioner of
the Western Section of Thoroughfares, in which the latter
indicates the baneful effect of the spreading of hot tar upon
the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, and proposes to call the
attention of the Public Roads Service to the withering of
the trees on the avenue which, in his opinion, must be at
tributed to the tarring of this road.
"It appears from this report that a border-plot of stone-
crops was burned in 1908, and lost its leaves the very day
after the spreading; that some geraniums, and some bego
nias showed leaves shriveled, spotted, and their growth
stopped. It was the same with some lilac, currant, and
gooseberry bushes.
"This year, likewise, many of the trees on the Avenue
du Bois are in an alarming state of decay ; several specimens
of ailantus, maple, and American walnut, formerly in good
vegetation, are dead. Others are in a drooping state.
140 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
"The Commissioner of the Western Section believes that
this condition arises from the deposit, upon the leaves, of
the tar- dust stirred up by the intense circulation of vehicles.
"The Public Roads Service will be informed of these
facts ; and perhaps it will be necessary to decide to abandon
the tarring in the proximity of vegetation."
While the above letter would seem to indicate that there
is a relation of cause and effect between the tarring of the
Bois de Boulogne and the damage to near-by trees the case
is not to be regarded as fully proved. The assigning of the
cause of the wilting of the foliage does not seem to be
conclusive. The statement about the dying of the stone-
crops the very next day after the tar was applied to the
road, would lead one to suspect that possibly fumes from
the tar were responsible for the injury rather than tar-dust,
for a fresh application of oil or tar effectively lays the dust.
The subject needs further very careful study before any
definite conclusions can be drawn. The writer has begun
some experiments to determine the effect of dust collected
from oiled roads on the foliage of trees; but has not yet
reached any satisfactory results.
ILLUMINATING GAS
This is extremely poisonous, and is fatal to any tree the
roots of which are exposed to it for a sufficient length of
time. It is one of the hardships to which city-trees are
exposed that it is not always easy to -prevent or foresee.
Frequently trees are killed before the leak is discovered.
While poor construction of mains is frequently responsi
ble for gas-leaks, breaks in mains occur from a great many
causes. Trolley-cars, steam-rollers, and other heavy traffic
on highways sometimes cause loosening of joints and even
142 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
breaking of gas-pipes, and the resulting leaks sometimes
kill a row of trees of an entire block.
A very small leak does not saturate the soil at once, and
may not be the cause of the immediate death of a tree. Its
effect is bound to tell in time, however. The tree will assume
an unhealthy look, the foliage will become yellow and thin
at the top and there will appear a large amount of dead
wood that will not be accounted for in any other way.
Symptoms of Gas-Poisoning. — The symptoms of gas-
poisoning are characteristic. The effect of a large leak
upon a tree is very pronounced. The foliage turns yellow,
wilts, and falls from the tree. There is no mistaking the
cause. The effect of a small leak is yellowing of the foliage,
followed by a greater or less defoliation of the tree, accord
ing to the degree of poisoning. Limbs here and there die,
the bark becomes loosened in places, and fungous growths
make their appearance on the trunk and the main branches.
The poisoned soil generally becomes darker than its natural
color. The roots and the sapwood of the lower trunk be
come discolored blue, and have a most offensive odor.
The writer recalls a case when he very carefully watched
a number of street-trees affected by gas -poisoning. There
were several varieties among them. The elms died first,
and soon afterward the bark began to loosen and drop from
the trunk and main branches. The sugar maples died next.
The red maples withstood the effects of the gas the longest.
One red maple in particular was observed for about three
weeks, the ground at the roots of which was badly saturated
with gas. The foliage did not dry up at once, but gradually
dropped from the tree, beginning at the top. Ulcers were
formed on the trunk and main branches, and the sap oozed
out from splits in the bark. It was frothy white and had a
INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES 143
fermented odor, as that of cider. Finally, all the foliage
of the tree was gone, the sap stopped flowing, and the tree
was dead.
The formation of ulcers and the oozing of sap are not
necessary symptoms of gas-poisoning, however, but may
follow other diseased or weakened conditions of trees. See
page 199.
The wilting of the foliage of a tree following its attack
by borers is sometimes mistaken for gas-poisoning. When a
branch of a tree becomes riddled, the exposed wood dries
and checks, and in the course of time the draft of sap is
interrupted and the end of the branch dies. The wilting of
the foliage in such cases makes one suspicious of gas. An
examination of the branch, however, will reveal the true
source of injury.
How to Detect Leaks. — The presence of gas can be
detected by making a hole in the ground, three or four feet
deep, with a crowbar, and applying the nostrils to the open
ing. Unless the leak is extremely slight, the gas can usually
be discovered by the above method. A more certain way of
proceeding, however, is to insert a piece of gas or other pipe
into the hole made by the crowbar, and draw up and inhale
through the nostrils or the mouth the gases at the base
of the opening. The slightest amount of gas in the soil
can be detected in this way. When the gas is present in
the soil in large quantities, it can be ignited by applying a
match at the opening made with a crowbar. It will burn
with a flash. This method, however, should not be used in
testing for gas-leaks. It is extremely dangerous, as it is
likely to result in an explosion of the gas-main.
When a slight leak is discovered before the injury pro
ceeds very far, the tree can be saved by quickly repairing
144
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
the leak and aerating the soil. This can be done by leaving
the ditch open, digging a channel around the tree, loosening
the soil about the roots, and watering freely.
Laying of Gas-Mains. — Care in laying gas-mains is of the
utmost importance. The leaking of gas is a great loss to
the gas companies, and economizing the cost of first con-
B C E
FIG. 27. — Method of making tight joints in gas-pipes. A, Untarred oakum or
hemp. B, Calked lead. C, Rubber packing. D and E, Two malleable
iron sectional rings. F, Bolts for drawing the rings together so as to press
down rubber packing C. G, G, Wooden blocks for supporting ends of pipes.
struction is likely to prove disastrous in the long run.
Sometimes gas -pipes are laid with cement joints, as this
method is cheap ; but the least settling of the ground causes
leaks. Threaded joints are efficient on small pipes. One of
the best methods now in use of making tight joints in gas-
pipes, eight inches or more in diameter, is shown in Fig. 27.
Untarred oakum or hemp-yarn is well rammed in first; and
above that is poured melted lead, which is afterward com-
INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES 145
pacted by a calking hammer. Rubber packing is then in
serted into the annular space left after the calking of the lead,
and rammed into the joint and held there by means of two
malleable iron rings connected by bolts. The pipes are sup
ported near the joints by means of blocks of wood to prevent
settling.
Damages for Trees Killed. — The injury to trees from gas
has been so conclusively demonstrated, and damages have
been so frequently awarded for loss of trees by this means
in several States, that companies usually settle with prop
erty-owners out of court.
In the State of Massachusetts there are a number of
cases on record of payments made by gas companies for
killing trees by gas. In 1905, the trees along Middlesex
Street, Lowell, began to die. Owners obtained investigation
by the Park Commission, and the cause was found to be a
leaking gas-main. A complaint against the Lowell Gaslight
Company was made by the superintendent of parks, and
tried in the police court. The company was fined $900,
which was paid to the city, and settlements were made with
most of the owners.
In 1907, several cases were entered against the Spring
field Gaslight Company, but they were all settled out of
court. In one case twenty-eight trees on one street were
damaged by gas, and the company paid the owners an
aggregate sum of a little over $2,000, as agreed by a com
mittee.
In the majority of cases, however, no amount of money
can restore the loss of large trees. Continued vigilance is
necessary on the part of property-owners and city tree offi
cials to prevent trees from being killed. When there is the
slightest suspicion of a gas-leak, tests of the soil should be
146 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
made. The trees along streets having large gas-mains need
especial watching. The soil around the roots should be
tested at frequent intervals, and repairs of mains immedi
ately ordered if the presence of gas is detected.
Tests for gas should be made in the spring, as soon as the
frost is out of the ground. During the winter the frozen
surface causes an accumulation of gas underneath when
there is the slightest leak. When gas is discovered at that
season of the year and the leak stopped, there is a chance
for the affected tree to recover. On the other hand, if the
gas is left in the soil it will poison the tree when it resumes
active growth.
OVERHEAD WIRES
The injury to trees from overhead wires is frequently
serious. While cases of wanton destruction of roadside-
trees, to make way for telephone, telegraph, electric-light,
and trolley-wires, have been numerous in the past, greater
vigilance on the part of property-owners and public officials
has caused a lessening of the evil. There may still be found,
however, hundreds of trees in public highways that have
been lopped, butchered, hacked out of their former shapeli
ness by ruthless linemen, who regard nothing with greater
contempt than a tree. These crippled shapes are painful to
look upon, as are all misshapen or mutilated things, and the
pity of it is that a little precaution, a trifle clemency, might
have left the greater number of them uninjured.
The laying of wires underground is becoming more com
mon. In many cities ordinances have been enacted requir
ing public utility companies to put their wires underground
at the rate of a number of miles each year, and no new lines
are permitted to be constructed above ground. So long,
INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES 147
however, as there are overhead telephone, electric -light, and
trolley-feed wires in cities, there will be interference with
trees, and it will require continuous watchfulness to reduce
the evil to a minimum.
In the first place, it should not be permitted to attach
wires of any kind to trees on a public highway. Sometimes,
as in the case of the telephone, it is not the wire that does
the mischief, but the way it is attached to the tree. If rope
is used, it • does not harm the tree. If wire is employed
instead, and is allowed to remain on the tree for a number
of years, it girdles the limb and kills it. Such cases are
very numerous. The wire is not noticed, and it is only
when a dead branch appears on the tree that the fatal wire
is discovered. Sometimes when the -central stem of a tree
is so girdled, the entire top dies and the tree is ruined.
Then, again, linemen, unless especially cautioned, use metal
spurs to climb trees, and great injury is likely to result to
the tree from such a practise. Sometimes a man's foot slips
and a deep gash is inflicted on the limb.
Escaping Electrical Currents. — Where wires pass through
trees, they should not be allowed to come in contact with
limbs, because their swaying causes an abrasion of the bark.
The continuous rubbing prevents the healing of the wound ;
in time the wood dries and checks, the limb decays, and
breaks in a storm. In fact, it has been found that all the ill
effects of wires running through trees are the result of
mechanical injuries followed by decay. The instances of
direct killing of trees because of escaping electricity are
very rare. It is during wet weather, when live wires touch
a tree, that there is a grounding of the electric current
through it. Frequently local damage results by the burning
of the part in contact with the wire or cable.
148
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
How to Protect Branches. — A limb may be effectively
protected from abrasion by an electric light or trolley-feed
wire in contact with it by a strip of wood fastened to it by
means of two nails, one at each end.
The strip should not be nailed against
the limb, but should be separated from
it by two pieces of insulating fiber, half
an inch thick, as shown in Fig. 28.
In no case should the cutting of limbs
of shade-trees for the purpose of making
way for wires be permitted ; but should
an exceptional case arise, where cutting
of limbs is necessary, the work should
be done under the supervision of some
city official.
There is one case of the evil of over
head wires that cannot be overcome
except by their removal, and that is
where young trees grow under a web of
wires. The young shoots cannot force
themselves between the wires, but be
come stunted, and the result is an ab
normally shaped, flat-headed tree. The
most horrible butchery occurs when
a large, wedge-shaped space is taken
out of the centre of beautiful trees to
allow the passage of wires. The damage
is beyond repair, and it would be better
to cut the trees down entirely than to leave permanent eye
sores. See Plate 31, Fig. 5.
Damages for Injuries.— Many cases are on record in
which damages have been awarded by courts for injury to
FIG. 28.— Method of
protecting a branch
from abrasion by wire
cable. A, Branch.
B, Strip of wood
about 12 inches long,
2£ inches wide. C,
Piece of insulating
fiber, 2 inches square,
i inch thick. D,
Nail. E, Section of
cable.
INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES 149
trees. The case of Dr. John Marshall against the American
Telegraph and Telephone Company, tried in the Pennsyl
vania courts, was an important one. During the absence of
Dr. John Marshall from his farm at Douglassville, Berks
County, Pa., in 1895, employees of the American Telegraph
and Telephone Company cut down sixty-eight trees on his
property; whereupon Dr. Marshall immediately brought
criminal action against these employees, which action was
carried from the court of the Justice of the Peace to the
Common Pleas Court in Reading, Berks County, and thence
to the Superior Court, with decisions against the telephone
company throughout the entire action.
The fines required of the three employees of the com
pany were to the full limit of the law, and aggregated $150.
The criminal suit having been decided by the highest court
in favor of Dr. Marshall, he brought civil action against the
company for damages, and on January 3, 1898, the court
appointed three viewers to assess damages. On February
14, 1898, the viewers filed their report, from which report
the telephone company and also Dr. Marshall appealed, and
on October 18, 1898, the case was tried before the Common
Pleas Court in Berks County. The verdict was in favor
of Dr. Marshall. The telephone company appealed to the
superior court, and on April 16, 1901, an opinion in favor of
Dr. Marshall was handed down by Justice Beaver, allowing
damages to the amount of $400 to Dr. Marshall.
In his decision, Justice Beaver said in part: "The com
mercial idea that the only good tree is a dead tree— that is,
that it is only good for lumber — no longer prevails. The
tree has much more than a commercial value. Its influence
upon climate and water-supply has come to be regarded as a
question to be reckoned with in determining the conditions
150 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
under which our increasingly dense population is to live and
flourish. Its beauty and sightliness have value in the land
scape. Its shade refreshes and shelters; and even as an
investment, young trees have an actual money value which
cannot be disregarded or measured by their present value
as timber trees."
Another decision of far-reaching importance to telephone
and telegraph companies and other companies maintaining
lines of poles and wires in public highways, and to owners
of property along such highways, was rendered November
17, 1904, by Supreme Court Justice Garretson, in Long
Island City.
It was the case of Mary I. Weeks, a resident of Bayside,
Long Island, against the New York and New Jersey Tele
phone Company. The company erected a line of telephone
poles on a public highway running through her property, and
strung wires thereon. The justice held that the use of the
highway for the support of a line of poles and wires for sup
plying the general public with electricity was in no sense a
proper street use, and that therefore, notwithstanding the
statute and the city permits, the erection and maintenance
of that line of poles and wires for that purpose without Mrs.
Weeks's consent, was unauthorized and illegal. He directed
the sheriff to remove its poles and wires from the street.
STREET IMPROVEMENTS
Many trees necessarily fall a sacrifice to important
improvements in the natural growth of cities. When large
buildings are erected on business streets, close to the side
walk, it is inevitable that they must go. Trees also suffer
from the mutilation of the needed cutting of large roots in
resetting curbstones and flag walks; also in the digging for
PLATE 32.— INJURIES TO STREET-TREES.
1. Leader of a 14-inch buckeye broken as a result of abrasion by trolley feed-wire. 2. Top
of a 22-inch Sugar Maple, killed by girdling telephone wire. 3. Where the provision for
street-trees has been a matter of little concern. 4. Planting strip absent and pavement
close to trunk. 5. Sidewalk too narrow; trees planted in gutter in consequence. 6. Trees
saved in Cambridge, Mass. Trees planted before street improvement, allowed to project
into gutter : curb being interrupted.
152 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
water and gas mains and sewers. Such cases arise from
time to time in municipal work, but it is highly important
that contractors and builders should consult the proper city
officials when it is proposed to do any work that is likely
to injure trees. Frequently a way is found of accomplish
ing the results sought without injuring a tree. In many
instances a tree may be saved when it seems inevitable to
some that it should be sacrificed.
The writer recalls a case of two years ago when an archi
tect came to the office of the Shade-Tree Commission, and
wanted permission to remove a fourteen-inch sugar maple
that stood in the way of a proposed driveway of a house
then under construction. He said that he had studied the
problem carefully, and that there was no way of construct
ing the driveway without removing the tree. The premises
were examined, and it was found that the tree encroached
less than three feet on the line of the proposed roadway;
but that by making it slightly curved, it would be an easy
matter to keep clear of the tree. The architect did not
approve of the plan. Finally he was told that permission
would not be granted to remove that tree under the circum
stances. He made the driveway curved, and now the owner
of the house is very glad that the tree was saved.
Opening New Streets.— Great injury results to trees
when new streets are opened or the grade of streets is
changed. In such cases city engineers and boards of public
improvement are frequently as great offenders as public
utilities companies. Engineers dislike to deviate from
straight lines in the laying of streets, or to change the
width of a street, even if by so doing it is possible to save a
line of trees. When a street department works in conjunc
tion with that in charge of the care of trees, it is sometimes
INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES
153
possible to devise means by which trees may be saved.
The writer remembers a street in East Orange that was to
be macadamized and curbed. As proposed, the street was
to have a thirty-foot roadway. To have carried out that
plan would have necessitated the cutting down of five red
maples, about twenty inches in diameter. On consultation
FIG. 29. — A "well" constructed about an elm-tree when grade was raised.
with the Shade-Tree Commission, the city engineer finally
decided to make the roadway twenty-six feet in width, and
the trees were permitted to remain.
Changing Grade. — When the street grade is raised or
lowered, and there are trees along the line, a problem again
arises as to the disposition of the trees. A good deal
depends upon the condition of the existing trees. If the
grade of a street is lowered about a foot, the trees can safely
remain. When the grade is lowered considerably, and the
trees are less than a foot in diameter, it will pay to lower
154 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
them. Very frequently an entire row of trees can be saved
that way. If the trees are in poor condition, however, it is
best to cut them down and plant new ones. With proper
selection, planting, and care, better trees result in a short
time than if an attempt is made to save poor specimens.
When the grade of a street is raised, the filling should
not be brought up close to the tree, as the exclusion of air
will kill it. A well should be left around the tree of as large
a diameter as possible. In a few years the roots will come
to the surface, and then it will be possible to fill the well
and bring the soil up to grade. A grating may be placed
over the opening to the well so as to guard against any one's
falling into it.
When the street-grade is raised it is even possible to con
tinue the concrete pavement close to the tree, provided an
air-space is left underneath that covers as large an extent of
root spread as possible. The pavement should not touch the
trunk of the tree, but should keep clear of it, six inches or
more to allow for the growth of the tree and the circulation
of air.
In the New York Zoological Garden, many animal cages
having concrete floors were built around large trees, twenty
inches and more in diameter. All the trees were saved by
raising the floor a foot or more above the ground and leav
ing an air-space between them. The tree-trunks were
allowed to pass through circular openings in the floor, and
were protected by means of iron guards so that the animals
could not injure them. The work was done under the
direction of Hermann W. Merkel, the Forester of the Garden.
Many cases arise in a city, involving the care and pres
ervation of valuable trees. Each case should be studied
carefully, and the best plan followed. In cities having
INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES 155
shade-tree departments, the people always have the sense
of security that the safety of their trees is being guarded;
and, if any are to be sacrificed, it is because of inevitable
conditions. If, after careful consideration, it is found that
there must be cutting of limbs -or roots of trees, the work
should be done under the supervision of one in charge of
the care of trees.
BUILDING OPERATIONS
There are minor improvements in city streets during
which trees are killed or damaged without any show of
reason. Guy-ropes are frequently attached to trees in the
process of building which bruise or cut them severely. The
piling of lumber, bricks, and other material, and careless
carting, cause serious injury to trees while construction is
under way. In the erection or repair of a building the
owner or contractor should put such guards around the
neighboring trees as will effectively prevent their being
injured.
MUTILATION BY HORSES
Of all mechanical injuries to street-trees, however, none
are more numerous nor more fatal than the mutilations
caused by horses. One would not have to go very far in
any town to find scores of examples of trees as badly muti
lated as the one shown in Plate 33, Fig. 3. Such trees owe
their present condition to horses that feasted on their bark
many years ago. Most cities have ordinances forbidding
drivers to tie animals to trees, or to leave them standing near
a tree. Occasionally a man is arrested and fined for having
allowed his horse to injure a tree, but it is not always an
easy matter to catch and punish the offender. Besides, in
INJURIES TO SHADE-TREES 157
many cases, no fine will compensate for the damage done,
because in a few minutes a horse may destroy a tree worth
hundreds of dollars, and which no amount of money can
replace.
Trees Must Have Guards. — In spite of the greatest care,
horses will sometimes bite trees; and the only way to make
it impossible for them to do so, is to place guards around all
trees. On our public streets no tree is safe from the day of
planting until the time of maturity. I have seen trees com
pletely ruined a few hours after they were set out, by the
horse of the grocer or butcher, who stopped to make some
deliveries. The only thing left to do was to set out new
ones in their place. When a larger tree, six or eight inches
in diameter, is barked, it cannot be so readily replaced. It
is left to grow in its injured state. In case the strip of bark
removed by the horse is small, the resulting wound may
heal, if a box is placed around the tree to protect it from
further injury. When a tree is badly bitten or is exposed to
successive mutilations, the bark of the growing tree never
covers up the scar so made, and the tree becomes irrepar
able.
As the tree grows, successive annual layers of wood are
added, and its diameter is increased. The portion of the
tree that has been stripped of bark does not receive this
new growth; but the wood is deposited in a thick roll around
the edge of the wound. The exposed wood dries, checks,
moisture causes it to rot and form a fertile field for fungus
growth and the entrance of borers. After a while the decay
is carried to the heart of the tree, and sooner or later it dies.
The first cause of the decay and death of many of the trees
annually removed from public streets may be traced to the
mutilation of the trunks by horses.
158 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
Trees with the bark removed are unsightly, and as long
as they continue their growth their deformity increases.
After a time they also become a source of danger. The
weakest part of the trunk of a tree is at a point four or five
feet from the ground. It is the portion of the tree that with
stands the greatest strain during a storm. For example, if
you grasp the end of a rod with the hands and bend it suffi
ciently, it will break in the middle. The resistance of the
roots of a tree, on the one hand, and the pressure of the
wind against the head, on the other, produce a like result;
the tree tends to break across the trunk. Sometimes during
storms mutilated trees snap at the points of the trunks
where they had been injured, and cause considerable dam
age by their fall.
When a tree is supplied with a guard, it must not be
allowed to remain after the tree outgrows it. The injury
caused by the failure to remove a guard after it becomes too
small, is sometimes more fatal than to expose the tree to
mutilation. If the guard binding a tree is weak, it yields
and breaks ; but before giving way under the strain of the
tree's growth, it usually injures the trunk. In Plate 33, Fig.
4, is shown the damage caused by a guard left around a tree
after the latter had become too large for it. The guard
broke; but the tree was disfigured by an abnormal growth
of a ring of tissue. If the guard is very strong and the
increase of the diameter of the tree continues, the action of
the iron band around it has the effect of girdling, and the
tree dies. In Plate 33, Fig. 5, is shown an example of a tree,
the death of which was caused by the binding of the protec
tor, which was cut apart before the photograph was taken.
The effect of its pressure on the trunk is clearly shown.
CHAPTER VIII
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS AND OTHER
DISEASES
BESIDES being subject to injuries resulting from condi
tions of artificial city environment and abuse, as just de
scribed, trees have natural parasitic enemies such as insects
and fungi, and also suffer from diseases in which the con
ditions of soil and climate are the controlling factors.
TREATMENT OF TREES FOR INSECT PESTS
The most vital task, by far, in the care of trees is the
extermination of the insects that threaten to destroy or in
jure them from time to time. The great damage inflicted
by insects on shade-trees throughout the country is usually
underestimated. A fully grown shade-tree is a valuable
asset to any property, and while it is not always possible to
estimate its loss in financial terms it must be remembered
that it may have taken a lifetime to grow. The value of
street-trees is infinitely greater than their cost of planting.
They are treasures which should be most jealously guarded.
To give an idea of the extensive damage caused by insects
attention need be called only to the depradations of the elm-
leaf beetle. From 1898 to 1905 it caused the death of sev
eral thousand trees in Albany and Troy alone, besides seri
ously weakening many others. The leopard moth is a very
serious borer, which has become established about New York
159
160 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
City and has killed hundreds of trees. In the northern
section of the State of New Jersey, a great many of the
sugar maples died in 1905 and 1906 as a result of the injuries
inflicted on these trees by the sugar-maple borer and the
leopard moth a few years before that time. The gipsy moth,
perhaps the most destructive of all tree-pests, has become
firmly established in Massachusetts.
Even in the forest the annual loss of trees from insect
pests is very great; but in cities the unfavorable conditions
to tree growth are contributory causes that make them still
more vulnerable to attack. Like animals, trees can resist
disease to a greater degree when they are in a healthy condi
tion. Many insects do not attack trees until they show signs
of weakness, and that is especially true of borers. Generally,
then, it may be said that one of the best methods of prevent
ing insect injury is to keep trees in as thrifty a condition as
possible. It should always be remembered that trees have
life— different in kind, perhaps, from that of animals, but
nevertheless a life that needs nourishment and favorable
conditions for the maintenance of vigor.
While protective measures are extremely important, there
will be visitations of diseases and pests that will require
remedial treatment. Besides, insects are dependent during
their development on plant food, certain species preferring
certain trees, so that from a natural standpoint the insect
possesses its right to exist just as other forms of life. It is
admitted, however, that this point of view is not consoling
to one whose trees have been killed by caterpillars, borers,
or other pests. It should be recognized as absolutely im
perative for the owner of one tree or a thousand trees to
be prepared to combat insects when a visitation occurs.
Insects feeding on trees v are always present; but some-
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 161
times in greater numbers than others. Frequently when a
certain species becomes very numerous, natural enemies
and parasites develop that kill the greater part or an entire
brood. Sometimes during the metamorphosis of insects,
unfavorable climatic conditions arise that kill a great num
ber. Again, an insect species may become so numerous as
to exhaust the food plant and then the race dies. It should
not be permitted, however, to adopt such heroic measures in
insect fighting.
The transformations which insects undergo from the
time of their hatching from the egg to their maturity is
called their metamorphosis. The egg is the first stage in the
existence of any insect. Almost always the eggs are laid by
the mother insect on or near the plant food which gives
nourishment to the young. The larva is the second stage of
an insect's life and is the form that hatches from the egg.
Familiar examples of larvae are caterpillars, maggots, and
grubs. The larval stage is the feeding period in the life
history of most insects injuring shade-trees, and is of
supreme importance from an economic standpoint, for it is
during this condition that many insects commit their great
est depredations.
The third stage in the life of an insect is the change of
the larva into a pupa. Many larvae, especially those of
moths when fully grown, spin about their body silken cases
called cocoons, at the same time transforming themselves
into pupae. The pupa remains inactive in the cocoon for
some time, then breaks through the cocoon and emerges as
the adult or mature insect. Some insects pass the winter or
hibernating condition in the egg form, others as partly grown
larvae. Again, many hibernate in the pupal stage and still
others pass the winter in the adult condition. The transfer-
162 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
mation of insects is of interest not only to the nature student
but also to one who seeks some method of controlling them.
There is always some one of the stages in the insect's meta
morphosis when it is most vulnerable and most easily ex
terminated. It may be the egg, larval, pupal, or adult con
dition. It is not usually the time when the most injury to
trees is apparent. In insect fighting the point constantly
to be borne in mind is, as far as possible, to destroy the
pests before they develop and reach their most injurious
stage. To do that successfully, a knowledge of the life his
tories of the common tree-pests is absolutely necessary.
Most States publish bulletins descriptive of the common
insect pests of shade and ornamental trees, with directions
how to combat them. The state entomologists are always
at the service of any citizen and are glad to give information
in the matter of insect control. It is therefore thought suf
ficient in this work to- describe only the most common and
destructive of our shade-tree pests and point out the easiest
means of destroying them.
There are three classes of tree-destroying insects which
may be grouped as leaf-eating insects, sucking insects, and
borers.
LEAF-EATING INSECTS
Leaf-eating insects inflict injury by feeding on the leaf
tissue of plants. They can usually be reached by poison
ing the leasus with an application of arsenic in some form.
Tussock Moth (Orgyia leucostigma S. and A.).— This
insect passes the winter in the egg state. The eggs are
deposited by the females in September and October in con
spicuous white masses on the bark of the trees. About the
end of May the larvae begin to hatch. They immediately
take to the leaves, increase in size and go through five
i'.
164 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
molts. When they complete their feeding period, nothing
but the principal veins of the leaves are left.
The larval period lasts about four or five weeks. Then
the caterpillars return to the bark, spin cocoons and change
to pupae. They remain in that condition for two weeks and
then emerge as adults. The males are winged and the
females wingless. Pairing now takes place, the males die
and the females deposit a cluster of eggs for the second
brood. Generally from three hundred to five hundred eggs
are found in a single cluster, from which if conditions are
favorable, as many caterpillars may hatch.
The summer, however, is but half over. Toward the
end of July, and the beginning of August, the eggs deposited
by the first brood hatch and the young larvae go up on the
leaves to finish the work begun by the parents. The cycle
continues as before — through the larval, pupal, and the adult
condition. In September the eggs are deposited on the bark
of the trees, remain in that condition through the winter,
and hatch in the spring.
The easiest and most effective means to control this in
sect is to exterminate it while it is in its egg condition. The
clusters are loosely attached to the bark, are very conspicu
ous, and are mostly on the trunks and lower limbs. They
can be removed .either by hand or by scraping them off.
After collecting, the egg masses should be burned.
If the eggs are allowed to hatch, the only treatment then
possible is to spray the foliage of the tree with a solution of
arsenate of lead. (See Insecticides, Chap. IX.) The method
of spraying is not always so thorough as removing the egg
clusters.
During the last four years, very little spraying has been
done in East Orange to control the tussock moth. In spite
166 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
of the insect's being epidemic in neighboring cities, the trees
of East Orange have been kept free from this pest by the
collection of the egg masses. This insect usually attacks the
elms, the lindens, the white maple, and the horse-chestnut.
Gipsy Moth (Porthetria dispar Linn.).— Closely related
to the tussock moth in its mode of development, but more
destructive of plant life than any other species of pest is the
gipsy moth. Its caterpillars thrive on an exceedingly large
number of plants. They eat without hesitation almost all
of our native trees and shrubs. It is a European insect,
which was introduced into the United States in 1869, by a
naturalist who imported it in the course of some experi
ments on silkworms.
The winter is passed in the egg condition. The egg
masses are rounded or oval clusters covered with yellowish
hair from the body of the female, giving them the appear
ance of a small piece of sponge. They hatch during May
or early June. As a rule the caterpillars feed at night and
hide during the day.
When ready to change to pupae the caterpillars are apt to
wander from their food, sometimes for a considerable dis
tance. Transformation to pupae takes place during the
month of June. The moths appear in July. Both the male
and the female insects have wings; but the female rarely
flies. Pairing then takes place and egg deposition begins.
The eggs then remain till the following spring, when they
hatch and the same life cycle is repeated.
As in the case of the tussock moth, one of the most effec
tive methods of keeping this pest under control is the care
ful collection and burning of the conspicuous egg masses.
This can be done most effectively in the fall, during the
winter and early spring. Creosote oil applied to the egg
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 167
mass will soak in and kill the eggs. The following prepara
tion was used in the work against the gipsy moth in Massa
chusetts: Creosote oil, 50 per cent., carbolic acid, 20 per
cent., spirits of turpentine, 20 per cent., and coal-tar 10 per
cent. The last was added to color the compound and thus
show at a glance what clusters had been treated.
Advantage may be taken of the migrating habit of the
caterpillar during the daytime by tying burlap bands around
the tree-trunks and then turning down the upper portion
of the burlap over the string. The bands can be lifted
daily and the caterpillars beneath killed.
The larva is quite resistant to arsenical poison, and it
requires a large dose to kill it. Arsenate of lead should be
used as soon as the leaves are well grown, as the young cat
erpillars are most susceptible to the insecticide.
Brown Tail Moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea Linn.). — The
brown tail moth is the other species that has been in
troduced into Massachusetts within recent years and is
scarcely second to the gipsy moth in destructiveness.
About the middle of July the moths are on the wing, and
each female lays from two hundred to three hundred eggs
in an oblong cluster on the under side of the leaf, near the
end of a branch, covering them with a dense mass of brown
hair. The eggs hatch early in August. While still young
the caterpillars make a nest in which they hibernate during
the winter. This is constructed at the ends of the twigs and
made by drawing together a few leaves, lining them with
silk and surrounding them with a mass of silken threads.
The tents are so firmly secured to the twigs that they can
be removed only with considerable force.
The young caterpillars cease feeding and retire into these
tents late in September, and there they remain during the
168 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
winter in a sort of half -dormant condition. They become
active again about the middle of April, or with the opening
out of new foliage, and feed upon the buds and the unfold
ing leaves. They feed until June, when they spin an open
cocoon of coarse silk among the leaves, and transform to
pupae. A month later the moths emerge to begin the life
cycle again.
The brown tail moth attacks a great variety of both wild
and cultivated plants, especially the oaks, maples, and elms.
One of the ways of combating this species is by removing
and burning the hibernating nests which are very con
spicuous during the winter and in the spring. Spraying
with arsenate of lead, both when the foliage develops and
when the young caterpillars hatch, is also very effective.
Fall Webworm (Hyphantria cunea Dru.). — The presence
of this insect can be readily discovered by the large tents
formed by the caterpillars. The first brood is rarely abun
dant enough to attract attention, and the nests seem to be
smaller than those found later in the season. Early in July
the caterpillars are full grown, leave the nests and make
cocoons in any convenient shelter near by, in crevices of the
bark or on the surface of the ground. Moths issue in a few
days and shortly afterward are ready to lay eggs in turn.
When the second brood appears in July, or early in
August, the tents are so much more numerous that they
attract more attention, and the insects grow so fast that
unless measures are taken at once, the infested trees may
suffer defoliation. Late in August and during the first half
of September, the larvae of the second brood leave the nests
and wander to some shelter where they change to the pupal
state and remain in that condition all winter.
The caterpillar of the fall webworm is a general feeder
170 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
on many plants comprising fruit, shade, and ornamental
trees. The easiest way to control the insect is to cut out the
twigs having the nests of caterpillars and burn them.
On large trees where the nests cannot be easily reached, the
foliage at the points where the nests are observed should be
sprayed with arsenate of lead. There is no necessity for
spraying the entire tree, because the insects feed only in
the immediate vicinity of the nest as long as there is any
thing to eat at that point. The earlier the spraying is done
the more easily will the insects be destroyed.
Bag Worm ( Thyridopteryx ephemerceformis Steph. ) . — This
insect derives its name from the fact that the larva is pro
tected by a bag or case which it carries about as a shelter
and in which it undergoes its transformations. In winter
these bags are prominent objects on the leafless trees.
In May, the caterpillars develop, which after working out
of the parent sack, at once begin to construct a bag of their
own. At first the sack, which is just large enough to hold the
insect, is carried upright; but as the larva increases in size
and adds to the sack it becomes too heavy and is allowed to
hang down, fastened to a twig or leaf by threads of silk
when the insect is not actually moving.
The feeding on the foliage of the tree continues, and
when full grown and ready to transform to the pupal stage,
the larvae become restless and wander to other trees. When
a suitable place is found, the bags are attached to a twig or
other support and the pupa is formed.
In about three weeks the male moth appears. The adult
female is wingless and legless. She does not leave her case,
but works out of it far enough to permit pairing, then
returns into the pupal skin, fills it with eggs, and wriggles
out of the bag and dies. The mouth of the bag closes after
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 171
her and the eggs are thus securely protected until they are
ready to hatch the ensuing spring.
The best way to control the pest is to pick off and burn
the bags containing the egg masses during the winter.
Spraying with arsenate of lead when the foliage develops is
also effective.
Elm-Leaf Beetle (Galerucella luteola Mull.).— The winter
of the elm-leaf beetle is passed in the adult condition, the
beetles taking shelter in attics, sheds, out-houses, and other
places. In the case of this insect, the adults also feed on
the leaves. The beetles are about a quarter of an inch long
and less than half that wide, dull yellow in color with a
black stripe on each wing cover.
The adults emerge about the time the leaves begin to
unfold and immediately begin to feed, eating irregular holes
through the leaves, i During the latter part of May and the
beginning of June, eggs are deposited on the under side of
the leaves. From these the larvae hatch until the latter part
of the month. The larvae are about three-eighths or one-
half inch long when full grown. They feed on the under
side of the leaves; but not through the tissue, and give the
foliage a skeletonized appearance. Ordinarily their presence
is not known until the larvae are full grown, when the seri
ousness of the injury becomes apparent. The leaves turn
brown, curl, and the entire tree looks as if a fire had swept
through it.
Beginning during the last days of June and continuing
until the middle of July, larvae crawl down the trunks and
change to yellow pupae in the ground near the base of the
tree. Adults develop about a week after the formation of
the pupae and in the latter part of July the summer brood of
beetles is abundant.
/
PLATE 37.— LIFE HISTORY OF ELM-LEAF BEETLE.
Adult beetles eating holes through leaves after emerging from their hibernating quarters in the
spring. 2. Egg mass on under side of leaf. 3. Larvae feeding on under side of leaves, giving
them a skeletonized appearance (1, 2, and 3 about % natural size). 4. The curling of the
foliage of the elm as a result of the feeding of the larvae. 5. The contrast between sprayed
and unsprayed elms attacked by the elm-leaf beetle. The tree on the left was sprayed with
arsenate of lead May 20, 1909. The tree to the right, about 25 feet away, was not sprayed.
View taken August 10, 1909.
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 173
Ordinarily there are two broods of this insect during a
year. The beetles take to the leaves, feed on them and
deposit their eggs. The larvae of the second brood go
through the same cycle of feeding on the under side of the
leaves, changing to pupae and transforming to adult beetles.
In the latter part of August, the development of the second
brood of beetles is complete. They hibernate during the
winter in the adult form and begin to feed on the developing
elm-leaves the following spring.
This insect is confined in its attacks to the elms, and pre
fers the European to the American variety. It has been a
most serious pest in many States. The defoliation of a tree
in midsummer is a serious injury, and if this occurs for suc
cessive years, the early death of the elm may be expected.
Such has been the record of the elm-leaf beetle in a great
many cities.
The only way to control the elm-leaf beetle is by spray
ing the foliage with arsenate of lead. The time to spray is
just when the leaves develop and the adults begin to feed.
A thorough spray at this time is very important, because if
the beetles can be killed before they lay eggs, there will be
no larvae to deal with later.
If early spraying is neglected or has not been effective,
an application of arsenate of lead is necessary when the
larvae begin to feed. It is important in this case to reach
the under side of the leaves. The beetles eat the entire
leaf tissue and it makes no difference whether the poison
is on the under or upper surface. The larvae eat only
the lower layer of cells, and even if the upper surface be
fully covered with arsenical poison they may not get even
a particle.
When the full grown larvae crawl down the trunks to
174 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
pupate, great numbers of them collect at the bases of the
elm-trees. At that time they can be swept up and killed by
pouring hot water on them. This, of course, is not a very
effective measure; but still, it is helpful, and in order to
secure the best results the grubs and the pupae should
be destroyed every few days so long as they are seen
in numbers.
The elm-leaf beetle is now a serious pest in many
Eastern States. The writer will therefore quote from his
records of observations of the work against this pest in
East Orange during 1909, as these will show approximately
up to what time spraying can be effective. Corrections, of
course, have to be made for variations in climate.
"The spraying began on May 18. On June 2, it was no
ticed that the depositing of eggs on the under side of the
leaves had begun. The spraying, however, was continued
during the period of incubation with good results. On June
10, it was noticed that the hatching of caterpillars had
begun. On June 25, made an inspection of all the elms in
the city. The early spraying was extremely effective. Some
of the leaves were eaten by the adult beetles, but there were
few egg masses. Spraying done after June 14 was also
effective. Although the leaves showed many empty eggs,
there were practically no larvae, as these were poisoned as
soon as they began to feed after hatching.
"On July 2, all spraying was stopped, as it was too late
for spraying to be effective. On July 7, the caterpillars of
the elm-leaf beetle were observed descending the trunks of
the elm-trees to pupate. The devastating effect of the pest
was then at its height. Not a single unsprayed tree within
the city limits was free from the attack. Only a partial
second brood of beetles was observed."
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 175
SUCKING INSECTS
Sucking insects eat no part of the plant itself, and it is
absolutely impossible for that reason to kill them with any
of the stomach poisons. They can be reached only by con
tact poisons which act on the breathing pores of the insects.
Soaps and oils are the materials used, and these act by clog
ging up the spiracles of the insects and choking them.
Cottony Maple Scale (Pulvinaria innumerabilis Rathvon) .
— The cottony maple scale attacks all the maples to a cer
tain extent, but is most injurious to the white maple. Dur
ing the winter the hibernating females are found along the
underside of the twigs and branches. They are oval, brown
in color, and about one-sixteenth of an inch long. When the
sap starts to flow in the spring the insects begin to feed and
grow until they are about one-quarter inch long. In early
June they excrete a mass of white, waxy, or cottony material
in which the eggs are deposited. There are from one thou
sand to two thousand eggs in each mass. The larvae hatch,
crawl up on the leaves and settle along the veins on the un
der side. As many as a thousand settle on a single leaf and
suck the sap as it comes up through the veins. In the
meantime the waxy masses having served their purpose as a
protection for the eggs, disintegrate, and the bits of white
material are carried away by the winds. The pumping of
the sap by the growing larvae continues, the leaves become
devitalized and about the latter part of July the foliage be
gins to fall as in late autumn.
The insects go through two or three molts and then
change to pupae. The mature male insects are winged, the
female has no wings. In early September pairing takes
place, the males die, the impregnated females remain on the
PLATE 38.— SCALE INSECTS.
1. The Woolly Maple Scale in cocoon condition, collected in masses in crevices of bark of Sugar
Maple (about natural size). 2. Adult females of woolly maple scale surrounded by cottony
tufts containing eggs. The larvae are seen along the veins (about Vz natural size). 3. The
Cottony Maple Scale, adult females on twig of white maple. The cottony masses excreted by
them contain the eggs. 4. Twig infested by San Jos£ scale. 5. Twig infested by male scales
of Scurfy Scale. 6. Twig infested by Oyster Shell Scale (3, 4, 5, and 6, about natural size).
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 177
leaves feeding until after the middle of September, when
they migrate to the twigs and settle down to pass the
winter.
It is very difficult to combat this pest. It has, however,
a number of natural enemies which vSometimes exterminate
it before it does serious damage. The only time for carry
ing on spraying operations against the insect is during the
fall and the winter, while the trees are in a dormant state.
At that time any of the soluble oil preparations will be
effective when used at winter strength.
There are many mechanical methods that can be used
successfully in controlling this insect. Brushing with a stiff
broom just where the white masses appear will destroy the
eggs and prevent hatching. Small trees especially can be
treated with very good results.
In 1904 and 1905, the Shade-Tree Commission of East
Orange succeeded in controlling this pest by mechanical
means. The trees were sprayed with water only, by direct
ing a small solid jet from the power sprayer at the develop
ing egg masses. A nozzle having a bore of about one-six
teenth of an inch was used and the water was. discharged
with sufficient pressure, so that when the stream was just
drawn along the under side of the twigs it cleared it of egg
clusters. The insects were dislodged and the egg masses
broken up, so that the larvae did not hatch.
Wherever city water pressure is available the insect may
be combated by using a garden hose with a solid jet of wa
ter, and as the infestation is usually on the lower branches
and on the under side, the method works in most cases.
Woolly Maple Scale (Pseudococcus aceris Sign.). — This
insect, which attacks the sugar maple, passes the winter
in the larval form. The larvae are microscopic in size,
178 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
collect in the crevices of the bark, and remain in a naked
state all winter. In the latter part of May, when they
change into the cocoon state, the presence of the pest is easily
detected. The cocoons are about one-sixteenth of an inch
long and perfectly white. On badly infested trees they
are piled one on top of the other in such large numbers
that the trunks look as if they had been whitewashed.
In early June the insects emerge from their cocoons.
The females go up to the leaf and settle on the under side
along the veins. They grow in size and surround themselves
with a fluffy white mass and lay their eggs from which the
young larvae hatch. These scatter along the veins and suck
the sap from the leaves. They begin to migrate during the
latter part of July. They go along the petioles of the leaves,
the main limbs, and gather on the trunks where they form
their cocoons. During the latter part of July and early
August the cocoons of the newly hatched larvae begin to
appear on the trees. Toward the end of August they leave
the cocoons, pair, and then the females of the second brood
again lodge themselves on the under side of the leaves to lay
the eggs for the winter generation of larvae. It is at this
time that the infested sugar maples begin to lose their
leaves.
Unlike other insects the several stages of metamorphosis
of this one are not completed within the same time. While
some of the insects are in cocoons others are already hatched
and still others are laying eggs on the under side of the
leaves. The additional fact that there are two broods a year
during the summer, produces conditions making it possible
to find the insect in all stages of development at any time in
midsummer. These peculiarities make the treatment of the
trees rather difficult, for the process that will destroy the
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 179
larvae or the adults will not hurt the eggs or the insects in
cocoons.
The best way to control the pest is to wash the trunks of
infested sugar maples with a solution of whale-oil soap at
the rate of one pound to four gallons of water, or oil emul
sion at weekly intervals from the middle of July until the
leaves fall in late autumn. In early November, after the foli
age is all gone, the trunks should be given a final treatment
with the whale-oil soap or oil emulsion to kill the tiny larvae
that remain all winter. In that way the brood can be killed.
San Jose Scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus Comst.). — Al
though this species has been most destructive of fruit-trees,
it attacks a large number of shade and ornamental trees as
well. The twigs of badly infested trees, instead of being
smooth and shiny, are covered with dark gray, scurfy
patches that have a peculiar granular look which any one
familiar with the bark of a rapidly growing tree will imme
diately recognize as not a normal condition.
The winter of the insect is passed in the half grown con
dition, covered by a round black scale about the size of a
pin's head. During that season the insects do not feed and
there is no drain upon the vitality of the tree. In May they
resume growth. About the middle of June the young larvae
are born and begin to crawl from beneath the female in
sects. These young are minute, active, yellow atoms that
crawl outwardly to the leaves and the young shoots. They
insert their slender mouth-filaments into the plant tissue and
begin to suck the sap. They change in form, become more
circular, and very soon waxy filaments begin to ooze out all
over the body, which form the scale. In about five or six
weeks the species is mature, reproducing in turn, and by
the end of the season the broods are no longer distinct, all
180 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
stages occurring on infested trees at the same time. A sin
gle pair, starting under favorable conditions in June, may
have descendants to exceed one thousand million before
snow is on the ground.
Experience has shown that the most effective way to
control the San Jose Scale is to spray with oil or soap emul
sions as soon after the middle of October as possible. At
that time, the functions of the leaves have been accom
plished and any scorching of the foliage by the spray will
not affect the tree itself. It is best to choose a sunshiny day
for the work, to use a nozzle that will give a fine spray and
to apply the mixture until the twigs begin to drip.
Scurfy Scale (Chionaspis furfurus Fitch). — This scale
usually infests the poplars and the maples among the shade -
trees. It is a very pale gray, almost as broad as long, with
a yellowish point or head. Beneath this scale the eggs are
found during the winter, and in June they hatch into pur
plish-colored larvae, which suck the plant juices. There is
only a single brood which matures in September, and is
rarely abundant enough to do very much injury.
This scale is thinner than most others of the armored
forms, and may be reached by caustic sprays in the winter.
If no winter application is made it is necessary to wait until
the eggs hatch in June, and then apply whale-oil soap or
kerosene emulsion.
Oyster-Shell Scale (Mytilaspis pomorum Bouche) . — Like
the San Jose scale this insect attacks orchard-trees mostly,
but is also present on shade-trees. It derives its name from
the resemblance to one of the very elongate types of oysters.
It winters in the egg state under the scale, and in May or
June the eggs hatch into minute yellow atoms that set and
begin to form small scales. These suck the juices of the
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 181
twigs and increase in size until midsummer, or a little later.
Then the males mature, and the females, after impregna
tion, lay their eggs, which fill the space beneath the scale.
Sometimes there are two broods during the season.
There is only one period during which this insect can be
satisfactorily reached; that is, when the eggs have hatched
and while the larvae are moving about or have just set.
This is during late May or early June. As soon as the
larvae are observed, spray with whale-oil soap at the rate of
one pound to five gallons of water, or kerosene emulsion.
Repeat, if possible, a week later to reach delayed larvae.
Plant Lice.— Most shade-trees suffer from plant lice to
a greater or less extent; but none more than the Norway
maple. These insects multiply very rapidly, suck the juices
of the leaves and shoots, and so exhaust their vitality.
When the insects become abundant the honey dew excreted
by them sometimes covers the leaves with a sticky secretion
that may be abundant enough to drop to the street below.
This secretion tends to clog the foliage so that it may drop
while yet perfectly green, and a black soot fungus is also
likely to develop.
Plant lice are most abundant during a cold, wet spring,
and the attack usually does not continue after the first spell
of hot dry weather; so that treatment is generally not
found necessary.
Should spraying be desirable nothing is better against
plant lice than whale-oil soap at the rate of one pound to
five gallons of water.
BORERS
Besides the leaf -eating and the sucking insects that in
jure trees through defoliation, shade-trees are also subject
to the attacks of borers that feed on their wood tissue. As
182 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
soon as the larvae of these insects hatch they bore their way
through the bark into the wood and make a series of gal
leries either immediately beneath the bark or deeper in the
tree. In these they develop and emerge as winged insects.
Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina Fabr.). — The most de
structive species on city trees is the leopard moth. Practi
cally all kinds of shade-trees are attacked by the larva.
During the latter days of June and in early July the adult
insects are most abundant. The eggs are deposited by the
females either singly or in masses, a single adult depositing
between five hundred and one thousand eggs. They are
usually placed in a bark crevice or other sheltered situation
on one of the small twigs or branches. On hatching, the
young caterpillar makes its way to the crotch of a small
branch or bud and at once bores into the wood tissue.
It works downward toward the base, and grows very
rapidly. Presently it leaves its burrow and wanders to a
large branch and again begins feeding. The caterpillars
bore a straight channel through the centre of the branch or
eat out a large cavity on one side of it. Many of the cater
pillars gnaw an irregular chamber of the size of a man's
hand right under the bark.
Two years are required to complete the life cycle. By
the end of the first season the larva is half -grown and has
usually made its way to one of the large branches.
The caterpillars remain in the dormant state during the
winter and resume feeding the next spring. During the
second summer, growth is rapid, and at the end of the season
the larvae reach their full size of two inches or more. In
that state they pass the second winter, and early in the
spring following work close to the surface and form pupae
from which the adult moths emerge.
PLATE 39.-BORERS.v_
1. Bronze Birch Borer, Galleries in inner bark of White Birch made by larvae (about A natural size).
2. Life History of Sugar Maple Borer (about ¥2 natural size). A, Larva. B, Adult male. C,
Adult female. D, Galleries made by larvae. 3. Life History of Leopard Moth (about $ natural
size). A, Larva. B, Pupa. C, Adult male. D, Adult female. E and F, Galleries made by larvae.
4. Life History of Maple Tree Sesiid (about % natural size). A, Larva. B, Pupa. C, Adult
male. D, Adult female. E, Galleries made bv larvae.
184 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
The injuries to trees by borers are very severe. When
they girdle a limb the effect is immediate. The circulation of
the sap is cut off from the end of the branch and it soon dies.
When a large wound is made on the side of a branch, the
bark covering it breaks away, the wood is exposed, it dries
and checks, the successive annual layers do not cover up
the scar, so that in time the circulation of the sap is re
tarded and the end of the limb dies. The injury to the trees
in that case is not immediately apparent, but is none the
less fatal.
The leopard moth is hard to combat. The moths do not
feed and the caterpillars feed on the surface only for a short
time, when they change their quarters and start in a new
place. At the end of July and during August the larvae
force great strings of partly digested wood or "sawdust"
through the openings by which they entered. At that time
they can be readily killed by injecting through the openings
of the burrows a few drops of bisulfid of carbon and clos
ing them with putty.
When the trees of a city are attacked by borers it would
seem that the task of combating them is almost hopeless.
Persistence will yield results, however. On August 20, 1909,
for example, . the Shade-Tree Commission of East Orange
began work against the leopard moth. By September 22,
about eight thousand trees were treated by a gang of six
men. Two methods were used to kill the borers; by in
jecting carbon bisulfid into the burrow and plugging the
opening with putty, and also by using a wire. The latter
method was found to be more rapid. Badly infested small
branches were entirely removed.
In this work it was possible to cover only the trunks and
the main limbs of the trees. The men could not reach the
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 185
ends of the branches and small twigs where the newly
hatched larvae are found. The work done, however, was
effective, as the caterpillars that would have matured by the
following spring were killed and thus the deposition of eggs
for another brood was almost entirely prevented. In the
summer of 1910, when the overwintering larvae began their
borings farther down the trees, the work of killing these
was carried on in the same way as during the summer of
1909. In that way the entire brood of borers was extermi
nated as thoroughly as it was possible.
Sugar Maple Borer (Plagionotus speciosus Say). — Sugar
maples on streets and roadsides have no more serious en
emy than the sugar maple borer, which, unlike other borers,
attacks trees in full vigor. Like the leopard moth this
insect takes two years to complete its growth. At the end
of the first season the larva is partly grown. It passes
the winter in that condition, resumes feeding and growth
the following summer, hibernates as a full grown lar
va the second winter, and in the spring after that changes
into a pupa and then emerges as a beetle.
Constant watchfulness is needed to detect the presence
of this borer. Each fall and spring sugar maples should be
examined for characteristic signs of borings. The pest can
be exterminated in the same way as the leopard moth.
Maple Tree Sesiid (Sesia acerni Clem. ) . — This is another
caterpillar borer found in soft and hard maples. It has a
special fondness for tissues growing over wounds in which
it makes round holes not over one-eighth of an inch in di
ameter. Trees wounded from any causes find difficulty in
covering the exposed wood with bark after being attacked
by this insect.
The injuries caused by this borer are not so serious as
186 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
those of the former. The caterpillars bore near the surface
and are easily dug out- and destroyed. Where the insects
are observed in great numbers it will pay to whitewash the
trunks several times during the season. This will repel the
moths that would otherwise deposit on the trunks, and it
would cover over or partly fill the small holes that have
been made by the insects.
Bark Borers. — Some borers which attack trees work in
the cambium layer just under the bark, making a series of
galleries which interlace each other and extend all the way
around the branches of infected trees.
The effect of these borings is slow girdling. The circu
lation of sap is cut off and the upper part of the branches
die.
Some of the more common bark borers attacking shade
and ornamental trees are the bronze birch borer (Agrilus
anxius Gory. ) , which attacks the various species of birch,
the two-lined chestnut borer (Agrilus bilineatus Weber),
which infests the chestnut and the oak, and the hickory-
bark borer (Scolytus quadrispinosus Say), which is most
injurious to the hickory.
The cutting out of infested branches sometimes checks
the disease if it has not spread far down to the trunk. In
the majority of cases, however, there is no remedy for trees
once attacked by these borers.
FUNGOUS DISEASES
Many diseases of trees are caused by low forms of vege
table life, known as fungi, which live upon and within the
tissues of the higher plants. They possess none of the green
coloring matter of ordinary vegetation and are made depend
ent upon the organic matter prepared by green plants. They
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 187
are thus parasites which obtain their nourishment by the
breaking down of the cells of the plants on which they exist.
As affecting shade-trees the fungous diseases are not so
serious as the injuries by insects. Very few wood-rotting
fungi are capable of entering an injured tree and beginning
growth. Nearly all gain lodgment in wounds, grow in these
and rot the wood. Fungous diseases, therefore, are usually
the result of some form of neglect, and it is the preventive
measures rather than the cures that count for most in main
taining the health of trees. The various types of fungi
will therefore be mentioned only briefly.
WOOD-DESTROYING FUNGI
The most familiar fungi are the shelving or bracket
forms seen on dead or decaying trees. These shelves or
brackets are the fruit bodies, which on maturity liberate
millions of spores for the reproduction of other plants. The
spores, which are unicellular, microscopic bodies correspond
ing to the seeds of higher plants, are scattered by the wind
and find lodgment in wounds of trees, where they begin to
sprout. They grow unseen for a long time by threadlike
roots called hyphae which bore through and between the cell-
walls forming a mass of white meshes called the mycelium.
This spreads through the heart of the tree, rapidly disinte
grates the wood and causes it to rot.
When the mycelium has spread over a large feeding area
and has stored reserve food it can then grow out through a
wound or old knot-hole and form the bracket fruit body.
False -Tinder Fungus (Pyropolyporus ignianus (Linn.)
Murrill) (Fames ignianus (Linn.) Gillet).— The fungi which
are responsible for the decay and destruction of the heart-
wood of various broad-leaf trees are quite numerous. They
PLATE 40.— FUNGOUS DISEASES.
Fl
1. Living Apple with fruiting body of False-Tinder Fungus (Pyropolyporus igniarius) .
two feet above fruiting bodies, showing centre rotted by mycelium of Hydnum septentri-
onale. 5. White Oak, with fruiting body of Dcedalea quercina growing out of a knot
hole. 6. A longitudinal and transverse section of the white oak in 5, two feet below
fruiting body, showing the disintegration of the wood by the mycelium of Dcedalea
quercina.
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 189
are more or less alike, however, in their manner of entrance
into the trees, their subsequent development, the production
of their fruiting bodies, and general remedies. The false-
tinder fungus may be taken as a type of this class of fungi.
Among the trees it is known to attack are the following
species: the beech, the aspen, the willows, the sugar, the
red, the silver and the striped maples, the oaks, the apple,
and the hickory.
The disease caused by this fungus is commonly known as
"white heart-rot." It is usually confined to the heart- wood
of the tree. This is changed by the growth and develop
ment of the mycelium, into a whitish, soft substance, which
is bounded from the healthy wood by very thin black layers.
These show as black lines when the trunk of the tree is sawn
across. The fungus gains entrance into the trunk of the
tree through some wound. In a majority of cases infection
takes place through old branch stubs. The spores germinate
on a stub, and the hyphae grow down through the wood of a
stub until they reach the heart-wood of the main trunk. The
destruction of the wood follows very shortly after the en
trance of the mycelium into the trunk, progressing outward
and up and down as long as the tree lives.
The formation of the fruiting bodies takes place usually
at the point where infection originally occurred. A tree
attacked by the fungus shows no particular change in its
general external appearance during the early stages of the
disease; in fact, it is practically impossible to recognize a
diseased tree until the fruiting bodies of the fungus form on
the outside of the trunk. When the fruiting bodies appear
it may be taken for granted that the disease has progressed
within the trunk in both directions for two or three feet
from the point of infection. As the disease progresses new
190 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
fruiting bodies appear and the older ones grow in size. The
rotting of the heart- wood continues until the tree, checked in
growth and become a mere shell of weak sapwood, is broken
off by a windstorm and its existence terminated.
There is no cure for diseases caused by wound parasites
after the fungi enter into the interior of the tree. For a few
years there may be no apparent injury, but with the lapse
of time the tree becomes badly decayed if not destroyed.
The only practical measures of controlling these fungi are
of a preventive nature. All broken and dead branches of
trees should be removed as quickly as possible, and all
wounds, either natural or as a result of pruning, should be
covered with tar. The destruction of the fruiting bodies as
they appear helps to check the spread of the diseases.
Sulfur Polyporus (Lcetiporus speciosus (Batt.) Murrill)
(Polyporus sulphureus (Bui.) Fr.). — The sulfur polyporus
has a very wide distribution, and is important because it is
found chiefly on the oaks. It also occurs on the apple, ash,
birch, butternut, hemlock, locust, and pine. It is a wound
parasite like the false-tinder fungus, and grows on living
trees. The mycelium rots the heart of the tree and the fruit
bodies grow from knot-holes, and also arise from portions
of the trunk killed by the fungus.
The sulfur polyporus is easy to recognize because of
the yellowish color of the soft, spore-bearing bodies. They
form a series of shelves overlapping one another. Some
times they form very close together, so as to produce a
large, round mass about the size of a person's head. The
fruiting bodies of this fungus rarely remain on the tree for
any length of time, because they are attacked by insects
which destroy them. The fungus is also eagerly sought by
mushroom hunters on account of its excellent edible qualities.
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 191
The effect of the destruction of the heart- wood of trees
brought about by this fungus is of a nature resembling the
decay caused by the false-tinder fungus ; and what has been
said regarding methods of control of the latter applies to
this species as well.
Heart-Rot of Sugar Maple (Hydnum septentrionale Fr. ) .
— This fungus is found principally on the sugar maple ; but
also on other species of deciduous trees. The effects of this
fungus upon the wood of diseased trees produces a heart
decay similar to that of the false-tinder fungus.
The color of the sporophores is creamy white, and they
appear in bracketlike clusters that have a striking appear
ance.
SAP-ROTS OF TREES
In the economy of nature many fungi serve a useful
purpose in breaking down dead wood and clearing the
forest of debris. Fungi which grow only on dead wood are
saprophytic, while those which feed on living tissue are
parasitic. Frequently no sharp line can be drawn between
those fungi which are capable of growing on dead wood that
has died after being cut from a living tree and the fungi
which grow on dead wood of the still living tree. Some of
these fungi are mentioned in this connection because they
are frequently taken to be the cause of disease.
The Common Bracket Fungus (Elfvingia megaloma
(Lev.) Murrill) (Pomes applanatus (Pers.) Wallr.) may be
taken as a type of this class of fungi. It is frequently found
on living trees, but a careful examination always shows it to
be growing on wood which is actually dead. Generally this
is the outer sapwood. The sporophores or fruiting bodies
of this fungus constitute brackets. The upper surface is
more or less marked by concentric zones which divide off
PLATE 41.— FUNGOUS AND OTHER DISEASES.
t. Partly dead Sugar Maple with fruiting bodies of sap-rot fungus, Elfvingia megaloma.
2. "Stag-head" White Maple. 3. Ulcers on Red Maple, suffering from gas-poisoning.
4. Fruiting bodies of Sulfur Polyporus (after illustration, Bulletin 149, Bureau of Plant In
dustry, U. S. Department of Agriculture). 5. Leaf scorch of Sugar Maple. 6. Leaf of
European Linden, spotted by the Linden Rust, caused by Cercospora microsora. 7. Leaf
of Horse-chestnut curled as a result of Leaf Spot, caused by PhyUosticta pavice. 8. Partly
dead Red Maple with fruiting bodies of the sap-rot fungus Hopa'.opih. gilvus.
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 193
the growth of the different years. The fruiting surface
is white, and when bruised turns brown, and hence the
brackets of this species are used for sketching.
A sap-rot fungus frequently found on city trees is Hopa-
lopilus gilvus (Schw. ) Murrill (Polyporus gilvus Schw. ) . It
has no common name and is classed with the ordinary poly-
pores that live on decayed wood.
One of the most important enemies of structural oaks and
chestnuts is D&dalea quercina (Linn. ) Pers. It is generally
found on oak and chestnut logs, ties, telegraph-poles, fences,
etc., all of which it destroys with rapidity. This fungus
also occurs on dead portions of living trees, and the sporo-
phores may be found growing out from large wounds.
ROOT-ROTS
The roots of trees are also subject to diseases of which
the rotting caused by the honey agaric (Armillaria mellea
Vahl.) is an example. The fungus usually gains entrance
through some wound in the root system. The young myce
lium grows into the cambium layer, attacks the living cells,
and finally completely encircles the base of the trunk of an
affected tree. The most characteristic parts of the honey
agaric are the hard black strands popularly known as ''shoe
strings," which extend in all directions through the ground
and along the roots of affected trees.
The danger of any root-rotting disease lies in the fact
that trees so affected are liable to be blown down without
warning. Such rots as gain entrance through] wounds at the
base of the trunk can be prevented by properly treating all
abrasions of the bark ; but other forms of the disease, inclu
ding the case of the honey agaric, spread through the ground
and are difficult to prevent. Careful inspection of such
194 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
trees, however, will reveal the disease, and they can be cut
down before they become dangerous. If the trees are not
blown down they usually die suddenly in early summer, the
foliage wilting completely.
CANKER
Diseases of the bark of trees manifest themselves by the
appearance of small protuberances and other malformations
commonly known as canker. The disease is due to fungi,
one of the most destructive of which is Nectria cinnabarina
(Tode) Fr. Its spores obtain entrance into wounds caused
by hailstones, insects, or breakages, and the mycelium grows
through the partially weakened wood, and ultimately pro
duces small red clusters of fruiting bodies. A small area of
the bark is killed and a healing callus begins to form at the
edge of the wound. The callus of the first year is then
invaded by the fungus and killed, and a second layer of callus
starts to develop. The continuation of this process extends
the growth of the canker over a large area.
Canker can be treated by cutting away all diseased por
tions of wood and bark, washing the exposed surface with a
solution of copper sulfate, one pound to five gallons of
water, and then painting the same with coal-tar.
The chestnut bark disease or canker (Diaporthe parasitica
Murrill) is now the most serious of all the fungous diseases
of trees. The spores enter the bark through an abrasion or
some other wound. From the point of infection the fungus
grows, kills a small patch of bark, and then spreads all
around the limb or trunk and girdles it. The disease then
becomes conspicuous by the brown color of the dying foli
age. The branches are usually attacked first, and from
these the canker spreads through the entire tree and kills it.
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 195
Up to the present time no means has been discovered of
successfully combating this pest.
LEAF DISEASES
Shade-trees sometimes suffer from diseases which affect
the foliage. The assimulating area of the leaves is thus
reduced, and the growth of the tree is diminished in propor
tion to the leaf area destroyed. While ordinarily they check
the growth of the trees for one season only, if the disease
appears several years in succession it may seriously weaken
and even kill the tree.
Diseases of the foliage can be controlled by timely spray
ing. The germination of fungi may be prevented by the use
of mineral salts. Those of copper are more commonly used,
especially the sulfate, usually in the form of Bordeaux
mixture (see page 207). Just as long as leaves or other
tissues of plants are covered with a thin coating of Bordeaux
mixture, no fungi can develop upon them. Thus a fungi
cide is a preventive, and its application should begin long
before the disease has advanced far enough to manifest
itself to any extent.
Rusts.— This term has been applied in more or less of an
arbitrary manner to a large group of fungi that produce
masses of spores on the surface of the leaves, generally yel
lowish or brownish in color. The linden rust (Cercospora
microsora Sacc.) may be taken as an example. Leaves
attacked by this fungus become badly spotted, and the mar
gins decayed and tattered.
Spraying the branches thoroughly with copper sulfate,
one pound to twenty-five gallons, or strong Bordeaux mix
ture, before the leaves unfold, will destroy all of the earlier
spores upon them. Then if the trees are where the Bor-
196 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
deaux mixture will not be too conspicuous, it may be applied
at intervals of from two to four weeks during July and
August. If the trees are in a very conspicuous place, the
dilute copper sulfate, one pound to two hundred and fifty
or three hundred gallons, may be used, as often as every
two weeks and after heavy rains. The great advantage of
Bordeaux mixture is that it holds the copper firmly to the
leaves and with every rain or heavy dew, minute quantities
are dissolved and the spores are prevented from germi
nating.
Mildews.— These are parasites which produce white
spores and more or less white patches on the leaf or other
parts. The powdery mildew of the willow ( Uncinula solids
(DeC.) Wint.) and the mildew occurring on some species
of maple (Uncinula aceris (DeC.) Wint.) may be taken as
examples. Coming on later in the season than the brown
rusts, two or three applications of either the Bordeaux mix
ture or dilute copper sulfate will be effectual, but no applica
tion need be made generally until the middle or last of July.
Blights.— The leaf blights are unlike the rusts in that
they attack and destroy small portions of the leaves, and
when these spots or places become numerous the whole leaf
is destroyed and it soon falls off.
The leaf spot of the horse-chestnut and the sycamore leaf
Might are two of the most destructive leaf diseases of this
class.
The destructive work of the leaf spot of the horse-chest
nut (Phyllosticta pavice Desm. ) becomes conspicuous early in
the season by the appearance of small brown spots on the
leaflets; these spread to a large size and produce dead areas
of curled and broken tissue until the foliage becomes ragged.
This is followed by early defoliation of the trees.
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 197
The leaf spot can be controlled by spraying in winter
with copper sulfate solution to destroy the spores lodged in
the bark. This should be followed by applications of Bor
deaux mixture once before the flowers appear and two or
three times thereafter at intervals of about two weeks.
The sycamore leaf blight (Gl&osporeum nervisequum
Sacc.) needs particular mention. It attacks both the Euro
pean and the American species, but the native variety, Pla-
tanus occidentalis, seems to be more susceptible. It develops
with great rapidity at the time of the development of the
foliage in the spring, and causes the leaves to hang lifeless
upon the stems. In severe cases the leaves are dropped pre
maturely, and if the attacks are continued for several years
the trees become seriously weakened.
This trouble can be controlled by raking up and burning
loose bark, dead branches and leaves, and spraying with
Bordeaux mixture. The spraying should be done during the
resting period of the trees, as the leaves begin to develop,
ten days later and within three weeks of the time of the
unfolding of the buds.
DISEASES DUE TO CONDITIONS OF SOIL AND CLIMATE
Diseases due to insects and fungi are more easy of diag
nosis than those due to unfavorable surroundings. Some
times, however, no sharp line can be drawn between the two
classes of diseases. As long as the conditions for obtaining
food and water from the soil and for conducting these to
every part of the tree are favorable and the effects of cli
mate are not detrimental to growth, the tree will continue to
be in full vigor. If, on the contrary, there be a continual
drain on the supply of soil-foods with no addition, and there
be long periods of drought, severe cold or other unfavorable
198 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
climatic conditions, the tree will become so weakened that
it will succumb to the attacks of parasites.
By examining a tree carefully and noting its condition as
compared with other trees of the same species known to be
in a state of full vigor, one may determine whether the
specimen is in a good state of health or not. The points to
consider are generally the following : the growth in height
as shown by the vigor and length of the shoots; the growth
of the trunk in diameter; the color and mass of the foliage;
the time of the unfolding and shedding of the leaves; the
development of the crown, whether regular in all its parts ;
and the mode of shedding of the foliage, whether simulta
neous in all parts of the tree.
Soil Conditions. — There is no doubt that in the case of
city trees, causes of decay and death can in the majority of
cases, be traced to poor conditions of the soil, such as lack of
food and water and root suffocation.
A disease known as "stag-head" or "top dry" fre
quently results from lack of proper food in the soil, and
manifests itself by the gradual death of the top of the tree.
Where trees grow year after year and there is no addition to
the available soil foods, and where the earth is dried out by
the sun and grass, starvation necessarily follows. The tree,
therefore, gradually stops growing, the branches slowly die,
and other diseases set in, until finally the last branch is dead.
A constant supply of proper food is necessary to prevent
this disease. The ground underneath the tree should not be
sodded. It should be worked and top dressed at frequent
intervals to keep up the food-supply.
Imperfect circulation of air in the soil has an important
bearing on the health of trees. City trees are likely to suffer
a lack of aeration of the soil, because of pavements and
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 199
walks. The use of grills and the keeping of the soil loose
will help the exchange of gases between the soil atmosphere
and the air.
Root asphyxiation is especially liable to occur along
streets where the ground water is only a few feet from the
surface. During prolonged rainy weather the water rises,
making the soil wet up close to the surface. The pavement
adds here to the evil of poor under- drainage, preventing
evaporation and aeration.
Young trees set too deep are often killed, and covering
the earth about trees with soil a foot or more deep usually
results in injury, if not death from asphyxiation.
Ulcers.— This general term will be made to include all
internal injuries and diseases which manifest themselves
externally by the flow of sap over the bark. A disease
known as slime-flux is characterized by the appearance of
various colored slimy masses with a decidedly acid odor
which start at or near wounds. They make their appear
ance usually in the spring when the sap, containing more or
less sugar, flows from the wounds. In the sap a number of
forms of algae, bacteria, and fungi begin to grow and form a
slimy, dripping mass over the bark. The cambium beneath
dies rapidly, and if the disease is not checked the destruction
may extend completely around a tree, resulting in the death
of branches and sometimes of the entire tree.
An exudation of sap sometimes occurs through splits in
the bark, not near any wounds, and which from the outside
appears to be perfectly normal and healthy. The liquid is
usually mucilaginous and fermented, and as it flows over the
bark it discolors it gray, brown, or reddish. The species on
which such a condition is most frequently noticed are horse-
chestnuts, elms, maples, poplars, and oaks.
200 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
The writer once had under observation a number of trees
suffering from gas -poisoning. There were elms, Norway
maples, sugar maples, white maples, and red maples among
them. About the time when the red and the white maples
began to show the usual symptoms of the poison, such as the
etiolation and the partial loss of the foliage, the sap began
to ooze out from a number of places on the trunk and main
branches. The sap did not come from openings made by
borers or other causes, but through splits of bark looking
normal on the outside. On removing the bark there was
seen a discoloration of the sap-wood, and the descending cur
rent of sap flowed freely near the point of this discoloration.
If a part only of the bark covering this diseased spot was
cut away, the sap was seen coming out from under the por
tion of the bark still covering the remainder of this blister-
like formation. The sap flowing from the splits in the bark
was frothy white in appearance (Plate 41, Fig. 3) , and had a
fermented odor, as that of cider.
The exact cause and nature of the formation of ulcers in
trees is not yet fully understood. The condition is variously
ascribed to an excess of humidity in the soil, to sudden
changes of temperature during the growing season, to the
non-utilization of all the sap for growth, to a decomposition
of internal tissues, and to a modification of the chemical com
position of the sap. There is no doubt, however, that the
disease is due to a general disturbance of the nutrition of the
tree which is followed by local fermentation of bark areas.
The division of Forest Pathology of the Bureau of Plant
Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture,
expects to undertake within a few years systematic work
on phenomena of the class to which ulcers and slime-flux
belong.
INJURIOUS INSECTS, FUNGOUS DISEASES, ETC. 201
Ulcers can be treated by making vertical incisions in
the bark near the wound to allow the liquid to flow off as
rapidly as possible and, when the current stops, cutting
away the diseased bark and painting with coal-tar.
Drying Out and Leaf Scorch. — Young leaves and some
times tender shoots which have pushed out during a spell of
cold or cloudy weather frequently wither and die, when ex
posed to bright, hot sun. The trouble usually occurs when
a rather moist spring, favorable to growth, is followed by
dry and very hot weather.
Remedial measures are not always easy to carry out, but
the harm may be lessened by any treatment that keeps the
soil moist and aerated, so that the foliage may have an am
ple supply of water to draw upon.
Frequently there is much complaint of the leaves of
many trees, especially sugar maples, being affected with
an apparent disease that causes a loss of green in those
parts most distant from the main veins. The trouble
has been studied at several experiment stations, and the
consensus of opinion is that it is of physiological origin.
A lack of water-supply to the leaf tissue causes the death
of the least resistant portions of the leaf during a hot and
dry spell.
The writer has found that such a condition can generally
be remedied by the mulching of trees in the fall, keeping the
soil loose and watering freely.
Frost. — The injuries from freezing are of a nature simi
lar to drying. Freezing of the plant tissues in fact is the
drying out of the water which they contain. If the tissues
are dried beyond the point where they are able to take up
water again, they are killed. In general, trees native to a
given section resist injuries of this sort. In the case of trees
202 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
introduced from warmer regions care has to be exercised
in their location and protection from frosts.
Smooth barked trees sometimes have their trunks and
larger branches injured on the southwest side during the
winter, the injuries being characterized by the death of
patches of bark. During the latter part of winter and early
spring, when there are periods of several days of warm
weather, the cambium on the south side of the trunk and
larger limbs is stimulated to premature activity. If the
warm spell is followed by freezing weather these partially
active areas are killed. After a time the bark separates
from the wood and splits. The injury does not manifest
itself until well into the summer. The dead tissue forms a
favorable place for the growth of parasites that cause the
rotting of the wood.
Trees can be protected from injuries caused by alternate
freezing and thawing by wrapping with burlap or straw.
When injuries have been produced the affected areas should
be cut away and painted with tar.
CHAPTER IX
INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES, AND SPRAYING
INSECTICIDES
INSECTICIDES are of two general types, those that kill by
being eaten, or stomach poisons; and those that kill by actu
ally touching the insects, or contact poisons. The distinc
tion is an important one. Insects that eat up the foliage can
be killed by applying to the leaves some mixture containing
arsenic. Insects that suck the juices of a plant are safe
from all poisons because no poison can be got into their
food. They make a minute puncture in the leaf-tissue and
then pump the sap, and get none of the poison. Such
insects must be killed by a contact poison which must cover
them and corrode their tissues, or choke them by clogging
their breathing pores.
Stomach Poisons. — Against those insects that feed upon
plant tissue there is nothing better than arsenic in some
form. Paris green, which contains about 50 per cent, of
arsenic, has been frequently employed ; but the safest arsen
ical poison for spraying trees is arsenate of lead. Its use
has become quite common during the last few years. Paris
green is an effective insecticide, but is liable to injure the
foliage. Arsenate of lead is effective against insects and is
harmless to foliage when used at any reasonable strength.
It remains in suspension longer than Paris green, and adheres
to the foliage a longer time than any other stomach poison.
203
204 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
When sprayed in midsummer, leaves retain some of the
arsenate of lead when they fall in autumn.
Arsenate of lead may be prepared as follows :
Acetate of lead 12 oz.
Arsenate of soda 4 oz.
Water 15 to 20 gallons.
Pour the acetate of lead into two quarts of water and the
arsenate of soda into another two quarts; then pour these
two solutions into a tank containing fifteen or twenty gal
lons of water. This gives a white precipitate of arsenate of
lead. Good chemicals should be used.
It very seldom pays in actual spraying operations to pre
pare the arsenate of lead. It is best to buy it in paste form
ready made. The manufacture of insecticides has become
more general during the last few years, and with the
passage of the National Insecticide Law their adulteration
will be prevented. This law is known as "The Insecticide
Act of 1910, " and came into effect January 1, 1911. It is
"an act for preventing the manufacture, sale, or transpor
tation of adulterated or misbranded Paris greens, lead ar-
senates, and other insecticides, and also fungicides, and for
regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes. " The
standards of strength and purity of insecticides and fungi
cides are prescribed in section 7 of the act, which is as
follows :
"SEC. 7. That for the purpose of this Act an article shall
be deemed to be adulterated —
"In the case of Paris green: First, if it does not contain
at least fifty per centum of arsenious oxid; second, if it
contains arsenic in water-soluble forms equivalent to more
than three and one-half per centum of arsenious oxid;
INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES, AND SPRAYING 205
third, if any substance has been mixed and packed with it
so as to reduce or lower or injuriously affect its quality
or strength.
"In the case of lead arsenate: First, if it contains more
than fifty per centum of water; second, if it contains total
arsenic equivalent to less than twelve and one-half per cen
tum of arsenic oxid (As2O5) ; third, if it contains arsenic in
water-soluble forms equivalent to more than seventy-five
one-hundredths per centum of arsenic oxid (As2O5) ; fourth,
if any substances have been mixed and packed with it so to
reduce, lower, or injuriously affect its quality or strength:
Provided, however, That extra water may be added to lead
arsenate (as described in this paragraph) if the resulting
mixture is labeled lead arsenate and water, the percentage oi
extra water being plainly and correctly stated on the label.
"In the case of insecticides or fungicides other than
Paris green and lead arsenate : First, if its strength or purity
fall below the professed standard or quality under which it
is sold ; second, if any substance has been substituted wholly
or in part for the article; third, if any valuable constituent of
the article has been wholly or in part abstracted ; fourth, if
it is intended for use on vegetation and shall contain any
substance or substances which, although preventing, de
stroying, repelling, or mitigating insects, shall be injurious
to such vegetation when used."
Contact Poisons. — Whale-oil soap, which is a common
name for all fish-oil soaps now on the market, is the simplest
contact insecticide, especially if only a few trees are to be
sprayed. Used at the rate of one pound in from four to six
gallons of water in the summer-time it will kill plant lice
and other sucking insects. At the rate of one pound in two
gallons of water it can be used on dormant trees for winter
206 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
washes to kill the cottony maple scale or the woolly maple
scale.
Kerosene emulsion is one of the most common contact
insecticides. A 10 per cent, solution of kerosene in water
is the usual strength employed in spraying foliage with
safety. Kerosene and water alone do not emulsify, and if an
attempt is made to spray with only a mechanical mixture of
the oil and water, the chances are that neither pure oil nor
water is pumped at any one time. Soap is therefore added
to the oil in order to make an emulsion.
The preparation is made as follows :
Kerosene 2 gals.
Soap Jib.
Water 1 gal.
Dissolve the soap in hot water, add the kerosene and
churn thoroughly, or pump into itself till a creamy emulsion
is formed. This emulsion, diluted with from twelve to fif
teen times its own bulk of water, is an excellent summer
remedy for plant lice and other soft-bodied insects that can
be reached with contact poisons.
There are now soft soaps on the market by means of
which it is possible to emulsify kerosene with water without
heating any of the ingredients. The soap is dissolved in the
water and then the kerosene is added while the mixture is
being pumped into itself until an emulsion is formed.
There are also many oil and petroleum preparations now
manufactured that are soluble in cold water and are ready
for use on mixing. A perfect emulsion is formed without
pumping, and no stirring is necessary while the mixture is
being applied. These miscible oils are rather expensive,
but have the advantage of being always ready for use. To
INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES, AND SPRAYING 207
the owner of a few trees nothing better could be recom
mended. For extensive spraying the use of miscible oils
will usually be found advisable also. The time and labor
necessary to prepare the oil emulsions bring their cost up to
an amount equal to or greater than that of the soluble oils.
Vapors.— The vapor of bisulfid of carbon is used in kill
ing borers. The liquid is injected into the burrow with
an oil -can or syringe, and the opening plugged with putty.
The fumes given off by the carbon bisulfid are fatal to
all insects that breathe it. Carbon bisulfid is very inflam
mable.
FUNGICIDES
Fungicides act as preventives of plant disease by ob
structing the germination of the spores of the fungi causing
such disease. If the leaves of trees, for example, are cov
ered with a coating of copper sulfate or other chemical
deleterious to the germination of the spores, the reproduc
tion of the fungi is held in check and disease prevented.
Bordeaux Mixture. — This is the standard fungicide and
consists of a combination of copper sulfate, fresh lime, and
water. The formula in most general use is the following:
Copper sulfate 4 Ibs.
Fresh lime 4 Ibs.
Water to make 50 gals.
By combining the copper and the lime it is found that the
copper sulfate may be used more freely and with less in
jury than if used alone, and it will adhere a long time to the
foliage. For preparing this fungicide on a small scale, the
copper sulfate should be dissolved in twenty-five gallons of
water, using a half barrel for the purpose. To dissolve the
copper sulfate readily, it should be placed in a coarse cloth
208 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
bag and suspended in the water so that the salt is just
covered. The lime should be dissolved in another vessel,
using only a small amount of water at first, adding more
as the process of slacking progresses, and then diluting to
twenty-five gallons. The copper sulfate solution and the
milk of lime should then be poured into a third vessel. It is
best to strain the materials when pouring them together. It
is important that practically equal amounts of the two solu
tions should be poured together at the same time, otherwise
the proper chemical combination may not take place and the
results of the spraying may not be satisfactory.
Ammoniacal Copper Carbonate. — In conspicuous places the
Bordeaux mixture is objectionable on account of the deposits
of lime and copper that remain on the foliage, and therefore
ammoniacal copper carbonate is used. It is a clear, light
blue solution which leaves no stain. It is not so adhesive to
the foliage as Bordeaux mixture, is washed off with heavy
rains, and requires frequent renewals. The formula for
making it is as follows :
Copper carbonate 5 oz.
Strong ammonia 1 qt.
Water to make 50 gals.
Dilute the ammonia with two gallons of water, add
enough to the copper carbonate to make a thin paste, pour
on about half the ammonia and stir thoroughly. Allow the
mixture to settle, and then pour off the top, leaving the
undissolved portion behind. Repeat this operation, using
small quantities of the remaining ammonia until all the cop
per sulfate is dissolved, taking no more ammonia than is
necessary to complete the solution. Then add the remainder
of the required amount of water.
INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES, AND SPRAYING 209
As in the case of insecticides, there are ready-prepared
fungicides on the market. These preparations have been
steadily improved and are coming into general use. They
may cost more than the crude chemicals do when pre
pared by the user; ibut they are more economical in the
long run, because of the saving of the cost of labor of
making them.
SPRAYING APPARATUS
There is now on the market machinery for spraying
the smallest bush or the tallest tree. There are atomizers,
bucket-pumps, barrel hand-pumps and power-sprayers.
What sprayer to get depends upon the work required. No
matter what capacity sprayer it is intended to purchase it
is always best to communicate with the state experiment
station for information and advice. During the last few
years rapid strides have been made in the manufacture of
spraying apparatus, and it pays to take the trouble to ascer
tain what is the best on the market.
Bucket-Pumps. — A most serviceable and very cheap ap
paratus for spraying fruit and medium sized shade-trees is a
bucket-pump shown in Plate 42, Fig. 4. When using this
sprayer, the insecticide should be mixed in a barrel or other
receptacle, and small quantities poured into the bucket from
which the mixture is pumped.
Barrel Hand-Pumps. — More powerful than the bucket-
pumps are the barrel hand-pumps. These consist of a hand-
pump set in a barrel of fifty or sixty gallons capacity which
contains the insecticide. They can generally supply from
two to four leads of hose and give sufficient pressure to pro
duce a very fine spray. A good hand-pump, mounted on a
barrel or tank, furnishes a good outfit for the orchardist and
M<U G±
IjOOB
!HC*
INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES, AND SPRAYING 211
will be found equally satisfactory for spraying shade-trees
when only a limited number are to be treated.
Power-Sprayers. — For spraying very large trees and for
city work in general, power sprayers are absolutely neces
sary. There are many kinds of spray outfits of which those
run by gasoline and by liquid carbon dioxid are now the
most common in use. Gasoline sprayers consist of a gaso
line motor, pump, and insecticide tank. The transmission
of power from the motor to the pump is either by means of
a belt, or the pump and engine are directly connected by
reduction gearing. The latter arrangement is much the
better. The insecticide tanks are usually of about two
hundred gallons capacity.
A very necessary accessory of the insecticide tank is an
agitator to stir the spraying mixture while the machine is in
operation. This may be either a mechanical contrivance
operated by the engine or of the jet type. The latter con
sists of a jet of the spraying mixture sent back into the
tank by the pump. If the capacity of the motor is ample, an
agitator of the jet type is excellent; but if the pressure is
very much reduced by sending some of the liquid back to
the tank, a mechanical agitator is to be preferred.
Whether the agitator be of the jet or the mechanical type,
it is very important that it should be worked by the engine
and not by man power. When a man is put to turning a
crank for eight or ten hours a day, the chances are that the
agitator will not work very uniformly. As a result, when
such mixtures as arsenate of lead are used, the precipitate
will settle and the spraying will be done with clear water.
The writer has known of many cases of ineffective spraying
work due to inefficient agitating devices.
The sprayers operated by liquid carbon dioxid have
212 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
come into general use during the last few years. This type
of machine is very easy to operate. The power is supplied
by liquid carbon dioxid contained in steel tubes connected
with the steel insecticide tank by means of a piece of hose.
When the valve of the carbon dioxid container is opened,
the liquid in passing through the gas-tube turns into a gas
which creates the pressure in the insecticide tank. The
amount of the pressure is indicated by a pressure gage.
Sufficient force can be supplied by the carbonic-acid gas to
spray the tallest trees.
Gas-sprayers are good, but require a supply of gas con
stantly available, and the actual cost of operation is very
expensive. The liquid carbon dioxid costs about a dollar
for every one hundred and fifty gallons of insecticide used.
On the average, a man sprays about one hundred and fifty
gallons of insecticide mixture per day, so that with three
nozzles working, the operating cost of gas-sprayers is about
three dollars per day. The operating expense of gasoline-
sprayers is trifling— only a few cents a day. The simplicity
of gas-sprayers, however, makes them frequently desirable
even in spite of the additional operating cost. So long as
there is a supply of carbon dioxid on hand there is no loss
of time during the working day. Gasoline-sprayers some
times get out of order, and the loss of time for repairs is con
siderable. If a good mechanic is available to run a gasoline-
sprayer there is little loss of time ; but a gas-sprayer gives
better results in less skilled hands.
The agitator on the gas-sprayers is of the mechanical
type, operated by a crank. Care must be taken to see that
the man turns the crank every minute of the time that the
machine is in operation if a mixture is used that will settle.
Spraying Hose.— The very best hose made is none too
INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES, AND SPRAYING 213
good for spraying work. It should safely stand a pressure
of not less than one hundred and forty pounds to the square
inch. For spraying tall trees it is absolutely necessary to
maintain a pressure of about one hundred and twenty pounds.
A number of brands of hose now made will answer these
requirements. While it is desirable to use a light hose so
that the equipment will be less cumbersome and it will be
easier for the workmen to take the lines up the trees, it has
been found undesirable to use hose less than one-half inch
in diameter. This is the most common size used, although
three-quarter inch and one inch hose are also employed.
Nozzles.— Although the smallest, the nozzle is none the
less one of the most important parts of the spraying outfit.
It must break up the mixture into the finest particles and
send them against the foliage with the greatest possible
force. A very fine, mistlike spray is excellent when the
object is simply to cover a large surface ; but such a spray
has no penetrating power.
The " Vermorel" nozzle, or some modification of it, is now
used by almost all makers of spraying machinery. In this
type of nozzle the stream enters a circular chamber tangen-
tially, acquires thereby a rotary motion, and issues from a
small, central opening on the upper disk of the chamber.
The Vermorel nozzle is especially serviceable in spraying
medium sized trees when all the foliage can be easily
reached. This type of nozzle has a disgorging device for
forcing out the obstruction when it becomes clogged.
The construction of the "Cyclone" nozzle is similar to
that of the Vermorel, and has the same uses ; but is not pro
vided with any disgorging device.
The "Bordeaux" nozzle is so constructed that the
character of the spray can be changed from a solid
214
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
stream to a mistlike, fan-shaped spray by turning the
handle.
For "spraying very large trees, especially elms, the ends
of the branches of which are pendulous and impossible for a
man to reach, nozzles of
tato mi the jet type are indispen-
JB JBfc sable. Such a nozzle,
M devised by the writer,
is shown in Fig. 30, E.
A B It has a bore of about
one-sixteenth of an inch.
The mixture comes out
in a solid jet ; but if there
is sufficient pressure, the
stream is thrown fifteen
feet or more from the
nozzle and breaks up
finely enough so as to
cause the spray to ad
here to the foliage.
It is important that as
fine a spray as the com
bination of high pressure
and good nozzle will pro
duce should strike the
FIG. 30. — Spray-Nozzles: A and B, types
of cyclone nozzles. C and D, types of
Vermorel nozzles. E, Jet nozzle. F,
Bordeaux nozzle.
foliage. The finer the
spray the better it will
adhere to the foliage. A
coarse spray rolls off the leaf. Especially when spraying
with arsenate of lead or other stomach poisons, the efficacy
of which depends upon its adhesiveness to the leaves, the
use of a fine spray is necessary to secure the best results.
INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES, AND SPRAYING 215
Extension Poles and Spray-Rods.— For reaching the tops
of trees bamboo poles are used, which are fastened alongside
of the end of the hose. The nozzle is inserted into the
FIG. 31. — Spray "Ys." A, Four-branched "Y" of Vermorel nozzles.
B, Two-branched "Y" of Cyclone nozzles. These "Ys" may be
used in the place of single nozzles. They cause a more rapid dis
charge of the spray mixture.
hose, so that the pole serves the purpose of making the
spray end of the line rigid.
Spray-rods are now made, however, which make it easier
to handle the hose. The spray-rods consist of aluminum
tubes, inside of bamboo poles. One end of the rod is at-
216 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
tached- to the hose, the spray mixture passes through the
tube and out of the nozzle at the other end.
Precautions in Spraying. — Spraying is one of the most
important and expensive operations in the care of trees.
To be at all effective it must be very carefully done and can
not be left to ignorant hands. There must be thoroughness
in all applications made. The man at the nozzle must know
precisely what he is aiming at and how he expects to accom
plish his aim. With the best appliances and proper insecti
cides, failures frequently result if the work is not carefully
done.
When applying stomach poisons, the spray should not be
continued until the foliage drips too freely, for the effective
ness of the fine mist will then be destroyed. All the glob
ules on the leaf will unite to form a film which will run off
and leave little of the poison adhering to it. After a fine
mist dries on the leaves, they can be sprayed again and will
then hold more poison than would have been possible to
apply during one operation.
The application of contact insecticides, however, should
be more thorough than that of stomach poisons and contin
ued until the leaves drip. These poisons act only until they
dry, and if any insect is not touched it will escape. Stomach
poisons adhere to the leaf-tissue, and the chewing insect is
bound to get some of the poison if it continues to feed long
enough— if not on one part of the leaf then on another.
All spraying mixtures should be carefully strained before
being poured into the insecticide tank. This precaution will
prevent the clogging of the nozzle.
A warm, sunshiny, calm day is ideal for spraying. When
there is no wind there is little waste of spraying material
and the insecticide adheres more firmly to the leaves and
INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES, AND SPRAYING 217
dries quickly. When doing considerable work, however,
that must be finished within a certain time to be effective,
one cannot always wait for the ideal day. No spraying,
however, should be done on wet days or when rain is anti
cipated. If it should rain shortly after trees have been
sprayed, they should be carefully examined afterward to
see if the spraying material has been washed off. If so, the
trees should be sprayed again.
CHAPTER X
THE REPAIR AND REPLACING OF TREES
THE REPAIR OF TREES
IF trees were planted and maintained under ideal condi
tions and were not subject to injuries or diseases they would
continue in good condition and health to a very old age. But
these conditions are not possible among a community of
trees any more than among a community of human beings.
Natural enemies such as windstorms, insect pests, and
fungous diseases, failure of placing guards around trees to
protect them from horse-bites, the leaving of short stumps
in pruning, abrasions caused by overhead wires and general
neglect cause serious damage to city trees. Although slight
at first such injuries, when left unattended at the time of
occurrence, are frequently the first cause of the decay and
death of valuable trees.
The preservation of grown trees in a city is sometimes
of greater importance than setting out new ones. The
repair of trees or tree surgery forms one of the chief and
most necessary tasks in the care of shade-trees.
Abrasion of Bark. — One of the simplest cases requiring
treatment is a body wound on a tree caused by the abrasion
or stripping of the bark. In such cases the thing to do is
to cut away with a sharp knife all loose, ragged, or injured
bark as far as the injury extends. Bark once loosened
can never attach itself to the trunk again. When left
on the tree it soon dries and decays and forms a shelter for
218
THE REPAIR AND REPLACING OF TREES 219
insects and fungus spores. After the injured bark has been
carefully removed, the exposed wood should be painted with
coal-tar to prevent the checking
of the exposed wood. A callus
will soon form and in time the
entire scar will heal.
Bridge-Grafting. —When the
abrasion of the bark extends al
most around the tree, or if a tree
is completely girdled, a connec
tion between the separate parts
of the trunk may be reestab
lished by bridge-grafting. (Fig.
32.) The edges of the girdle
are trimmed, and cions are in
serted under the bark so as to
bridge the wound. These cions
are cut to a wedge shape on
either end and are inserted be
tween the bark and the wood.
A cloth bandage is tied about
each edge of the wound to hold
the bark in place over the cions.
Melted grafting wax is then
poured or molded over the entire FIG. 32.— Method of bridge-
1 , grafting a girdled trunk.
work, so as to cover the exposed
wood and also the edges of the bark for two or three
inches from the wound.
Grafting wax may be made as follows :
Resin 4 parts
Beeswax 2 parts
Tallow 1 part
220 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
Melt in mass, pour into a tub or pail of cold water, then
work with greased hands until it develops a grain and
becomes the color of taffy candy.
If instead of one part tallow, one and a half parts of lin
seed-oil are used, and the ingredients then melted, the
grafting wax can be drawn out for use without any ne
cessity of remelting. The hands should be greased when
working the wax.
Breakages in Storms. — When a limb breaks in a storm
the fracture is usually very rough and some of the bark is
stripped. The branch should be cut back close to a crotch
and the scar painted with coal-tar, just as in pruning. Any
loose bark must be removed.
Filling of Cavities. — The mutilation of trees by horses
has already been discussed. Any neglected injury to a tree
in which the bark is stripped from the trunk, causes the
wood to rot and the decay is carried to the centre of the
tree. Frequently such cavities can be treated and the life
of the tree greatly prolonged.
The repair of tree cavities is very much like the process
of filling a tooth. All decayed and diseased wood is removed
as far as the living tissue. (Plate 43. ) A great variety of
tools is found useful in this process of scooping out the bad
wood : a ship bit, chisel and hammer, gouge, adze and hatchet
can be employed. It is found that in old cavities, the bark,
in an effort to cover up the wound, is deposited in thick rolls
around the edges that turn inwardly. It is necessary to
remove all this tissue to such parts of the trunk that be
long to the natural contour of the tree, to the points AA,
Fig. 33.
Every cavity requires different methods of procedure in
the way it is cleaned, in the amount removed and the means
222 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
employed for the reenforcement of the tree or the retention
of the filling. The cavity is finished in a way that it will
retain the filling. In the case of small ones it is sufficient if
the interiors are made larger than the openings. Shallow
cavities and those of considerable size are treated in another
FIG. 33. — A transverse section of a tree showing the precautions to be
taken when preparing a cavity for filling. The rolls of tissue must be
cut away to the points A A, and all decayed wood removed. The
filling must follow the natural contour of the tree, B C B, and stop at
the points B B, depressed a distance equal to the thickness of the bark.
way. A deep channel is cut just inside of the opening, all
around the periphery, and this helps to retain the cement.
Before filling, the cavity is sterilized by washing with an
antiseptic solution of copper sulfate, one pound to fifteen
gallons of water, and then covered with molten coal-tar. In
order to secure a better adhesion of the cement to the walls
of the cavity, the hole is filled before the tar hardens. To
THE REPAIR AND REPLACING OF TREES 223
insure the firmer retention of the filling in the tree the cav
ities are studded with nails. When a tree is weak because
of a large cavity, steel braces are sometimes inserted hori
zontally and vertically for reenforcement.
Small cavities are filled with a mixture of two parts of
sand to one part of Portland cement. Larger openings, sev
eral cubic feet in volume, are filled by using broken stone
and brick with the concrete. In this way it is easier to
build up the filling, and its strengthening power is increased.
After the filling has had time to stiffen, but not to become
perfectly hard, it is finished with cement, a trowel being
used to shape it according to the contour of the tree.
An extremely important point to remember is that the
filling must not be brought up flush with the outside of the
bark of the tree ; but must stop at a depth equal to the thick
ness of the bark and the filling shaped to follow the contour
of the tree, as shown by the line B C B, Fig. 33. This
precaution must be taken to enable the healing callus to
overgrow the filling. If not very large, the tissue may in
time completely heal over the cement and bury it, just the
same as the stub left when a limb is removed. (Plate 44,
Fig. 3.)
It is a good plan, when the cavity is ready for filling, to
cut a strip of bark about one-half inch wide all the way
around the periphery of the opening, as shown in TPlate 44,
Fig. 4. The cement can be brought up flush with the wood.
The healing callus will start to roll over the wood (Plate 44,
Fig. 5) , and then over the cement, hermetically sealing the
cavity. The edges of the wound only, or the surface of the
entire filling may be painted or covered with coal-tar.
When the hollow trunks of trees are filled with concrete,
they are immensely strengthened and are not in danger of
PLATE 44.— EXAMPLES OF TREE-SURGERY.
1. Cavity in a tree cleaned ready for a coating of coal-tar and filling. 2. The cavity filled,
showing the cement depressed a distance equal to the thickness of the bark. 3. The
same tree three years later, callus overgrowing filling. 4. Before the filling was done in
this example, a narrow strip of bark was cut around the periphery of the opening and
the filling then brought up flush with the wood. 5. The same a year later. The healing
callus is beginning to roll over the wood. 6. Injury caused by banding a crotch. 7.
Large knot-hole in trunk of white maple, showing ring of tissue around opening. 8.
Side view of the same. A cut is made along the Lne A B. 9. The decayed wood is re
moved and cavity filled flush with saw-cut. Callus is beginning to overgrow the wound.
THE REPAIR AND REPLACING OF TREES
225
being overthrown by strong winds as trees of which the
trunks are hollow shells. The concrete acts as a pillar
which reenforces the tree.
Knot-Holes. — Equally as serious and more numerous than
FIG. 34. — 1. Methods of strengthening a weak crotch: A, by means
of a bolt. B, by means of hook-bolts and chain. 2. Vertical
section of branch, showing method of bolting. A, Wood. B,
Bark. C, Bolt. D, Cement. E, Washer and nut. Healing
tissue will overcap the cement.
wounds on trunks of trees are knot-holes caused by the
decay of stumps left by improper pruning. In these cases
the grain of the wood running toward the centre of the tree
instead of vertically, the decay is more easily carried to the
226 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
heart. When the stump is left the new tissue makes an
effort to overgrow the stub, so to speak, and the result is
that a thick layer of wood is deposited at the base of the
crotch. (Plate 26, Fig. 3.) When the stub rots and falls
out, this tissue remains like a ring around the opening of
the knot-hole. (Plate 44, Fig. 7.) To fill such a cavity
properly, it is generally best to make a cut across this ring
close to the trunk, A B, Plate 44, Fig. 8, then scrape out
all the decayed wood and fill the cavity flush with the saw
cut. Although by this means the area of the scar is in
creased it is brought in more intimate contact with the
healing callus and will be like a cut of an amputated
branch. The callus will form over the wood first (Plate 44,
Fig. 9), and then over the cement and bury it.
Cavities resulting from other causes, such as those made
by borers, can be treated the same way. Surface wounds
need only a painting with coal-tar; but if the decay is deep
it needs scraping and filling with cement.
Crotches. — It frequently happens that a tree forms a
sharp angle by the division, near the ground, into two or
three limbs. The addition of the annual layers of wood and
the swaying of the tree cause a prying apart of the limbs
at this point, and in time a split is the result. It is then
necessary to brace the crotch to prevent the branches from
breaking off.
A common though wrong method of repairing such a
defect in a tree has been to put a band around the two limbs
forming the fork. The result of such a method is shown in
Plate 44, Fig. 6. The action of the band around one-half
of the circumference of the tree has resulted in partly gird
ling it. It has cut into the layers of new growth and the
tree has been disfigured. The proper way to brace a crotch
THE REPAIR AND REPLACING OF TREES 227
is to run a bolt through the branches, as shown in Fig. 34,
by boring holes through them. With the growth of the tree,
the nuts holding the bolt are buried by new tissue and no
injury results to the tree.
A great many trees can be saved by the practise of
tree surgery and their life prolonged for a great many years.
It is, however, work that requires great judgment and skill,
as every tree presents a different problem and one should
not entrust his trees for treatment to impostors who claim
to possess miraculous means of curing trees of all diseases.
MAINTENANCE OF UNIFORMITY
It is very disagreeable to see among a line of street-trees
one or two failing specimens, more so than among a group
of trees, or trees scattered over a large area. The task of
maintaining all the trees on a long street in a uniformly
good state is sometimes a difficult one, because of varying
conditions of soil and other factors. Frequently the trees on
a low portion of a street will not be so thrifty as those higher
up because the drainage is poorer and the water-table close to
the roots. In order to maintain in the same state of health
all the trees of a street plantation, some specimens may need
extra culture, watering, and fertilizing to enable them to
keep pace with their more vigorous neighbors.
PARTIAL REPLACING
When specimens are drooping or sickly and do not re
spond to culture ; or when they are hopelessly injured in some
way, so that they cannot be restored, they should be re
placed with new trees. The new trees should be of the
same species and, if possible, of the same size as the trees
228
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
which constitute the plantation of which they are to form
a part. For this purpose a nursery has to be maintained
where trees of different species and sizes are grown, ready
to take the place of trees that fail.
The method outlined above is followed in Paris. The
trees that are to be trained for transplanting, to take the
place of large specimens, are set out in the municipal nursery
about twenty feet apart each way to allow room for develop
ment. The branching is gradually raised and then fixed at
the proper height. Every three or four years the roots are
cut or circumscribed so that they do not spread out, but are
made to grow compactly, restricted within a certain volume.
This work of cutting the roots consists of digging a circular
ditch around the base of the tree and cutting the roots as
neatly as possible. The size of the ditch depends upon
the size of the tree. Thus in the case of a tree about four
inches in diameter, three feet from the base, the circular
ditch is about three feet in diameter and about two and one-
half feet deep. After the roots have been cut the soil is
replaced and closely packed.
In the cases of trees that have been trained as described
above, the Board of Works of Paris prescribes the dimen
sions of the ball of earth and roots with which trees of dif
ferent sizes are to be transplanted about as follows:
Diameter of Tree Three Feet
from the Base.
Diameter of Ball of
Earth.
Depth.
3 in. to 5 in.
3 ft. to 3 ft. 3 in.
2ft.
5| in. to 8 in.
3 ft. 4 in. to 3 ft. 10 in.
2 ft. 6 in.
8£ in. to 12 in.
4 ft. to 5 ft.
3ft
12i in. to 14 in.
5 ft. 10 in. to 6 ft. 4 in.
3 ft. 4 in.
14J in. to 18 in.
7 ft. 6 in. to 8 ft. 2 in.
4ft.
THE REPAIR AND REPLACING OF TREES 229
Transplanting of this kind is usually done in late fall and
winter. The specimens are carried in heavy trucks especi
ally constructed for the purpose of moving large trees.
RENEWAL OF PLANTATIONS
As the trees on a street advance in age and the failing
specimens become in the majority, the plantations would
look ragged if an attempt were made to replace only the
dead trees while those that were still alive, but also on the
verge of decay, were left standing. Then when the new
trees reestablished themselves, the old trees would die, and
under such conditions it would no longer be possible to
maintain a uniform planting. It is best to set out new trees
entirely. The soil should be renewed and as a general prac
tise it is best to replant with a different species.
Dr. W. A. Murrill writes in his bulletin on " Shade-
Trees, " 1 "I was struck by the absence of old or even large
trees on the streets of Paris. All trees seem about the same
in age and size, and all are in the very prime of life."
The splendid condition and the imposing effect of the
street-trees of Paris is due to the most painstaking methods
of planting and culture ; the partial replacing of failing spe
cimens just so long as the uniformity of the trees can be so
maintained; and, finally, the renewal of the plantations en
tirely when the majority of the trees begin to fail.
The planting of small trees between old ones is a bad
practise, because it is hard to establish young specimens in
such cases. They grow slowly on account of the cutting off
of sunlight, they tend to shoot upward rather than to spread,
and the roots of the old trees invade upon the available food
1 "Shade-Trees," by W. A. Murrill, Bulletin 205, Cornell University Agri
cultural Experiment Station.
230 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
of the young trees. If, however, it is found desirable to
interplant young trees among large ones, which are to be
removed when the young trees grow up, then the branches
of the old trees should be so trimmed as to allow plenty of
sunlight to reach the small ones, and the roots of the neigh
boring trees should be cut so that they will not interfere
with the new specimens.
The period of the duration of life of city trees is much
less than that of the same species growing in the forest.
Their length of life depends upon the conditions of soil and
the care and culture bestowed upon them.
CHAPTER XI
WHO SHALL PLANT AND CARE FOR STREET-TREES
IN every town and city of the country where trees are
most abundant and where they are most likely to thrive, at
one time or other there arises the problem of taking care of
those trees and of setting out new ones. There comes a
time when a certain species of tree is attacked by an insect,
when the trees along a certain street need pruning, when
trees are to be guarded from horse-bites and passing vehi
cles ; or when it is desirable to plant a newly opened street.
INDIVIDUAL PLANTING
There are two ways by which the work of planting and
caring for street-trees can be accomplished. The work must
be done either by individual land owners or public officials.
The prevailing policy of most of our cities has been to leave
this task to the individuals who own the property on a certain
street. The results thus obtained have been very unsatis
factory. It will be an easy matter for those at all concerned
with municipal improvements to picture to themselves a
street or a number of streets in any city where the plan of
the individual control of street-trees exists.
What picture do these streets present? There are long
stretches that are not planted at all. The trees that have
been set out bear evidence of the diversity of taste of the
planters. There are half a dozen or more species of trees on
231
232 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
the same street, undesirable mixed with desirable, of all
shapes and sizes, set either too closely or too far apart. In
some cases the trees are not trimmed at all and the limbs
are so low as to touch the heads of pedestrians ; in others
they are pruned too high. The trees have been left unpro
tected by guards, many of them have been bitten by horses,
and there is evidence that they have been injured by
destructive pests. The writer has had the opportunity of
studying the street-trees of a great many towns and cities
in different parts of the country and the conditions de
scribed above are universal.
Especially in the control of insects which infest certain
species of trees from time to time the system, or rather the
lack of system, of the individual care of street-trees utterly
fails. The citizen is entirely powerless to accomplish any
thing. He may plant an undesirable species of tree if the
task is left to him, but in insect fighting he will do even less.
His efforts will come to naught if his neighbor allows the
pest to remain on his trees. In the extermination of insects
in a city it is absolutely necessary that all the infested trees
be treated in order to obtain effective results. It is impossi
ble to have concerted action on the part of thousands of
people of a community in the treatment of infested trees at
the same time. Insect fighting requires persistence and
knowledge of what to do at the proper time to obtain results.
There is a period in the life history of most of our tree pests
when it may be most easily destroyed. This stage is not
always at the time when the most injury is apparent, or
when the average citizen wakes up to the necessity of doing
something. The life history of the pests must be known
in order that treatment may be given at the right time.
Besides, to spray trees of considerable size requires an
WHO SHALL CARE FOR STREET-TREES 233
apparatus which the average citizen cannot be expected to
have.
The injury to trees by borers is a case in point. The
foliage does not show the effects of the damage nor do the
limbs begin to die until three or four years after the cater
pillars of the borers do their fatal work. Then the people
wonder why the trees are dying. Hundreds of sugar maples
died in the northern section of the State of New Jersey dur
ing the years of 1905 and 1906 as a result of the ravages of
the borers a few years before that time. Attention to them
at the time the insects were active would have saved the
trees.
We cannot blame the individual for unsatisfactory re
sults. We are seeking in the planting of shade-trees that
which is for the common good of all, and we expect the
work to be done by the citizens without instruction, without
system, and leave to each one, if it so pleases him, to do his,
share when and how he desires. It is the system that is
wrong, and the remedy can readily suggest itself. Other
municipal interests are vested in commissions, committees,
or other organized bodies. Experience has shown that in
order to obtain the greatest degree of excellence in the plant
ing and care of street-trees, the matter must be entrusted to
a similar body, and a shade-tree department should be incor
porated in every municipality.
MUNICIPAL CONTROL
It is only when the planting and care of street-trees is
vested in a special department that all the principles essen
tial to secure the most stately and impressive effect of high
way planting can be applied; such as the choice of the prop
er species, the use of one variety on a street, setting out
234 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
of specimens at uniform and proper distances apart, and the
protection and cultivation of the trees afterward. The task
of such a department is not a mean one in the life of the
modern city. In the prospectus issued by the New Orleans
Parking Commission, created in 1909, to have exclusive con
trol of the planting and care of street-trees in that city, the
Commission beautifully defines its function and its mission
as follows:
"If this Commission diligently searches out its true
relationships in the beautiful or fine arts, where it rightfully
belongs, and studiously possesses itself of that largeness of
thought and trained facility of imagination, inspiring within
itself the idealizing faculty, whereby the true architect and
painter project visually the creations of genius before work
is laid on drawing board or brush on canvas, then, of very
necessity, as like begets like, there will begin throughout
this city a development in pure art, dignified in orderly
elegance and grace, beautiful in unity, becoming more
apparent and impressive with each succeeding year, just as
the Washington city of to-day was visually projected as a
living painting by F Enfant a hundred years ago — and the
city of Cleveland, with its newly projected grandeur by the
Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
"To initiate this is the work we are called upon to do — a
work that must be carefully mapped according to specifica
tions in the general plan, in which every tree planted and
dollar spent shall count just that much toward the end in
view ; which is the real and practical uplifting and betterment
of the whole community — physically, mentally, morally, in
the actual comfort and pleasure of living and in a growing
sense 6f self-regard and civic pride. It is a home mission
work in a strictly rational, business way, with certainty of
WHO SHALL CARE FOR STREET-TREES 235
returns, far exceeding expenditure; an enterprise rich in
utility; not of a mechanical or directly commercial kind; for
the city does not propose to open a wood yard or grow trees
for lumber; but it does contemplate something far more
useful in a beautifully environed, clean, wholesome, con
tented citizenship ; for as the environment, so are the peo
ple. If the one is slovenly and degraded, so is the other; and
the contrary is true, as proved in every community ; partic
ularly in large manufacturing centres where the extremes
of comparison are so distressingly in contrast."
Washington.— While the idea of the municipal control of
street-trees is not new, it is only during the last decade that
the benefits derived from such a system have become gener
ally recognized. In this country the City of Washington
offers the most mature results of the system of public con
trol of street-trees.
The department for the planting and care of trees is offi
cially known as the Trees and Parkings Division of the Dis
trict of Columbia, and was first organized in the year 1872.
At the close of the year 1909, there were 94,799 trees along
the streets, all of which were planted under municipal con
trol and paid for by the city. An average of eighty men is
employed by the department during the working seasons.
The annual appropriation for maintenance of the shade-trees
of Washington is usually $40,000. This amount is half of
what is appropriated in Paris for the care of fewer trees,
and strong efforts are made each year for a substantial in
crease in this amount, it being felt that at least double the
sum could be used with advantage.
Paris. — The street- trees of Paris are under public control.
The plantations on the public highways number about 86,000
trees. In this figure are not included the specimens in the
236 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
squares, gardens, and parks. The annual expenses of main
tenance are about $80,000. This sum is spent on wages
of workmen, repairs of guards, grills, etc. ; the supply of
new soil to drooping specimens and the replacing of dead
trees. The work is done by a force of one hundred and two
men, divided into gangs entrusted with a certain kind of
work, such as planting, transplanting, pruning, etc. The
work of transplanting large trees in trucks is done by special
contractors. The trees existing on the public highways are
planted and cared for at the expense of the city. The Pre
fect of the Department of the Seine writes that about eight
een hundred trees are planted annually to take the place of
dead trees. New streets are also planted, but these planta
tions are very small, as trees have already been set out on
all the streets that are sufficiently wide to have them.
New York and Other Cities.— By an act of the year 1902,
of the Laws of the State of New York, the jurisdiction of
the Park Boards of Greater New York was extended to the
preservation and planting of trees on the streets of the sev
eral boroughs. Among the other 'cities of the country that
have assumed control of the street-trees within recent years
are Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Buffalo, Hartford, New
Orleans, and Pittsburgh. Through the efforts of local im
provement societies of a great many towns and cities of the
country efforts are being made to provide in some way for
the proper planting and maintenance of highway trees.
States.— The States that have passed the most advanced
laws along lines of securing the more general adoption of
the system of the municipal control of street-trees are New
Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. New Jersey has
been the pioneer State of the Union in the enactment of a
model statute in 1893, to provide for the planting and care
238 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
of shade-trees on the highways of the municipalities of the
State. Massachusetts, in 1899, passed an act providing that
every town must elect a tree warden, and defined the duties
and powers of the office. In 1907, Pennsylvania passed a
shade-tree law, modeled after the New Jersey Act of 1893
and its amendments. The texts of these model laws are
given in Chapter XIII.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania. — The laws of New Jersey
and Pennsylvania which provide for the establishment of
shade-tree commissions are not of general application to all
municipalities, but are of local option. They become opera
tive in a town or city only after its adoption by the town or
city council. Up to date, thirty-one towns and cities in New
Jersey have established shade-tree commissions. These are
Allendale, Arlington, Bloomfield, Caldwell, Camden, Chat
ham, East Orange, East Rutherford, Elizabeth, Jersey City,
Kearny, Madison, Metuchen, Montclair, Morristown, New
ark, New Brunswick, Nutley, Passaic, Perth Amboy, Plain-
field, Point Pleasant, Rahway, Ridgefield, Ridgewood, Roselle,
Rutherford, South Orange, Summit, Westfield and Wood-
bury. The Pennsylvania statute has been adopted by Am-
bridge, Pittsburgh, and Wilkes-Barre.
The New Jersey act of 1893 was amended in the years
of 1905 and 1906. The law of Pennsylvania of 1907 com
bines the act of 1893 of New Jersey and its amendments.
Briefly, the provisions of these acts may be summarized as
follows :
When by resolution of the city council it is decided that
the law shall become operative in a city, then from that time
all matters pertaining to shade-trees are placed in the hands
of the respective commissions. All work is carried on in a
systematic way and the trees are planted, pruned, sprayed,
WHO SHALL CARE FOR STREET-TREES 239
and removed under the direction of the commissioners.
Wherein these commissions differ from other similar bodies
is that they have the power of initiative in the matter of
planting. They decide that a certain street is to be planted
and determine the species of tree. An advertisement of
the intention to plant is inserted for two weeks in the public
newspapers, and all persons interested in the improvement
are given an opportunity to be heard. After the work is
done the commissioners meet and certify a list to the re
ceiver of taxes on which are given the names of the owners
in front of whose property trees were set out and the cost of
the work. These assessments are entered by the receiver of
taxes on the annual tax bill and are paid the same way as
any other legal lien. The cost of pruning, spraying, remov
ing dead trees and repairing old ones is provided for by a
general appropriation.
These laws give the shade-tree commissions the power to
pass ordinances for the planting, protection, regulation, and
control of street-trees. These ordinances have been ex
tremely efficient in securing the protection of trees. They
do away entirely with the abuses of public utilities corpora
tions who in the past have so ruthlessly mutilated and de
stroyed trees along highways for the passage of overhead
wires. In fact some of the most important work of a shade-
tree commission is to protect the trees already existing in a
city.
Massachusetts. — The laws of Massachusetts in regard to
the planting and care of shade-trees in towns and cities
are among the most progressive in the country. The
"Tree Warden Act" of 1899, provided that every town must
elect a tree warden, and defined the duties and powers of the
office. This act did not apply to cities; but by the laws of
240 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
1910, the "Tree Warden Act" has been extended in practi
cally all its provisions, except that requiring the election of
a tree warden, to the cities of the commonwealth as well.
Thus the act of 1899 of Massachusetts and its amendments
secure the regulation of the planting and care of shade-trees
in practically every town and city of the State.
The charters of the Massachusetts cities vary so widely
in the provisions for local government that it was not possi
ble to secure uniformity in the election or appointment of
shade-tree officials or in the matter of administration. Con
sequently, each city is free to appoint under its special char
ter provision, some board or officer for the care of public
shade-trees.
There are now 301 towns and 33 cities in Massachusetts.
Every town at its annual election elects a tree warden.
Every city but one has made provision of some kind for the
care of the shade-trees, either by the appointment of a spe
cial officer, or by giving authority to an already existing
officer or board, as follows :
Officer or Board Nuc^|sr of
Park Commission 8
City Improvement Committee 1
City Forester 3
Tree and Forest Warden 1
Tree Warden 1
Forest Commissioner , . . . 1
Board of Public Works 5
Commission of Public Works 2
Street Commissioner 2
Board of Street Commissioners 2
Superintendent of Streets 4
Superintendent of Highways 1
City Engineer .1
WHO SHALL CARE FOR STREET-TREES 241
PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING SHADE-TREE LEGISLATION .
When a department for the planting and care of street-
trees is established in a city, there frequently arises misun
derstandings with the property-owners regarding the rela
tion which the shade-tree has to the street. The placing
of shade-trees under municipal control is of comparatively
recent introduction, and therefore, although the citizen is
accustomed to regulations affecting the pavements and the
sidewalks, he still considers the shade-tree as something
affecting only his own house and not as something con
tributing to the value of the entire street.
For example, a man is used to paying assessments for
the paving of the roadway, for the curbing and the laying of
the sidewalk, and still he does not absolutely own the pave
ment. He cannot open up the street without good reason,
and unless he has permission from the city authorities to do
so. He cannot take up the macadam pavement and replace
it with asphalt if it so pleases him. It is an accepted fact
that as regards the paving of the highway there must be a
uniformity of plan that will be productive of the best results
for the benefit of every resident of the street.
The relation of the shade-tree to the highway is the same
as that of any other road improvement. The tree is some
thing which benefits not only the abutting property-owner
but the entire street, and it is upon this idea that all legisla
tion regarding the planting and care of shade-trees is based.
A man may plant a shade-tree along the street-line, but he
does not own it in the sense that he owns the trees within
the property-line. Neither he nor anybody else has the
right to mutilate or cut down the street-tree, for the whole
street would incur a loss by such action.
242 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
One of the sections of the ordinance passed by the East
Orange Shade-Tree Commission provides that no tree shall
be planted in any of the public highways until such tree shall
have been first approved and the place where it is to be
planted designated by the Shade-Tree Commission and a
permit granted therefor. If the citizen were permitted to
plant shade -trees as he saw fit he might plant a tree unsuited
for street use or might place it close to a tree on his neigh
bor's property, and in either case would produce a result
detrimental to the street. The other sections of the ordi
nance relating to the protection of trees also embody this
idea, that the shade-tree is something in which all the resi
dents of the street share.
The Supreme Court of the State of Illinois, in the case of
Baker vs. the Town of Normal, in Laws of Illinois, volume 81,
page 109, says: — "The town under its charter has the control
of streets, may improve them and adorn them. It may per
mit its citizens to improve and adorn that part of the street
in front of his lot, but the improvement and adornment does
not thereby become the property of the citizen. The plant
ing of a shade-tree in the street by a citizen by permission
of the village or city authorities is a gratuity to the public,
and the citizen has no more right to control the shade-tree
so planted than he would have had it been planted by the
city authorities. The control is in the public. The adjoin
ing proprietor has a common interest with other citizens in
these shade-trees and incidentally derives a special benefit
from their existence, but no title of authority over them, as
against the public/*
A little over two years ago, two citizens came into my
office and complained that one of the residents of their street
had cut down a tree in front of his own house. They were
WHO SHALL CARE FOR STREET-TREES 243
greatly agitated about the matter and told me that the re
moval of the tree was something in which every property
owner was concerned, as the resulting gap spoiled the uni
formity of the row of the remaining trees. I investigated
the matter and found that 'a tree had indeed been removed,
but that permission 'had been previously obtained from our
office. The tree in question was in a diseased and danger
ous condition, could not be saved, and it was the advice of
our office to remove the tree and put a new one in its place.
When the complainants were informed why the tree was
removed, they felt satisfied that their interests had been
protected. Their action in bringing complaint when they
thought that the tree had been unwarrantably cut down was
a just one, and it illustrates the point that the destruction of
a shade-tree is something that affects the entire street.
During the winter of 1909, I was called to Harrisburg to
help in the movement to organize a department that would
look after the shade-trees of that city. One of the citizens
told me that he was going along a street one day when he
saw a man cutting off the branches of a large tree in front of
his place and leaving nothing but the trunk. He asked him
why he was spoiling the tree and the man replied: "lean
make use of the wood, and don't care for the shade/' As
there were no regulations in that city in regard to shade-
trees, that man, in spite of the protestations of his neighbors,
went on with his work and left the mutilated specimen as a
permanent eyesore to the residents of the street.
CHAPTER XII
A DEPARTMENT OF MUNICIPAL ARBORICULTURE
No matter by what legislative provision a town or city
establishes a shade-tree department, its task after organiza
tion should be the same, namely : to secure the very best
results obtainable in street decoration for the benefit of the
whole city, according to the most approved scientific prin
ciples and methods. The laws of Massachusetts provide for
the appointment of tree wardens in towns. The statutes of
New Jersey and Pennsylvania provide for the establishment
of commissions to have the control of trees along public
highways. As practically operated the commissioners serve
as an organization, and they -employ a trained arboriculturist
who has charge of the executive work.
OFFICIAL IN CHARGE OF STREET-TREES
To secure the best results there must be one official to
carry out the duties which a shade-tree department de
mands. Those in charge of city trees have been variously
designated as "Tree Wardens/' "Tree Doctors," and City
Foresters." The writer has always felt that to call one
charged with the preservation and care of shade-trees a
"forester" is a wrong application of that word. He agrees
With Dr. Fernow1 that the term "Tree Warden" is a more
expressive title for such an official. The term "Arboricul
turist" is also a very apt one. A forester is concerned with
'"The Care of Trees," by Bernhard E. Fernow.
244
DEPARTMENT OF MUNICIPAL ARBORICULTURE 245
the economic side of tree growth, the product of the tree: its
wood. The arboriculturist cultivates trees for their esthetic
value and their shade, and deals with them only in their
living state. To call one in charge of tree culture in a city
a "city forester" is to imply that the city is growing trees
for lumber. The propagation of trees in cities has an en
tirely different aim, and trees cultivated along streets become
by their beauty and utility more valuable than the lumber
which they contain. When a tree is cut down it is no longer
of value to the street nor does it interest the arboriculturist.
Perhaps a better term than "Tree Warden" or "Municipal
Arboriculturist" will be invented that will express ade
quately the functions of an official in charge of the planting
and care of city trees.
The tree warden who understands his position correctly
has a greater task to perform than simply the propagation
of trees according to scientific principles. He must be an
enthusiast in his work and inspire among the people of a
community the proper appreciation of the value of trees.
The people will then in turn help him in the administration
of his office; for his success will largely depend upon the
interest of the people of his town or city in their trees and
the support which they give him. He must also appreciate
the responsibility of his position as the guardian of one of
the chief resources for maintaining the beauty and health of
a city.
TREE CENSUS
In its details, the work of the tree warden is partly that
of the municipal engineer. It is necessary to enumerate the
existing trees, to make layouts for new plantations and keep
records of these. In order to care intelligently for his
charges the municipal arboriculturist must know how many
246 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND. CITIES
trees come under his jurisdiction. One of the first things he
should do when he assumes the task of caring for the trees
of a city is the taking of a tree census : that is, the enumera
tion of all the trees of the city in field books and the careful
plotting of these trees on maps prepared for that purpose.
Field Books.— A form of field book for the enumeration
of street-trees designed by the writer has proved very ade
quate and could be used advantageously in any town or city.
The book is made in a form similar to an engineer's transit
or level field book. A few leaves from such a book are in
serted after page 275. The size of the leaves is four and one-
half inches by eight inches. The right hand page is cross-
sectioned into fifths of inches. On these pages each street
is plotted to a scale of fifty feet to the inch. Four red lines
drawn vertically in the centre of the page represent in con
ventional form the sidewalks of the street of which the trees
are to be recorded. The inner two lines are the curb-lines,
and the outer two are the property-lines. The divisions of
the abutting properties are indicated by lines drawn at right
angles to the outer red lines. The cross streets are similarly
indicated by lines making the proper angles with the curb
and the property lines. This field book admits of the plot
ting of sections of street 350 feet in length on each page.
On the leaves from the field book inserted after page 275
is plotted the short street, "Shepard Street/* a map of
which is shown, Fig. 35. The cross-sectioned paper obviates
using a scale in transferring the street to the field book.
Likewise in the indication of the position of the trees, the
cross-sectioning will be a guide, as the sides of the little
squares represent ten feet.
On the left hand page are given the descriptions of the
trees. At the top of the page the name of the street and the
DEPARTMENT OF MUNICIPAL ARBORICULTURE 247
date are noted. The columns are headed as "Tree Number, "
' ' Species, " " Diameter, "" Condition, ' ' and " Remarks. ' ' Be
ginning at one end of the street, corner of Beech Street, the
first tree is numbered as one. Its distance from the corner
is found to be fourteen feet. The tree is shown by a small
black circle on the right hand page. The small "c" after
"14"' indicates that the distance is from the corner. The
tree is then described on the left hand page. It is a Norway
maple, five inches in diameter, measured breast high, and
in good condition. In the column under "Remarks" is
entered anything about the condition of the trees that is
abnormal or unusual.
The distance between the first and second trees is then
measured, noted on the right hand page and the entry of the
tree made on the left hand page. And so on the enumera
tion continues, first on one side of the street and then on the
other. To do this work effectively and rapidly, three men
are required in the gang: a rear chainman, a head chainman,
and a man who makes the entry of the trees. Distances
are measured from the centre of one tree to the centre of
another. The head chainman calls off the distances and the
enumerator notes all of the other data which are entered on
the left hand page.
The method of rating trees with respect to their condition
depends upon the object sought in enumerating them. So
many factors are to be considered in the judgment of the
condition of a tree that it would be impossible in taking a
general census to enter a detailed description of each tree.
A general method of classification therefore has to be
adopted that will enable the tree warden, from a study of the
records, to form a good idea of the general condition of the
trees on a street.
248
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
In judging the condition of a tree, its immediate future
rather than its present state should be considered. It is sug
gested that trees may be rated as "good," "medium," and
"bad." A tree is rated "good" that is in full vigor and
gives no indication of immediate decline. A tree is called
"medium" which begins to decline, but which can be re
stored to vigor by culture, fertilization, pruning, treatment
of cavities, or in some other way. A tree is "bad, " which is
in such a state of decline that it cannot be restored to vigor.
A summary of a survey of trees in a city may be exem
plified by the following:
SUMMARY OF SURVEY OF STREET-TREES IN EAST ORANGE,
PLANTED BEFORE THE SHADE-TREE COMMISSION
WAS ESTABLISHED
Species. Is
Ailantus
Apple
Arborvitae
Ash, White 81
Aspen, Large-toothed . . .
Beech, American
Buckeye
Catalpa ,
Cherry, Cultivated
Cherry, Wild
Dogwood, Flowering . . .
Elm, American 995
Elm, Slippery
Gum, Sour
Gum, Sweet
Hickory, Mockernut ....
Hickory, Pignut
Hickory, Shagbark
Hornbeam
Horse-chestnut 177
Linden, American 133
Linden, European 46
Locust, Honey
Maple, Ash-leaved 13
er.
6
Species.
Maple, Norway
Number.
1,210
1
Maple, Red
2 847
1
Maple, Silver
2,228
81
Maple, Sugar
. . . 2 232
1
Maple, Sycamore
51
6
Mulberry, White
1
7
Oak, Pin
23
30
Oak, Red
11
2
Oak, Swamp white .
11
4
Oak, White
19
3
Pine, White
5
95
Poplar, Carolina ....
728
2
Poplar, Lombardy. . .
2
1
Poplar, White . .
7
5
Plane, American ....
22
?,
Plane, Oriental
6
6
Sassafras
2
2
Silverbell
1
4
Spruce, Norway ....
2
77
Tulip
9
33
Walnut, Black
2
46
Walnut, White
1
1
Willow, Weeping . . .
4
13
Total . .
.10.953
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250 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
As regards the condition of the trees, they have been rated as
good, medium, and bad, as follows :
Condition. Number.
Good 9,422
Medium . . . . 558
Bad . 973
Total , 10,953
The sizes of the trees, measured breast high, are as follows :
Size. Number.
Under 6 inches 1, 698
6 inches to 12 inches 3, 089
13 inches to 18 inches. 3,947
19 inches to 24 inches 1,451
Over 24 inches. . 768
Total 10,953
Mapping the Trees. — The method of plotting the trees to
scale on maps is shown in Fig. 35. This figure is drawn to
a scale of fifty feet to three-eighths of an inch, to accommo
date it on a page of this book. The original office maps,
however, are carefully drawn to a scale of fifty feet to the
inch, and on them are shown the width of the street from
property-line to property -line, the width of the sidewalks,
the frontage of the abutting properties, the city block map,
and the lot numbers. The divisions of the abutting proper
ties are likely to change when sales and transfers are made.
It is therefore best to indicate in lead pencil the lines mark
ing the property divisions, and the figures showing the
widths of the properties and the lot numbers. The trees
noted in the field book are then drawn on the map. A good
conventional form for existing trees is a small black circle.
DEPARTMENT OF MUNICIPAL ARBORICULTURE 251
The spacing of the trees and the numbers given them are
also indicated.
Value of Tree Census. — The maps are found to be ex
tremely valuable office records in a great many ways. When
a request is made for attention to a certain tree on a street,
the tree warden can immediately find out the species and
condition of the tree by referring to his field book and maps.
When it is proposed to plant certain streets which have
some existing trees, the records can be used to determine the
trees that are to be removed, and adequate provision made
for the planting of new ones.
Records of street-trees are invaluable in organizing a
campaign against an insect pest attacking a certain species.
By knowing the number and distribution of affected trees
coming under his jurisdiction, the tree warden can make
ample provision for their treatment and direct the work
intelligently. In most cases the period of time is limited
during which the extermination of insect pests may be done
most effectively. The treatment of elm-trees for the elm-
leaf beetle is a case in point. The insect can be controlled
only by spraying, and the time when that may be done most
effectively is limited to two or three weeks. When the tree
warden knows the total number of elm-trees in his city and
the number on each street he can accomplish the most work
within the limited time.
The field books and the maps can be used to compute the
number of the trees necessary to plant on a street. From the
records of the conditions of the trees it will usually be possi
ble to determine what trees are to be cut down. Thus from
the descriptions of the trees numbered 10, 19, and 20 on
"Shepard Street, " it is seen that they are not fit to retain,
and they are checked off as trees to be removed.
252 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
While the average distance at which certain species are
to be planted may be prescribed, the actual spot where the
individual specimens are to go cannot be determined from
the maps, unless every street obstruction were carefully
noted and its position indicated on the map. Such work
would entail a great deal of useless labor, for on the aver
age street there are many lamp-posts, fire-hydrants, cross
walks, and water, sewer, and gas connections that are to be
avoided. The writer has found from experience that it is
better to decide the exact spot where new trees are to be
planted while in the field. It usually becomes necessary in
many individual instances to increase or diminish the aver
age prescribed distance in order to keep away from points
where trees cannot be planted.
After the places for new trees have been marked, their dis
tances apart should be noted in the field book, using a small
cross for each tree as shown in the specimen pages. Usu
ally one species is used on a street, and therefore it is not
necessary to mark every tree as in the case of existing trees.
One record of the species and the date planted may be made
in the field book on the first page of the street. A similar
record should be entered on the finished office maps.
RECORDS OF NEW TREES
The newly planted trees are plotted on the same maps as
the old trees, and are indicated by red circles. These trees
are numbered with a new series of numbers, beginning with
number 1 ; but in order not to confuse the new trees with
the existing trees a zero "0" is prefixed to the numeral.
The beginning of the trees on each street with number "1,"
or number "01," eliminates the use of large numbers.
Each tree is absolutely fixed by the designation of the street
DEPARTMENT OF MUNICIPAL ARBORICULTURE 253
and the tree number. A small, inexpensive brass label
bearing the tree number might be attached to the guard of
each newly planted tree for the purpose of identifying each
specimen.
The assigning of numbers to newly planted trees enables
the tree warden to keep a record of the behavior of new
plantations. Each tree may be recorded on a separate card
having the following form :
RECORD OF TREES PLANTED
STREET TREE NUMBER
SPECIES
WHEN PLANTED SIZE WHEN PLANTED
NURSERY WHERE PURCHASED
LIFE HISTORY OF TREE
Records of the behavior of trees form a fair basis for
the judgment of the hardiness of certain species, the quality
of stock purchased from various nurseries and the peculiar
local conditions affecting tree growth. The causes of the
failure of trees should be definitely determined, in order to
remedy, if possible, the conditions before new trees are set
out, or to improve cultural methods after they are planted.
A few years after planting, the life stories of trees might
254 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
appear as follows: "Planted April, 1905. Died summer 1905,
poor underdrainage. Installed drain October, 1905. Re
planted spring 1906"; or, "Planted spring 1905. Did not
come out in foliage. Dried out in shipment from nursery.
Replanted fall 1905"; or, "Planted April, 1905. Foliage
dried out summer 1905, failure to water. Replanted spring
1906" ; or "Planted April, 1905. Died summer 1909. Dried
out. Not enough good soil supplied when planted. Re
planted fall 1909"; etc., etc., etc.
OTHER RECORDS
Other forms of office records will readily suggest them
selves to the municipal arboriculturist who desires system in
his office. When requests are made for attention to trees it
is best to keep each item on a separate card, like this :
RECORD OF COMPLAINTS
LOCATION
COMPLAINANT
DATE OF COMPLAINT
REQUEST
DATE OF INSPECTION
CONDITION OF TREES
WORK DONE ON
DEPARTMENT OF MUNICIPAL ARBORICULTURE 255
Daily reports of the work of each gang can be kept on
separate cards :
SHADE-TREE COMMISSION— DAILY REPORT
DATE
FOREMAN
KIND OF WORK
STREETS
NO. OF TREES
TRIMMED
SPRAYED
,
REMOVED
CEMENTED
PLANTED
HOLES DUG
STAKES DRIVEN
WATERED
OTHER WORK
ASSESSMENT LISTS
When the cost of the trees set out on a street is to be
charged to the abutting property-owners the maps, with the
newly planted trees carefully located, are absolutely neces
sary in making up the assessments. When the trees are
plotted to scale it is seen just in front of which property
they come. Very frequently there are vacant lots on streets
planted and there is no way of determining in the field the
description of the property. Thus by referring to the map
256
SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
of "Shepard Street," Fig. 35, it is seen at a glance in front
of which property the new trees come. An assessment
record of the newly planted trees on "Shepard Street" would
then appear as follows :
SHEPARD STREET
Tree
Number.
Block Map
Number.
Lot
Number.
Name of Property-
Owner.
No. Feet
Frontage
Number
of Trees.
Cost.
01
323
119-121
Edward Willis
46
1
$5.00
02-03
323 ; 115-117
Estate Jos. Heller
54
2
10.00
04
322
99-101
Alfred Ward
57
1
5.00
05-06
322
95- 97
Annie Wyman 58
2
10.00
07
322
91- 93
Eastern Realty Co.
55
1
5.00
08-09
322
87- 89
Marcus Rowe
55
2
10.00
010
322
83- 85
Mary Smith
48
1
5.00
Oil
322
79- 81
Robert Gilbert
50
1
5.00
012
322
75- 77
Robert Mctt
52
1
5.00
013-014
316
72- 74
John Williams
60
2
10.00
015
316
76- 78
Joseph Little
50
1
5.00
016
316
80- 82
Peter Sacks
50
1
5.00
017-018
316
84- 88
Walter Jameson
75
2
10.00
019-027
316
90-112
Chas. M. Bingham
310
9
45.00
028-031
317
118-128
Frank J. Hill
150
4
20.00
LABELING TREES
To create an interest in the work of a tree department
and to help the people to become familiar with trees, it is a
good plan to put labels on street-trees, giving the species
and date of planting, in some such form as this:
The Trees on This Street Are
NORWAY MAPLES
They Were Planted by the
SHADE-TREE DEPARTMENT
in the Spring of 1905.
DEPARTMENT OF MUNICIPAL ARBORICULTURE 257
Information about trees spread among the people of a
city in an appealing way helps them to realize that hardy
trees grow rapidly with proper cultivation, and that it is not
necessary to plant trashy, quick-growing trees to secure
shade in a few years. Records about trees in the office and
outside form interesting commentaries on tree life.
CHAPTER XIII
LEGISLATION
WHILE a number of States have laws regarding the plant
ing and care of street-trees, none are as broad as the pro
visions of the statutes of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and
Massachusetts. The laws of these States are therefore given
in full.
NEW JERSEY
LAWS OF NEW JERSEY
General Public Laws ; Session of 1893.
Chapter CCLXXXV.
AN act to provide for the planting and care of shade-trees on
the highways of the municipalities of this State.
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly
of the State of New Jersey, That in all the municipalities of this
State there may be appointed, in the manner hereinafter provided,
a commission of three freeholders, who shall serve without com
pensation, and who shall have the exclusive and absolute control
and power to plant, set out, maintain, protect and care for shade-
trees in any of the public highways of their respective muni
cipalities, the cost thereof to be borne and paid for in the manner
hereinafter directed.
SEC. 2. And be it enacted, That it shall be optional with the
governing body of any municipality whether this act shall have
effect in, and such commissioners shall be appointed in, such
municipality; and when any such governing body shall by resolu
tion approve of this act and direct that such commissioners shall
258
LEGISLATION 259
be appointed, then, from that time this act and all its provisions
shall be in force and apply to such municipality, and such com
missioners shall be appointed for terms of three, four, and five
years respectively ; and on the expiration of any term, the new
appointment shall be made for five years, and any vacancy shall
be filled for the unexpired term only; and in cities, the said
appointments shall be made by the mayor thereof, and in town
ships by the chairman of the township committee, and in villages
and boroughs by the chairman or president of the board of trus
tees or other governing body.
SEC. 3. And be it enacted, That whenever said commissioners
shall propose to make any such improvements as setting out or
planting any shade-trees, or changing the same in any highways,
they shall give notice of such contemplated improvement (specify
the streets or portions thereof where such trees are intended to be
planted) in one or more newspapers of their said municipality, if
there be any newspapers published in said place, for at least two
weeks prior to any meeting, in which they shall decide to make
such improvement.
SEC. 4. And be it enacted, That the cost of planting and
transplanting any trees in any highway, and boxes or guards for
the protection thereof, when necessary, shall be borne by the real
estate in front of which such trees are planted or set out, and the
cost thereof as to each tract of real estate shall be certified by
said commissioners to the person having charge of the collection
of taxes for said municipality; and upon the filing of said cer
tificate, the amount of the cost of said improvement shall be and
become a lien upon said lands in front of which the trees were
planted or set out, and the said collecting officer shall place the
assessment so made against any property in the annual tax bills
rendered to owner or owners of such property, and the same shall
be collectible in the same manner as the other taxes against said
property are collected.
SEC. 5. And be it enacted, That the cost and expense of caring
for said trees, after being planted or set out, and the expense of
publishing said notices, shall be borne and paid by a general tax
to be raised by said municipality; said tax shall not exceed the
260 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
sum of one-tenth of one mill on the dollar annually on all the
taxable property of said municipality, and the needed amount
shall be each year certified by said commissioners to the assessor,
and assessors of said municipality, and be assessed and raised as
other taxes.
SEC. 6. And be it enacted, That this act shall take effect im
mediately.
Approved March 28, 1893.
Under Chapter 169, Section 97 of the laws of 1899, this act
was repealed in so far as it related to or affected townships.
This act was amended in the years 1905 and 1906 so as to
extend the jurisdiction of the shade-tree commissions over
the public parks, and to give the commissions the power
to pass ordinances for the protection of shade-trees on the
public streets and in the public parks.
LAWS OF NEW JERSEY OF 1905.
Chapter 108.
A supplement to an act entitled, "An act to provide for the
planting and care of shade- trees on the highways of the munici
palities of this state/' approved March twenty- eighth, one thou
sand eight hundred and ninety -three.
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey :
SECTION 1. In any municipality which now has or hereafter
shall take advantage of the act to which this is a supplement the
commission appointed under the provisions thereof shall have
exclusive control over the public parks belonging to or under the
control of such municipality, or any department in the govern
ment thereof, with full power and authority to improve, repair,
manage, maintain, and control the same.
SEC. 2. The said commission shall have full power and
authority and is hereby empowered to pass, enact, alter, amend,
LEGISLATION 261
and repeal ordinances for the protection, regulation, and control
of such parks, and the trees, flowers, shrubs, statuary therein,
and also for the protection, regulation, and control of all shade-
trees planted or growing upon the public highways of ariy such
municipality, and to prescribe fines and penalties for the viola
tion thereof and fix the amount of the same ; the method now in
use for the passing, enacting, altering, amending, and publishing
ordinances in said municipality shall be the method used to pass,
enact, alter, amend, repeal, and publish the ordinances therein
mentioned.
SEC. 3. All moneys collected from fines or penalties for the
violation of any ordinances of any such commission, and all
moneys collected for assessments made upon the property for the
cost of planting and transplanting any trees ; and the boxes or
guards for the protection thereof in any such city, shall be forth
with paid over to the proper municipal authorities and shall be
placed to the credit of the said commission and subject to be
drawn upon by the said commission in the manner provided by
law for the payments of moneys in any such municipality.
SEC. 4. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act
are hereby repealed.
SEC. 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
Approved April 6, 1905.
LAWS OF NEW JERSEY OF 1906.
Chapter 186.
A supplement to an act entitled "An act to provide for the
planting and care of shade-trees on the highways of the munici
palities of this State, approved March twenty-eighth, one thou
sand eight hundred and ninety-three. ' '
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey :
SECTION 1. The said commission may prescribe penalties for
the violation of any of their ordinances, and the courts which
262 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
now or hereafter shall have jurisdiction over actions for the viola
tion of ordinances of the municipality in which said commission
has been or shall be appointed shall have jurisdiction in actions
for the violation of such ordinances as the said commission shall
enact ; and said ordinances shall be enforced by like proceedings
and processes, and the practise for the enforcement of said ordi
nances shall be the same as that provided by law for the enforce
ment of the ordinances of the municipality in which such com
mission exists.
SEC. 2. The officers authorized by law to serve and execute
processes in the courts, as aforesaid, shall be the officers to serve
and execute any process issued out of any court under this act.
SEC. 3. A copy of any ordinance or ordinances of said com
mission, certified to under the hand of the clerk, secretary, or
president of the said commission, shall be taken in any court of
this State as full and legal proof of the existence of such ordi
nance or ordinances, and that all requirements of law in relation
to the ordaining, publishing, and making of the same, so as to
make it legal and binding, have been complied with, unless the
contrary be shown.
SEC. 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Approved May 2, 1906.
LAWS OF NEW JERSEY OF 1906.
Chapter 245.
AN act in relation to the control of public parks belonging to
or under the control of any municipality of this State or any
department in the government thereof:
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey :
SECTION 1. In any municipality which now has or hereafter
shall take advantage of an act entitled "An act to provide for
the planting and care of shade-trees on the highways of the muni
cipalities of this State, approved March twenty-eighth, one thou
sand eight hundred and ninety-three, ' ' the commission appointed
LEGISLATION 263
under the provisions of said act shall have exclusive control of
the public parks belonging to or under the control of such muni
cipality or any department in the government thereof, with full
power and authority to improve, repair, manage, maintain, and
control the same.
SEC. 2. The said commission shall have full power and
authority and is hereby empowered to pass, enact, alter, amend,
and repeal ordinances for the protection, regulation, and control
of such parks and the trees, flowers, shrubs, statuary, and other
improvements therein, and to prescribe fines and penalties for
the violation thereof and to fix the amount of the same. The
method now or hereafter in use for the passing, enacting, alter
ing, amending, repealing, and publishing ordinances in said mu
nicipality shall be the method used to pass, enact, alter, amend,
repeal, and publish the ordinances herein mentioned, and said
ordinances shall be enforced in the manner provided at the time
of said enforcement by law for the enforcement of the ordinances
of the commission authorized by the aforesaid act and any
amendments or supplements thereof.
SEC. 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Approved May 17, 1906.
In the years 1907, 1908, and 1910, the shade-tree law of
1893 was further amended. Under Chapter 156 of the laws
of 1907, Section 1 was amended making it optional with the
governing body of any municipality to increase the number
of members of the commission to five. Chapter 151 of the
laws of 1908 amended Section 2 so as to make it "optional
with the body or board having charge of the finances of any
municipality" whether the act of 1893 shall become effec
tive. Under Chapter 198 of the laws of 1908 and Chapter
167 of the laws of 1910, the law of 1893 was amended as fol
lows: "In any city or town in this State in which a park
commission now exists, the governing body invested with
the power of adopting the act to which this is a supplement,
264 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
may, in the resolution adopting said act, provide that the
said park commission shall also act as a shade-tree commis
sion ; and the act to which this is a supplement, and the
amendments thereof and supplements thereto, shall take
effect in said city or town, except that no independent
shade-tree commission shall be appointed/'
PENNSYLVANIA
LAWS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Session of 1907
AN act to provide for the planting and care of shade-trees, on
highways of townships of the first class, boroughs, and cities of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and providing for the cost
thereof.
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED, etc., That in townships of the
first class, boroughs, and cities of Commonwealth of Pennsyl
vania there may be appointed, in the manner hereinafter pro
vided, a Commission of three freeholders, to be known and
designated as the Shade-Tree Commission of said township, bor
ough, or city, who shall serve without compensation, and who
shall have exclusive and absolute custody and control of, and
power to plant, set out, remove, maintain, protect, and care
for shade-trees, on any of the public highways of the said town
ships, boroughs, and cities, the cost thereof to be provided for in
the manner hereinafter stated: Provided, That in townships,
boroughs, or cities in which a Commission for the care of public
parks shall have been created, said Commission shall, upon the
acceptance of this act as provided in section two, be charged
with the duties of the Commission as above provided, and shall,
for that purpose, be possessed of all the powers herein mentioned
and granted.
SEC. 2. The commissioners of any township of the first
class, or the council of any borough or city, in case of the com
missioners, or by joint resolution in the case of the councils,
LEGISLATION 265
accept the provisions of this act; and when such majority vote
or joint resolution shall have been duly passed and approved, and
such Shade-Tree Commissioners appointed, or, in their stead, the
duties and powers herein provided have been devolved upon an
existing park commission, then, from that time and in that
event, this act and all its provisions shall be in full force and
application in such township of the first class, borough, or city,
so accepting; and such commissioners shall be appointed, for
terms of three, four, and five years, respectively, and, on the
expiration of any term, the new appointment shall be for five
years, and any vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term
only ; and in townships of the first class the said appointment
shall be made by the commissioners thereof ; and in boroughs, by
the chief burgess, and in cities, by the mayor thereof : Provided,
That in cities where a Commission exists for the care of public
parks, the term and appointment of such Commission shall not
be changed by this act, but shall be and remain as provided by
the act of Assembly, and by the ordinance of councils creating
such Commission for the care and maintenance of public parks.
And such Shade-Tree Commission shall, twice in every year,
report in full its transactions and expenditures for the municipal
fiscal year then last ended, to the authority under and by which
it was appointed : Provided, That an existing park commission,
acting under this enactment, may embody its report in its reg
ular report to the councils, as by law or ordinance provided.
SEC. 3. That when such Shade-Tree Commissioners, or Park
Commissioners so acting, shall propose the setting out or plant
ing or removing of any shade-trees, or the material changing of
the same in any highway, they shall give public notice of the
time and place appointed for the meeting at which such contem
plated work is to be considered, specifying in detail the high
ways, or portion thereof, upon which trees are proposed to be
planted, removed, or changed, in one or more — not exceeding
two in all — of the newspapers published in said township, bor
ough, or city once each week for at least two weeks prior to the
date of said meeting.
SEC. 4. The cost of planting, transplanting, or removing any
266 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
trees in any highway, and of suitable guards, curbing, or grating
for the protection thereof when necessary, and of the proper
replacing of any pavement or sidewalk necessarily disturbed in
the doing of such work, shall be borne by the owner of the real
estate in front of which such trees are planted, set out, or re
moved ; and the cost thereof as to each tract of real estate shall
be certified by the commissioners to the township commissioners,
or to the presidents of the councils in boroughs and cities, and also
to the person having charge of the collection of taxes, for the
said township, borough, or city; and upon the filing of said certi
ficates, the amount of the cost of such improvements, of which
notice shall also be given to each property-owner involved, ac
companied with a copy of the aforesaid certificate, together with
a notice of the time and place for payment, shall be and become
a lien upon said real estate, in front of which said trees have
been planted, set out, or removed ; said lien to be collectible, if
not paid in accordance with notice as herein provided, in the
same manner as other liens for taxes are now collectible against
the property involved.
SEC. 5. The cost and expense of caring for said trees after
having been planted or set out, and the expense of publishing
the notices provided for in section three, shall be borne and paid
for by a general tax, to be levied annually in the manner that taxes
for township, borough, and city purposes are now levied in such
townships of the first class, boroughs, or cities ; such tax not to
exceed the sum of one-tenth of one mill on the dollar on the as
sessed valuation of the property in such townships of the first
class, boroughs, or cities ; and the needed amount shall each year,
in due time be certified by the Shade-Tree Commissioners to the
proper authorities charged with the assessment of taxes in said
townships, boroughs, or cities, to be assessed and paid, as other
taxes are assessed and paid, and to be drawn against as required
by said commissioners, in the same manner as moneys appro
priated for township, borough, or city purposes are now drawn
against in said townships, boroughs, or cities ; Provided, That the
commissioners of any township of the first class, and the councils
of any borough or city, accepting the provisions of this act, may
LEGISLATION 267
provide for the expense of the maintenance of trees on highways,
in accordance with the provisions of this section by actual appro
priation, equal to the amount certified to be required by the said
Commission, in lieu of the specific assessment above authorized.
SEC. 6. The Commission, under which the provisions of this
act shall be carried out, in any township of the first class, bor
ough, or city, shall have power to employ and pay such superin
tendents, engineers, foresters, tree -wardens, or other assistants,
as the proper performance of the duties devolving upon it shall
require; and to make, publish, and enforce regulations for the
care of, and to prevent injury to the trees, on the highways of
any township, borough, or city accepting the provisions of this
act ; and to assess suitable fines and penalties for violations of
this act, provided such regulations shall have been published at
least twice in one or more, not exceeding two, newspapers of the
township, borough, or city involved, after having been sub
mitted to and being approved by the commissioners of the town
ship of the first class, or the councils of the borough or city
affected ; and such fines and penalties, so assessed for violations
of this act, shall become liens upon the real property of the of
fender, and be collectible by the constituted authorities as liens
for taxes upon real property are now collected.
SEC. 7. All the moneys due and collected from fines or
penalties or assessments, in consequence of the acts of said
Shade-Tree Commission in enforcing this act, shall be paid to the
treasurers of the townships, boroughs, and cities accepting its
provisions, and shall be placed to the credit of said Commission,
subject to be drawn upon by the said Commission for the pur
poses of this act.
SEC. 8. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act
are hereby repealed.
SEC. 9. This act shall take effect immediately ; but its pro
visions shall not be and become binding upon any township, bor
ough, or city until it has been duly accepted, as provided in
section two.
Approved.— The 31st day of May, A.D. 1907.
268 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
MASSACHUSETTS
The act originally known as the "Tree Warden Act" is
as follows:
AN ACT TO CODIFY AND AMEND THE LAWS RELATIVE TO
THE PRESERVATION OF TREES.
(Acts of 1899, Chapter 330.)
BE IT ENACTED, etc., as follows:
SECTION 1. Every town shall at its annual meeting for the
election of town officers elect a tree warden, who shall serve for
one year and until his successor is elected and qualified. He may
appoint such number of deputy tree wardens as he deems expedi
ent, and may at any time remove them from office. He and his
deputies shall receive such compensation for their services as the
town may determine, and, in default of such determination, as
the selectmen may prescribe. He shall have the care and control
of all public shade-trees in the town, except those in public parks
or open places under the jurisdiction of park commissioners, and
of these also he shall take the care and control if so requested in
writing by the park commissioners. He shall expend all funds
appropriated for the setting out and maintenance of such trees.
He may prescribe such regulations for the care and preservation
of such trees, enforced by suitable fines and forfeitures, not
exceeding twenty dollars in any one case, as he may deem just
and expedient ; and such regulations, when approved by the select
men and posted in two or more public places in the town, shall
have the force and effect of town by-laws. It shall be his duty
to enforce all provisions of law for the preservation of such trees.
SEC. 2. Towns may appropriate annually a sum cf money,
not exceeding in the aggregate fifty cents for each of its ratable
polls in the preceding year, to be expended by the tree warden in
planting shade -trees in the public ways, or, if he deems it expedi
ent, upon adjoining land, at a distance not exceeding twenty feet
from said public ways, for the purpose of shading or ornament-
LEGISLATION 269
ing the same : provided, however, that the written consent of the
owner of such land shall first be obtained. All shade-trees within
the limits of any public way shall be deemed public shade-trees.
SEC. 3. Whoever, other than a tree warden or his deputy,
desires the cutting or removal, in whole or in part, of any public
shade-tree, may apply to the tree warden, who shall give a public
hearing upon the application at some suitable time and place,
after duly posting notices of the hearing in two or more public
places in the town, and also upon the said tree : provided, how
ever, that the warden may, if he deems it expedient, grant permis
sion for such cutting or removal, without calling a hearing, if the
tree in question is on a public way outside of the residential part
of the town, the limits of such residential part to be determined
by the selectmen. No tree within such residential part shall be
cut by the tree warden, except to trim it, or removed by him
without a hearing as aforesaid ; but in all cases the decision of
the tree warden shall be final.
SEC. 4. Towns may annually raise and appropriate such sum
of money as they deem necessary, to be expended under the
direction of the tree warden in exterminating insect pests within
the limits of their public ways and places, and in the removal
from said public ways and places of all trees and other plants
upon which such pests naturally breed: provided, however, that
where an owner or lessee of real estate shall, to the satisfaction
of the tree warden, annually exterminate all insect pests upon
the trees and other plants within the limits of any public way
or place abutting on said real estate, such trees and plants shall
be exempt from the provisions of this section.
SEC. 5. Whoever affixes to any tree in a public way or place a
play-bill, picture, announcement, notice, advertisement, or other
thing, whether in writing or otherwise, or cuts, paints, or marks
such tree, except for the purpose of protecting it and under a
written permit from the tree warden, shall be punished by a fine
not exceeding fifty dollars for each offence.
SEC. 6. Whoever wantonly injures, defaces, breaks, or de
stroys an ornamental or shade tree within the limits of any
public way or place shall forfeit not less than five nor more than
270 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
one hundred dollars, to be recovered by complaint, one-half to
the complainant and the other half to the use of the town.
SEC. 7. Whoever negligently or carelessly suffers a horse or
other beast driven by or for him, or a beast belonging to him
and lawfully in a public way or place, to break down, injure, or
destroy a shade or ornamental tree within the limits of said
public way or place, or whoever negligently or wilfully by any
other means breaks down, injures, or destroys any such tree,
shall be liable to the penalties prescribed in the foregoing sec
tion, and shall in addition be liable for all damages caused
thereby.
SEC. 8. It shall be the duty of the tree warden to enforce the
provisions of the preceding sections. (Approved May 4, 1899.)
The above law of Massachusetts has never been repealed,
but it has been several times amended, mainly in the direc
tion of extending and more accurately defining the duties
and powers of shade-tree officials.
In 1902 a general revision of the State laws was made by
the legislature, and the principal provisions of Chap. 330, of
the Acts of 1899, were embodied in Chap. 53 of the Revised
Laws, although several provisions of the original chapter
were distributed in other places. This arrangement has
made it somewhat difficult to refer to the laws relating to
shade-trees, and has led the Massachusetts Forestry Associa
tion to issue, from time to time, compilations of the law
brought up to date.
By Chap. 363, of the Acts of 1910, the "Tree Warden
Act" has been extended in practically all of its provisions,
except that requiring the election of a tree warden, to the
cities of Massachusetts.
The extensions of the "Tree Warden Act, " and the
amendments thereto, as regards the authority of city and
town officers, are embodied in the following:
LEGISLATION 271
R. L., Ch. 53, Sections 6 to 11 (as amended by Acts of 1908, ch.
296), including the old spike provision. Repealed by Acts of 1910, ch.
363, which follows.
Acts of 1910, Ch. 363, Section 1. The powers and duties con
ferred upon tree wardens in towns by Section 12 and 13 of Chap
ter 53 of the Revised Laws, as amended by Chapter 296 of the
Acts of 1908, are hereby conferred upon officials now charged
with the care of shade-trees within the limits of the highway in
cities, by the charters of the said cities, by other legislative
enactment or ordinances of the city governments of said cities,
and upon such officials as the city governments shall hereafter
designate to have charge of said shade-trees where it is within
their powers to transfer such duties, by ordinance or otherwise.
SEC. 2. Sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of Chapter 53 of the
Revised Laws are hereby repealed.
R. L., Ch. 11, Section 334. Every town at its annual meeting
shall in every year, except as is otherwise provided in the fol
lowing section and in Sections 339 and 341, choose from the in
habitants thereof the following named town officers, who shall
serve during the year : .... a tree warden.
R. L., Ch. 53, Section 12 (as amended by Chap. 296, Acts of 1908,
Section 2, and Chap. 321, Acts of 1910). The tree warden may
appoint and remove deputy tree wardens. He and they shall re
ceive such compensation as the town determines, or, in default
thereof, as the selectmen allow. He shall have the care and con
trol of all public shade-trees in the town, except those in public
parks or open places under the jurisdiction of the park com
missioners, and of those, if so requested in writing by the park
commissioners, and shall enforce all the provisions of law for
the preservation of such trees. He shall expend all money appro
priated for the setting out and maintenance of such trees, but
no trees shall be planted within the limits of a public way with
out the approval of the tree warden, and until a location therefor
has been obtained from the selectmen, or from the road commis
sioners where authority has been vested in them. Regulations
for the care and preservation of public shade-trees made by him,
272 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
approved by the selectmen and posted in two or more public
places, imposing fines and forfeitures of not more than twenty
dollars in any one case, shall have the force and effect of town
by-laws. All shade- trees within or on the limits of a public way
shall be public shade-trees ; and when it appears in any civil
proceeding under process of law where the ownership of or rights
in the tree are material to the issue, that from length of time or
otherwise, the boundaries of the highway cannot be made certain
by the records or by monuments, and for that reason it is doubt
ful whether the tree was within or without the limits of the high
way, it shall be taken to have been within the limits of the high
way until the contrary is shown.
SEC. 13 (as amended by Chap. 296, Acts of 1908, Section 3).
Public shade-trees shall not be cut or removed, in whole or in
part, except by the tree warden or his deputy, or by a person
holding a license so to do from the tree warden, nor shall they
be removed by the tree warden or his deputy or other person
without public hearing at a suitable time and place, after notice
thereof posted in two or more public places in the town and upon
the tree and after authority granted by the tree warden therefor.
Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall forfeit not
less than five nor more than one hundred dollars to the use of
the town.
Acts of 1908, Chap. 296, Section 4. Nothing in this act shall
be construed as applying to any highway now or hereafter within
the jurisdiction of the state highway commission.
R. L., Ch. 25, Section 15. It (a town) may at legal meetings
appropriate money for the following purposes: For
planting shade-trees in the public ways or, at the discretion of
the tree warden and with the written consent of the owner
thereof, upon land adjoining such ways at not more than twenty
feet from the way for the purpose of shading or ornamenting the
way, an amount not exceeding fifty cents for each of its ratable
polls in the preceding year.
SEC. 16. Towns may appropriate money to be expended under
the direction of the tree warden for exterminating insect pests in
LEGISLATION 273
the public ways and places, and for removing therefrom trees and
plants upon which such insects naturally breed, except trees and
plants from which the owner or lessee of land abutting on said
public way or place annually exterminates all such insect pests
to the satisfaction of the tree warden.
ORDINANCES
The State laws of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massa
chusetts leave each town and city free to supplement the
statutes by local ordinances. The provisions of such ordi
nances are of course varied by special local conditions ; but
the general points to be covered by them will be indicated
in the sections of the East Orange Shade-Tree Ordinance :
AN ORDINANCE relating to the planting, protection, regula
tion, and control of shade-trees planted or growing upon the
public highways of the city of East Orange, Essex County, New
Jersey.
Be it ordained by the Shade-Tree Commission of the City of
East Orange, N. J. , as follows :
SECTION 1. No individual or officer or employee of a corpora
tion shall, without the written permit of the Shade-Tree Com
mission, cut, prune, break, climb, injure, or remove any living
tree in a public highway ; or cut, disturb, or interfere in any way
with the roots of any tree on a public highway; or spray with
any chemicals or insecticides any tree in a public highway; or
place any rope, sign, poster, or other fixture on a tree or guard
in a public highway; or injure, misuse, or remove any device
placed to protect such tree on a public highway.
SEC. 2. No shade or ornamental tree or shrub shall be
planted in any of the public highways of the City of East Orange
until such tree or shrub shall have first been approved and the
place where it is to be planted designated by the Shade-Tree
Commission, and a permit granted therefor.
SEC. 3. No person shall fasten a horse or other animal to a
tree in a public highway in the City of East Orange, nor cause a
274 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES
horse or other animal to stand so that said horse or animal can
injure such a tree. *
SEC. 4. No person shall, without the written permit of the
Shade-Tree Commission, place or hereafter maintain upon the
ground in a public highway, stone, cement, or other substance
which shall impede the .free passage of water* and air to the roots
of any tree in such highway, "without leaving an open space of
ground outside of the trunk of said tree in area not less than
four feet square.
SEC. 5. In the erection or repair of any building or structure
the owner thereof shall place such guards around all nearby trees
on the public highway as shall effectually prevent injury to
them.
SEC. 6. No person shall pour salt water upon any public
highway in such a way as to injure any tree planted or growing
thereon.
SEC. 7. No person shall, without the written permit of the
Shade-Tree Commission, attach any electric wire, insulator, or
any device for the holding of an electric wire to any tree grow
ing or planted upon any public highway of the City of East
Orange.
SEC. 8. Every person or corporation having any wire or
wires charged with electricity running through a public high
way, shall securely fasten such wire or wires so that they shall
not come in contact with any tree therein.
SEC. 9. Every person or corporation having any wire or
wires charged with electricity running through a public high
way, shall temporarily remove any such wire or wires or the
electricity therefrom when it shall be necessary, in order to take
down or prune any trees growing in a public highway, within
twenty-four hours after the service upon the owner of said wire
or wires, or his agent, of a written notice to remove said wire
or wires or the electricity therefrom, signed by two members of
the Shade-Tree Commission, or its secretary, upon the order of
such Commission.
SEC. 10. No person or corporation shall prevent, delay, or
interfere with the Shade-Tree Commission or its employees, in
LEGISLATION 275
the planting, pruning, spraying, or removing of a tree on a
public highway, or in the removal of stone, cement, or other
substance about the trunk of a tree.
SEC. 11. Every repeated violation by the same person of any
provision of this ordinance, or the continuation of the violation
of any of its provisions on any day or days succeeding the first
violation thereof, shall constitute an additional violation of such
provision.
SEC. 12. Any person violating any of the provisions of this
ordinance shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit and pay a pen
alty of ten dollars for each offence.
SEC. 13. This ordinance shall take effect immediately.
AdoDted May 13, 1907.
Sample pages from actual field book, fpr
enumerating street trees.
the
Blank field books may be obtained frc
publishers.
Field books 4^ inches x 7% inches 1
m
in
Prices: $1.25 net each, and $12.00 rjet
lots of one dozen.
Street SAe/^iref.
Tree No. Species Diameter Condition,
/ Norway Kla/>fe •£" Goad
3
4
Remarks
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Medium
decayed
Nearly de<?4
Trunk rvlted
fad
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tr it
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7"
7"
9"
3"
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Good
Tree N6; Species Diameter 'Condition
// Norway Mp/e fO"
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IS «
12
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Remarks
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X
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(Street
Tree -No": Species Diameter Condition;
16 A»t.L(ff<feH 6" Good
// Atn.f/m &" Good
Remarks
IB
Good
Tree No,
Street Date
Species Diameter Condition Remarks
INDEX
Numbers refer to pages. Illustrations are indicated by an asterisk
after page number.
Acetate of lead, 204.
Acer, negundo, 19.
platanoides, 12.
pseudo-platanus, 15.
rubrum, 18.
saccharinum, 19.
saccharum, 16.
Acid phosphate, no.
Aesculus hippocastanum, 42.
Agrilus anxius, 186.
bilineatus, 186.
Ailanihus glandulosa, 56.
Ailantus, 30, 55,* 56, 74, 133, 135.
Air, in soil, 199.
injurious gases in, 138.
need of, 106.
roots lack, 137.
"A" ladders, 94,* 95.
Albany, elm-leaf beetle, 159.
ordinance pertaining to poplars, 27.
Allendale, N. J., 238.
Ambridge, Pa., 238.
American Telegraph and Telephone
Company, case of, 149.
Ammonia, 208.
Ammoniacal copper carbonate, 208.
Annual ring, 105, 226.
Apple, 189, 190.
Arboriculture, municipal, 244.
Arboriuclturist, 244, 245.
Arlington, N. J., 238.
Arrangement of trees on street, 65-
79-
Arrangement of trees between sidewalk
and property line, 77.
double row, 79.
number of rows, 79.
opposite or alternate, 77.
Arsenate of soda, 204.
Arsenate of lead, 164, 167, 168, 170,
I7I> *73> 203-
how prepared, 204, 205.
Arsenic, 203.
Arsenic oxid, 205.
Arsenious oxid, 204.
Ash, white, 30, 49, 50,* 134, 190.
Aspen, 189.
Aspidiotus perniciosus, 179.
Assessment lists, 255, 256.
Assimilation, 106.
Atomizer, 209.
Bag worm, 22, 41.
life history of, 169,* 170, 171.
Bamboo poles, in, 112.
Bark, abrasion of, 218.
around cavities, 220.
borers, 186.
cutting around cavity, 223.
over filling, 223.
shedding of, 46.
Barrel hand -pump, 209, 210.*
Bean, dissected, 103.*
Beaver, Justice, quoted, 149, 150.
Beech, 134, 189.
Beeswax, 219.
277
278
INDEX
Birch, 183,* 186, 190.
Bisulfid of carbon, 184, 207.
Blights, 196.
Bloomfield, N. J., 238.
Bordeaux mixture, 195, 196, 197, 208.
how made, 207.
Bordeaux nozzle, 213, 214.*
Borers, 143, 181-186.
bark, 183,* 186.
cavities, 226.
Boston, 76.
planting too close, 75.
Box elder, 19.
Branch, origin of, 104, 115.
Branching, fixing height of, in.
Bronze birch borer, 183,* 186.
Brown tail moth, 41, 167.
life history of, 165.*
Bucket pump, 210.*
Bud, horse-chestnut, 103.*
scale scars, 103.*
section of, 103.*
terminal, 103.*
Buffalo, 236.
Building operations, injuries, 155.
Buildings, height of, 70.
height of limited, 72.
height in Paris, 72.
tall, 72,* 73.*
Bushey Park, 42.
Butternut, 190.
Button wood, see Sycamore.
Caldwell, N. J., 238.
Callus, 219, 226.
over filling, 223.
Callusing, 224.*
Camden, N. J., 238.
Cambium, 105, 202.
Camphor-tree, 60.
Canker, 194.
chestnut, 194.
Carbolic acid, 167.
Carbon bisulfid, 184, 207.
Carbon dioxid or carbonic acid, 106.
Carbon dioxid sprayer, 210,* 211, 212.
Carlisle, Pa., streets, 66.
Catalpa, 30, 74, 134.
hardy, 54, 55.*
western, 56.
Catalpa catalpa, 54.
speciosa, 56.
Caulicle, 103.*
Cavity, filled, 224.*
filling of, 220, 221.*
section of, 222.*
Cecrospora microsora, 192,* 195.
Celtis occidentalis, 51.
Cement, Portland, 223.
Census of trees, 245-252.
Chatham, N. J., 238.
Chestnut, 30, 133, 186, 193.
bark disease or canker, 194.
borer, two-lined, 186.
Chicago, 2, 236.
Chionaspis furfurus, 180.
Cinnamomum camphora, 60.
Cion, 219.
Cities, founding of, i.
City forester, 244, 245.
Clay, in soil, 63.
Cleveland, 234, 236.
Coal-tar, 125 and note, 167, 222, 226.
over-filling, 223.
Concrete, filling, 223.
reenforcing tree, 225.
Conifers, 61.
Contact poisons, 205, 216.
Copper carbonate, 208.
Copper sulfate, 194, 195, 197, 207,
208, 222.
Corners, treatment of, 77, 78.*
Cottony maple scale, 22, 175, 176.*
Cotyledon, 102, 103.*
Creosote oil, 167.
Crotch, banding of, 224,* 226.
strengthening of, 225.*
treatment of, 226.
Crowbar, sounding for gas leaks,
141,* 143.
INDEX
279
Crowbar, used in staking, 94,* 95.
Crown, forming of, in.
Cucumber-tree, 30.
Cultivating, 109.
Curb, nearness of trees to, 73.
Cyclone nozzle, 213, 214.*
D&dalea quercina, 188,* 193.
Daily reports, 254.
Damages, injuries by wires, 149.
trees killed by gas, 145.
Dendroscope, 128, 129.*
Des Cars, 128 and note.
Diaporthe parasitica, 194.
Distances apart of specimens, 74.
in Paris, 75.
Drain, connected with sewer, 101.
Drainage, of subsoil, 65, 100, 101.
poor, 227.
Drying out or leaf scorch, 201.
Dust, effect of, 138.
East Orange, N. J., 238, 242, 273.
cottony maple scale, 177.
elm -leaf beetle, 1 74.
guarding, 94,* 96.
leopard moth, 184.
Shade-Tree Commission, 96, 153,
177, 184, 242.
staking, 94.*
trees pruned, 113.
trees saved, 153.
tussock moth, 164.
watering, 109.
East Rutherford, N. J., 238.
Elfvingia megaloma, 191, 192.*
Electricity, effects of, 147.
Elizabeth, N. J., 238.
Elm, 134, 142, 166, 168, 200, 251.
European, 41, 173.
street of, 40.*
top-pruning, 89, 90.
white or American, 30, 38, 39,*
74, 80, 83,* 173.
Elm -bark louse, 41.
Elm-leaf beetle, 41, 159, 251, 171-174.
life history of, 172.*
Etiolation of leaves, 200.
Euproctis chrysorrhcea, 167.
Extension poles, 215.
Fall planting versus spring planting,
91-93-
Fall webworm, 47, 168, 170.
life history of, 169*
False-tinder fungus, 187, 188,* 189,
190, 191.
Fernow, B. E., 244 and note.
Fertilizers, chemical, no.
manure, 119, no.
Fertilizing, 109, 227.
Field book, 246.
sample pages, after 275.*
Flushing, N. Y., 28.
Fames applanatus, 191.
igniarius, 187.
Food of tree, sources of, 105.
Forester, city, 244, 245.
Fox, W. F., 30.
Fracture, repair of, 220.
Fraxinus americana, 49.
Frost, 201, 202.
Fungi, 196.
blights, 186-197.
canker, 194.
chestnut-bark disease, 194.
common bracket fungus, 191, 192.*
Dcedalea quercina, 188,* 193.
entering wounds, 117.
false-tinder fungus, 187, 188.*
heart -rot of sugar maple, 188,* 191.
Hopalopilus gilvus, 192,* 193.
leaf diseases, 194.
leaf spot of horse-chestnut, 192,* 196.
linden rust, 192,* 195.
mildew on maple, 196.
mildews, 196.
on branches, 134.
parasitic, 191.
powdery mildew of willow, 196.
280
INDEX
Fungi, rusts, 195.
sap-rots, 191.
saprophytic, 191.
sulfur polyporus, 190, 192.*
sycamore leaf blight, 197.
wood-destroying, 187.
Fungicide, 195.
Fungicides, 205, 207.
Fungous diseases, 186—197, see Fungi.
Fungous growths, 134.
Garretson, Justice, 150.
Gasoline sprayers, 210,* 211.
Gas, illuminating, damages for trees
killed by, 145, 146.
effect of, 140, 142.
injuries by, 141.*
leaks, how to detect, 143.
symptoms of poisoning, 142, 143.
Gas-mains, how to lay, 144, 144,* 145.
Gases, injurious, in air, 138.
Gingko, 52,* 53, 54, 74.
street of, 52.*
Gingko biloba, 53.
Guards, 97,* 232.
injuries for lack of, 156.*
necessity for, 157, 158.
wire, 94,* 96.
Gum, 134.
sweet gum, 52,* 54, 74, 92.
top-pruning of sweet gum, 89, 90.
Gutter, tree planting in, 66, 151.*
Gipsy moth, 41, 160, 166, 167.
life history of, 165.*
Girdling by band, 226.
Glen Ridge, N. J., trees need pruning,
113*
Glcesporium nervisequum, 197.
Grade, changing of, 153, 154, 155.
trees saved, 156.*
well around tree, 153.*
Grafting, bridge, 219, 219.*
wax, 219..
Grills, 96, 97,* 98, 199.
method of placing 98, 98.*
Growth, essentials for normal, 105.
in diameter, 104, 105.
in height, 104.
in height, shown on horse-chestnut
twig, 103.*
rapidity of, 28, 30.
seedling, 102.
Guard, large tree, 94.*
Guard -rolling machine, 103.*
Guarding, 96, 231.
East Orange, 94,* 96.
Hackberry, 30, 51, 52,* 74.
Harrisburg, 243.
Hartford, Conn., 236.
Heading back old trees, 126,* 127,
127,* 128, 129.
Heeling-in, 83,* 89.
Hemlock, 190. *
Hicoria pecan, 60.
Hickory, 134, 189.
bark borer, 186.
shagbark, 46.
Horse-chestnut, 30, 42, 43,* 44, 74,
166, 200.
leaf spot, 192,* 196.
winter twig, 103.*
Hopalopilus gilvus, 192,* 193.
Hose for spraying, 212, 213.
Humus, in soil, 63.
on forest floor, 137.
Hydnum septentrionale, 188,* 191.
Hyphae, 187, 189.
Hyphantria cunea, 168.
Illinois, case in Supreme Court, 242.
Insect pests, 159-186.
bag worm, 169,* 170.
bark borers, 183,* 186.
borers, 181.
brown tail moth, 165,* 167.
cottony maple scale, 175, 176.*
elm -leaf beetle, 171, 172.*
fall web worm, 168, 169.*
gipsy moth, 165,* 166.
INDEX
281
Insect pests, injuries by, 159.
leaf -eating insects, 162.
leopard moth, 182, 183.*
maple tree sesiid, 183,* 185.
metamorphosis, 161.
necessary to combat, 160.
oyster-shell scale, 176,* 180.
plant lice, 181.
San Jose scale, 176,* 179.
scurfy scale, 176,* 180.
sucking or scale insects, 175.
sugar maple borer, 183,* 185.
tussock moth, 162, 163.*
woolly maple scale, 176,* 177.
Insecticide law, 204, 205.
Insecticides, 203-207.
Irrigation, see Subirrigation.
Jersey City, N. J., 238.
Kearny, N. J., 238.
Kerosene, 206.
Kerosene emulsion, 180, 181.
how prepared, 206.
Knot-hole, 187.
evolution of, 116.*
treatment of, 224,* 225.
Ladders, "A," 94,* 95.
Lcetiporus speciosus, 190.
Laws relating to shade-trees, Mas
sachusetts, 236, 237, 238, 239,
268-273.
New Jersey, 236, 237, 258-264.
New York, 236.
principles underlying, 240.
Lead acetate, 204.
Lead arsenate, see Arsenate of lead.
Leader, tied to bamboo pole, in.
well-defined, 87.
Leaf diseases, 194.
Leaf -eating insects, 162.
Leaf -scars, 103.*
Leaf scorch or drying out, 201.
Leaf spot of horse-chestnut, 192,* 196.
Leaves, part in assimilation, 106.
Legislation, 248-^75.
Massachusetts, 236, 237, 238, 239,
268-273.
New Jersey, 236, 237, 258-264.
New York, 236.
ordinances, 273-275.
principles underlying shade-tree
legislation, 240.
PEnfant, 234.
Lenticel, 103.*
Leopard moth, 18, 19, 22, 41, 44, 159,
1 60, 182, 184, 185.
life history of, 183.*
Lime, 207.
in insecticides, 208.
in soil, 63.
Linden, 134, 166.
American or basswood, 30, 34, 35,
36>* 37, 74, 80.
Crimean, 38.
European, 36,* 37, 74.
large-leaved European, 38.
silver-leaved, 37.
street of, 36.*
top-pruning, 90.
Linden rust, 192,* 195.
Lipman, J. G., no.
Liquidambar styraciftua, 54.
Liriodendron tulipi/e^a, 47.
Locust, 190.
black, 56.
honey, 30, 55,* 56.
street of, 55.*
yellow, 30.
Lowell Gaslight Company, case of, 145.
Mac Veagh, F., 2.
Madison, N. J., 238.
Magnolia grandiflora, 60.
Manure, 109, 201.
Magnolia, 92.
great laurel, 59,* 60.
top-pruning, 89, 90.
Maple, 1 68, 196, 200.
282
INDEX
Maple, ash -leaved, n,* 19.
Norway, n,* 12, 15, 23,* 25, 74,
200
roots of, 83.*
street of, n.*
red, 17,* 18, 19, 30, 74, 142, 189, 200.
fungus on, 192.*
ulcers on, 192.*
striped, 189.
sugar, 13,* 16, 18, 30, 74, 138, 142,
160, 177, 189, 191, 200, 201.
heart rot of, 188.*
street of, 14.*
top-pruned, 90.*
sycamore, n,* 15, 134.
White or silver, 19, 20,* 21, 22, 30,
46, 133, 1 66, 175, 189, 200.
row of, 20.*
stag-head, 192.*
top-pruning, 89, 90.
Maple tree sesiid, 183,* 185.
Marshall, J., case of, 149.
Mapping street-trees, 249,* 250.
Massachusetts, 236, 238, 244, 258,
273-
brown tail moth, 167.
gipsy moth, 160, 167.
laws of, 239, 240, 268-273.
Merkel, H. W., 97, 154.
Metuchen, N. J., 238.
Mildews, 196.
Mites, 51.
Montclair, N. J., 238.
Morristown, N. J., 238.
Mulching, 201.
Municipal arboriculturist, 245.
Municipal control of street trees, 233.
Municipal nursery, 88.
Muriate of potash, no.
Murrill, W. A., 229 and note.
Mycelium, 187, 189.
Mytilaspis pomorum, 180.
Nectria cinnabarina, 194.
Neowashingtonia robusta, 60.
Newark, N. J., 238.
New Brunswick, N. J., 238.
New Haven, Elm City, 38.
New Jersey, 236, 238, 244, 273.
borers, 233.
shade-tree laws of, 258-264.
New Orleans, 236.
Parking Commission, 58, 234.
New York City, 236.
causes of high death rate, 4.
leopard moth, 159.
New York County Medical Society, 4.
New York and New Jersey
phone Company, case of, 150.
New York Zoological Garden, 154.
Nitrate of soda, no.
Nitrogen, in soil, 63, 109.
Nozzle, Bordeaux, 213, 214.*
cyclone, 213, 214.*
jet, 214, 214.*
Vermorel, 213, 214.*
"Y's," 215.*
Nursery, 227, 228.
municipal, 88.
nursery rows, 83.*
training of tree in, 82.
Nutley, N. J., 238.
Oak, 93, 134, 168, 186, 189, 200.
chestnut, 34, 74.
fungus on, 193.
laurel, 60.
live, 58.
street of, 57.*
pin, 29,* 30, 31, 74, 80.
street of, 29,* frontispiece.
top-pruned, 91.
red, 29,* 30, 31, 74, 134.
street of, 33.*
scarlet, 30, 32.
swamp white, 34.
top-pruning, 89, 90.
water, 59,* 60.
white, 29,* 30, 32, 34.
willow, 60.
INDEX
283
Oil emulsion or soluble oil, 177, 179,
1 80, 206.
Oil, linseed, for grafting-wax, 220.
Oil, soluble, or oil emulsion, 177, 179,
1 80, 206.
Oiling or tarring of roads, 138, 139,
140.
Olmsted, F. L., 75.
Ordinances, 155, 273, 275.
Orgyia leucostigma, 162.
Overhead wires, 146, 150. See Wires.
Oxygen, 106.
Oyster-shell scale, 176,* 180, 181.
Palm, desert, 60.
palmetto, 59,* 60.
Parasitic fungi, 191.
Paris, 3, 229.
black locust, 56.
effect of tarred roads, 139, 140.
holes for trees, 64.
horse-chestnut trees, 42.
nursery, 228.
planes, 46.
regulations for number of rows of
trees, 79.
species used, 10.
transplanting large trees, 86, 87.
tree-department, 235.
watering devices, 108.
Paris green, 203, 204, 205.
Parking strips, 65.
Passaic, N. J., 238.
Pavement, 199.
Pecan, 59,* 60.
Pedestrians exposed to dust, 78.
Pennsylvania, 238, 244, 258, 273.
shade-tree laws of, 264, 266.
Perth Amboy, N. J., 238.
Petroleum, soluble, 206.
Philadelphia, planes, 46.
Phosphoric acid, in soil, 63, 109.
Phyllosticta pavice, 192,* 196.
Pine 190.
Pittsburg, 236, 238.
Plagionotus speciosus, 185.
Plainfield, N. J., 238.
Plane-tree, oriental, 44, 45,* 74, 93,
138.
heading back, 126,* 127,* 128.
street of, 45,* 237.*
top-pruning, 89, 90.
western, or sycamore, or button-
wood, 138.
Plant lice, 12, 19, 35, 37, 181, 206.
Plantations, renewal of, 229.
Planting, 238.
fall versus spring, 91.
how, 90, 91.
new street, 231.
Norway maple, 83.*
precautions in, 89-93.
street-trees, 82-101.
studies preliminary to, 62-81.
too close, 75.
too deep, 199.
with relation to street, 76.
Platanus Occident alis, 46, 197.
orientalis, 44.
Plumule, 103,.*
Point Pleasant, N. J., 238.
Polyporus gilvus, 193.
sulphur eus, 190.
Poplar, 133, 200.
Carolina, 22, 23,* 24,* 25, 26, 27,
44, 74-
Lombardy, 27, 28.
street of, 24.*
top-pruning, 89.
tulip, 49.
Poplar habit, 27.
Populus deltoides, 22.
italica, 27.
Porthetria dispar, 166.
Potash in soil, 63, 109.
Power sprayers, 209, 210,* 211, 212.
Prefect of the Seine, 3, 139, 236.
Pruning, 110-135, 231, 232.
coal-tar, 125 and note.
dendroscope, 128, 129.*
284
INDEX
Pruning, first method of removing
limb, 121, 122.*
fixing height of branching, in. i
forming the crown, in, 112.
general points, 114, 115.
heading back, 126,* 127, 127,* 128,
129.
how, 120, 1 20.*
individual tree, 113.
keeping crown within limits, 126,
127.
limb must not split, 121.
results of bad pruning, 116.*
right way, 117.
root, 89.
scar, healing of, 116,* 123.
scars, how healed, 117, 118,* 119,
119.*
second method of removing limb,
121, 123, 124.*
split by improper pruning, 120.*
street as a unit, 113.
to artificial forms, 125, 126.
tools, 130, 131,* 132, 133.
top, 89.
when, 129.
wrong way, 115, 117.
Pruning tools, 130, 131, * 132, 133.
Pruning saw, see Pruning tools.
Pseudoeoccus aceris, 177.
Pulvinaria innumerabilis, 175.
Pyropolyporusigniarius, 187, 188.*
Qttercus alba, 32.
bicolor, 34.
coccinea, 32.
lauri/olia, 80.
nigra, 60.
palustris, 31.
phellos, 60.
prinus, 34.
rubra, 31, 32.
virginiana, 58.
Raffia, in.
Rahway, N. J., 238.
Records, of complaints, 254.
of trees planted, 252, 254.
Repair of trees or tree surgery, 218-
226.
examples of, 224.*
Replacing, 227.
Reserve material, 107.
Resin, 219.
Respiration, 106.
Ridgefield, N. J., 230.
Ridge wood, N. J., 238.
Roads, tarring or oiling of, 138, 139,
140.
Roadway, width of, 66.
Roots, asphyxiation, 199.
cutting of, 230.
cutting of, in resetting curbs, 150.
discoloration by gas, 142.
fibrous, 84.
important when selecting trees, 87.
lack air, 137.
lack water, 137.
Norway maple, 83.*
preserving when transplanting, 87.
pruning of, 89.
training of, 228.
training in nursery, 82, 84.
Roselle, N. J., 238.
Rust, 195.
on linden, 192,* 195.
Rutherford, N. J., 238.
Sabal palmetto, 60.
Salisburia adianti/olia, 53.
Salt water, injuries by, 137, 156.*
Sand, in soil, 63.
filling cavities, 223.
San Jose scale, 176,* 170, 180.
Sap-rots, 191, 192, 193.
Saprophytic fungi, 191.
Sapwood, 105.
Sargent, C. S., 75.
Scale or sucking insects, 175.
winter washes for, 205.
INDEX
285
Scar, healing of, see Pruning.
Scolytus quadrispinosus, 186.
Scurfy scale, 176,* 180.
Seedling, 104.
in nursery, 82, 83.*
in woods, 82, 83.*
white maple, 103.*
Seeds, germinating, 103.*
Sesia acerni, 185.
Sewer, drain connecting with, 101.
pipe filled with roots, 23,* 26.
Shade-Tree Commission, 238, 254.
in East Orange, N. J., 96, 153, 177,
184, 242.
in New Jersey, 238.
Shade-tree department, 233.
nursery, 88.
Shade-tree laws, Massachusetts, 36,
237, 238, 239, 268-273.
New Jersey, 236, 237, 258-264.
New York, 236.
principles underlying, 240.
Shade-trees, benefiting entire street, 241.
economic value, 4, 5.
esthetic value, 2.
moral value, 5.
sanitary value, 3, 4.
shipping of, 83,* 87, 88.
source of pleasure, 3.
Sidewalks, concrete, 74.
close to trees, 151.*
Slime-flux, 199, 201.
Smith, S., note 4.
Smoke, effect of, 138.
Soap, 206.
Soil, amount of, 64.
clay in, 63.
diseases due to, 197, 198.
humus in, 63.
lime in, 63.
moist and aerated, 201.
nature and preparation, 62.
nitrogen in, 63.
phosphoric acid in, 63.
poisoned by gas, 142.
Soil, poor on street, 137.
potash in, 63.
preparation of, 65.
record of kind, 62.
renewal of, 229.
sand in, 63.
source of food, 105.
suitable for trees, 63.
Southern States, opportunities for tree-
planting, 58.
South Orange, N. J., 238.
Spacing, uniformity of, 76.
Species, choice of, 80.
different when replanting, 229.
few for streets, 9, 10.
mixture of, 231.
one on a street, 80, 233.
rows of different, 80.
used in Paris, 10.
used in Washington, 10.
Spirits of turpentine, 167.
Spiny elm caterpillar, 41.
Splitting of crotches, 226.
Spores, 117, 187, 207.
Sprayers, barrel hand pump, 209, 210.*
bucket pump, 209, 210.*
gasoline, 210,* 211.
liquid carbon dioxid, 210,* 211.
nozzles, 213, 214.*
power sprayers, 210,* 211.
Spraying, 238.
apparatus, 209-217.
hose, 212, 213.
precautions in, 216.
rods, 215.
Spring planting versus fall planting,
91-93-
Springfield Gaslight Company, case
of, 145.
Stag-head or top dry, 198.
white maple, 192.*
Staking, 93.
crowbar used, 94,* 95*
how, 95.
in Washington, 93.
286
INDEX
Staking, kind of stakes, 95.
methods, 94.*
single stake, 93.
State laws, 236, 258-273.
Stem, development of, 84.
St. Louis, 236.
Stomach poisons, 216.
Street, changing grade, 153, 154, 155.
divisions of, 66, 67.
improvements, 130.
layout of fifty-foot street, 67.*
layout of sixty-foot street, 67.*
layout of eighty-foot street, 68.*
layout of one-hundred-foot street 68.*
layout of Pennsylvania Avenue,
Washington, 69.*
lights, obstruction of, 112.
narrow, 72.
opening new, 152.
picture of ideal, 6, 7.
treated as a unit in pruning, 112.
Street-trees, census of, 245.
individual planting, 231.
injuries to, 136-158, 151,* 156.*
municipal control, 233.
points in selecting, 6.
qualities of, 7, 8, 9.
selection of, 6.
survey of, 248.
who shall plant, 231-243.
Subirrigation, 98-100.
devices, 99,* 100.*
Subsoil, drainage of, 65, 100, 101.
poor, 227.
Sugar maple borer, 18, 160, 185.
life history of, 183.*
Sugar maple heart-rot, 188, 191.
Sulfur polyporus, 190, 192.*
Sulfuric acid in air, 138.
Summit, N. J., 238.
Surgery, repair of trees, 218-226.
examples of, 224.*
Survey of street trees, 148.
Sycamore, or Western plane, or button-
wood, 30, 45,* 46, 134, 138.
Sycamore leaf blight, 196, 197.
TALLOW, 219.
Tar, see Coal-tar.
Tarring or oiling of roads, 138, 139, 140.
Thyridopteryx ephemerce/ormis, 170.
Tilia americana, 34.
argentea, 38.
dasystyla, 38.
europcea, 37.
platyphylla, 38.
Tools, pruning, 130, 131,* 132, 133.
Top dry or stag-head, 198.
white maple, 192.*
Top, pruning of, 89.
Training, no, in.
Transpiration, 106.
Transplanting, in nursery, 82, 84.
large specimens, 86.
large specimens in Paris, 86, 87, 228.
training of trees for, 82, 84, 228.
twelve-inch European linden, 85.*
watering after, 107.
Tree census, 245-252.
value of, 251.
Tree-climbers, hints to, 133, 134, 135.
Tree doctor, 244.
Tree-guards, see Guards and Guard
ing.
Tree-surgery, repair of trees, 218-226.
examples of, 224.*
Tree warden, 240, 244, 245.
Tree Warden Act, 239, 240, 268.
Trees, labeling of, 256.
mapping of, 250.
records of new, 252, 253.
Troy, elm-leaf beetle, 159.
Tulip poplar, 49.
Tulip-tree, 30, 47, 48,* 92.
street of, 48.*
spot gall, 49.
Turpentine, spirits of, 167.
Tussock moth, 22, 35, 41, 44, 47. l62>
163, 164, 1 66.
life history of, 163.*
INDEX
287
ULCERS, 142, 143, 199, 200, 201.
on red maple, 192.*
Ulmus americana, 38.
campestris, 41.
Uncinula aceris, 196.
salicis, 196.
Uniform spacing of trees, 76
Uniformity, maintenance of 227.
VAPOR, bisulfid of carbon, 207.
Vermorel nozzle, 213, 214.*
WATER, 105.
asphyxiation by, 199.
how much, 107.
part in transpiration and assimila
tion, 105, 1 06.
roots lack, 137.
salt, injuries by, 137, 156.*
Watering, 107, 201, 227.
after transplanting, 107.
cart, 103,* 108.
how, 1 08.
Washington, D. C., 2, 3, 234.
gingkos, 53.
holes for trees, 64.
honey locust, 56.
oaks, 28.
one species on street, 80.
Washington, D. C., oriental planes, 44.
species used, 10.
staking, 93.
tree-department, 235.
tree-guard, 94.*
Wax, see Grafting-Wax.
Weeks, M. I., case of, 150.
Well around tree, 153,* 154.
Westfield, N. J., 238.
'Whale-oil soap, 179, 180, 181.
White heart-rot, 189.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 238.
Willow, 134, 189.
powdery mildew, 196.
Winter washes for scale insects, 205.
Wire guards, 94,* 96. See Guards
and Guarding.
Wires, damages for injuries by, 148,
149, 150.
how to protect branches, 148,
148.*
overhead, injuries by, 141,* 146-
*5o, 151.*
Woodbury, N. J., 238.
Woolly maple scale, 18, 176,* 177.
"Y's," spray "Y's," 215.*
Zeuzera pyrina, 182.
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