ORNAMENTAL SHADE TREES AND THEIR CARE 



417 



complications which frequently make 

 them very easy victims to a wide range 

 of injuries. Many, if not most, of the 

 injuries which lead to the death of street 

 trees can be prevented. They can only 

 be prevented, however, by proper mu- 

 nicipal control of the causes or agencies 

 which produce the injury and a more ex- 

 tensive public-spirited eft'ort to aid such 

 protection. 



It would be almost impossible in a 

 short space to enumerate the kinds of 

 mechanical injuries to which street trees 

 are subjected. Trees close to the curb- 

 ing are subject to abrasion by passing 

 vehicles, or abrasion may be caused b}- 

 the piling of flagstones or paving blocks 

 against the trees. I have seen this sort 

 of injury in cities with most efificient 

 city foresters and park superintendents. 



If they are powerless to prevent such " ' better tree for roadway or street planting. 



injury, or overlook the matter, such cities still have of all telephone companies to the contrary, frequently 



some progress to make in the care of their trees, use their climbing spurs in ascending trees. Important 



Horses when hitched to a tree close to the curbing roots are often cut ol? and destroyed by the laying of 



will almost invariably gnaw the bark. All of curbs, gas and water pipes. 



these injuries, while more or less preventable, indi- All injuries of these kinds, as well as a wide 



cate that absolute prevention may only be secured per- variety of other mechanical injuries to either trunks 



Courtesy of N. Y. State Conservation Commission. 



AN ATTRACTIVE ROW OF NORWAY MAPLES 

 This exemplifies the practical value of the Norway Maple, than which it would be hard to find a 



haps by the use of iron palings around all trees upon 

 the curbing. 



Careless telephone men, in spite of the definite orders 



Ccinl<\y r-( .V. }'. Slate Coytservathni t f<nnni^\ii'U. 



A MAGNIFICENT SPECIMEN OF THE AMERICAN ELM 



Most beautiful of all shade trees, in the opinion of many, and 



undoubtedly ideal for planting of broad streets and avenues. 



or roots, result in the formation of decayed spots, 

 which if neglected will sooner or later shorten the life 

 of the tree. 



Escaping gas causes the death of many city trees, espe- 

 cially where the gas mains are laid under or close to the 

 sidewalks as they are in some cities. Even when the main 

 is under the pavement, the connecting extensions to the 

 dwellings on either side often become defective and the 

 gas escaping into the soil frequently causes the death 

 of surrounding trees before the leak is discovered and 

 repaired. Greater care in the use of better pipes and 

 better joints seems to be the only solution of this 

 sort of damage, which probably kills more city trees than 

 any other one agency. 



In wet weather or during storms, lighting wires, carrying 

 an alternating current, will cause serious damage to trees, 

 when the loss or abrasion of insulation makes direct contact 

 possible. This trouble is easily detected and easily remedied, 

 and in cities where any degree of care is taken of the 

 lighting installation serious injury to trees from this 

 cause is rare. High-tension, direct-current-bearing wires, 

 if br(_(UghY into contact with trees, will kill them the same 

 as b}' a lightning bolt striking the tree. Hence such wires 

 should be most carefully insulated when near trees, and, 

 what is safer for both trees and human beings, placed 

 under ground. 



It seems absurd to class pruning among the injuri- 

 ous agencies of trees, but a casual inspection of the 

 trees in almost any city appears to indicate that care- 

 less and improper pruning has accomplished great dam- 

 age. There is a right and a wrong way to prune 

 trees, and a saw, an ax and a little muscle are not all 

 the requirements for correct pruning of trees. When cut 



