320 MILES OF SHADE TREES 



729 



ash. and. like the others, it makes a 

 very handsome shade and ornamental 

 tree. A clump of four of them that I 

 know personally are growing in River- 

 side Park up a hundred feet above the 

 Hudson in Xew York City and are 

 doing very well, though the location is 

 drier htan Nature would select. 



The blue ash, F. Ouadrangulata. is 

 rare east of the Ohio basin, but easily 

 grown here. A very pretty small tree. 



with bluish bark from which the In- 

 dians used to make their blue dye by 

 boiling the inner bark. Its twigs are 

 mint shaped, that is. four-sided, 

 whence its specijic name, and it is the 

 only one of the ashes which does not 

 split easily. Because of its toughness 

 lumbermen use it for raft and car side 

 poles. On the forest estate it would 

 be more an interesting curiosity than 

 a subject for planting. 



320 MILES OF SHADE TREES 



FIFTY-SEVEN cities and towns 

 in Massachusetts have deter- 

 mined to cooperate in a whole- 

 sale planting campaign. This 

 movement was started by the IMassa- 

 chusetts Forestry Association and local 

 interest was aroused in each place 

 situated on a Circuit consisting of State 

 Highways and of cit}' and town streets. 

 This Circuit begins at Boston and 

 passes through the cities of Worcester 

 and Springfield on to Pittsfield and 

 North Adams near the New York State 

 line. From North Adams, the trunk 

 line of the State Highway is followed 

 through the northern half of the State 

 connecting Greenfield, Fitchburg and 

 the historic towns of Concord and 

 Lexington. From Lexington, Massa- 

 chusetts Avenue closes the Circuit 

 passing through old Cambridge to the 

 starting point on Commonwealth 

 Avenue, Boston. This circuit is ap- 

 proximately 320 miles in length and is 

 one of the most delightful drives in the 

 Commonwealth . 



Nearly 100 miles of the line wind 

 through the Berkshire Hills. In passing 

 over it one encounters Jacob's Ladder 

 a few miles west of Springfield. This 

 Ladder is an interesting piece of high- 

 way and consists of a series of rising 

 and descending gradients in passing 

 over the height of land. Almost im- 

 mediately after leaving the Ladder one 

 finds himself among the beautiful old 

 estates of Lenox and Pittsfield. Facing 

 eastward at North Adams, the famous 

 Mohawk Trail is seen winding its way 

 to the top of Florida Mountain in the 

 Hoosac Range, the highest point on 

 the State Highways. To reach this 



height requires a constant climb for 

 314 miles. When this point is past the 

 traveler coasts, if in an automobile, 

 for several miles through the wild 

 rugged canyon of Cold River. This 

 is one of the most picturesque bits of 

 scenery in the state. 



On the whole this Circuit is alrcad}- 

 one of the most popular drives in the 

 state. Improved roads all the way 

 make it very attractive to tourists and 

 thousands of these visitors cross the 

 state each year in automobiles b}' this 

 route. While this highway is already 

 very attractive and comfortable to the 

 traveler, it is proposed to make it more 

 so by planting shade trees and orna- 

 mental shrubbery along all the sections 

 where they do not now exist. There 

 are many places especially in the 

 Berkshire Hills where nature has already 

 done more than man could do to make 

 this highway beautiful and these sec- 

 tions will not be touched. There are 

 cuts and embankments to be sure 

 which of course will be given attention 

 and will be planted to vines, shrubbery, 

 or trees as the individual case demands. 



After the idea had been given due 

 publicity a Conference of official dele- 

 gates from the cities and towns traversed 

 by this Circuit was called by the Associa- 

 tion. This Conference was held in 

 Worcester, May 8th, and ways and 

 means were discussed by which the 

 task could be accomplished. A Circuit 

 Tree Planting Committee was elected 

 by the Conference and clothed with 

 power to make surveys, plans and 

 estimates and to execute the work in 

 cooperation with all of the cities and 

 towns on the Circuit. 



