The enthusiastic reception of this plan of work by the commer- 

 cial organizations of Charleston at the present time leads to the 

 hope that the Museum may become a far more useful public 

 servant than in any period of its long and honorable history. 



P. M. Rea. 



BETTER STREET TREES 



In the May issue of the Bulletin we published the results of 

 a survey of the street trees of Charleston which had been conduc- 

 ted by the Natural History Society under the auspices of the 

 Museum. This survey showed that of approximately four thous- 

 and trees more than fifty per cent were elms, twenty-five per 

 cent Carolina poplars, less than ten per cent oaks, about five per 

 cent hackberries, four per cent palmettoes, three per cent but- 

 tonwoods, and the remainder distributed among eighteen spe- 

 cies. It was further found that most of these trees were in poor 

 condition, and that the American elm seldom reaches its best 

 form here and requires much care, while the CaroHna poplar is 

 an absolute failure as a street tree. 



In view of these unsatisfactory conditions it was a cause of 

 much gratification when, a few weeks after the results of the sur- 

 vey were made public, a trained forester was employed to take 

 charge of the city's trees. The wisdom of this step is abun- 

 dantly shown by the improved condition of the trees as a result 

 of cement work and removal of dead wood, and by the success 

 of an arrangement by which all trimming by the street railway 

 company is done under the supervision of the forester. 



The solution of the tree question is, however, still hindered by 

 the small appropriations for street planting and by the indif- 

 ference of the public to the condition of the trees. To overcome 



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