382 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' DEPARTMENT. 



STREET TREES AND PARKS IN PASADENA. 



By A. G. Smith, Inspector, Pasadena, Cal. 



It is probable that no city in California has street trees which have 

 to contend with natural enemies any more than those in Pasadena, and 

 yet it is doubtful if there can be found in any city in California street 

 trees that are more uniformly clean and flourishing than in Pasadena; 

 and this is because they are systematically and intelligently cared for 

 " secundem art em." 



Pasadena has an area of over 11 square miles, practically subdivided 

 into city lots and intersected by streets aggregating in excess of 150 

 miles. Of this 150 miles of streets, over 90 miles have been paved, 

 curbed and sidewalked, thus making about 180 miles of parkings, nearly 

 all of which have already been planted with shade trees. Many of the 

 ungraded streets in the outside districts, but within the city limits, also 

 have shade trees planted. There are, therefore, between 175 and 200 

 miles of planted parkings. 



The planting is, of course, more or less promiscuous and irregular, 

 much of it having been done early by abutting owners, each planting 

 the trees he fancied. The municipality very wisely took over the own- 

 ership of all trees in the parkings several years ago and assumed the 

 responsibility of their care and maintenance. The problem of the park 

 management has been how to make use of this promiscuous and irregular 

 planting to the best advantage for the accomplishment of the "City 

 Beautiful." Many intricate and even delicate problems arise, as a 

 matter of course. 



But the first essential problem is naturally the proper care of the 

 older trees. The principal varieties of trees scattered throughout all 

 the streets are the objects of attacks by the numerous scale insects which 

 flourish here, more or less without limit, unless artificially controlled. 

 The peppers, etc., are infested with the black scale and, if untreated, 

 become full of dead wood, black with sooty mold developed in the honey 

 dew deposited by the scale insects, and the foliage becomes thin and 

 sickly until the trees are a sorry sight. The camphors often become so 

 infested with red scale that the trees are seemingly poisoned and weak- 

 ened until they gradually become thin and, in some cases, die back 

 partly or wholly. The Sterculias likewise become heavily infested with 

 the greedy scale, as does the Acacia florihunda, while the black acacias, 

 are the hosts of the ivy scale; and now many palms are almost hope- 

 lessly infested with mealy bugs. 



The municipality claiming proprietorship of the parkings and the 

 trees thereon, as a consequence assumed the burden and expense of treat- 

 ing these trees rather than let it become a charge against the abutting 

 owners. The park management cooperates with the horticultural com- 



Note —We are very glad to print this excellent article by Dr. A. G. Smith, county 

 norticultural Inspector at Pasadena. Riverside, Pomona and Redlands are other cities 

 tnat regard street trees as valuable assets. Sacramento and other northern cities are 

 roiiowmg in the same Ime. Attention to tree planting is attracting the best citizenship 

 to these cities in goodly numbers. Dr. Smith's article is not only suggestive to city 

 councils and^ commissioners, but also to orchardists who have scale insects to com- 



