344 Bulletin 256. 



IV. Summary. 



This discussion has attempted to point out that the deplorable con- 

 dition of shade trees, in general, is not due wholly to the lack of sufficiently 

 strict laws, but rather to the inadequate knowledge of these laws and the 

 lack of initiative in enforcing them. There is need of one or two 

 public spirited citizens in each community to awaken enthusiasm and 

 keep it alive until results are accomplished. Communities may possess 

 sufficient interest to aid them in securing appropriations to be used in 

 the construction of a road, which for a number of years may be more 

 or less a luxury. But the same interest is seldom shown in enhancing 

 the value of real estate and protecting human life by spending a few 

 dollars in caring for the shade trees. The highway improvement, as 

 the macadamizing of a road or the building of a curb in front of a piece 

 of property, adds value to the property, costs much to keep in repair, 

 and decreases in value each year. On the other hand, shade trees cost 

 comparatively little to establish and become more valuable each year, 

 until in the course of fifty years each tree may be worth two hundred to 

 three hundred dollars. They are invaluable as a setting for an other- 

 wise uninteresting section of roadway. 



The air in which city trees live is polluted with dust and smoke, 

 together with gases which impair the healthy action of the leaves; 

 the soil in which they are made to grow is often sterile and commonly 

 covered with a pavement which keeps a great amount of moisture from 

 the roots. These injurious conditions are magnified by the presence of 

 sewers which drain the soil water away as quickly as possible, leaving a 

 most arid condition for the feeding roots. In rural districts, street 

 trees are also likely to be neglected. 



The salient points in the preceding pages, and the ones which, if used 

 as a basis for action should insure a better condition of shade trees, 

 are the following: 



1. The sources of injury from which shade trees are being injured 

 should be carefully studied. 



2. The best local and general methods for protecting and preserving 

 the trees from these sources of injury should be considered and adopted. 



3. A live and working civic association should be organized, and at 

 its head should be placed some intelligent, enthusiastic and public- 

 spirited citizen who will see that the work of inspecting and caring for 

 the trees is properly performed. 



4. .State aid should be solicited, if necessary, in establishing a com^ 

 mission that will frame new ordinances and justly punish all oft'enders. 



