10 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



The Hustling Tree T>octor of Glen Ellt^n 



li. was witb a feeling of curiosity that tlie 

 v.rilcr recently journeyed to the pretty little 

 rural suburb of Glen Ellyn, situated among most 

 picturesque surroundings, witliin an hour's ride 

 of the heart of Chicago, to listen to a lecture on 

 "Forestry," delivered by the official forester of 

 the village. Dr. Frank Johnson. 



Before going into detail relative to Dr. John- 

 son as a man, and he is an absorbing subject 

 for anyone interested in his fellow beings, and 

 to the substance of his talk, it might be well 

 to diverge for a minute and give a short sketch 

 of Glen Ellj'n as a village. 



In this community of 2.500 souls the spirit 

 of good-fellowship abounds ; from the small boy 

 who directed me to St. Mark's Church, where 

 the lecture was held, to that hustling and wide- 

 awake gentleman, Byron Williams, president of 

 the village council, and in the daytime editor 

 of the Woman's World, the chief aim seemed 

 to be to make a stranger feel at home, and to 

 extend to him the hospitality of the community. 

 The Men's Club, which includes in Its member- 

 ship most of the male population of Glen Ellyn, 

 under whose auspices the lecture was given, was 

 organized principally as a medium through which 

 th^' men could become acquainted, and judging 

 by the apparent pleasant feelings on all sides, 

 .-.nd the familiar way in which each one greeted 

 the other fellow — using the first names in most 

 rases — it has been a decided success. The club 

 meets once a month and an enjoyable evening 

 is always assured. 



The village government consists of ten officers 

 besides the president and the various questions 

 of import are taken care of by the usual stand- 

 ing committees. Jluch progress has already been 

 made under the active leadership of the present 

 administration, and it is a matter of but a short 

 \\hile before Glen Ellyn will be one of the most 

 Itopular of Chicago's suburbs. 



Dr. Johnson has officially taken care of the 

 trees in the village for some time, and has long 

 been a familiar figure to tree lovers in the vi- 

 cinity of Chicago. Indeed, his work has been 

 so widespread as to have attracted the attention 

 of former Forester Pinchot, who recently wrote 

 him a lengthy letter of commendation. The doc- 

 tor's intimate and thorough knowledge of the 

 practical side of the care of trees has been ac- 



quired entirely from a close study of nature 

 and totally without the aid of text books. To 

 this genial and hard-working man a bug is a 

 bug, regardless of the scientific name, which he 

 says seldom rests heavily enough upon its 

 shoulders to prevent its doing immense damage 

 to his dearly beloved charges. 



^\'hile not technically a forester. Dr. Johnson 

 Las a close knowledge of tree life that would be 

 a valuable asset to many a university-trained 

 man, who knows the woods only from the theo- 

 retical point of view. His work is to him all- 

 absorbing ; he thinks trees from sunrise till sun- 



TIIK DISEASED TREE 



CLEANING OUT ROT AND FUNGOUS 

 GROWTH 

 set. or perhaps longer : for I was told that he is 

 a strict union man. working his full eight hours, 

 ever.v forenoon and every afternoon. Accordin.g 

 to the doctor's statement there are already grow- 

 ing in his own limited yard more than one bun- 

 dled trees raised from pits and seeds, planted 

 instead of being thrown away. 



The lecture was illustrated by specimens gath- 

 ered by the speaker in the course of his work, 

 which, besides their interesting illustrative char- 

 acter, were a mute token of the hard-working 

 zeal of the doctor, for they represented enough 

 cordwood to last an ordinary family half the 

 winter. 



Dr. Johnson does not believe in lengthy intro- 

 ductory remarks, and in this instance plunged 

 directly into a discussion of proper and improper 

 methods of pruning, showing to illustrate his 

 points tree sections about the size of a butch- 

 er's block. These had been split, and one in- 

 stance where the wound left in removing the 

 limb had not been treated the entire heart under 

 the apparently perfect heal was rotted away. 

 'I'he specimen which had been properly dressed 

 was sound and healthy. An outline of proper 

 methods of procedure according to the doctor is 

 as follows : First make your cut properly so as 

 to shed water, not horizontally ; then be sure 

 that the stump is trimmed down as closely as 

 possible and that there is nothing in the way of 

 the proper growth of the new bark. A mixture 

 of hot tar and a little beeswax will insure 

 permanent protection against weather and in- 

 sects. When cutting heavj' limbs make a pre- 

 liminary cut, leaving a short stump, to prevent 

 ragged breaking. 



Another topic for discussion was that of prop- 



erly cleaning and filling with concrete cavities of 

 decay in trunk or limbs. The doctor claims that 

 no hole is too big to treat, providing there is 

 even a small strip of bark remaining by which 

 the vital sap can reach the upper tree. The first 

 step in treatment of this kind is to chisel out 

 thoroughly all decayed wood, making sure that 

 there are no borers left in the tree. This part 

 of the job can be done in winter, if necessary, 

 and with the advent of warm weather, when 

 there is no danger of freezing, the concrete is 

 installed — care being taken to have clean ingredi- 

 ents, and not to make the mixture too wet. 

 A rich mixture is best, owing to its greater 

 density, and hence ability to shed water. Before 

 installation be sure that the cavity created is 

 wider at the back than at the edge, thus insuring 

 the permanence of the filling. It is wise to bore 

 several holes in the back wall as an additional 

 anchor. In exceptionally large fillings iron bars 

 are of advantage in holding the concrete in 

 place. 



Split crotches are usually rather difficult to 

 treat, but Dr. Johnson showed a simple device, 

 ecinsisting of a turn-buckle with stout ropes at- 

 l.iched which, applied 20 to 30 feet up, will pull 

 any tree into place. The two limbs are then 

 b'.red through and bolts having threads and nuts 

 at one end and hooks, which are locked together 

 at the other, are inserted and drawn up to the 

 proper distance. It is necessary to countersink 

 the bolts and cover the wound with cement to 

 insure against infection. 



The numerous sections and portions of trees 

 w( re all illustrative of the serious depredations 

 that will follow neglect of wounds, just as infec- 

 tion will result from not properly caring for an 

 injitry to a human being, and the doctor's listen- 

 ers were implored by him not to be guilty of 

 negligence of this character. He demonstrated 

 that early attention and proper treatment of 

 wounds is a simple matter, but It is often very 

 expensive and tedious to treat a tree w'hich has 

 suffered for some time. 



After witnessing this exhibition of his ability 

 and enthusiasm we feel safe in saying that Dr. 

 .Tohrson is without a peer In his line of work 

 and w'ell merits the attention of all interested 

 in ornamental trees or trees in general. Our 

 curiosity has turned to admiration. E. W. M. 



THE OPENING FILLED READY FOR THE 

 BARK TO HEAL THE WOUND 



