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tract. On this property stand two of the most beautiful trees 
in the United States, a Golden Larch and a Weeping Beech, and 
the erection of the apartment house would have necessitated 
cutting down both of these trees. 
One of the trees, the famous Weeping Beech (Fagus sylvatica 
pendula), is believed to be the finest specimen in existence. 
The trunk is about 4 ft. in diameter one foot above the ground, 
and the diameter of the area covered by the branches is about 
5 ft. Over 300 persons can stand underneath the canopy 
without crowding and without being visible from outside the 
tree. In earlier years this tree was used by gardeners as a 
‘‘mother tree,’’ young sapling beeches being planted close to the 
weeping branches which were then grafted onto the saplings. 
The Botanic Garden, in May, cooperated with the Flushing 
United Association, in a vigorous campaign to secure the preserva- 
tion, as a public park, of the property containing these trees. 
Proceedings to acquire title to the property (approximately 
173 ft. frontage by 125 ft. deep), located on Washington Place 
(37th Avenue) between Bowne Street and Parsons Boulevard, 
Flushing, were initiated by resolution of the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment on May 29, 1925, and title vested in the 
city by entry of the Court order, October 1, 1925. Up to the 
close of the year the proceeding had not come up before the 
Court, so that no awards had been made and the price had not 
been determined. 
Plantations and Grounds 
The New Fence-——At last the greatly needed new fence is a 
reality. Its need has been noted in previous reports. Several 
requests to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment during 
the past six or eight years had been declined. On March 20, 
1925, the Board adopted a Resolution providing for the issuance 
of $40,000 of Revenue Bonds of the City of New York for the 
construction and erection of the fence. The contract was 
awarded on August 27 to the Independent Wire Works, 418 
Third Ave., Brooklyn, the low bidder, in the sum of $34,440. 
The highest bid was $53,690. Work on the erection of the fence 
began on October 26, and was to be completed in 70 working 
poe The work was well along toward completion at the close 
