30 SHADE TREES. 



once. Ordinarily all this will be done by employes of 

 Report to the gas company if the case is reported directly 



Gas com- _ *~ _ 



pany. to headquarters, lor any gas company wants to 



avoid claims for damages on account of leaks. It also wants 

 to stop the loss that leaks occasion. It is possible to make 

 this positive statement because gas superintendents in this 

 State have repeatedly sought advice of the Forest Commis- 

 sion, or of Shade Tree Commissions, have followed the recom- 

 mendations made, and in numerous cases have settled claims 

 for damage on the basis of the opinion rendered. The Forest 

 Commission is always willing to help adjust differences of 

 this kind provided both parties wish it and agree to accept the 

 forester's decision. 



How to If a tree has been poisoned by gas, but is not 



save a tree. killed when the leak is found and stopped, it 

 may sometimes be saved by digging a trench about it, on the 

 as side at least, as deep as and including the gas main and 

 from six to ten feet from the trunk, and leaving the trench 

 open for at least a month. If rain does not fall plentifully 

 water the earth about the tree roots. This will give the 

 confined gas a chance to escape. Of course care must be 

 taken that the tree is not so dug out that it will be overthrown, 

 and that the earth from the trench is thrown away from, not 

 towards, the tree. All this may be difficult in a crowded 

 street, but is the only remedy. If the tree shows signs of 

 reviving let the out-thrown soil be worked over several times 

 and thoroughly aerated, or better carted away and replaced 

 by fresh, then fortified by one-fifth its bulk of well rotted 

 compost and the trench filled up. Stimulate the tree further 

 by a top dressing spread within the trench line as advised on 

 page 25. In some cases a severe pruning of the crown will 

 aid recovery by reducing the strain on the root system. Un- 

 less a tree is dry and has no signs of life in buds or stem don't 

 conclude that it is dead until it has passed a summer after 

 being affected. Xature is full of resources, and often seems 

 to make light of serious injuries. On the other hand spring 

 sometimes gives a semblance of life to a tree that is actually 



