10 College of Forestry. 



Public Control of Street Planting is Necessary for Best 



Results. 



Individual choice and effort will differ so widely that no 

 effective, well-balanced improvement can be secured without 

 the application of a standard in street tree planting which 

 will direct and control the choice and effort of every indi- 

 vidual. Some states, notably those of New Jersey and 

 Massachusetts, have enacted laws that provide for the estab- 

 lishment of shade tree commissions in towns and cities and 

 very commendable results in tree planting have resulted. It 

 is only a question of time when similar commissions will be 

 demanded for this sort of public improvement in New York 

 State. 



AVERAGE CONDITION OF STREET TREES IN 

 TOWNS AND CITIES. 



The oldest trees along the streets in many of the cities of 

 the State were planted when these cities were much smaller 

 than at the present time and when the conditions were not 

 so adverse for the growth of trees. With the increase in 

 size of the cities pavements have gradually encroached on 

 the open areas around the bases of street trees. Enlarged 

 street traffic has imposed on city shade trees the burden of a 

 struggle for existence under conditions much less favorable 

 for growth than those under which they grew formerly. 

 The natural results are that many fine old shade trees are 

 weakening with great rapidity and it is not uncommon to 

 see the removal of large numbers of trees from the streets 

 each year with no efforts made to replace them. 



Many of the smaller cities which have grown gradually 

 from villages present a condition of street development that 

 is fully as adverse for tree growth as that of the larger 

 municipalities, consequently the quality of street trees in 

 these places may not be of very high order. In many places 

 trees were planted along the streets before sidewalks were 

 paved; usually before the location of the walks had been 

 determined definitely. In the enthusiasm for immediate 



