WHO SHALL CARE FOR STREET-TREES 243 



greatly agitated about the matter and told me that the re 

 moval of the tree was something in which every property 

 owner was concerned, as the resulting gap spoiled the uni 

 formity of the row of the remaining trees. I investigated 

 the matter and found that 'a tree had indeed been removed, 

 but that permission 'had been previously obtained from our 

 office. The tree in question was in a diseased and danger 

 ous condition, could not be saved, and it was the advice of 

 our office to remove the tree and put a new one in its place. 

 When the complainants were informed why the tree was 

 removed, they felt satisfied that their interests had been 

 protected. Their action in bringing complaint when they 

 thought that the tree had been unwarrantably cut down was 

 a just one, and it illustrates the point that the destruction of 

 a shade-tree is something that affects the entire street. 



During the winter of 1909, I was called to Harrisburg to 

 help in the movement to organize a department that would 

 look after the shade-trees of that city. One of the citizens 

 told me that he was going along a street one day when he 

 saw a man cutting off the branches of a large tree in front of 

 his place and leaving nothing but the trunk. He asked him 

 why he was spoiling the tree and the man replied: "lean 

 make use of the wood, and don't care for the shade/' As 

 there were no regulations in that city in regard to shade- 

 trees, that man, in spite of the protestations of his neighbors, 

 went on with his work and left the mutilated specimen as a 

 permanent eyesore to the residents of the street. 



