LABELLING SHADE TREES 



129 



RED MAPLE 

 ACER RUBRUM 



E. NORTH AM-EP 



should be marked for the benefit of park visitors, a plan 

 to achieve this end has been made operative by the 

 Division of Public Buildings and Grounds. The details 

 of the Washington system will be of suggestive help to the 

 authorities of other cities. Lieutenant Colonel C. O. Sher- 

 rill, U. S. A., 

 describes the 

 plan as fol 

 lows: 



"The label 

 consists of a 

 base so d e- 

 signedasto be 

 bent approxi 

 mately to fit 

 the particular 

 tree on which 

 it is used. On 

 the face of this 

 base is riveted 

 a plate upon 



which will have been previously stamped the botanical and 

 the common names of the tree. The plate is then fastened 

 with screws to the trunk of the tree, sufficiently high up 

 to prevent it from being damaged by children, and yet 

 not too high to be clearly seen by persons interested in 

 tree nomenclature. 



"A number of different methods have been tried in the 

 District for labelling trees, but none have ever proven 

 entirely successful, for the reason that some became 

 detached and carried away by souvenir seekers. It is 

 believed that the size and weight of this label, and the 

 printing on its face, which clearly indicates the fact that 

 it belongs to the Government, will deter souvenir hunters 



9 



Tree marker used in Washington, D. C. 



