FORESTER'S REPORT. 71 



CO-OPERATION. 



The maintenance of shade trees involves active co-operation be- 

 tween the State, the municipality and the property owners. The 

 State's interest is to make its territory good to live in and good 

 to visit, to stimulate activity and to harmonize differences: the 

 municipality stirs civic pride and through the exercise of its police 

 power, enforces what is needful. Individuals by yielding the con- 

 trol over their trees give the work unity and coherence. Evidence 

 of the accomplishment of the Shade Tree Commissions is easy 

 to find in any community where one has been at work. In one 

 town the elms will have been saved by spraying, in another the 

 chief effort will have been directed to planting, in a third settle- 

 ments have been made with the gas company, in a fourth some 

 other trouble has been overcome. What can be done is indicated 

 in the following report made by the President of the Maywood 

 Shade Tree Commission. 



"We have induced the Public Service Electric Light and Telegraph Company 

 to take off from our streets the large unsightly poles which brought the 

 wires right in the crowns of our trees, doing much damage to tree and wire. 

 These poles were replaced by shorter painted poles, each with a horizontal 

 arm under the trees carrying the wires at a height (20 feet above the walk) 

 where the heavy limbs would not sway in the wind and the end of the hori- 

 zontal bars is used for the street light. We have "these .poles in our main 

 street under our large silver maple shade trees and experience no trouble in 

 any way, and while there was some kicking at first, everybody is well pleased 

 now and the avenue looks fine and orderly." 



ROADSIDE TREES. 



In the revised State highway law passed by the last Legislature 

 the State Commissioner of Public Roads is authorized to require 

 that any road made with State aid shall be tree bordered and that 

 the Forest Commission shall provide the necessary plans. The 

 same law -also provides that the Forest Commision shall decide when 

 differences arise involving roadside trees. It was deemed advis- 

 able to make object lessons on State-aid roads rather than seek 

 the enactment and attempt the enforcement of a more general law. 

 Desirable as roadside trees are more will be accomplished by arous- 

 ing local sentiment m their favor than by striving to establish 

 them against the wish of the communities most concerned. The 

 specifications under which this work will be done are as follows : 



