68 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Those in charge of the layins; of drains or the setting of 

 edsestones do not think for a moment of arrano::ing their 

 work to avoid a tree, but instead, roots and buttresses are 

 cut and slashed without mercy. Horses are tied to young 

 trees and old by the hour together, and many a succulent 

 luncheon is made from the bark and nascent wood. Trees 

 are often seen in city streets where a few feet from the 

 ground only a small portion of the circumference of the 

 bark is left, and many fine shade trees are annually de- 

 stroyed from this cause. 



Another source of great loss of trees in cities arises from 

 the leaks into the earth in which they live from poorly and 

 improperly laid gas mains. In some cities, to avoid inter- 

 ference with the systems of sewer and water pipes, the gas 

 mains are placed so near the surface that every winter they 

 are thrown and broken by the frost. In one instance, twenty 

 distinct gas leaks were found in the mains of a single street, 

 not one quarter of a mile in length, in one of the cities of 

 our eastern seaboard. When thoroughly permeated with 

 the gas, the earth retains it for years, and tree after tree 

 may be planted ; and even if a large amount of fresh earth 

 be added each time, the trees will fail to live. Trees in 

 streets and parks, it is stated, have been killed by having 

 the land about their trunks filled to a depth of two or three 

 feet, thus showing that trees, no more than animals, will en- 

 dure being buried alive. 



In roadside tree planting, even in the rural districts where 

 many of the obstacles met with in the cities are avoided, it 

 is impossible to produce the best results unless the roads 

 are properly laid out, and, together with the roadsides, are 

 well cared for. 



Many country roads are made unnecessaril}'^ wide at the 

 outset. It is not uncommon to see a poorly built, poorly 

 kept, broad expanse of gravel, wider than many of the 

 most crowded thorougfares of the city, where the travel is 

 confined to one or two cart tracks meandering through its 

 weary length. 



A narrower roadway could be maintained in better con- 

 dition at less cost, and, if it was desirable to retain a greater 

 width for future use, by allowing the grass and bushes to 



