SHADE TREES. 15 



THE PROTECTION OF SHADE TREES. 



Protectors are of three kinds. The young tree needs a sup- 

 port to hold its trunk erect and its roots in place against the soil; 

 it also needs a guard to shield it from the bites of horses and 

 other injuries to its stem ; and it often needs a grill to prevent the 

 trampling of the earth about its base and the consequent injury 

 to its roots. 



The support is usually a straight pole or joint ten to twenty 

 feet long made of chestnut, spruce, oak or other wood, set 

 firmly in the ground next to the tree either on the south 

 side, where it shields the stem from the sun, or in line with the 

 row of trees, where it is least conspicuous. The tree is attached 

 to its support in several places by means of iron, leather or cloth 

 bands padded with cushions of wool, rushes, or other soft 

 material to prevent abrasion. The support is removed at the 

 end of the third or fourth year after planting, or when the tree 

 is fully able to support itself. 



The most primitive guard I have seen in use is a handful of 

 branches from a thorn bush arranged somewhat loosely about 

 the tree trunk. These I saw on the streets of Fontainebleau, 

 and I am told that they are not infrequently used along country 

 roads and in small villages throughout France. The next in 

 order of simplicity, perhaps, is the jacket of .pine poles seen 

 often in Berlin. These poles are fastened together by means of 

 wire and may easily be removed when desired. They are cheap 

 and efficient, and not so conspicuous as the wooden box so well 

 known in America. In Frankfurt, jacket guards for young 

 trees on retired streets are made of willow branches woven into 

 tall tapering basket -like forms quite unique in appearance. In 

 Bonn, the fine old horse-chestnut trees of Poppelsdorf Alice are 

 protected in situations exposed to passing vehicles with shafts of 

 stone planted about the tree at a little distance from its base. 

 These shafts. are columns of basalt brought from the north bank 

 of the Rhine. 



In Washington and many other cities, the most common tree 

 guard is an elongated box made of narrow boards which encloses 

 the stem of the tree up to a distance of five feet or more from 

 the ground. The box guard is easily made and very efficient, 



