2ist January, A. D., 1892. 



ESSAY 



BY 



JAMES DRAPER, of Worcester. 



Theme: — The Preservation of Road-side Trees, and the Im- 

 provement of Public Grounds. 



Woodman, spare that tree; 



Touch not a single bough ; 

 In youth it sheltered rae, 



And I'll protect it now. 

 'Twas my forefather's hand 



That placed it near his cot; 

 There, Woodman, let it stand, 



Thy axe shall harm it not." 



The incident that gave thought to the poem of which the above 

 is the opening stanza, is familiar to many ; yet in a word, I will 

 allude to it as emphasizing the importance of considerins^ and 

 acting upon the problem suggested, as the topic of our discus- 

 sion — "The Preservation of Road-side Trees, &c." 



In the year 1837, George P. Morris of New York, while 

 driving with a friend along the lane that led to his early home 

 in that portion of New York City known as Bloomingdale, dis- 

 covered a man with axe in hand about to fell to the ground an 

 aged and noble oak that had been planted by his grandfather, 

 before he was born, and under whose shade, for many years, 

 with parents and sisters, he had spent many happy hours. 



Touched to the heart at the thought of the demolition of this 

 historic tree, he first tried to persuade the owner to desist from 

 his purpose, without avail, and then he negotiated with him on 

 the payment of a sum equal in value to the wood and timber 

 the tree would make, and going into the Old Homestead, he 



