SAVING AN OLD ELM 



723 



laying out one of the most famous estates in 

 America, how much a certain tree was worth. 

 "Worth !" he said, looking at me in astonishment, 

 "it is worth the whole place, for it is creative of 

 beauty, and around that tree I build everything." 

 Improper advice from irresponsible parties, 

 who for their own benefit, often recommend 

 large expenditures of money on trees, which are 

 hopelessly gone or relatively unimportant, has 

 been the excuse for many a man saying, "None 

 of my trees are worth much to me. What do I 

 care if one or two die, I have lots of other trees." 

 This is an erroneous idea and likely to be as 

 costly an error as the mistake made by the man 

 who'thinks he does not need trees about his home 

 at all and builds himself a palace in a barren 

 spot, only to find that after all his money has 

 brought him little more than an Arab's tent set 

 in a desert waste, so that finally he has to rely 

 entirely upon the skill of the tree-mover to supply 

 him with trees of barely sufficient size to hide 

 the nakedness of his dwelling. A man should 

 know his own trees and should learn from care- 

 ful surveys of the situation just which trees 

 could be easily replaced and which trees are 

 priceless to him. Then certainly, as far as these 

 priceless ones are concerned, expert attention 

 when necessary and continuous care is the most 

 logical . and economical program for him to 

 follow. I do not believe that there is ever an 

 excuse for dehorning shade trees. If a tree is 

 not wanted it should be removed and a more 

 desirable variety planted in its place. Whatever 

 is done to trees should be done right or not at 

 all. How far a man should go along the line of 

 tree preservation should be as easy for him to 

 determine as to whom among his employes a 

 raise will be given next pay day, and who among 

 his partners or business associates are the indis- 

 pensible backbone of every movement for the 

 further development of his own best interests. 

 To know trees well, only an intimate study of 

 the trees themselves is necessary, and to study 

 trees carefully is to love them. 



For years an old English elm, ulmus capestris, 

 has shaded the little church yard and added to 

 the picturesque beauty of the "Little Church 

 Around the Corner," so known throughout 

 America, says the New York Sun. It is on 

 Twenty-ninth Street near Fifth Avenue. 



The English elm, as well as our American 

 elm, is subject to splitting crotches. There are 

 two distinct types of crotches, one somewhat 

 resembling the form of the thumb as it is at- 

 tached to the hand, a strong, durable fork. The 

 other resembles the fingers stretching from the 

 hand, which are most certain to split, permitting 

 dirt to enter at the top of the crack produc- 

 ing decay. Once started the decayed wood 



Photograph by courtesy of the New York Sun 



AND AFTER IT WAS FINISHED 



When the work was completed and the scaffolding removed, 

 the wound will be almost entirely covered w 



In the course of time 

 th bark. 



