152 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



conveuieuce, or by what commends itself to their not infrequently 

 perverted sense of the beautiful. When the whim seizes them 

 and they wish to get rid of a stately tree, it is only uecessai-y for 

 them to say that it is rotten, and dangerous because likelj" to fall. 

 Many times I have seen trees whose shade could ill be spared, cut 

 down because their trunks were rotten, when examination after 

 they were felled, showed that they were sound and would have 

 lasted many years. It ought to be considered a crime to cut down a 

 handsome tree — certainly in public grounds — unless compelled by 

 absolute necessity. When it is thought necessary for the public 

 safety to destroy animals supposed to be suffering from contagious 

 diseases, there is, at least, a consultation, and the opinion of 

 experts is asked. I hope that the time will come when it will not 

 be allowed to cut down trees Avhich are public property, except on 

 the advice of those whose training entitles them to be called 

 experts. 



If one is amazed sometimes at the abuses of trees on the part 

 of those who are their authorized guardians, it must be admitted 

 that the poor condition of our trees is principally due to the reck- 

 lessness of the public. The streets of Boston and the suburban 

 towns are notoriously narrow, as are also the sidewalks, and in 

 consequence the trees are more subject to injury than in regions 

 where the streets are wider. In most of our streets the trees are 

 very near the edge of the sidewalk, if they do not project into the 

 street itself. Those on the corners of the streets are almost sure 

 to be grazed by passing vehicles, and as wagon after wagon 

 passes along, the grinding process is kept up until the wood is 

 exposed. It is perhaps fortunate that such trees are short-lived, 

 for the}^ become very unsightly, and when they die, the curbstone 

 can be replaced as often as is necessary. 



Walk along any of our streets where the trees are placed on the 

 edge of the sidewalk and notice the effects due to our general 

 negligence. In some instances 3'ou will find that the house-owners 

 have placed guards around the trunks, and the trees are symmet- 

 rical and have attained a good size. But in most cases, they have 

 been left to take care of themselves. Bright and early the milk- 

 man comes along and jumps off with his can, leaving his horse to 

 make a scanty breakfast by gnawing the bark of the nearest tree. 

 Later on come the butcher and the grocer, whose horses lunch 

 upon what was left by their predecessor, inflicting an amount of 



