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CH AFTER IV. 

 The Local Problem. 



Before any reasonable planting can be done there must be a careful study of 

 the street or streets to be planted. There should be a complete record, including 

 statistics, as to the nature of the soil, the width of the street, parkings and 

 eide-weike, the nature of the buildings - whether residential or business - the 

 direction of the street and prevailing local sentiment, 



California cities are particularly fortunate in regard to the matter of soil. 

 In most cases it does not need to be especially considered. These soils do show 

 great verietion and a knowledge of the variation is essential. A knowledge of the 

 depth of soil is also of advantage. For example, in Santa Barbara streets which 

 run from the hills to the water front as State street does, show differences in 

 soil depth, the soil on the higher levels being much more shallow than that on the 

 lower level. Again, in San Diego, all that part of town built on the mesa, which 

 in most ways is the best residence district, hae a great handicap in having hardpen 

 very close to the surface of the soil. Here is a very large problem for San Diego 

 to work out. The inevitable practice will be blasting. This necessitates that 

 planting will be done before the street work is done, which is the wieeet practice 

 in any case. Of course this will entail extra labor and forethought as the true 

 level of the street must be ascertained in each caee before planting. A suffi- 

 ciently large area must be opened up for each tree so that it will not De a tiny 

 pocket of good soil in a large mass of rocks. And good soil must De put in place. 

 All of this means expense - and great expense. 



The beet way of meeting this expense is another problem. If the cooperation 

 of the property holders is to be attained it is evident that an expense of forty 

 to fifty dollars cannot be demanded offhand for each hundred feet or so of frontage. 

 Some way must be found to give time for payment, or some other way. San Diego has 

 done much good municipal work in her forestry work that there is no doubt she will 

 find a way out of this matter. 



