76 TREES IN" WINTER 



'^A construction company doing some work on a street, found 

 that the trees hindered their progress. They thereupon cut down 

 the trees without so much as considering for a moment their value 

 to the owner's property. 



"Suit was at once brought against the company, the damages be- 

 ing laid at $500, for each tree cut down. The Plaintiff recovered 

 for the full amount as the value of the trees, and the court added 

 $1,000, more for punitive damages. It was this verdict that was 

 carried to the Appellate Court and has been sustained.^' 



Five hundred dollars may seem a large sum for a tree in the 

 city, but it must be remembered that the value of the trees as 

 kindling wood or as lumber, or even as the material for house 

 trimmings or furniture, is not the thing to be considered. The 

 tree required many years to grow. It not only adorned the prop- 

 erty but it afforded health, comfort, enjoyment and protection to 

 its owners. Its place, when destroyed, could not be filled by an- 

 other tree inside of fifteen, twenty, or thirty years, and all this time 

 the owners of the property are deprived of its benefits. 



Municipalities have just come to recognize the value of trees 

 from the standpoint of health. Since trees absorb the carbonic 

 acid gas from the air it is believed that they help to purify the air. 

 Health authorities are now recommending the planting of trees in 

 the cities with a view of mitigating the intense heat during the 

 summer months and of diminishing the death-rate among chil- 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STREET PLANTING 

 Although at the present time much attention is being given to 

 the planting and care of trees in cities, it is remarkable that the 

 matter has not received more attention in the past. The cost of 

 setting out trees is so small compared with the lasting benefits de- 

 rived from them, that it is hard to understand why cities and towns 

 should not take up the work on an extensive basis. The smaller 

 towns should profit from the experience of tlie larger and older 

 cities. The problem is decidedly less difficult with small towns, 

 for they can plan their streets with a view of having them lined 

 with trees. Trees that get a good start wlien the town is young 

 are more likely to thrive well and to administer to the needs of the 

 mature city, tlian those that are planted later, when they are sub- 

 jected to all the hardships of the crowded city streets. 



