169 
STOKES PRIZE ESSAYS* 
HI. THE PRoTEcTION oF TREES 
In the city, shade trees growing along the street, are, of course, 
more or less unprotected and are often injured. When, for 
instance, a driver leaves his horses which delivering a package, 
they will ee nibble the leaves or bark of any tree that 
may be nea 
Often, eilee a tree is still young, the tender terminal twigs are 
thus destroyed. Then, when new sprouts appear, some other 
horse will very likely bite them off. This may continue year 
after year until the tree either dies or becomes so stunted that 
it never grows up to beautiful maturity. 
In those parts of the city where buildings are tall, trees do not 
thrive because the rays of the sun are cut off from them. Trees 
are often cut down to make a place for a house to be erected. 
In fact, buildings are their greatest enemies. 
In parks, children delight in pulling off the branches of some 
trees. Grown people, also, pull off their leaves and branches. 
Smoke is another dangerous enemy. It will come out of the 
factories and fill the pores of the leaves. This will keep out the 
air; and, the tree cannot live under such circumstances, it 
dies. In ene the smoky city, few trees thrive. 
Gas leaks are also dangerous. Trees breathe just as people do. 
If the poisonous gases get into the trees, it will kill them just as it 
would us 
In the country, trees thrive better than in the city. However, 
ey have many dangerous enemies. Among them are fires, 
insects, careless people, and fu 
Insects bite at the leaves or ae into the wood, and some 
larger ones bite at the branches. This hurts the tree. 
In the forest an old tree will often be struck by lightning. 
This may set fire to other trees. Every year many trees lose 
their lives in this way. 
e essays were submitted on Arbor Day, May 8th, 1914, in competition 
for the eight colored eas of evule Flowers Needing Eee frame a n 
presented by the New 1 
of The Bronx, through oe aid of the Stokes Fund for the Preservation of Native 
Plants. 
