these caterpillars thus caught in the screen-like frame, which 
were taken to the outskirts of the city and destroyed. It is the 
plan of the Commission to have these torches prepared and placed 
upon jointed handles, so that branches 20 feet high can be 
reached from the ground, and higher branches by means of 
step ladder, and these torches will be available to any citizen 
upon the deposit of one dollar with the Commission, the torch 
to be retained by the citizen, if desired, or to be returned to 
the Commission in good order, and the dollar refunded. By 
starting in time as soon as the webs begin to appear upon the 
trees, and with the co-operation of one hundred citizens, to- 
gether with its own force, the plague can be reduced to a mini- 
mum, and the second appearance of the caterpillars in August 
so reduced in numbers, as to be a negligible quantity. 
The spraying of the older trees, particularly the old silver 
maples of which no more are being planted, and of the elms 
throughout all portions of the city should begin at once, and 
be kept up until the San Jose scale and maple and elm scale are 
completely abolished. The extraordinary care heretofore men- 
tioned should be exercised in this way, in order that the trees 
may be protected from such parastic growths, as their power 
of resistance has by their environment been thus much lessened. 
It took Newark, New Jersey, eight years to get the upper 
hand, but she has succeeded, and the citizens are proud of the 
healthful appearance, rapid growth and enhancing beauty of 
their sixty thousand trees, valued at one and a third million 
dollars, and look upon their annual expenditure of thirty-eight 
thousand dollars as one of the best investments that the city 
ever has made, or can make. 
An outline to show the continuous round of work that pre- 
sents itself from one year’s end to another, and that must be 
expected and provided for, in so far as street tree planting is 
considered, is briefly given as follows: 
The beginning of the city’s fiscal year, July 1st, usually 
finds the force busily engaged in cultivating the street trees 
planted during the three preceding years as well as those planted 
the current year, the soil having been loosened to the extent of 
four to six square feet around each tree, according to the size, 
with pick and spading fork. The trees planted the fall and spring 
preceding, simply requiring surface cultivation at this time. This 
cultivation accomplishes two purposes; first, the pulverizing of 
the soil at the surface prevents the evaporation of moisture from 
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