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them from injury and decay, while another department, 

 or perhaps still worse, an outside corporation armed 

 with a blanket authority from the Aldermen, is going 

 about, often in the night time, lopping off branches 

 and tearing our trees in every direction, to accom- 

 modate poles and insignificant little wires, which in 

 most cases should be made to accommodate themselves 

 to the trees. Practice, however, in cases like these, 

 fails to conform to theory. 



In the old days, when citizens were requested by the 

 town authorities to plant shade trees, there appears to 

 have been much local interest in the subject, as the 

 articles recalled by Mr. Foote, in the columns of the 

 Gazette some fifty years ago, testify. There are certain 

 streets which owe all the fame they now possess to 

 the good judgment and public spirit of private citizens. 

 The beauty of Dearborn street, and the park-like 

 character of its terminus and Felt street, are due to 

 the private enterprise of such men as Messrs. Pick- 

 ering Dodge, James Upton, Robert Manning, John C. 

 Lee, John Bertram and Charles A. Ropes.* Lafayette 

 street originated in the brains of the Derby s, and the 



* It is our impression that Mr. Pickering Dodge, who was the 

 original owner of what is now the Emmerton property at the 

 foot of Dearborn street, gave the elm trees that were planted 

 between the North bridge and Dearborn street, and we are in- 

 formed that the late James Clark set them out. These trees 

 grew to a large size, and eventually formed a beautiful natural 

 archway, but they were destroyed when the street was widened. 

 The fine maples in front of the estate of the late Ephraim 

 "Woods were planted by Mr. Woods, who was a nurseryman. 

 He also later set out the trees above his house, at least as far as 

 the Liberty liill road, if not beyond; but it is our impression 

 that apart of this was done either under the auspices of the 

 city, which had at that time begun to give attention to the sub- 

 ject, or by the combined effort of the neighborhood. At any 

 rate, public attention had begun to be awakened upon the sub- 

 ject at about that time. — [Eds. Gazette. 



