FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 6l 



of the Society of Friends, held a "glorious and heavenly meeting," as he himself 

 described it. They measured respectively thirteen feet and twelve feet four inches 

 in circumference. One of them fell in the year 1841 and the other in 1863. In 

 Washington Place stands a Weeping Beech which Sir Joseph Hooker pronounced 

 the largest specimen of its kind in the world. On Parsons avenue, just south of 

 Broadway, there is perhaps the finest row of Taxodiums in the United States. 

 A very fine Cedar of Lebanon stands in the dooryard of the Prince House, on 

 Bridge street and Lawrence avenue. The streets are beautiful with great Oaks, 

 Tulips, Maples and Lindens. 



Like men, trees live, grow old and die. Many of the trees in Flushing are old, 

 some being more than 100 years of age. To be sure, in the forests trees may 

 be found that have lived 500 years; but in a city, where so many injurious 

 influences are at work, a tree does well if it lives a century. Robert Hartig, a 

 German writer upon plant pathology, does not admit that a tree dies from internal 

 natural causes. The cause of death, he asserts, is always to be found in unfavor- 

 able influences. Be this as it may, when the decay of trees becomes epidemic it 

 is evident that it must be attributed to external' causes. A large number of the 

 Flushing trees died in the years 1901 and 1902, and it was on this account that 

 the request came to the State Forest Commission from the Good Citizenship 

 League for an investigation. 



On examining the trees of the place many species were found to have on the 

 bark numerous cocoons of the white-marked tussock moth. These cocoons are of 

 a dirty gray color, and each bears upon it a glistening white object which, upon 

 close examination, is found to consist of numerous eggs partly covered by white 

 spittle-like matter. Sometimes this mass consists of 700 eggs. The eggs hatch 

 about the middle of May, and the young caterpillars scatter over the tree and 

 feed upon the leaves, often causing entire defoliation. A full description of the 

 insect and its habits, accompanied by colored illustrations, can be found in an 

 article by Dr. Felt in the Fourth Annual Report of the Forest, Fish and Game 

 Commission. 



Evidence of a great ice storm, which occurred in this locality last February, 

 was everywhere visible. Very many trees were broken, some being utterly 

 destroyed. Along the streets were large piles of rubbish, consisting of limbs 

 broken off by the storm. 



On examining these branches it was found that the leopard moth had also 

 been active among the trees. This is considered probably the worst insect enemy 

 of the shade-trees in the vicinity of New York City. The eggs are deposited in 

 crevices of the bark. On hatching the young caterpillars enter the twigs, usually 



