172 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



May, 1 9 1 <J 





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Washington f, i m , 



The historic Charter Oak of Connecticut is now but a memory as it was demolished by a storm 

 in 1856, being weakened by disease and never had attention from a practical tree surgeon. In it 

 the state charter was deposited for safe keeping in 1639. The church bells were tolled at its death 



The Washington Elm at Cambridge, Mass., is one of the best known of historic trees. This 

 picture is reproduced from an old print. The tree has been given attention in recent years and 

 to-day stands as a splendid example of rehabilitation (see next page) 



truly, is there as much real beauty in a tree under- 

 going dissolution at the hands of devouring 

 bacteria or uncontrolled rot, as there is in a 

 specimen in full health and vigor, spreading 

 anew its leafy expanse and gaining increased 

 stature and majesty each year? 



And finally there is conservation — the urge 

 that we should save and add to everything useful, 

 in order to make up for the wastefulness of past 

 days, and the terrible destructiveness of those 

 more recent. Not one tree that is not de- 

 finitely out cf place can we spare from our 

 countrysides, whether from practical or from 

 aesthetic considerations. He who cares for and 

 builds up the shade tree on his lawn, the gnarled old 

 apple in his garden, the clump of Birches along his 

 drive, is assisting the cause of conservation within 

 his means and limits no less than he who replants 

 a thousand acres of woodland with seedlings. 



What Tree Rehabilitation Means 

 PHE young art of tree surgery is far from a 

 -*■ simple one. That is the first truth and one 

 of the most important that the tree owner should 

 learn, once and for all. The very fact that it is 

 young renders its lore and its stock of axioms 

 and proven theories decidedly limited. That 

 there is a lot to know about it is obvious when we 

 realize that we are dealing with living organisms 

 of several different groups, with a wide range of 

 environmental conditions, and with the complex 

 phenomena associated with the individuality of 

 different trees, as follows: 



I. The checking of such disease or such insect 

 pests as may be present and causing trouble. 

 I his involves a know ledge not only of the struc- 



ture and physiology of trees, but also of the many 

 types of pests that can attack them, and vulner- 

 able points of each. 



2. It is usually essential to remove from a tree 

 undergoing repair all diseased or mortified 



A real affection for the glory and magnificence of fine trees 

 was the inspiration of John Davey who has devoted his life to 

 an ideal and whose persistence has done much to direct atten- 

 tion to the actual value of timely attention on established trees 



tissue, in so far as this can be recognized and 

 reached. Strictly speaking, most of a tree is dead ; 

 that is, its only really growing cells are those of 

 the thin cambium layer just under the bark, the 

 leaves and young branches, and the root tips. 



3. When such excision of useless or harmful 

 tissue has been completed, it is necessary to 

 sterilize and protect the healthy but uncovered 

 surfaces by applying some moisture-proof, spore- 

 excluding material (such as tar or creosote) or, 

 in addition, the filling of cavities with suitably 

 prepared concrete or asphalt, or even covering 

 them with metal. Here the "surgeon" is con- 

 fronted with the problem of combining materials 

 that naturally do not make a contact — -a problem 

 that can be solved only by long-continued, 

 painstaking observation. 



4. The strengthening and supporting of a tree 

 so handled is an important step and one in which 

 mistakes can easily be made. Heavy metal 

 bands put around the trunk of a tree to "hold 

 it together," are usually fatal rather than helpful, 

 since they gradually tighten around the growing 

 bole and eventually choke ofF its flows of sap. 

 In the case of a partially hollow tree, a core of 

 concrete may be worse than useless, for the 

 strength of a tree is in its flexibility and "give;" 

 as far as filling is concerned, one authority 

 advises against it in any of the following cases: 



1. If the tree belongs to a species which locally or generally is 

 doomed to destruction by the attacks of insects or disease. 



2. If the tree is one of a clump or grove where the mass effect is 

 more important than that of any individual. Such a grove should 

 be treated as a whole. 



3. If the environment is changing — as may occur in a suburb 

 upon which a city is encroaching — with possible detrimental influ- 

 ence upon the trees there. 



4. If the tree has recently undergone any radical change in sur- 



Right: Penn Treaty 

 Tree, which was not 

 saved for us (from an 

 old print). A cion 

 planted on Governor's 

 Island, N. Y., and 

 transplanted by Gen. 

 Oliver to his home at 

 Wilkesbarre, Pa., about 

 1905, required two flat 

 cars for its transport 



Left: At Ogden, N. 

 J., is the Tatum Oak 

 which, because of its 

 associations of historic 

 interest, has become 

 the ward of the Slate 

 of New Jersey which 

 provides especially for 

 its upkeep and preser- 

 vation and good health 



