December, 1909 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



225 



The sturdy oak lost a few branches, but it is better to plant than quick-growing trees. Of the red maple not a branch was broken. Cheaper in 



the end than silver maple or box-elder, besides being more beautiful even when young 



The ice storm that visited New England 

 last winter was very destructive to property 

 but it has served one useful purpose. It has 

 afforded us an opportunity of studying the 

 relative resistance to injury of the various 

 ornamental trees and shrubs. The lesson 

 from such a storm should guide us to some 



extent, in the selection of trees for orna- 

 mental purposes. Fortunately some kinds 

 were able to support an enormous load of ice 

 without injury. The resisting power of oak 

 and horsechestnut is due to the rigidity of 

 the wood, while that of the native white 

 birch is due to the elasticity of the wood. 



Some idea of the strength of the branches of 

 certain kinds of trees may be gained from the 

 following figures with regard to the weights 

 of branches before and after melting the ice. 

 The branches were cut off and weighed. 

 Then, after the ice melted, they were weighed 

 again. The difference represents the weight 



1 



I U 



The willows and Carolina poplars were utterly destroyed. Moral, do not buy quick-growing trees. They are short-lived 



