226 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



December, 1909 



A, 



U 



A G 



The sugar maple is a noble tree but unfortunately many specimens 



were riddled 



The white ash suffered severely, which is a great pity. It also is generally 

 considered a long-lived tree 



of the ice. Six branches were weighed in 

 each case and the figures are averages: 



Weight Weight Ratio oj 



oj Wood oj Ice Wood 



{Ounces) (Ounces) and Ice 



Carolina poplar .... 17 563 I to 40 



Yellow willow 13 522 1 to 40 



White ash 21 1,328 1 to 63 



White birch (European) . . 12 856 I to 71 



Sugarmaple 16 1,281 1 to 80 



American elm 24 1 ,947 I to 81 



Hickory (shagbark) ... 19 1,935 1 to 102 



Horse-chestnut .... 17 1,959 I to 115 



White birch (native) ... 13 1,696 110130 



Red maple 20 3,020 1 to 151 



From the above it will be 



seen that the branches of some 

 trees may safely carry 150 time's 

 their own weight of ice. These 

 figures do not give an exact 

 comparison on account of the 

 variability in the nature of the 

 branches of the various trees. 

 For example, the hickory un- 

 doubtedly could carry much 

 more ice than the native white 

 birch, but on account of the 

 difference in the number of 

 twigs on a given branch the 

 latter is likely to collect more 

 ice than the former. Branches 

 of willow and poplar that were 

 found broken off were weighed 

 and seldom found to carry 

 more than forty times their own 

 weight of ice. 



The hickory, the horse-chest- 

 nut and the oaks were, as a 

 rule, uninjured. An occasional 

 branch, probably weakened by 

 insects or other causes, was 

 found under such trees. The 

 chestnut, although closely re- 

 lated to the oak, was seriously 

 injured. The tops of many of 

 them were completely removed. 

 Many breaks, six and eight in- 

 ches in diameter were observed. 



The American elm, of which 

 the New Englander boasts, was 

 also much broken up. The 

 breaks of the elm were in most 

 cases at the crotches, but trees in 

 exposed locations had their upper The 



branches broken at any position. One of 

 the accompanying pictures shows a tall elm 

 with a good-sized brush heap at its base. 

 Nature's method of pruning is extremely 

 crude at best, but this is butchering. 



The ash has proved to be very susceptible 

 to injury. One of the pictures shows a 

 white ash tree with its top badly riddled. 



Much variation was observed among the 

 maples. The red maple and the Norway 

 maple were remarkably free from breakages, 

 while the hard or sugar maple suffered 



wrecking of the elm. Nature's method of pruning is crude 



greater injury than most kinds of trees. 

 The younger trees suffered much less than 

 the older ones. 



The birches which, with their showy 

 bark, lend variety to the winter landscape, 

 were forced to the ground. The native 

 white birches found relief by resting their 

 heads on the ground. Careful observation 

 failed to reveal a single broken tree. With 

 the European variety, on the other hand, 

 about 80 per cent, lost their heads. The 

 break usually occurred at a point about 

 two-thirds of the height of 

 the tree. 



The poplars and willows were 

 undoubtedly more severely in- 

 jured than any other class of 

 ornamental trees. The Carolina 

 poplar, in nearly all cases, was 

 completely destroyed. The large 

 yellow and white willows were 

 similarly affected. The lower 

 growing forms, owing to their 

 ability to rest their branches on 

 the ground, were less seriously 

 injured. 



The evergreens, notwithstand- 

 ing the fact that they have more 

 surface exposed to the weather, 

 were surprisingly free from 

 injury. The spruces, hemlocks, 

 and junipers received only slight 

 injury. The pines were more 

 severely dealt with. The white 

 pine fared much better than the 

 pitch pine. Many of the latter, 

 eight to ten inches in diameter, 

 were broken off within a few 

 feet of the ground. 



Many of the ornamental shrubs 

 were forced to the ground, but 

 as a rule unbroken. A number 

 of Spiraea Van Houttei, Phila- 

 delphus, and honeysuckle were 

 slightly injured. 



Ice storms may be beautiful 

 enough, from the pictorial view- 

 point, but the damage they may 

 do seems to warrant a closer 

 study of the adaptability of 

 the species. 





