THE NATIVE TREES OF RHODE ISLAND. 
5 
late Amos Perry, for 1885, there was from 25 to 30 per cent, of the 
land area devoted to the growth of wood. This, however, lies 
mostly in the western towns of the State, while there is very little 
woodland in the shore towns, and almost none upon the islands. 
The following table of contrasts, taken from the 1885 report, is 
interesting : 
Woodland of Several Towns shown by Per Cents . 
West Greenwich 51; New Shoreham 
Coventry 51 ; Portsmouth 
Glocester 50 ; Middletown 
Scituate 47 ; Jamestown 
North Smithfield 44; Bristol 
Tiverton. 42 ; East Providence 
Johnston 38 ; Warwick 
0 
2 
n 
5 
8 
17 
19 
The above table is carried sufficiently far to show the great 
inequality existing in the distribution of woodland in this State. 
The dearth of even shade-trees in some of these towns is a pain- 
ful feature, and ought to be remedied as soon as trees can be made 
to grow. All these lands were originally covered with forests. 
Sufficient and properly selected areas should still be devoted to 
tree growth, to break the sweeping winds and conserve moisture 
for springs and small streams. . In European countries the gov- 
ernment compels by law the reserve of a certain percentage of 
each owner’s grounds to be given to tree growth. There the folly 
of clean tree-cutting, even on small areas, has been experienced, 
and enormous sums are now being spent in renewing forests, both 
on government and on private lands. Here we must depend upon 
the intelligence and disposition of individual owners of land 
estates to manage tree-cutting and tree -planting. In a general 
way, the economic and the ornamental values of trees are both 
acknowledged. What is lacking is that active interest which 
comes from a careful observation of the characteristics of the dif- 
ferent kinds— their likes and dislikes of different soils and loca- 
tions, their rate of growth, the space they individually need for 
