6 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
AND CONTRIBUTIONS 
J. J. LEVISON, Brooklyn, N.Y., Sec.-Treas. 
OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS 
H. S. RICHARDS, Chicago, President 
ASSOCIATION EMPLOYMENT BUREAU. 
A member who is superintendent of parks 
in a metropolitan northern city wishes to 
change position on account of political in- 
terference with his work. Trained in hor- 
ticulture, planning and development of 
parks ; has done important work of park 
development, and is thoroughly familiar 
with park work of every character ; can 
furnish highest references as to ability to 
take charge of large city park system. Ad- 
dress “Politics,” care Secretary Levison. 
Wanted: Position as city forester or 
park superintendent desired by an experi- 
enced forester; reference to present em- 
ployers. Address “W. L. B.,” care Secre- 
tary Levison. 
ASSOCIATION QUESTION BOX. 
Undergrowth and Tree Life. 
J. J. Levison, Secretary and Treasurer, 
American Association of Park Super- 
intendents, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Dear Mr. Levison: I submit the follow- 
ing as a subject for helpful discussion in 
the columns of Park and Cemetery. The 
conditions which prevail in the parks of 
Cedar Rapids are probably common in all 
the parks of the Upper Mississippi Valley. 
The larger parks of Cedar Rapids are 
developed from natural timber, consisting 
principally of hardwood trees, including 
many Quercus ruba and Quercus velu- 
tina. In the natural timber, where there is 
a great deal of undergrowth and a thick 
layer of mulch, these trees flourish and 
are reasonably long-lived. If the under- 
growth is removed, the mulch cleaned off 
and a sod established, the trees begin to 
die. During a hot summer, such as pre- 
vailed in this region in 1913', they died by 
the score. In an area of perhaps five 
acres in one of our parks, last year; fifteen 
trees died. 
We have helped the trees somewhat, as 
soon as signs of failure were noted, by cut- 
ting off a part of the top and dampening 
the roots. Last fall we spread on heavy 
mulch over the sod around the trees and 
intend to let it remain as late as possible 
this spring, in the hope that this will give 
the trees some help to stand a hot, dry 
summer and the tramping of many feet. 
Having been growing in dense timber, these 
trees are tall, spindly and the tops are by 
no means large. 
I would like the advice of the brethren, 
and especially your advice, as to the best 
methods of preventing the loss of so many 
of these trees. Of course, where they are 
thinned out in such numbers as to make 
replanting advisable, we substitute other 
and more symmetrical trees, and in the 
course of years the appearance of the 
parks will be better than before, but it is 
distressing to see so many trees die during 
the last summer. Fred J. Lazell, 
Dept. Parks and Public Property. 
Cedar Rapids, la. 
Your letter of the 19th is very interest- 
ing because it touches on a subject which 
concerns every park man and in which I 
was interested for a long time. 
You have hit the secret of woodland 
preservation when you describe the healthy 
condition of your natural woodlands by 
stating that it has a heavy undergrowth 
and a thick layer of mulch. The main 
cause of the dying of the woodland trees 
in our parks has generally been due to the 
fact that it has been customary to rake off 
the leaves annually from these woodlands 
and to keep the growth so thin that the 
sun and wind find easy access to the 
ground and prevent the decomposition of 
the fallen leaves and causing the soil to 
dry up and become covered with grass. 
If our park woodlands would be kept well 
planted with trees and the ground covered 
with a heavy undergrowth of shade- 
bearing trees like the beech or hemlock and 
native shrubs, and the fallen leaves not 
touched at all, the conditions would be per- 
fectly natural and there would be no 
cause for the dying of trees in these wood- 
lands any more than in the wooded areas 
of our forests. J. J. Levison, 
Secretary, Am. Assn. Park Supts. 
[The experiences and opinions of other 
members on this subject are invited for 
discussion in this department.] 
Oriental vs. Native Sycamore. 
Mr. J. J. Levison, Forester, Department of 
Parks, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Dear Sir : In your loose leaf pamphlet 
“T. 1-7” on the sycamore, you make the 
statement that the oriental sycamore is to 
be preferred to the American or native 
sycamore. One reason given is that the 
tree is. much hardier. 
I naturally have always ' taken to the 
planting of the oriental sycamore, as it is 
used largely in European countries, espe- 
cialy in France. Our nurserymen tell us 
not to plant the oriental species, as it is 
not hardy enough for this part of the 
country. In talking with men of experi- 
ence in parks and private estates, I find 
that no sycamores are being planted any- 
where. They all give their reasons that 
the trees are not hardy enough. Rockford 
is situated ninety miles west of Chicago 
and slightly to the north, and the native 
plane tree grows wild in places along the 
Rock River within half a mile of the city. 
These trees, I judge, have attained ages 
up to forty years and show no sign of 
winter killing or of any diseases. 
Four years ago we bought a lot of syca- 
mores of the oriental variety from Roch- 
ester, N. Y., and planted them in our 
parks. We had two very unfavorable dry 
summers after their planting, but found 
that they grew in spite of it. The first 
winter was extremely mild, with tempera- 
ture not ranging lower than zero. The 
second winter we had temperature ranging 
from 88° above to 30° below. This zero 
weather continued for weeks and was ex- 
treme. The next winter, 1912-1913, was 
rather mild, with some days of extreme 
temperatures, ranging down to 15° below. 
Some of the trees which were planted 
near water have attained a height of 18 
feet and are fully five inches in diameter. 
They measured at the time of plant- 
ing. Other trees of the same batch which 
do not enjoy the advantage of water have 
grown to 6 l / 2 inches in diameter and 15 to 
18 feet in height, but not nearly as luxuri- 
ant. We have not found any case of win- 
ter killing or any signs of winter injury 
like the cracking of the trunks, as shown 
so much in stock purchased from nearby 
nurserymen. On the strength of this show- 
ing we have planted 400 more trees of the 
oriental sycamore and naturally would like 
to keep on planting more from time to 
time, as we think the tree very desirable. 
However, we are uncertain as to the ad- 
visability of this course, owing to the ad- 
verse opinion as to the hardiness, and 
would ask your valued opinion in this 
matter. Our climate is very much the same 
as Chicago. We cannot winter outdoor 
rhododendron maximum or retinosporas, 
and a number of the evergreen trees thrive 
here. 
I hope I have made myself clear in the 
matter as to the climatic conditions and 
trust you will be able to give me more sat- 
isfactory information. Perhaps opinions - 
gathered through Park and Cemetery 
would be of considerable help in clearing 
up this matter. Paul B. Riis, 
Supt., Rockford Park District. 
Rockford, 111. 
You will please note that when I speak 
highly of the oriental sycamore in pam- 
phlet “T. 1-7” of “Studies of Trees” it ap- 
plies to Eastern conditions particularly. 
