thus to be able to hold its part of the 
load. 
There is another phase of the strength- 
ening of the tree which to my mind has 
never been seriously considered. Take 
for example, an elm tree which al- 
though not extremelj- large is of suffi- 
cient value to the abutting property 
owner to make him willing to spare no 
expense in saving the tree. The tree is 
on an important thoroughfare which 
many people pass daily. Its exposure is 
such that a twisting windstorm would 
be liable to blow it down. Its trunk was 
perforated with mycelium and decay 
penetrated more than half way through. 
If an attempt had been made to remove 
the decayed portions without reinforcing 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
the trunk it would, in all probability, 
have blown over. Therefore, an iron 
cable was fastened to three eye bolts. This 
cable was tightened, but play enough has 
been allowed for a swaying of the trunk in 
any direction. The decayed portions of 
the wood were then removed and the 
cavity treated with creosote and tar, and 
will be left exposed in this manner for 
the Winter when an examination will be 
made to ascertain if the fungus has Iteen 
entirely eliminated, and when such con- 
ditions exist it will receive a proper 
filling, mostly for appearance sake, as 
filling does not seem to materially 
strengthen a tree or eliminate diseases 
or insect invasions. There are, of course. 
297 
many ways in which this cable can be 
placed, taking into consideration the 
weight of the top of the tree and the 
weakened condition of portions of the 
trunk will necessitate the placing of the 
cable in different positions. Some trees 
it would be necessary to use a much 
heavier cable than others. The forces 
could be mathematically computed and 
proper wire and position for fastening 
could be figured. 
'Phis is but one of the many problems 
which confront the forester of today, and 
if by this simple method the priceless 
trees of our ancestors can be preserved, 
protected and made safe for the public, 
there should be less use for the axe along 
our highways. 
DECORATIVE USE OF THE AMELANCHIERS 
By Wilfred A. Brotherton. 
The winter with its snow and ice pass- 
es away. The weather grows warmer. 
It is a great relief to find the ground un- 
encumbererd with snow and ice. As the 
days grow warmer people begin to break 
from out of their winter's imprisonment. 
Early in April people begin to notice 
here and there a tree or shrulj, all ar- 
rayed in white, and their inquiries are 
often heard regarding these handsome 
trees and shrubs so laden with bloom 
when about all other trees look bare and 
desolate. For weeks there is a succes- 
sion of bloom, as species after species 
of these trees and shrubs bloom one 
after another. And as we compare the 
flowers of these conspicuous trees and 
shrubs, — most conspicuous, for at this 
season no , other tree or shrub is in flower 
but the Cercis and Forsythia, — we find 
a wide diversity of size and form of 
flower, — size and form of tree or shrub. 
And when we more carefully study them 
and compare them with the latest and 
best botanical works we can get, we will 
doubtless find some types that belong to 
none we can find descril^ed. -As we go 
northward and northwestward, we still 
meet new types. Along the shores of 
grand old Lake Superior, we find forms 
that still puzzle us. h'orms with such 
delicious, fruit that no other wild fruit 
can compare with them. 
These trees and shrubs that delight us 
so very early in the spring with their 
masses of white bloom, belong to a ge- 
nus of the family F’omaceae, of the great 
order Rosales. To this family also be- 
long the apple, the quince and the pear, 
as well as Aronias and thornapples, — 
that vast ancl difficult genus, the thorn- 
apple or Crataegus, with more than one 
hundred species. 
This genus, too, has its history. The 
great father of botany, Carl von Linne, 
or as we generally call him by his Latin- 
ized name, Linnaeus, saw some member 
SALIX PETIOLAItlS, J. E. SMITH. 
of the genus, and he placed it in the ge- 
nus Mespilus — the Aledlar — like he placed 
the Aronias, the same year, 1753. The 
Medlar, that queer German fruit so little 
known in .America, is a shruli that bears 
large white flowers in the spring, and in 
the fall a fruit that is so hard and au- 
stere that it cannot be eaten until freez- 
ing and incipient decay have turned it 
brown and soft, — a process called blet- 
ting, — when it is very much relished liy 
some people. 
It is strange that to this peculiar 
genus Mesi)ilus should be joined the 
pleasant tasting Amelanchier, and the 
acid and astringent fruited Aronia fruit. 
In the year 1783 — that h'rcnchman with a 
long name. — Jean Baptiste Antoine 
Pierre Monnet Lamarck, — a name that 
no English speaker not well versed in 
h'rench, will ever succeed in pronounc- 
ing, tliought the species he saw must be 
a Thornapple, — so he called it a Cra- 
taegus. 
But still the genus had no settled 
name until in 1793, after a Swede, and 
a h'rcnchman had tackled it, a German 
botanist finally gave it a name that still 
sticks — though h'rietlrich Cassimer Me- 
dicus, had to borrow the Savoy name of 
the Medlar, Amelanchier, to apply it. 
The genus Amelanchier consists of not 
less than 15 species, growing in the 
temperate regions around the world. Of 
tliesc probably not less than 12 are 
American, the most of them growing in 
the eastern portion of this country. They 
are either trees or shrubs, with very 
early white flowers, and red or purple, 
sweet fruits. .All species arc neat and 
attractive, and when in flower in early 
spring, when .about all other trees or 
shrubs are w'ithout either foliage or 
flowers, they present a very fine appear- 
ance indeed. Besides the fruits furnish, 
at the least, excellent food for the birds, 
while some are among the most de- 
licious of native fruits. All species arc 
interesting, and all have a use in or- 
namental gardening, but they vary so 
much from each other that no two 
species can fill the same place in either 
ornamental gardening or in landscape 
work. There is also vast diversity in 
the character of the fruits of the differ- 
ent species, as I shall note later on. 
As yet knowledge concerning this genus 
is in its infancy, — this paper does not 
aim at absolute perfection, but I have 
been studying this genus for over 35 
years and am free to admit that T do 
not know' all about it yet, as there arc 
types that 1 meet with that agree with 
no description obtainable,' types grow- 
ing both in the Lower Peninsula of 
.Michigan and .also in the Upper Penin- 
sula, es|iecially along the shores of f.ake 
.Sui)erior, that i)uzzle me exceedingly. 
There is no doubt but that botanists 
have confused one or two species with 
other undescribed species, ;md so some 
c)f these descriptions are but tentative, 
and will not lK>ld after more light is 
obtained, but it is the best to be done 
