16 
EASTERN SHADE TREE CONFERENCE 
To begin with, evergreens seemed to be especially vulnerable because 
of the dense heavy foliaged tops. Norway spruce which has been quite 
generally planted in Rhode Island suffered heavily. In a majority of 
cases perhaps the roots held but the trunks snapped off at varying 
heights from the ground. Pines, including white, Austrian, Scotch and 
pitch, on the other hand, were more likely to be uprooted, except possibly 
in cases of single trees growing on fully exposed sites where constant 
exposure to the wind has developed high resistance. Fir and hemlock 
suffered about the same as the pines. Arbor vitae stood up well and red 
cedar was among the most resistant to over throw by the wind. All 
evergreens if they resisted uprooting or breaking of trunks, suffered less 
branch and direct foliage injury due to the force of the wind than broad 
leafed trees. 
Broad leafed trees suffered from uprooting, breaking of trunk and 
heavy branches, or of smaller branches, and shredding and blowing off of 
leaves. Since the storm came late in the season, the loss of leaves is not 
an important injury and needs no further comment. With the possible 
exception of the American plane tree and ginkgo, no species escaped 
damage under one or more of the above headings. Beeches with sound 
trunks and branches, both European and American varieties, were 
quite resistant. The oaks, especially the white in spite of their reputed 
strength and ruggedness, suffered considerably and were uprooted or lost 
branches of varying size. Among maples, the soft maple seemed to be 
the least resistant to both uprooting and breaking of trunk and heavy 
branches. The hard maple was similar with a majority of trees up¬ 
rooting rather than breaking. Red maples uprooted badly and of 
course this was more prevalent in wet ground. The Norway maple was 
by all odds the best among the maples in resistance to wind damage and 
stands high among all trees commonly planted for shade trees. The 
tulip and the American linden also established good records. In ash, 
uprooting was more common than breaking of the trunk. Hickory was 
similar but appeared to stand its ground somewhat better than the ash. 
The American elm, because of its wide spreading top, intercepted a large 
volume of wind and many were uprooted. A considerable number lost 
large branches but only rarely did a sound tree suffer from breaking of 
the main trunk. A considerable number of elms are still standing, 
wholly uninjured in every way, in places where nearby elms or other 
shade trees went down before the storm. The black locust uprooted 
easily and in some cases where borers had been at work, the trunk snap- 
