stene: HURRICANE IN RHODE island 
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grow and frequently encroach on sidewalks or roadways. Quite often 
too, they are surrounded by bitulithic and concrete sidewalks and road¬ 
ways impervious to water and an absolute barrier to the application of 
plant food. Since the storm removed many of the old trees, it is now a 
good time to plan carefully for a more systematic and appropriate 
planting in the future. 
As anyone would expect, many trees broke down because of decay in 
trunks or branches which in most cases can be traced to improper 
pruning, or to insufficient care of wounds made by pruners or to storm 
or other neglected injuries to the trees. To prevent the repetition of 
such neglect, we should have a more active and intelligent public interest 
in the care and protection of our shade trees. Such interest when mani¬ 
fest at present is sometimes too sporadic and flares up more or less in¬ 
effectually or even awkwardly when some especially dangerous or in¬ 
jurious disease has become established or when perhaps some public 
works or revised landscape program requires the removal of trees. 
There is insufficient interest in systematic, long term programs backed 
by adequate funds for the regular employment of skilled men to carry 
on work comparable to what is provided for road construction and 
maintenance and for many other public enterprises. We have in recent 
years had a very commendable improvement in efficiency among private 
individuals and firms doing arboricultural work, but unfortunately, they 
find opportunity for continuous and systematic service only among a 
relatively few estate owners who value their trees as permanent assets. 
The care of trees on public streets and roadsides is sometimes left to 
someone with little training and the funds provided for the work are 
frequently inadequate to carry on a well planned program. We have in 
Rhode Island a tree warden law, excellent in many respects but faulty 
in that it permits frequent changes in tenure of wardens, and makes no 
provision for a systematic shade tree program. This sometimes results 
in assigning the care of trees to men who know little or nothing about 
arboriculture and for whom there is now little incentive to acquire more 
adequate proficiency in the work to be done. The law should be 
amended to provide long term, carefully planned programs of shade tree 
planting and maintenance and funds sufficient to employ wardens and 
other workers with adequate training on a more permanent basis. 
Such programs would not necessarily involve large expenditures of 
funds. The purpose should be to do some definite piece of work, no 
matter how small, in a progressive plan each year and to provide for 
