LABELLING SHADE TREES 
129 
should be marked for the benefit of park visitors, a plan 
to achieve this end has been made operative by the 
Division of Public Buildings and Grounds. The details 
of the Washington system will be of suggestive help to the 
authorities of other cities. Lieutenant Colonel C. O. Sher¬ 
rill, U. S. A., 
describes the 
plan as fol¬ 
lows: 
“The label 
consists of a 
base so de¬ 
signed as to be 
bent approxi¬ 
mately to fit 
the particular 
tree on which 
it is used. On 
the face of this 
base is riveted 
a plate upon 
which will have been previously stamped the botanical and 
the common names of the tree. The plate is then fastened 
with screws to the trunk of the tree, sufficiently high up 
to prevent it from being damaged by children, and yet 
not too high to be clearly seen by persons interested in 
tree nomenclature. 
“A number of different methods have been tried in the 
District for labelling trees, but none have ever proven 
entirely successful, for the reason that some became 
detached and carried away by souvenir seekers. It is 
believed that the size and weight of this label, and the 
printing on its face, which clearly indicates the fact that 
it belongs to the Government, will deter souvenir hunters 
9 
Tree marker used in Washington, D. C. 
