CHAPTER XXIL 
SHADE TREES AND THE LAW 
I N law, as well as from the point of view of city beau¬ 
tification, shade trees have come to have recognized 
value. This legal recognition manifests itself in the writ¬ 
ing of laws to protect trees and to encourage their plant¬ 
ing. Laws of this nature exist in various parts of the 
United States as matters of state legislation and in many 
communities as items of regulation by cities, towns and 
villages. Wherever such laws have been put into effect 
their operation has stimulated the planting of shade trees 
and giving them the care necessary for their best 
development. 
Shade tree legislation in the United States began with 
the passage of a state law by the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts in 1854. Prior to that time, there had been 
scattered attempts to regulate the growth of trees, but this 
was the first law to give the trees of an entire state ade¬ 
quate attention. Theretofore, shade trees had been planted 
by the citizens of communities throughout the country 
on streets and private property bordering the highways, 
but little thought had been given to the care and replace¬ 
ment of the trees planted. This part of the undertaking 
was left for future generations. 
The Massachusetts law was an important step in the 
direction of regulation, but it lacked much that was neces¬ 
sary to make it properly effective. It remained for New 
Jersey, in 1893, to pass the first really comprehensive state 
law pertaining to the care of shade trees. In 1899, Massa¬ 
chusetts once more took the question before its legislature, 
with the result that a law was passed providing that every 
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