SHADE TREES AND THE LAW 
245 
vania; and Boston, Massachusetts. Several other Massa¬ 
chusetts town and cities have admirable laws, as Newton, 
Worcester and Fitchburg. The village of Brookline has 
what is perhaps the best organized shade tree department 
in Massachusetts and its success has been such as to make 
it well worth copying. 
It is necessary, of course, in formulating local legis¬ 
lation, to have due regard to the local conditions. The 
regulations which would be wise and necessary in one com¬ 
munity might not fit some other place. There are many 
general requirements, however, which will apply anywhere 
and these must not be neglected. Among the latter are 
the regulations for shade tree protection from injury or 
damage. In any town or city it should be made illegal 
and subject to a fine, for any person to affix or attach any¬ 
thing to any tree or to the guard or stakes protecting a 
tree. This is intended primarily to bar the nailing of 
advertising signs to trees or the fastening of wires or other 
things to them. Similar provision should be made to pre¬ 
vent the cutting, painting or marking of trees for any pur¬ 
pose other than protection of the trees themselves, and 
then only under written permit and directions from the 
authorities. It is also necessary to forbid cutting, destroy¬ 
ing or in any way injuring trees; and since climbing causes 
injury, this should be expressly forbidden. 
Safeguards should also be provided to prevent any 
person from placing about the base of a tree such harmful 
substances as oil, salt water, liquid dye or other matter 
injurious to tree life, including waste from ice-cream 
freezers. This provision should be so devised as to prevent 
the discharge of gas in any way that will harm the root 
system of trees, or any other parts. Penalties should be 
provided for any person who permits a horse or other 
animal to injure a tree by biting or otherwise. Stringent 
