Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1842-06-16
BLIGHT OF THE BUTTONW0ODS.

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We notice by the pa apers, far and
near, that the Buttonwood Trees, OF all
ages and sizes, nre either dead or in
state OF rapid dissolution. In this town.
and on this Island, il is estimated that
there arc at least twenty thousand But
lonwoods, set out by the roadside, and
/ in other situations, for shade and orna-
mental trees, all of which are dead, or
nearly SO. The cause OF this somewhat
sudden s. extraordinary phenomenon, 10
variOusly accounted for-some attribut-
ing it TO the mild weather in the early
part ofihe spring Of l84l, which caused
the sap to flow into the branches socner
than usual, and which was followed by
Il sc7crc frost in May, thereby checking
their putting forth much later than usu-
al. The spring Of the present year,
having been very similar, has had, il 10
supposed, much the same effect. Ii
waud be highly interesting to know the
true cause Of the blight Of these trees,
and IL is hoped the subject will be IN
vestigated.
"a correspondent oflhe Massachusetts,
Ploughman writes that in passing through
Dorchester, he noticed "ihat many, If
not all, OF those noble trees, called But
ionwood, or American Plane, some Of
them from SO to IS years old, wero 10
all appearance dead, but upon closer
examination they appear to have buddcd,
and the buds to have dried up-laSi yenr
they appeared in perfect health, until
about the month ofJuly, when there were
observed vast quantities Of large, green
Caterpillars, from = to Sd OF an inch in
diameter, and from 3 to inches in length
these consumed The leaves, and left
the trees nearly naked, before frost"
On this statement Of facts he puts snndry
queries TO The Editor, which MIR. Buck
Ininster answers in tho remarks subjOined.
As the same appearances have been no
iiced in this vicinity, many feel interested
in the subject. MIR. B. says
Buttonwood, Plane,-or as the m.
clients called them--Sycamore trees, last
year exhibited appearances similar To
this described by our Dorchester cores
pondent, in MeGforG and Charlestown.
No one took the trouble to investigate
the cause, and we have heard nothing
from them of laio.
II is probable that insects or worms
prey upon these trees and cause them to
look as bad as the apple tree when the
cnnker worms are plenty. We have
never noticed the large green worm spO-
ken of, on this tree, and we know Of no
remedy for the evil that would be likely
10 prove cncclual Worms of various
kinds make havoc in forests, but as ma
ure has usually provided surplus Of
imbs and leaves, the loss Of Il portion Of
hem Is not so much regarded. The
I.ombardy Poplar harborcd unsighily
worms, and this contributed TO render il
1T is believed that brine may he made
ust strong enough TO kill nny Of these
worms, and yet not hurt The trees. Lus
night do it, and probably soap suas; this
ast article is not apt to inJure the leaf,
hough made quite strong We hope nll
hesn remedies will be tried on various
'lanis during the prevalence of worms.
Forest trees, selected for shade, should
20 of kinds not liable to be attacked by
worms and insects. The Rock, or Sugar
Maple, is always remarkably free fiom
worms, and it makes the most dense aud
eaullul shade OF all our deciduous trees.
his is becoming very popular tree,
nd we hope TO see it extensively propa-
ated There is no more risk in ,rans-
lantlng this than the elm tree, and ita
mbs are not so liable TO be broken by
le winds and snow.