The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1869-06-15
fFrom the Chicago Tribune. May 2s.l
A Michigan Fruit Orchard De-
strOyed--Fifteen Hundred Trees
Girdled In a Night.

Our fellow citizen, Martin Green, ESQ.,,
long and widely known in the communi-
ty as an enterprising contractor on the
canal and harbor work, is among those
of Chicago residents who early saw the
noble promise of the ST. Joseph fMich
igan) region for fruit culture. For years
with the most liberal and generous skill,
he has been beautifying and creating au
orchard paradise at Benton Harbor, ad.
joining St Joseph, and his extensive
grounds had reached tue condition of
being full Of trees of the choicest dc
|scription of peach and plurns. apricots,
cherries, pears and apples. 1t is esti-
mated that the value of his premises
could not have been less than $4,000.
In smgie night this promise has been
blasted aud on the morning following
it wassdiscoyered that, by actual count,
1860 6f his choicest trees had been
hacked and girdled-this statement be
ing at once indicative of the extent of
the noble orchard, and the bulk of the
enormous knavery that sought this meth
cd of revenge. Evidently no single
hand could have done the work, for it
was thoroughly done, the bark of tree
after tree having been cut and hacked
and drawn back, with the evident deter
mination that the malice should not fail
in its object.
The excitement among the ncighbor
ing fruit farmers was intense. The trees
were in full bloom, their masses of bios.
SONS sadly attesting to the extent of the
loss inflicted. The most generous sym.
pathy at once took active shape. While
the local authorities and citizens at once
entered upon measures to offer rewards
for the arrest of the villains, creating a
fund of $500 for that purpose, large
force Of the most experienced orchard
lists, with their assistants, went into a
sanitary commission effort to succor and
save as far as could be. Some of the
trees, it was seen instantly, were beyond
help, but an investigation was made,
and measures taken to rescue, if posi-
bic, from 1000 to 1000 of the trees by
processes which, at this season Of the
brisk flow of sap needed to be speedy
to be efectual. The whole region was
laid under contribution for rags and
grating wax.
The grating wax was heated in large
kettles; women and children stripped
and dipped the rags, the tree surgeons
tenderly closed the gaps in the ragged
and torn bark, and bound the oriliccs
closely with the bandages, afterwar,l
painting the whole literally with the hot
wax to exclude the air and protect the
repairs that must be left to nature, ,wheth'
er on the trunks Of trees or the limbs of
men. 1t will be among the most inter
csting and important of all the problems
of fruit culture ever reached, the solu-
ton of this matter of Martin Green's
ravaged orchards, and fruit culturists in
all sections of the country will await
with eagerness the result of the field
hospital operations among these Ben.
ton Harbor victims Of one of the most
remarkable and atrocious outrages il has
ever been our province to record. The
value OF the trees thus visited could
not have been estimated at less than
twenty thousand dollars. Up TO the
time of our advices, no direct clue has
been gained to the perpetrators.