The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1869-06-07
a Michigan FFniI Orchard Destroyed
-Fiiern Hundred = rees Girdied in
hU
From the Chicago Tribune, NAV 20 /

; From the Chicago Tribune, MAY 90
Our fellow citizen, Martin Green, Esq. e,
long and widely known in the cemmu-
nifty as an euterprising contractor on
the canal aud harbOr work, is among
those of Chicago residents who early
saw the noble promise of the st. Joseph
(Michigan) region for fruit culture. For
years, with the most liberal and gener-
Gus skill, he has been identifying and
creating an orchard paradise at Benton
HarbOT, adjoining st. Joseph, and his
extensive grounds had reached the con-
dition of being full of trees OF
the choicest description of peach
and plums, apricots, cherries, pears
ard apples. 1t is estimated that
the value of his premises could not have
been less than $4,000. In a single
night this promise has been blasted
and on the morning following it was
discovered that, by actual count, 1906
of his choicest trees had been hacked
and girdled-this statement being at
once Indicative of the extent of the
noble orchard, and the bulk of the enor-
nous knaVcry that sought this method
of revenge. Evidently no single hand
could have done the work, for il 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 neighbor-
ing fruit farmers was intense. The
trees were in fall blom, their masses of
blossoms sadly attesting to the extent of
the loss inflicted The most generous
sympathy 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 fuud of $500 for that pur-
pose a large force of the most expert
euCcd Orchardists, with their assistants.
went into sanitary commission effort
to suCCOr and save as tar as could be
Some of the trees, it was seen instantly,
were beyond help, but an investigation
was made, and measure taken to TesCne.
| If possible, from 1000 to 1900 of the
trees by processes which, at this season
of the brisk flow of sap needed to be
speedy To be etfectual. The whole re-
gion 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
aud torn bark, and bound the orihces
closely with the bandages, aftcrward
painting the whole literally with the
hot wax to exclude the air and protect
the repairs that must be left to nature,
whether on the trunks of trees
or the limbs of men. Ii will be
among the most interesting and
important OF all the problems OF
irmt culture ever reached, the so.
luton 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 Ren.
ton HarbOr victims of one of the mos
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 thar
twenty thousand dollars. Up to the
time of our advices, no direct clue ha,
been gained to the perpetrators.