Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-01-14
The Abuse of Trees.

There are few more interesting ex-
periences than ride through the
Southern forests. The scrub is so low
and thin that you can almost always see
away for long distances among pine,
white oak, and chestnut trees; and every
now and then at ridges where the tim
Der is thin, or where clump of trees
has been ruthlessly "girdled" and the
bare, gaunt skeletons only remain
standing. you may catch glimpses of
mountain ranges of different shades of
blue and green, stretching far away to the
horizon. You can't live maly days up
here without getting to love the trees
even more, I think, than we do in we'll
kept England; and this outrage of
"girdling," as they call it--stripping
the bark from the lower part of the trunk
80 that the trees wither and die as they
stand-strikes one as kind OF house
hold cruelty, az if a man should cut off or
disfigure all his wife's hair. If he wants
tree for lumber or firewood very good.
He should have it. But he should cut
it down like man, and take it clean
away for some reasonable use, not leave
it as scarecrow to bear witness OF his
recklessness and laziness. Happily not
much mischief Of that kind has been
done yet in the neighborhood of Rugby
and stop will be put to the wretched
practice. There is another, too, almost
as CHASTITY, but which, no doubt, has
more to be said for it. At least half of
the largest pines alongside of the sandy
tracks which do duty for roads have q
long, gaping wound in their sides,
about yard from the ground. This
was the native way of collecting turpen.
tine, which oozed down and accumu-
lated at the bottom of the cash; bat
rejoice to say it no longer pays, and the
custom is in disuse. It Must be sup.
pressed altogether, but carefully and
gently. 1t seems that if not persisted
in too long, the poor, dear, long suffer.
ing trees will close up their wounds,
and not do much the worse; 80 trust
that many of the scored pines, spring
ing forty or fifty feet in the air before
throwing out branch, which passed
in sorrow and anger on my first long
ride, may yet outlive those who out
ragged them. Having got rid of nv
spleen, excited by these two diabolic
SuoeoAAoS Cou IotuEu u our rlQ0,
which had otherwise nothing but de-
light in it.-THoMAs HUGHES.
One OF the most perplexing among
! modern cases of uncertain identity is
the case of Theophilus Youngs. His
wife or widow, whichever she may
prove to be, says that her husband.
Theophilus Youngs, died five years ago
at Boston, and demands letters of ad.
ministration. Her suit has been on.
posed for three years by her husbands
brother, who asserts that the former is
alive, and actually produces him or
somebody who claims to be him. And
here is the curious part of it, that Mrs:
Youngs denies that this man is her
husband, while Henry Youngs, his sis.
ter, and half dozen other relatives.
have all testified positively that the man
is Theophilus Youngs, and Mrs. Youngs'
husband and no other. With numerous
further witnesses who are equally sure
that the man is and isn't, no wonder the
Court is puzzled. The wsnder is
whether the party in such dispute
knows himself, after all he has heard
and seen.