Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-15
S4yANNAFSDYINGTREES
ASp SQUARES LOSING
sTkEEa9 sT1TETY ORNAMENA9

ANNAU }
.rREETs AND SQUARES ESTs.
T9FIR STATELY oiN {
1b.+ the City's sbS
.cowe Extinct-ONer.-
frees Dovn in the 1880
Oaks and Sewers
s.rbe Causes Of Decay K.,
49,. ~ Savannah Is her OeaH1hui
T-aes. but they have 0een ~
.-cb large numbers during tIs sova-ol
49, and particularly during 800
ye- nss, as TO excite apprehension
mons-5so f many citizens, that IN
- thew WI AL have entirely gus
5000. and the squares an :
vii be lett without protection from the
sun.
At the Office OF the City Surveyor il was
stafed Yesterday that during the last ~
rEs.s 81 least 200 large trses;
mostly CAS- aad died n
.er cut away. kserYant clllLehs
state that the num0ei muc9
- than this Including large sh4
s-5sT trees il is thou.St that the number
il two CT three times that ngure. -
II will be seen that the dying Of the IT.
i verv serious matter, and Z that
should be given prompt and lnUein9sA
-a1.er-ion- The city authorities stare
80 tneg az replacing the trees Whlcn
lie with live oaks, sims and sycamOres,
mt that they have gTeat dlMcCtty IN
GETTING the tFanspianted trees 10 gIDs'
Those which have died were mosli!
located on BroughtoG, Congress and state
streets. and in Ogie-horpe anu
Wright squares. . also on
Broad and AbercOrn streets, although the
mOrtality-if such a term Is allowable
has not been so great on these th6rous1<
fares. Several theories have been al
vauced as TO the cause OF this. one Is,
the drving I'D Of the soil by the BrOughtOns
AbercoFa and East Broad street sewers.
The sewers are maze Tor surface drain
age and are porous IL theH Character
The drvness Of the soil EXTENDS down - {
level with the bottom Of the sewers, WnlcA
is Is TO 20 feet below the surface. Along
all theze streets. as stated, the trees are
diving 70 a great extent.
Another theory Is tn2t WhiteWashlng
| the trees. which was carried Oh 20 2 great
/ extent some years ago, but which nas
receBtly been abandoned, has contrib
| uted to this safe Of affairs, while still an
| other Is that the percCistlcn through Inc
! soil Of gas escaping from the pipes may
4 nave rOuLElUuEEu u IL III duyaOInA At~NH-
/ ties. 'rhs chief cause, however, seems 70
he the extreme dr-ness Of the soil.
DR.. L. A. Fallig6Ht, ghO has been a
/ close observer Of the matter, N6S Gsked
| for his views last evening by a MORNiHG
Nrggs reporter. and freely gave them.
NV Own view" said be, "ls that there
are two cause o. This destruction OF me
trees. Some years ago Ia 49, ire practlce
I of the municipal authorities 70 Vntle-
wssn the trees. 4 lady friend OF mine
/ who was visiting from Augusta at the
/ time. and who ODssETed the practice, re-
| marked that a great mistake was being
( made. and that in the next two or
I three wears sc would see the result
Of il in the deata o. 3 greaI
many Of the whitewashed trees. me
same uractice a been put into ope-
rstion I'm augusta and the death of the
trees had been the result after a lew
vssTs. A curious illustration of the truth
| Of this car De observed in and adjacent TO
| tho Park. The tTees exterior 10 the Park
are diving or are dead. The same thing IS
10 b. seen in the Park Extension where
| the trees were whitewasned. Ihe tfce-
/ no The main BODY Of the Park inside the
| iron enclosure have preserved the pertec-
/ ton and density Of their foliage To- T.
more healthy degfec. Now, the other
| cause which. in my judgment has very
Z materially operated toward the destruc-
I tisp of the trees throughout the city has
been the increased dryness OF the soil FOL
lowing upon the introduction OF our sys-
ten of sewerage, by the means OF when
the dampness Of the soil mas eeeh sucAeu
out % 9 very c~Onsiderab e extent. Tie
vitality OF the trees has been partially pre-
served in some localities by surface m0ls-
ture. created by tue process Oi watering
the streets. and il could be presery ed eX-
/ teusivelv in many sections OF the ciLy IA
the trees were properly watered. Every
gardener and every farmer knows thAt
/ there is no greater cause OF 70
/ crops and plants than a PrOIracted
drought. ana All such gardens remain in
| GOOD condition as are provided with proper
| means OF surface watering. This princi-
| ule receives an Illustration Ia the health
Ter condition of the trees in the CID Park
adjacent to which there is very little sub
saIl drainage. and the surface Of
which il projected from extensive eNapOr-
alton bv the aenEe foliage OF me trees
t~hrougbOut its whole eAtGnt, Along the
streets where the soil IS exposed 70 the
suns rays. and in which but little sur
face watering is practiced, many OF these
trees have a SICILY appearance. Iaelr
/! smaller branches are dying around the
/ entire expanse of the limbs, and the larger
branches are the only ones having any
I foliage mon them. This IS plainly caused
q Toll L. LGLA III AALAEAaa[ 80 49, $500 --
partial relief has been Afforded D. the
| natural moisture Of the atmosphere OF the
CITY. but this is Lot OF sufficient extent 10
supply the demand of their vitality.
aTbe practice of w~hitewashing has been
abandoned, but the damage has already
been DONE. The whitewash was applied
from the ground 10 or 10 feetup the trunk,
shG the reason given was that 1t would
keep Out and prevent the formation OF
rr,-tf0gamic grSEth. These formations
attach themselves 10 tie limbs and TO the
/ eEtremities Of the trees, ami II can thus
be seen how ridiculous il was. The way
I in which trees are crowded here makes
too great a demand upon the soil and also
interferes with ventilation. In Illustration
| Of this l may say that along hltaker
street. from Bay to New Houston, no
trees should be planted on the west side.
I The residences on the west side are pro-
I tectsd from too great exposure 10 the
I aforning SUI BY the trees on the east side,
I whilst the fronts ID the residences are pro-
tected from the afternoon sun 2y the
Z houses themselves. IN some !oealltles,
notably In the ear Of Mr.. McAipin,S resi-
I dence. Oh Orleans square the walls VIII
/ De observed to have a damp and mOldy
/ appearance. unquestiOnably caused by
| The lack 9f exposure TO the sun at some
/ periOd Of the day. Imay add that there
IS no need Of planting trees IN front OF
i houses which front on the north"
one reason for so many trees dying is
| that q large proportion OF them were taken
/ from damp soils and put in the extremely
/ dry soil Of Savannah. Many Of the trees
which have lately died have been water
/ oaks. Years ago the greater part Of u
/ shade trees were the "Pride Of China"
| They are Of rapid growth aud are decidu-
/ Ous. The wild mulberry, also Of
very rapid growth, was IN
/ former sears very conspicuous. b
pride OF China were destroyed in the
great storm of 1854. and owing TO an i'm
preston that they were of short life and
Of not sufficient strength to stard the
I heavy winds of the fall, oaks were substl-
Z tute6. These trees are thought by many
/ TO be the best adapted for city shade trees,
I as they have a thick foliage in the spring,
summer and fall months and little If any
in the winter. when il is desirable to
nave the benefit Of tae suns rays
upOn the streets. The sycamore grows
well in this climate, and the sweet gum
81 our forests would doubtless make a
I good shade tree. The sycamOres planted
in Savannah all seem to be in a healthy
condition.