St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-07-25
THIN OUT THE SHADE TREES.

Mr.. Editor PLEASE shake hands
with Rev. Mr.. Crosley for me on &C
count of his suggestion in this morn
ing's Republican, that a competent
person be appointed to cut down
some of the Springfield's superfuous
trees. Perhaps you will remember
this subject few years ago, and
that, after waiting somewhat longer
than usual for its appearance, when
| inquired why it was not published
you frankly told me yon were wait
ing till a suitable editorial counter
blast could be written by way of an
tidote to its possible poison. You
feared my frantic assertion that we
have altogether too much shade in
many parts of the city, and too little
common sense in the planting and
pruning of trees would move some
doddering idiot to go and cut down
in a single night more trees than
could be grown in a century.
Of course you were right, as usual.
| The fact that there are in France, ac-
cording to CARLYLE, 100000 peo-
| pie mostly fools, must be taken into
established order of things. In the
early anti-slavery times when a man
ventured to express disapproval of
the peculiar institution" he was
quenched by the brilliant sarcasm,
"Oh you would like to have your
daughter marry a niger, would
you ?" Similarly, when 1 say half
the trees i'll Springfield ought to be
removed | am supposed to be worse
than a dynamiter. Would l have
the Connecticut river dried up and
all the paper mills shut down, and
the whole verdant valley turned into
a scorching wilderness like the valley
of the Tigris and Euphrates? Great
Scott, no! But isn't there happy
medium between a sand-bank and a
mud hole? Must we live either on
treeless plain or in a continuous
forest?
Of course stupid people will cut
down trees that ought to be left
standing, thereby committing crimes
scarcely less wicked than manslaugh-
ter, but where there is one tree taken
that ought to be left, there are three
left that ought to be taken; that
ought to be taken not merely for the
good of humanity, poor, tired,
bleached humanity, but for the sake
of the trees themselves. 1t is simply
amazing to me, an added evidence
that Carlyle's Frenchmen do not all
live in France, why the average pro-
fessed lover of trees can see no farther
than the end of his nose in the matter
of planting young trees. l can under
stand how we sometimes forget that
our children reever going to be any
thing but children, it seems to be a
providential plan to insure their pro-
per care; but how people who have
seen trees growing all their lives can
go on sticking little elm and maple
twigs into the ground in double rows
10 or Is feet apart at every opportu
nifty and then complacently glorify-
ing themselves for having done some
thing for prosperity, passes my COM
prehensiOn.
If there is anything more beautiful
than perfectly developed standard
tree, oak, elm, maple, cherry, birch,
whatever you please, either in its
summer verdure clad or standing in
its superb winter nakedness, should
be puzzled to name it. 1t is form
of natural beauty exceedingly rare in
this part of the country when we
consider how many cramped, crowd
ed, mishapen trees there are all
around us. Also, is there anything
finer than a broad stretch of open
green meadow, over which the cloud
shadows fly and the bobolinks hover,
where the wind sweeps down the
bending grass and the woods or hills
at its farther edge are softened by
distance? This, too, is a feature of
landscape beauty not easily found in
the vicinity of Springfield Even the
small fields which are supposed to
bring forth the sweetness of new
mown hay in its season are slobbered
all over with stiff, uncomely, or dis
tracted looking trees, shrubs and
bushes, waging a sort of guerrilla
warfare for the unjust possession of
the earth like all other weeds and
forages; for take it tree growing
where it is not needed is simply a
weed.-[E. c. Gardner in Springfield
Republican.