Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-12-11
WHAT KILLS THE TREES7
An Old Gentleman of Norwich Thinks
He Has Discovered the Enemy.

An Old Gentleman of Norwich Thinks
He Has Discovered the Enemy.
Norwich. like most Connecticut
cities, is EMPOWERED in beautiful elms
and naples, says letter from that
place to the n. Y. Sun. At Norwich
town are two giant elms that rustled
their bows when painted Indians dip
ped the ash-paddle in the Yantic river
that ripples and meanders not far
| away. The great trees throw a shade
100 feet in diameter. and were noted
by Oliver Wendell Holmes in his talks
about the great old elms of New
England.
The trouble is the elms and naples
of Norwich and other New England
towns are attacked by a disease that
shows itself here and there in single
tree. The tree is sick in singular
way. like person with deadly debil-
ity. few leaves turn scarlet and vel
low, bough dries up and is rotten
The hectic flush continues to spread,
finally the trunk is attacked and the
whole tree dies. Equinoctial gales
tear off great limbs and hurl them into
the street; then comes the street COM
missioner's gang with axes and saws,
and the lover of trees regretfully wit
nesses the noisy obsequies of an arbo-
rial friend.
A great many theorists have tried to
find out what is the matter with the
NAPLES and elms. One imaginative
person strolling along a street in this
town halted at ditch near the curb
stone where workmen were mending
gas pipe, shifted for a moment, and
said, mentally: Eureka! the escaping
gas is killing the trees" But his con-
clusion was absurd. Has not gas been
escaping in cities for thirty years, and
did it ever harm tree? Then, said
another man, if it is not gas it must be
the army worm, or the canker worm,
or the elm tree blight. or half a dozen
other things that he northumberland
pests are killing the eims. But no; in
vestigation did not verify the opinion.
A day or two ago another theorist
said: 1t is the ermine moth that is do
ing the mischief. He is little chap
that lays hundreds of eggs. The cat
| erpillars are very social, gather in
great colonies, and when they break
camp move in procession like march
ing troops. In killing the foliage of a
tree they sew up its leaves in silken
jacket, then weave q net ten OF fifty
square feet about the tree crown before
they reach the pupal stage. The tree
struggles against suffocation; some
times it dies. The ermine moth
whose other name is arctian-has done
some bad work with shade trees this
season. He is not to blame altogether,
though.
A sa@e-looking old gentleman was
hobbling along a secluded street in
this town day or two ago, tapping
the flags with his heavy cane. when he
met al acquaintance, stopped, bent a
keen glance upon the big, white
crusted bowl of an arc light swinging
above the roadbed, and shook his staff
at it. He smiled grimly and said:
There, that's the diabolical thing
that's doing all the mischief, that new
tangled ghost light up there in the
trees"
'Mischie:?" repeated his friend, per-
picked TO discover his meaning.
mischief! | mean that electric
light is killing all the trees within if
teen rods of it. l mean that the cleo
trio light which shines all night turn
ing night into day, is destroying all
our beautiful shade trees. How?
Why, easy enough. l should say. Do
you think you could get along without
sleep? And don't you suppose that
trees and all other plants, too, need
sleep just as much as you or ybody
else does? And do you think that
trees can get wink of sleep with that
glaring, CHASTITY light staring right in
to them all night? OF course they
can't. So they are dying by inches
for want Of sleep. That's all there is
the matter with our shade trees"
But how is it about gas lamps?
They used to burn all night in the
Streets
"Oh, gas lamps amounted to nothing
10 that way. A gas lamp sheds only a
small, dingy glow that does not pene-
trate more than a few feet. and rather
serves to intensity the character of
night; but those Internal thin@s-arc
lights-turn night into perpetual day.
They have about the same effect On
trees that the sun has. They pour
their flood of light right through the
trees. Yes, my friend. the electric
street light is killing the trees. Wher-
ever you find an arc light in the thor
oughfare you see the foliage of trees
nearest the orb beginning to turn vel
low; next the boughs die, and finally
the whole tree is corpse. Trees have
got to have sleep, tell YOU"