Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1892-05-25

The plaza, with its green alfalfa
 and growing grain does present
 pleasing appearance, as stated by
 our contemporary, but the aching void' made by the removal of the
 trees, which have been permitted to die during the past year, gives an
 unpleasant contrast to its beautiful carpet of green" Our contempo-
 rary says that, ''very little judgment
 was displayed in the planting of
 trees there; locusts, which require
 very little water, were put in line
 with cottonwoods, which require
 great deal of water, and boxalders
 which require little less. The re-
 suit has been that the cottonwoods
 are thriving and the dry soil trees
 have been killed by too much water,
 which was run through continuous
 ditch, irrigating them all alike"
 While the editor of the Courier is of course entitled to his opinion, his
 judgment in regard to the planting
 and culture of trees may be at fault.
 Be that so or not, since the question
 has come up, we will give as nearly
 as possible truthful history of the
 tree planting in the plaza. The
 scheme was inaugurated by W. O.
 O'Neill, the then sheriff, in the
 spring of 1889. If we are not mis-
 taken the board of supervisors paid
 for the trees, which were furnished,
 as we'll as planted, by Vim. Deering,
 under a guarantee that all should
 grow. Notwithstanding the fact that during the first season, which
 is the most critical one in getting &
 transplanted tree to grow, the water
 was allowed to run through "con-
 tinuous ditch," and to run very
 freely at that, from two to four
 days in the week. The result of the
 first year was not to exceed half dozen dead trees, all of which were replaced by Mir. Deering the follow
 ing spring. The trees during the second year, 1890, were treated in the same manner as during the first year, and the result was that the spring of 1891 found very few dead trees, if any ac all. MT. O'Neill went out of office January 1st, 1891, and the care and management of the trees and plaza was turned over to his successor. During last sum- mer water was scarce in the city
 reservoir, as it had been the two pre- vious summers. Wher the city for bade the use ol 1t hen, Sheriff ONeill had the prisoners pump from he we'll in the plaza, tc keep the trees alive. But last summer for quite a long period no water was given them, and it IS fact which will be remem Dered by all who noticed the trees that it was during this period that they commenced to wilt and show signs of dying, and have since. died. Does it seem req sonable to suppose that too much water killed those trees, when they lived and made remarkable growth during two seasons when they had an abundance of it, and during the | third when they had but little, and l for days at time none at all, they | and diedi The talk about | box elders requiring less water than or about such trees being injured by two much water" simply shows an ignorance of what ,ne IS talking about. Let such an 'ne take walk for a mile out of own in almost any direction and see these trees in their native soil rowing with their roots running ight down into and under the treams of water, and then he will change his mind about too much water injuring them. The probability is that Mir. Deering se- ured many of those trees for the 'laza from the very banks of run ing streams. The county has spent, s stated. considerable money in those trees. For two sea- ons they grew beautifully and were ommencing to be an ornament to he plaza, and every citizen who skes any pride whatever in the 'oks ofthe town cannot but feel a eep regret that they have been to die. II