Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-10

J ! J !"
| tltNHr(/ETSNsSfSsS emphasize the TACT
| HLNlA b.. USS&2EEk that the national
| WlM 3&eNSAt#Es capital Is the best
M:MS$4zz&H shaded city on the
III y&1EAWgMzXgA American continent.
/ |9<E49SS&e&ES After these fallen
~ As trees had been cleared
away, their absence
S~ created SO small a
gap in the forestry Of the city's streets as
to be unnoticeab!e except to the residents
| temporarily deprived Of the restless
shadows of LEAKAGE in front of their own
| houses. To such individual householders
| the prospect from the front windows of
| their homes the morning after the storm
| was, of course, trfie bare, but. so dense
| is the shade tree foliage throughout the
| great majority of the streets Of Washing
| ton that after the wreckage of the blast
| uprooted trees had been carted away, gen.
| orally speaking, the perambulating citizen
| could not discover any apparent difference
| in the appearance OF the city's streets.
| There is certainly no city in the United
| States-if. indeed, there is such city In the
world--that could stand. with so marvel
ously small change in it's aspect. the loss
of six thousand shade trees upon its
| streets. There are. In fact. number Of
| cities in the United States several times
! the size of Washington that have not as
| many six thousand shade trees (exclu-
| sve Of those in the public parks) within
| their limits. A visitation like that which
| swooped down upon Washington on the
night of September 20 would have stripped
| such snade-dehcient cities utterly bare Of
| their street foliage and made desolate and
! vacant the general appearance of their
| thOrOughfares.
! A great many citizens made moan on the
! Gay following the storm over the destruc-
| ton that had been wrought among the
| shade trees, and predictions were common
| to the effect that the present generation
| would be translated to d better and bright
| er world long before the streets of Wash
| ington Resumed their normal perfectly
| shaded appearance. That these gloomy
predictions were all astray is made clear in
| the statement to a Star reporter made by
| Mr.. William Saunders. the superintendent
| of the Department of Agric ulture's gardens
| and grounds, and member of the District
parking commission. which has charge Of
| the planting of shade trees along the
streets of the city.
To Repair the Storm Damage.
1.-The parking commission" said Mr.. Saun-
ders, will ask this year for an extra ap-
preparation Of $4,000, in addition to the
regular appropriation of $4,000 made an
| nually for carrying en- the work Of planting
shade trees or, newly made streets and re-
placing. dead Of tnutilated trees on the older
streets. The request for this additional
$1,000 is. OF course, to be based upon the
| damage inflicted upon the trees by the re-
| cent big gale, and / think there is hardly
any question that the extra appropriation
| will be granted, If 1t is every single t, ee
tina. was toDpled over by the big wind
| storm will be replaced by the end of lext
spring with "a good-sized. healthy young
| tree from our nurseries.
Even IT the extra appropriation is not
made-a contingency scarcely to be con-
| sidered.s as / ,belieYe-the work Of renewing
the. destroyed trees will go right on out OF
| the regular appropriation, and certainly
within a year every yawning hole created
by an uprooted tree viii be filled by a lusty
rapidly growing young spreader, capable
of withstanding the tempests of many
years"
The streets of the capital have not al.
ways been 80 splendidly shaded as they are
| at present. Up to the early seventies, wher
Ex-Gov. Shepherd was placed in charge Of
the municipal destiny of Washington. they
| presented a bare and forlOrn appearance
| enough. The only shade trees that lined thu
streets were those planted by individual cit
liens in front OF their own homes. The
| parking commission was organized as
branch of the board Of public works. and I
| was not until then that the systematic
! painting of shade trees under municipal di
rection began. The parking commission as
su1ned control of all tree planting along thu
thoroughfares and thus this duty was sat
isfactoriy removed from the hands Of citi
Zens
At first, the commission was obliged t,
| purchase all OF the trees thus planted from
|
, work of giving the city a proper amour
| of shade during the heated terms of sum
| lner went with comparative sloWness
r | But in 1873. at the suggestion OF Mr. Saun
: | dcrs who was member of the Origina
| parking commission. and who has SO serve
} | without remuneration ever since, the con,
mission acquired the eight-acre shade tire
J nursery the Washington Asylum.
l Trees Now Oh Hand.
: This nursery has been maintained ant
f improved for a quarter OF a century, ant
| nearly every shade tree now fourlshins
along the streets of Washington was raised
. from the seed within the boundaries of tn,
= eight-acre lot, the soil of which at tn,
! present time gives nourishment to abou
5000 young trees, ready for transplantfn,
e "a number sufficient to replace almos
t three times over the trees destroyed by tn
: big gale.
0 Since the parking commission took charg
y of the work of providing shade for tn
y streets of Washington about 5000 tree
I have been planted. II al! the shade tree
: set out on the streets of the capital durin:
: the past twenty-five years We're place.
n twenty-five feet apart they would make
: solid block Of upward of 1850 acres o
0 forest From 1890 to $500 shade tree
t are planted along the streets every year
d Of late years the rapid spread of the city
e with the consequent making OF new an
= the extension Of old streets, has taxed tn
y | energies of Mr.. Lehman, the superintend
n ent of the parking commission, to the u:
nest in providing for the transplantatio
of shade trees from the District nursery t
such newly blocfsed-out thoroughfares, bu
the work has been kept well up to date.
The trouble hasinot been in securing tn
" requisite number'!ef trees, Of which Their
is always plentiful supply at the nurser,
but in paying for the necessary labor c
# ! TRANSFORMATIONS o1t of the meager annus
- appropriation tornthe purpose, which wa
&c only last year raised from $4,000 to s2O,oO(
II after remaining at the former inquire 10
a |
y of something less, than thirty laborers tn
a superintendent finds 1t exceedingly Difficult
, in this rapidly growing capital of the ms
ir tion. -hE
J. While the shade trees of Washington II
clu6e nearly all of the best-known varb
# ties. experience has shown that eompar,
st merous tests to which time, weather ar
vegetation plaques subject them, SO tn.
" the parking commission now PRACTICAL
ID limits itself to the planting of seven kim
lie of shade trees, each Of which has tho
~ oughly demonstrated its hardness al