Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-06-29

ming to Leave Out.
The numerous dead trees that appear
about the country this spring is fire.
Quent subject of remark. These are
not all Of one, nor a few species, but
almost all species are represented, says
Prof. E. S. Goff of the horticultural
department Of the university. Some
of these dead trees opened no buds IN
the spring; others pushed into leaf
more or less, and have since persisted.
Some of the fruit trees that are now
dead opened both leaves and flowers.
Many are inQuiring the reasons for
these unwelcome facts
While some Of the cases are certainly
difficult to explain, the most potent
cause is undoubtedly the unusually Sc
we're freezing Of the soil during the
February cold period. The weather
was not only very cold at that time,
but, what is quite unusual, the sever
est weather came while the ground
was bare of snow. The widespread
and almost unprecedented freezing of
water pipes last winter was not the
only damage wrought by this cold Pc
Rod. The roots of trees and shrubs
were so severely frozen that many
were killed outright, and nearly all
were damaged. In many instances
that have come under Prof. Goff's OBJ
servation, the top of the tree was to
all appearances in excellent condition,
while the roots were entirely dead OF
course the tops Of some trees and
shrubs have suffered from the cold too,
but such cases are rarely fatal. But
if the roots are killed by the severe
freezing, the top must perish whether
it was injured or not.
Of the plants that have suffered
most, the blackberry, the elderberry,
the grape, the roses, the hickory, the
white ash, the Lombardy poplar and
the fruit trees may be mentioned.
| Blackberries are nearly a total loss
throughout southern Wisconsin, north
ern Illinois and over large part Of
! Iowa. Young nursery stock, especial
| ly fruit tree stock, has also suffered
very seriously. Nurseries on light
| soil, and where the ground was unpro-
tected by snow during the severe cold
| period have in some cases lost
| all of their fruit tree stock.
The aggregate damage from this
source alone in southern Wisconsin
and in neighboring states will almost
amount to hundreds OF thousands of
dollars.
Many are asking why it is that GER
tain trees of a kind are killed. while
| others are left. This question is GER
! tainly a puzzling one, but it may be
probably explained in part at least by
differences in the hardness of the in
dividual trees, differences III the soil
| in which they are growing and differ
| ences in exposure TO the weather con-
ditiOns. Not only are some species of
! trees naturally harder than other spe-
cieS, but certain individual trees of a
| given species are often harder than
| other individuals Of the same species.
This is especially true when trees are
grown from seeds. The character of
the soil with respect to drainage may
vary widely in different places in the
same vicinity, and lastly the tempera-
! ture to which the trees are exposed
may vary several degrees even when
they are but slightly removed from
each other. When a cold wave comes
to displace warmer air, the colder and
warmer air do not merge completely at
| once, but may be disposed more or less
in belts or streaks for a time, and
when the temperature has descended to
| no icI, l.
| tree can endure, these variations may
often be sufficient to destroy certain in
diVidual trees of species, AMI to leave
others apparently unhurt.
An unusually large number of trees
and shrubs were killed during the win
ter and, strange to say, some that were
native and supposed to be the hardest
were the first to die while others who
were exotic stood the rigors OF the eli
mate well. Thus among flowers the
exotic peonies survived while the ma
tive hollyhocks died. Also raspberries,
which are generally accounted tender
stood the winter well, dispatches from
Manitoba saying they survived the
winter there. A representative of the
COe & Converse company Of Fort At
kinson says that while he is not sure
what killed the trees a severe freezing
spell like last winters produces win
ter drouth which has the same effect
as that in ordinary dry weather. A
strange feature Of the present phenom-
enon is that many trees, particularly
ashes which seemed to have persisted
during the winter are now, almost in
midsummer, just beginning to leave
out. Prof. Golf is trying an expert
ment at the university farm now for
Strengthening weak trees. He sus-
Ponds in the air flask of water which
connects by a rubber tubing with a
root Of the tree. The pressure of the
weight of the water, it is believed will
stimulate the tree to greater activity.