Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1901-08-23
I GREAT VALUE OF TREES
4 FACTOR IN LIFE BEYOND The
COMMERCIAL ONE.

| scIf.Preservation and the Perpetua
tlon of Their Species.
Most people have formed the habit
| Of talking about shade trees, frul'
trees and lumber as If shade, fruit anC
building materials were all for Whlcr
the trees were good. OF course the
| artistic eye looks at them for beauty
the entomologist as harbors for IN
| sects and the botanist for herDarlum
| specimens, but the true lover or the
tree thinks Of it in its wide value to
all living things in the universe.
Though trees lack the power OF vol
ton and have no nervous system III
the ordinary sense of the word. they
are highly organized forms OF life
They accomplish a vast amount of ac'
tual work in q day and earn their Nv
ing as surely as you and l do. Their
work Is the worlds work Of the unset
fish kind. They struggle for self-pres-
ervation and the perpetuatlon Of their
species; they return to the soil and to
the atmosphere materials loaned them
for food; they are altruistic In provid-
ing an abundance Of fruit for the use
of others, they furnish grateful shade
to man and beast, are the refuge Of
birds and insects and add to the
beauty Of nature.
Think Of the linden tree on the hill
side! In autumn it sets sail its winged
nuts upon the breeze. Blown down the
hillside. a few are buried under the
dry leaves and the soft coverlet Of
winters SHOWS. In March the SUN
shine seeks them out. Moisture has
softened the tough shell OF the nut.
The tiny embryo within throbs at the
touch of warmth, turns, lifts hand,
and, creeping through a break in the
she'll buries itself in the ground. 1t Is
the instructive baby hand grasping a
protecting mother. and the kindly step
mother Of the infant tree is Mother
Earth. This first tiny hand Is the
hold-fast root. Next comes one waved
aloft to greet the sunshine. This ten
der growth throws aside the out
grown nut she'll and develops cell by
cell into trunk, branch. twig and ltif
Of the linden tree. Sunshine, warmth
and moisture help it along, but the am
bilious little tree knows how to look
out for itself as well.
Utilitarians consider the trunk the
rt rf
is a wise makeshift of nature which
towers aloft and tries to lift the vital
organs Of the tree-thc leaves-out Of
harms way and into purer air and
brighter sunshine. Beneath the ground
the strong roots and rootlets have
hundreds Of eager, thirsty mouths
which take nourishment from the
earth. Water and mineral matter are
carried upward by the process Of ca
pillary attra ction to the leaves in the
crown and the branches for digestion
and assimilation. A leafess tree
stands little chance Of living. Trees
denuded Of their leaves by caterplllars
and other mischicvous things are de-
prived of their stomachs and lungs at
once.
Every leaf on tree is increasingly
industrious day and night. Examine
the linden leaf-or, in fact, any leaf
will do, the truth applies to all-and
notice how it's surface is spread to
catch the sunshine The under side
Of the leaf has different appearance.
The tissue is tenderer and a network
OF breathing pores. A section placed |
under the objective Of the microscope
reveals tiny cells filed with a greeniSh
liquid called chlorophyll, which plays |
an important part in the domestic |
economy of the tree. When undigested |
food from the ground has been carried |
to the leaves the chlorOphyll seiZes it, |
and under the influence of sunlight |
changes its nourishment. The chic
rophyll also breaks up the carbon |
dioXide with which 1t comes into con-
tact, and, liberating the oxygen, sends
it out into the atmosphere
|
from the leaves to all parts of the tree
and aid in its growth. Leaves, as the |
lungs, are necessary in the process of
Like animals, the tree
needs oxygen and breathes much after |
The manner Of a human being. Not |
only is the life-giving air taken into !
the lungs, or leaves, but it Is inhaled |
through tiny openings in the bark.
lust as man and animals transpire
through the skin. These tiny breath
ng holes are called lenticels and may
be iseen plainly Oh the bark Of cherry
and many other kinds of trees. AS
ne tree drinks water 1t sweats and |
exhales water vapOr along with Oxy-
zen cast off from the carbon dioxlde.
Tons and tons of moisture Is evap-
)rated from wooded areas. This Is
mother beneficial act. Water vapor
n the atmosphere is essential to agri-
culture. Trees transpire through
racks and assures in the bark, where
he lenticels are hidden from sight.
This Is especially true in old trees.
from time to time scientists have COM
)uted the leaf area of trees and the
'esults have been astonishing. An
ordinary linden leaf has a surface OF
en- square inches. Multiply this by
he number of leaves OH a branch and
alculate the LEAKAGE area OF the tree.
This entire surface is liberating Oxy-
zen and water vapor day and night.
In the arid sections Of the West the
'eoplc are beginning to see that fores-
ry and irrigation are the factors
which will count for their prosperity.
\bout 100000 square miles, or more