The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-08-15
TREES IN THE DISTRICT.
The Annual Report of the Superin-
tcndent of Parking.

SycRmOres, Naples, and LindcnS Pro
fuseIy Planted ON the Streets Of
the National Capital During the
Fiscal Year That Has Just Closed
Truemau Lanham. Superintendent of
Parking. today submitted TO the Com
missioucrs OF the District his annual re-
port for the fiscal year ended jane 30,
1901 He states that there were &.l23
trees planted on the streets of the Dis
trict during the year. the number being
96S more than were planted the previous
year and a larger number than has been
planted in any one year during the last
fifteen years.
The trees planted are described in the
report as follows: Sycamore. gS2- soft ma
pie. SIS; Norway maple, f9l; sugar maple.
u.s. American linden. 22S; American elm,
70; salishurias. s.; pin oak, %; willow
oak, u. and tulip trees, 8
"Of this number says Nr. Lanham.
'2,755 were planted at public expense and
In accordance with instructions received.
in filling vacant space in existing lines Of
trees previously planted. and 25S trees
were planted at the cost Of individuals,
under the permit system, the trees be
ing furnished by the District and expense
of preparing the tree boxes. tree holes.
and planting Of trees being at cost Of ap-
pHcants.
'rhc work of tree planting is necessari-
" of a scattered nature, but the order OF
June 20. 1900 requiring all existing gaps
TO be filled before attempting TO plant new
lines, permitted this work to be done i'm
far more systematic manner than ever
before and accounts for the increase in
the numter planted. a portion Of ground.
g.
Avenue. having been allotted TO the Park
ing Commission for use as a nursery. this
has been fenced. put under cultivation.
and planted with 1000 young trees. Large
seed beds have here been prepared and
sovn with the seeds Of the varieties of
trees cOnsiderd most dsirabIe for street
culture and the seedlings are now doing
well
One Of the largest items in the list Of
annual expenditures IS that OF trimming
trees. and Of necessity in justice 10 the
trees. ii must continue to increase. There
are thousands Of trees on the streets and
particularly those planted near the curb
ing. that have attained stage in their
development and environment that neceS-
states trimming, and in very many cases
severe trimming, II they are 10 be pre-
served. Trees planted at the curbing Of
a modern street are existing under Condi-
ton far less favorable for their welfare
than similar trees planted in an open
field. Surrounded as they are in very
many instances by an alright and water
proof pave ment they naturally often Suf-
fer from lack Of a sufficient supply of
moisture a tneiTroot5. These roots cannot
maintain a growth previously made dur
ing the existence Of conditions more IA
vorablC tas. for instance. before the nu-
merous cement sidewalks were laid.
Large limbs die back toward the trunks
and present an ugly and neglected ap-
pearance. The only remedy is JudiciOus
trimming and the entire amount Of an an
nual appropriation would not be sUfTi-
Client 90 complete the work Of this char
acter that needs to be done throughout
the city
For various reasons 81 trees were re-
moved from the streets Very many Of
these were killed by the reseting Of curb
ing Unfortunately in the prosecution Of
this work the largest and finest trees usu-
ally suffer the most. having the largest
root development. In cases where this
work il contemplated on streets planted
with large trees, particularly where grade
is 10 be changed considerably, ir would
often be better from an economic ard
aesthetic standpoint 10 remove the trees
walk is relaid. This would often permit
the trees 70 be more evenly spaced. and
sometimes the planting OF q more dcsira-
bic variety. The young trees planted on
the streets thus treated. growing under
similar conditions. would present a more
uniform appearance than when planted
here and there among the existing old
ones For all cases trees should receive
a trimming commensurate with their root
mutilation, and the vsoncr this is done
after the pavement is laid the better
Among those removed because Of street
alterations wers. % from G Street. he
tween Sixth and Eleventh streets
northwest II from Fifth Street.
between F and G streets north
west, = from D Street. between
Ninth and Thirteenth streets northeast,
Z from G Street, between Fifth and sixth
streets northwest; u from r Street. be
tween Thirty-second and Thirty-fourth
streets northwest; 70 from Ninth Street.
between and East CapitO! streets. IL
from Fifth Street. between y anc +
streets northwest, Q from Tennessee Ave
''ue. between and Lincoln Park
During the year no wire netting for
the protection Of trees from horses was
purchased, and as a resulting sequence
scores Of young trees nave been seriously
INJURED ana IN many cases lrrev0CabIy
ruined Trees particularly Of the soft
wooded varieties. once badly gyuawed Nv
horses, soon begin 70 decay at the place
OF damage. and the rOtting continues until
the inside Of the tree becomes a hollow
shell There are several thousand trees
In the city approaching this condition
particularly soft naples ana Carolina
IOplars, and experience has shown that
horse-eaten trees are the worst sufferers
during the annual autmraI storms.
Three hundred and seventy tre-as were.
wired by using the old wires taken from,
trees removed and the greater portion Of
the city gone over and wires rsadfIsted
20 accommodate the increased growth OF
the trees"
Mr.. Lanhan. appends the following list
q expenditures for the period covered by
the report.
Appropriation FOR year ending June 30
$500