The Savannah morning news., 1902-05-04
THE TREES OF PARIS.


The show city of the world is Paris,
because it is the most beautiful of all
the municipal sisterhood; and that
| beauty has positive and great CONNER
cial value. People of wealth and leis-
ure from all quarters of the globe visit
Paris to feast upon its wealth of har-
monies. And one feature of Paris that
adds to the beauty of the whole taken
together probably more than any
other single feature is the citys trees.
They are the wonder and admiration of
all visitors, as they are the pride of
all natives. In parks and on streets
the trees are everywhere perfect. They
are always vigorous and well-groomed.
II trees are capable of emotion, the
trees of Paris appear to express happi-
ness.
What is the secret of the success of
the French capital with her trees? A
writer in recent edition of the New
York Tribune Review explains it. Tree
culture has become a sort of religious
creed with the Parisians. The trees
are cared for almost as tenderly as hui
man beings. Whenever one shows signs
of disease or decay it is given immedi-
ate attention, and if it cannot be nursed
back to health it is removed and an
other tree planted in it's place. Thus
there are no gaps left by the death of
trees. Varieties are carefully selected,
and only the best specimens are plant
ed. The city has a nursery, combined
with which is a sort of tree hospital,
where the scientific study and propa-
cation OF young trees are carried on.
When trees are newly planted a circu-
lar space three feet in diameter is left
about each tree, and the soil is watered
twice daily by city carts. When d
building is being erected the municipal
authorities take especial care to see
that no tree is injured by the work.
ingmen. Every safeguard that can be
conceived of is thrown around the
trees. At the bottom of the whole mat
ter, however, is the love and apprecia-
ton which the people feel for the trees.
What has been done in Paris for the
trees might be duplicated to a consid-
cradle extent in Savannah. No city
better lends itself to tree culture than
this. Its str IS are wide, and the soil
and climate are peculiarly adapted to
handsome forest growths. We have
now on the streets some examples of
what can be accomplished in this line
But we lack a concerted and general
tree growing movement. We need to
be imbued with a little of the tree re
ligion" than animates the Parisians.
1t is true that the Park and Tree
Commission is doing highly creditable
work within it's limited sphere, but it
is hampered by lack of funds and au-
thority. If it's efforts were seconded Ivy
the people generally, and the property
owners in particular, a great and graft
flying change would soon be wrought in
Savannah vistas. The unsightly gaps
along some of our otherwise handsome
streets would quickly disappear and we
should have "boulevards" that would
compare favorably with those of Paris
in their wealth of verdure and grateful
shade.
The motto of the late Sterling Morton
was, plant Trees" 1t ought to be
adopted by every real property owner
in Savannah. 1t ought to be the pur-
pose and pride of every Savannahian
who owns a house, or a lot, to see that
one of more trees are planted in front
of it. There is no other method of
identifying property that is so cheap
and gives such satisfactory returns.