River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1903-09-17
TREES AND RoADsIDEs.
Appropriate Foliage I'm Fruit Trees
Add to the Beauty and Value
of Rural Property.


COL William F. Fox. state superin-
tendent of forests, New York. in his re-
cent pamphlet, Tree Planting on
Streets and Highways, discusses the
relationships of trees and roads, espe-
cially in reference to the dryness of the
latter He says:
Trees should be set out along every
road for shade. In addition, the farm
lanes can be lined advantageously with
fruit or nut bearing trees that will bring
money to their owner and add to the
attractive appearance of his surround
ings. Objections may be made in some
localities TO placing trees along pub
lie road, because their shade would tend
to make it wet and muddy. If such con-
ditions exist the fault is in the road, and
not in the trees; there are some very
muddy highways along which nothing
has been planted Although a row of
trees may retard somewhat the evapo-
ration of moisture at the surface of the
roadbed, at the same time they drain its
foundation by the rapid absorption of
water through their roots When a
roadbed is properly constructed, drained
and ditched the trees will do no harm;
on the contrary, they will furnish a
grateful shade to the traveller, and pre-
vent dust without creating mud
There are roads along which no trees
are allowed, because some resident ar
cues that the sun is needed to dry up the
mud and sloughs which in spring make
travelling slow and difficult But in
summer the sun-baked mud is rulver-
lied under the wagon wheels. creating
clouds of dust that are worse than mud.
With we'll built highway, shaded by
trees, both of these nuisances would be
avoided. Even poor road will permit
of one row of trees, which should be
placed on the south or west side, as it's
direction may require, to temper the
heat of the afternoon sun. Oae of the
finest, smoothest roads in the state may
be found in the Adirondack forest
from st. Huberts inn to tho Ausable
lakes-and yet it is we'll shaded by trees
that meet overhead, shutting out the
sun except where the road is fiecked
with light that streams through the
small openings in the leafy cover But
the road was constructed in proper
shape and of suitable material
Trees purify and cool the air, in
crease the value of surrounding prop
erty, and are pleasing to the eye. They
should be placed along the highways
on our village and city streets, on lawns
and in parks, and wherever shade or
shelter may be needed. Planted in COM
memoration of persons or events, they
become living monuments that endure
when the inscriptions on the yellow.
moss-covered marbles of the church.
yard are no longer legible.
eve are entering on an era Of good
roads. But the good work of the road
builders will not be complete until trees
are planted at proper distances on each
side of the highway. In his annual re-
port for 1901, the state engineer of New
York states that the actual cost of 1874
miles of stone macadam roads was
1885 per mile. 1t takes 1876 trees to
plant each side of highway for one
mile. Having put $1,000 or $4,000 on
the roadbed, there surely should be no
objection to paying $50 or 5000 more in
order to have cool, shady driveway.
Why not amend the law SO as to include
tree planting?"