Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-05-04
The Care of Trees.

The Care of Trees.
| Theoretically it may be that, as we
| are told, the central idea OF Arpor
| Day-which occurs on Friday next III
! New York-is the intelligent ana ap-
preciative planting of trees by schooi
children. Practically, we are IN
| clined To think it should be, at any
| rate in and about this city, the III
tcllistnt ana arpreciative care Oh
trees by both children and Adults. ~
| is good thing to plant trees. ana suth
planting should Of course be done m
telligently. so that the right trees VIII
be planted in the right places. at the
right time and in the right way. But
all such planting in the world Will mol
| avail IL the trees are not properly
cared Tor aiter they are pi'tnted' ar
without any intent to discourage VIZ
| planting which. on the contrary. v"
desire t" encourage and rIonlo'e--W"
must say that in many l'aftS "i ti'
city and its suburbs the ialhl III
treatment Of trees Sc' ms 10 ~ pretty
closely Keeping pace, with the plant
ing.
We do not now refer 10 the actual
destruction Of tlccs outright. as was
done by the wholesale when the "lr-
waited roads We're built and again
when the subway was constructed:
nor 20 tn manning and mutilatinG.
such as is done 50 largely along
Broadway by the subway Workmen
who used trees as stakes around which
to put chains and cables for dcrricks
and what not. ANA thus ripped off
the bark. broke branches and even
dragged some trees out Of their erect
position and left them leaning and
half dead not Vet to the hacking ana
elaShing Of trees by those who put up
electric wires for tclrgraphs, telc-
phones. lights or trolleys. These
abuses are nearly all so fragrant rs To
cry aloud their own condemnation.
But there are other evils of a more
insidious nature. which pass almost
unnOticed by the general public. ana
yet which are scarcely less ruinous To
our urban and suburban trees.
Thus a considerable proportion of
newly planted trees are seriously dafn-
aged. if not killed by The mischief of
boys. who climb them ana break the
branches. cr cut ana hack the bark
with their knives. a boy can thus in
hict in five minutes injuries which 4
indeed. ever in it's life. Many other
In cS are irrcmcdiably injured Icy be
ing gnaWcd by horses which are t,.i
10 them or left standing near them.
If 4 horse gnaNS the bark from a tree
ana mars the wood beneath il makes Il
scar that can never be healed. Again,
tr"rS are often ruined by the Very
means employed for their protection.
ii is Il good thing to put an iron
framework about young trees to keep
boys from climbing il and horses from
gnav:inis H. f:ut if the framework is
not properly secured il viii chafr the
Lark from tn tree. ana if it is NOT
enlarged Ci' removed when the tree
trunk grows Ilrs:" enough To lii! it
IN. hoops will become cmbrIdtd in the
bark ami III the very wood III the
trunk ana thus the tree will b. gar
rut"d. Iher" are today hundreds Of
trees in New York which have been
irrc!nrably damaged in precisely tll..t
Nay. Still Another common and most
I.rniriuus practice is th- laying Of
wat crtiGiIt paVtmrmta close around
the trunks Of trees, 50 that no water
can reach tile ROOTS from thu surface
Of the ground.
1t viii BE- wei ON Arbor Day tn
tc:Ich children tn plant trees, and
equally it will be Well to teach them
and adults. toto care Tor them.
to stop abusing them. to regard avoid
able nutli;itiOn Of 4 tree as Il crime
and to exercise a certain vigilance in
guarding them from harm ana in pro-
mating their symmetrical AMI sturdy
;:ruWtE. In the most favorable cir