Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-12-28
sHADE-TREE COMMISSIONS.

The creation of State shade tree
commission is a work that might pc
undertaken by the legislature now
about to convene.
4 The beauty OF our towns ana claes'
\ tha valuation of city and even rural
lands, and the tempering Of our sum
i 1ners heat, all depend. more or less
upon the presence and number OF SUIT
able varieties of shade trees.
Without trees, the semi-arid region
is desert ike with them. It IS a
/ country most beautiful and desirable.
In the forest states Of the north :.
ern Mississippi valley, the people are
/ learning to appreciate trees IN ABOUT
/ the same ratio that the trees are tend
/ ing to disappear
| The most general course of the rapid
/ decrease Of the forest acreage OF the
| country, apart from the destructive
| action of human industry and waste III
/ the form of timbering. grazing, and
| forest fires is the increase of the IN
sect foes that prey upon the trees.
! The employment of artificial ne;a-
s,1res against insects injurious to shade
| trees is more imperative in the cities
than in the rural districts. Since the
advent oil tho English sparrow, which
| is not a pronounced insect-eater. many
OF the inseetivoroug birds that former
" nested in the cities have been driV-
an to more remote districts. The re-s
suit is that insect life has become
NH n n hfltit the
same degree that the native birds have
become rare.
| A tree in the CITY has a struggle for
life. The air it gets is impure and
smoke-laden: it's roots do not get suf-#
ficient OF either air or water and 1t IS
subject to frequent mutilation that
tends still farther to weaken II. II
insects attack city tree, 1t Is there
fore more likely to perish than is
tree growing in the open country
Insect treatment for trees by indiVld-8
ual householders Is unsatisfac Dry.
They may aid in, but cannot carry on,
the work necessary for insect control.
Tall trees require strong and expen-
sive spraying. with the services OF two
men TO operate a large sprayer. More
over, individual spraying Is uncertain;
in many cases it is neglected alto
gethcr.
1t seems, therefore, that the only eff
fective method will be for each city to
support a tree-spraying department.
Competent, experienced men should be
chosen to look after all the public
shade trees on streets or In parks and
to do the necessary spraying on private
grounds for a reasonable charge.
The present park commissioners
should be empowered and directed to
| piant trees in every vacant and avail
| able place under public control, giving
especial attention to the species se-
| iected and the location for planting.
| AS Is we'll known the various kinds
Of trees are unequally exposed to in
| sect depredations. Some are almost
immune from insect attacks; others
| are so susceptible that in certain reg
ions it does not pay to grow them
DR.. f. P. Felt, in an excellent work
on s,The Insects Affecting Park and
woodland Trees. has tabulated the
more common trees of New York
state with relation to their liability
| to insect attack. Utah conditions vary
considerably from those found In New
York state, yet, the classification arr
ranged for New York holds good in
the main here. DR.. Felt's rating, with
| a few alterations that will be desig-
mated later, is as follows. The figure
| 8 has been placed opposite trees
! which are practically immune from
insect injury; % indicates some
| damage. Trees having one somewhat
serious enemy are rated at 2 and
| those having at least one notorious
| insect pest at LII. Greater likeii-
| hood Of injuries is indicated By
| and still more By 3. The species are
arranged according to the comparative
injury as follows:
| Tulip tree. ~. ..s.7-...5.s. -
| ''rree of heaven. .4.s.5..s II
| G!ngko y
/ Red oak ...s.=,, $50. :. D
| Scarlet oak o
| Oriental plane tree D
j American plane tree...s..... .
4 Sycamore maple
4 Sugar maple
l. -
i Burr oak i.-i.s.f.-.t.- K
I He'd maple a.s.7.5.s.S-.s.
/ Honey locust
/ G'atalpa ....s.s..5, .-2.5.l.a.t.}-.s
European linden ~
American linden ~ 3
4 Horse chestnut !, Q
/ Soft or silver maple 1855 1. .
1 American elm IS. .. ~ ?
Il blackberry >. ~
/ European elm ,t.....:!
i Scotch elm u
\ Cottonwood ...5-.,s, $50, &.
i Balm of Gitead 2
II yellow locust 49,. 4. D
The tree of heaven and the hack
i berry have been only in parks or IN
4 such small numbers that the rating
can he regarded as provisional only.
4 The above rating is that of j. ;
a Houser Of the Ohio experiment sta
tion, and ii differs from that Of pr,
Felt in the position of the catalpa'
The Ohio station rates it as :; DE-
Felt rates it at 8 In Ohio the catalpa
is subject to attack from the catalpa