The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1926-07-16
WATER THE TREES


sufficient watering during the warm
weather season was made today by
Congressman Martin l.. Davey, OF
Ohio, who in private life is head of a
famous company of tree surgeons.
''It is just as important and as
humane a deed to give sufficient
water to our good friends, the trees,
in summer as it is to feed the birds
in winter time" said Congressman
Davey. "Trees are living things
and are even more helpless than
birds. Lacking the power OF loco
motion, they cannot go where
water is. They must depend en-
tirely upon human beings for their
supply.
"The average householder keeps
his lawn well sprinkled because the
results of his failure to do so are
soon evident. He pays less atten-
ton to his trees because the results
of neglect are slow in appearing. A
parched lawn may be renewed with
in growing season, but stately
tree not within a generation.
Sprinkling the lawn for a brief
period in the evening does not help
the trees, Mr.. Davey explained. In
fact it may harm them my attract
ing the roots too close to the
surface of the ground. An effective
way, he said, is to perforate the soil
beneath the spread of the tree with g
spading fork to depth of 8 inches
Water should be run into these
holes for several hours at least once
every two weeks, depending upon
the amount of rainfall.
The, Importance of water to tree
is evidenced, he said, by the fact
that an average sized tree with a
spread of SO feet of foliage, under
normal conditions, throws off 5
barrels of water a day in the form OF
vapor. This vapor is attracted to
the clouds and returns to the earth
as rain.
With the possible exception OF the
Great Lakes, trees are the most
important factor affecting the rain
fall in inland territory, according to
Mr.. Davey Before the summer
is over, Mr.. Davey said, many cities
will be suffering because of drought
In practically every case, he said, II
will be found that this is due to the
cutting of forests at the headlands OF
the streams that flow through the
communities.
The process whereby the tree gets
water from the ground to its leaves
to be thrown off. as vapor to make
rain clouds is rather complex, &C
cording to Mr.. Davey's description
The water is absorbed from the
ground by the tips of the roots.
Then the tree has tremendous job
ahead of it, to lift the water to the
leaves at the top:
1t is difficult to explain this in
non-technical terms. If you drop e
cube of sugar in cup of coffee, the
entire cup soon will be sweetened al
though you have not stirred the
coffee. In some way, the elements
of the sugar have been lifted from
the bottom to the top of the cup.
In much the same way, the tree lifts
the water from the roots through
tiny tubes, aided by capillary attrac-
ton and a pull from the leaves.
These tubes vary in size according
to trees, but in average size oaks
they are roughly one one hundredth
of an inch in diameter.
The water is carried to minute
openings in the leaves, so small that
dime will cover 10000 of them
The water leaves these tiny per-
forations as moisture which is not
visible to the naked eye. Yet this
process operates on such a large
scale that in one day an average
sized tree will throw off five barrels
of water.
-O---"