The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1930-08-07
Tree Contest for Finding Large
Trees Is Being Conducted


The State Department of Forestry
has sent out a last call to its six hun
bred field men, including the District
Foresters and Forest Wardens thru
out the State, to scout their sections
for big trees in the statewide tree
contest started few years ago by
the Maryland Forestry Association,
land which is still open. The object of
! the contest and the purpose of the
search is to discover, measure, and
photograph the biggest of each grow
ing within the State, then, as per-
manent record, a description of the
largest tree of each kind, with pic
ture, if possible, will be published in
book that is now being prepared by
the Forestry Department on the no
ted trees of Maryland.
Anyone who has very large tree
of its kind, whether native of foreign
species, should send in the measure
ments to the Forestry Department,
Baltimore, so as to get it in the rec
ord. Three measurements are re-
quired:
1.-The circumference, in feet and
inches, around the trunk of the tree at
a point Az feet above the ground.
2.-The greatest diameter of the
spread of the crown in feet.
3.-The height of the tree in feet.
It should be noted that the biggest
trees of the species that ordinarily do
not reach large size rate just as high
as the big trees of the big species.
Take, for example, the lockwood which
ordinarily is a bush,-one was found
in the vicinity of Vinton, Somerset
county, that measured feet 8 inches
in circumference at Az feet from the
ground, and had a spread of crown of
10 feet, and measured % feet in
height. Likewise the alder, which is
generally a bush growing in swampy
places, was found of tree size near
Oakland, measuring II inches in cir
conference at Az feet, 8 feet spread
of crown, and 81 feet in height. Also
the holly, which ordinarily does not
reach tree size, was found, in the case
of a tree near Easton, to have at
tanned the enormous size of z feet,
ten inches in circumference at AN
feet, with a spread of AZ feet, and a
height of So feet.
Maryland is noted for its big trees
and those already mentioned make a
large and distinguished collection of
something over 600 trees, comprising
10 species, but there are many more
to be heard from.
The Forestry Department, in pub
fishing the list, wants, as far as pos
,-sible, to have recorded the biggest
tree of its kind in each class, so that
honor will be placed where it belongs.
In order to make this possible,
everyone who knows about the biggest
"big species" or the biggest little
species" should send in the records.
The representatives of the Forestry
Department will make official meas
urements and photographs wherever
practicable. The closing date of the
contest is January l, 1881, and each
person who reports what proves to
be the biggest trees of its kind will be
rewarded with handsomely engraved
certificate.
So far records from Garrett county
are eleven big trees of ten different
species. There must be many more
trees of large size for their species.
The official cards for recording
large tree measurements will be sent
upon request to the State Department
of Forestry, 1411 Fidelity Building,
Baltimore.
Tn Michioan. the cherry crop this