Conservative.
or ground , about n foot out from the
tree all around. In nine cases out of
ten , the tree can then bo pulled over.and
with a few more blows of the axe you
can separate it entirely from the ground.
You will then have your tree with a
bunch of root fibres and wet earth about
as large as a half bushel basket. Now
go to the other end of the tree , and no
matter how cruel it seems , cut off its
head , say 10 or 12 feet from the roots.
Never mind if people say it looks like a
bean pole , in two or three years its head
will come out all right. The rootr
ing been cut oil , it should not be
with branches ; besides this , with
branches the tree is wracked by the
wind , and the new root fibres are liable
to be torn off.
If the soil is sandy or of gravel where
it is to be put , dig a hole for the tree as
large as a half-barrel or half-hogshead ,
and bring enough rich earth from the
gutter or the meadows to nearly fill
the hole , then put some of the better
earth at the bottom , and jauuce the tree
up and down until it has fitted itself
to a place ; spread out the small fibres
or roots and pack the earth closely
around them ; bo careful and not jam
off the tender roots with yoxir boot or
with sticks. Fill the earth in slowly ,
and carefully stamp or tamp it down to
the top. Do not let the roots get too
dry , and be careful not to pour on too
much water. The native earth should
not be washed off from the root ; it is a
good plan simply to sprinkle the root with
water , instead of pouring it on from a
pail.With
With these precautions your tree will
be pretty apt to live. Turn the turf
upside down around the trunk , for
mulching. The trees at the north end
bridge of the city I brought in from the
western part of "West Springfield , in
1881 , and they are planted in sand or
gravel filling , but each tree had its own
small load of earth at its roots , taken
up from the adjoining meadow.
The effect of locality is well illustrated
with this year's planting. The trees on
the north side of this street were taken
from the same place , and planted at the
same time , with the same care ; but the
trees with the southern exposure have
outstripped them in growth. The north
end bridge elms were part of 105
that we put out the first year. In my
diary of 1882 , when I brought in 150 ,
I noted that all but five of the previous
planting were alive. Several , however ,
afterwards died , and this leads mo to
say that furnace cinders should not be
dumped at the foot of shade trees.
Some of the "West street elms wore killed
that way ; and the large elm near the
Canoe Clubhouse is dying from the
same cause. The elms on Tubb's Hill ,
in Springfield , some 75 in number , are
also planted in sand and gravel filling ;
but each tree was supplied with good
earth at the root , and nearly every one
lived. I think I put nearly every one
of these into the ground with my own
hands. I mention this only to show
that ten minute's care at the right time
may save the tree , and may stand for a
hundred years of shade.
One word as to the place of planting :
Do not neglect the streets with poor
houses ; if they remain poor they will
need the shade all the more. I do not
know of a more depressing sight than a
poor , sun-scorched tenement in a largo
town ; a cabin in the shade of the forest
may , in comparison , be a palace , and tea
a great many more attractive. It is the
surroundings and conditions that make
the distinction.
Springfield is fortunate in her shade
trees , and the grandest of all her elms.
Mr. Phillipc , in his excellent article ,
quotes Colonel Foote as aiithority for
the statement that nowhere in Europe
do elms flourish and attain such large
size as in Springfield. They are here
for your inspection , and the place where
the tree falls ; there it does not prevari
cate.
In my own town there was formerly
the elm of which Oliver "Wendell Holmes
speaks in his "Autocrat. " This tree
measxires 27 feet around its trunk at the
smallest part. On Elm street , in this
city , you can see todajan elm that one
foot from the ground measures 38 feet
around ; higher up it comes to be 20 feet ,
and next to the branches is 32 feet
around. There is a large elm on the
grounds of D.B.Wesson which it is said
measures 2G feet , 5 feet from the ground.
There is another magnificent elm on
South Main street ; in fact you will en
counter there magnificent trees in all
directions. It is said that the elms on
the main street corners of Court square
were good-sized trees at the time of the
Revolution.
The Druids never loved the oaks
better than the dwellers of this valley
have loved their elms. They bordered
the meadows when the first settler
came , they stood by his rude fort , and
they stand today by his factory. Strong ,
self-poised , defiant of storm and respon
sive to sunshine , they represent the people
ple they have sheltered. On some of
these massive trees now living hung the
sign of King George. From flint-lock
to Gatling gun , from stage coach to
electric cars , they have been the silent
bystanders and spectators of human
progress.
Another shade tree , which attains in
our soil enormous size , is the Buttonwood -
wood , of the Plane tree family. Mr.
Emerson speaks of a tree in Rhode
Island which in 1839 , one foot from the
ground , measured 24 feet annmd. The
second in si'/o , according to the same
authority , stood in a highway in "West
Springfield , and measured 1G feet , G
inches from the ground. These massive
trees spring out at odd places along our
roads and streams. I used to suppose
that they were common country trees ,
without pedigree or family history , that
had fallen into the- procession of trees
and vegetation , which Holmes says
eventually take up their line of march
toward the city , to see what people have
been doing in their old haunts. I have
found , however , that this tree with a
common name has a history to be proud
of. Cimon planted them in Athens.
Pliny admired them , and says they were
brought across the Ionian sea to shade
the tomb of Diomedes. No tree was so
great a favorite with the Romans ;
they planted them in their public ways
and nourished them with wine. It is said
that Hortensius arranged to give Cicero
a continuance in coiirt in order that he
might go and water with wine his trees
at Tuscalanum. This tree seems to
belong to a warmer climate , or else has
not got thoroughly acclimated , for it
often gets nipped with the frost , and
further set back in its usual tardy leav
ing out.
I have wondered how it happened
that locust trees came to have been
planted as shade trees in so many door
yards , apparently some thirty or forty
years ago. I find , however , in reading
Emerson's work on trees in Massa
chusetts , that these trees had been
recommended as having many uses and
as being valuable and ornamental. I
presume people took this advice and
planted them. They have , to a consid
erable extent , spread out in localities ,
but the beauty and value have , I think ,
not been realized.
Then comes the maple. For general
purposes , including shape , perhaps it
rivals all , and none would be missed
from Massachusetts more. It attains to
largo size in this locality , and it is said ,
on our hills takes the place of the oak.
"With the autumn foliage upon them
these trees are beautiful beyond descrip
tion. "We have in Massachusetts five
species , the Red , the White , the Rock ,
the Striped and the Mountain. There
is another tree deserving more attention
as a shade tree than it has received , and
that is the beech. This tree casts a
dense shade , is clean , has few enemies ,
and it is said is never struck by light
ning. They grow abundantly on our
mountains , and can easily be planted
in our parks. The horse chestnut has
also come to be notably a shade tree ,
and one of the finest specimens in the
state is to bo found near the courthouse.
When it flowers in the spring , it
reminds you of a grand public Christ
inas tree. The willow family is still
represented among otir shade trees to
some extent , in its own proper species
and in the common poplar.
I have confined myself to these few
statements as to shade trees. A full list of
our trees is published in the report of
the City Park Commissioners. I wish
someone would publish a hand-book
with plates for the easy identification of
trees. Many of them are readily dis
tinguished ; as , for instance , anyone
who can count can distinguish the white
pine , with its bunch of five needles ; the
pitch pine , with its bunch of three , and
the red pine , with its bunch of two.