12
BULLETIN 205.
LINDEN.
The linden requires an abundance of deep rich soil and suffers much from
gas, from drought, and from insect attacks. It does fairly well in Wash-
ington, but is little planted now because of the extra care it requires as
regards soil and water. In Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Paris, the
leaves of most varieties of linden fall prematurely on account of insect and
fungus attacks. In Philadelphia a few years ago all the large lindens were
killed by borers. A further objection to this tree is the litter made by its
blossoms and fruit.
TULIP-TREE.
The tulip-tree is too large except for the widest avenues and park borders,
where there is a quantity of rich deep soil and abundance of room. It is
likewise difficult to transplant, the branches are very brittle, and the leaves
are continually dropping throughout the season. It is, however, prac-
tically free from enemies.
BLACK LOCUST.
The black locust is a rapid grower, hardy, easily propagated and trans-
planted, and does well in poor soil.
It is successfully cultivated in
Paris, where the top is kept small
and spherical and the branches
thickly clustered. Its hard and
durable wood is beginning to be
used in Paris for paving the streets.
On the other hand, the tree is
scraggly and angular in form, its
branches brittle, its foliage short-
lived, its pods unsightly, and its
roots badly given to sprouting.
The locust borer often kills the
black locust, as well as the honey
locust, and has been known to
FIG. 17. Black locusts near Per e
Le Chaise, Paris.
spread from these trees to certain species of oaks.
WILLOW.
The weeping willow is the only
species used on streets, and its
occurrence is rare. It grows
rapidly and when perfect makes a
fine appearance, but the wood is
tender and is often attacked by
fnngi, while the tussock moth and
other leaf-eating insects frequently
destroy its foliage. The white
willow is excellent for windbreaks
and for planting along the banks
of streams, railroads, and other
embankments. Fine rows of this
FIG. ^.Old while willows along
Cascadilla Creek, Ithaca, planted
to preserve the banks of the stream.
PLATE II THE PROTECTION OF SHADE TREES.
-
NEW YORK FORESTRY PAMPHLETS
VOL. Ill
Tree Study - John Bentley,' Jr. , Cornell Univ.
How the Trees Look in Winter L. H. Bailey,
College of Agriculture, Cornell University,
1899.
Evergreens, and How They Shed Their Leaves
H. P. Gould, College of Agriculture, Cor-
nell University, 1899,
The Cultivated Poplars Bull. 68 - L. H. Bai-
ley, Cornell Agri. Experiment Station, 1894.
Shade Trees Bulletin 205 W. A. Mur rill -
Cornell Agri. Experiment Station.
Studies of Some Shade Tree and Timber Destroying
Fungi Geo. F. Atkinson ~ Bulletin 193,
Cornell Agri. Experiment Station. T-C
Blister Rust of Pines and the European Currant
Rust Geo. G. Atwood, Hew York State
Department of Agriculture. Horticultural
Bulletin No. 2.
Damping Off Bulletin 94, Cornell Agri. Experi-
ment Station Oeo. F. Atkinson.
Control of Two Elm-Tree Pests Glenn W. Herrick
Cornell Agri. Experiment Station.
The Bronze Birch Borer M. V. Slingerland
Bulletin 234 Cornell Agri. Experiment
Station.
The Larch Case-Bearer Glenn W. Herrick
Bulletin 322 Cornell Agri. Experiment
Station.
The Snow-White Linden Moth Glenn W. Herrick ~
Bulletin 286 Cornell Agri. Experiment
Station.
The Elm Leaf-Beetle ~ Glenn W.- Herrick, Circular
Ho, 8 Cornell Agri. Experiment Station V
Hints on Rural School Grounds p - fr.^R. Bailey
Bull. 160, Cornell Agri. Experiment Station.
Mushrooms: II ~ Geo. F. Atkinson Bull. 168,
Cornell Agri. Experiment Station.
n8
TREE STUDY
" Peace of the forest, rich, profound,
Gather me closely, fold me round;
Grant that the trivial care and strife,
The petty motive, the jarring sound,
Melt and merge in your lovelier life.
The myriad whispers of grass and pine,
The stir of wings in the quest divine,
I claim their music and make it mine. 11
ELIZABETH R. MACDONALD
THE ELM
JOHN BENTLEY, JR.
Of the many trees that are common in New York State, the elm is
doubtless the most familiar to boys and girls. The reason for this is plain,
when we consider that the elm is a tree of the farms, the home lawns, and
the streets of the towns, rather than a tree of the deep woods. While it
is found occasionally in the forest, it is almost always scattered among
other trees and never forms a large proportion of the forest, as do maples,
birches, pines, or oaks. Throughout the New England States, New York,
and Pennsylvania, the elm is one of the commonest shade trees, not only
for the streets of the towns and villages but also for the grounds about
the home. The tree is so graceful and beautiful, and, when old, so stately
and dignified, that it well deserves the place which it holds in the esti-
mation of the people.
The elm has a very distinctive form and habit of growth. Other trees
seen from a distance are not always easy to recognize: the maple and
the beech look somewhat alike, especially when young; the oak and the
chestnut, the ash and the hickory, resemble one another slightly. But
the elm, with its massive trunk which quickly breaks up into several
large branches, giving the tree an urn-shaped appearance and the
delicacy of the twigs and branchlets, forming a crown with a fringe-like
margin, is easy to recognize even at some little distance. To a remark-
able degree it combines strength with grace and beauty.
The elm is a widely distributed tree. It is found in southern New-
foundland and through the southern part of Canada as far west as the
northern shore of Lake Superior. It grows along the Atlantic coast
as far south as Florida, although it never reaches very large size in the
southern part of its range. Westward it is found from South Dakota
to Texas, although not in such large numbers as in the East. Everywhere
it shows a preference for the low, rich lands that border rivers and streams,
and it grows to its largest size where the soil is rich, fertile, deep, and
moist. Under favorable conditions it will grow to a height of one hun-
dred and twenty feet and a diameter of eleven feet. Many very large
trees have become famous, as the large elm at Lancaster, Massachusetts,
and the two elms on the river bank at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It
is the wide spread of the branches, as well as the massive size of the trunk,
which makes the elm impressive ; sometimes the crown of a tree measures
one hundred and twenty feet across.
The elm tree, large as it is, springs from a very small seed. The flowers,
which are inconspicuous, blossom early, before the leaves are fully grown,
fade soon after, and are as quickly followed by the ripening seeds. These
small seeds have wings on the margins, with sharp points, and are very
120
short-lived. Unless they fall on soil that makes a good seed bed and
germinate immediately, they will die. They cannot wait, as do the seeds
of the hickory, pine, and many other familiar trees. (Can you think
of another familiar tree that ripens its seeds in early summer? See the
Rural School Leaflet for September, 1912, page 163.) Besides plenty
of moisture, which is one thing that the little elm seedling must have
at the start, the quality of the soil and the amount of light that comes
to che seedling have great influence on its growth. The soil must be
rich and mellow, so that the rootlets can penetrate easily and find plenty
of food material, and there must be plenty of light, so that the seedling
can grow rapidly and become able to take care of itself before the autumn
frosts arrive. This demand for
light is one reason why we do
not find elm trees in the deep,
dark woods. When we do find
an elm in the forest, it is be-
cause there was an opening in
which the little seedling could
get a start. Elms will not do
well when they are overtopped
by their neighbors.
When standing where there
is plenty of room and light,
the elm tree grows rather
rapidly. Many men who do
not consider themselves old can
remember the time when, as
boys, they watched their fathers set out elm trees along the roads or
on the lawn, and those trees have now grown to be of large size. But
the largest elms those that are one hundred feet high and six to ten
feet in diameter, with the large, spreading crowns are probably two
hundred years old or even older.
Whether the elm is more beautiful in summer or in winter it is difficult
to say. In summer its dense foliage hangs in graceful sprays from the
drooping branchlets at the ends of the long limbs, swaying in the breeze
and making a delightful shade. The upper side of the leaf is dark green;
the under side is grayish green, reflecting a soft light which is very
pleasant. Stripped of its foliage the elm presents an appearance in
winter which shows its strength not the rugged strength of the oak,
with its gnarled, irregular branches, but a supple strength suggestive
of self-contained reserve force. It is in the winter, too, that the delicacy
of the smaller branches is seen to best advantage. Every wind sways
Leaf and fruit of American elm
121
American elm in winter
122
them but they do not break; they yield gracefully and seem to enjoy
the blasts of winter.
Unfortunately the elm is the prey of a tiny insect, which eats the leaves
and threatens to destroy the tree entirely in some parts of the country.
This little insect, known as the elm leaf-beetle, has damaged thousands
and thousands of elm trees during the past few years ; and although many
persons have worked hard to get rid of it, the pest is continually spreading.
The shade trees in towns and cities suffer most, apparently, and it is
necessary to act promptly if the elm trees are to be saved. The insect
itself is only about one quarter of an inch in length, brownish yellow
in color, marked with a dark line along each side of its back. It sleeps
during the winter, and the same warm days that bring out the elm leaves
awaken this enemy of the elms. The beetles fly to the trees and begin
to feed by eating small holes in the leaves. In a very few days the eggs
are laid, and these quickly hatch into little grubs which begin in earnest
to eat the leaves. So many eggs are laid that the number of grubs at
work on the leaves is enormous. In fifteen or twenty days the grubs
have completed their growth, and, unfortunately, their work of destruction
also. They now crawl down the tree, and by the time another ten days
have passed they emerge as fully grown beetles and are ready to repeat
the process. Sometimes there are two complete broods of the insects
in a single season, but the last brood as a rule does less damage than the
first.
The only way to save the elms from this enemy is to spray the leaves
with a poisonous liquid. Although it costs twenty-five to sixty cents
to have a tree sprayed, it will be necessary to spray our elm trees sys-
tematically if we wish to save them. Those who are interested in the
work of saving the elms should write to the State College of Agricul-
ture and ask for a copy of Professor Herrick's Experiment Station Cir-
cular No. 8, entitled " The Elm Leaf-Beetle."
The next time you are in the woods, see whether you can find any
elm trees growing where the woods are thick. If you see any, notice
the shape of their trunks and their crowns. Compare them with the
trees that grow along the streets in town. What do you think makes
this difference in form? Again, if you find any elm trees in the woods,
notice the kind of soil in which they grow best. Is it wet or dry? What
other kinds of trees are found growing with the elm?
About the last of May or the first of June, watch the elm to see when
the seeds begin to fall. Take a few of them and sow them in a garden
bed where the soil is soft, rich, and moist. Perhaps you will be able
to see the small seedlings grow to a size that will enable them to take
care of themselves before winter sets in.
I2 3
The wood of the elm is useful for purposes demanding great toughness.
It is often used in the making of barrels and fruit baskets. It is hard
to split and work, and for that reason carpenters do not use it for wood-
work or finishing; but if a tough wood is needed, a better wood than
that of the elm is difficult to find.
THE PINES OF NEW YORK
JOHN BENTLEY, JR.
In the winter months, when most of our forest trees are leafless, the
firs, spruces, and pines, with their dark green foliage, are a cheerful sight.
It makes us feel, somehow,
that after all the woods
are not lifeless in winter,
and that there are some
trees bold and hardy
enough to withstand the
snow and the cold. Pines
are particularly notice-
able, because there is
more motion and life in
their foliage than in -the
stiff, rigid foliage of
spruces and firs. Then,
too, pines are more
familiar to most of the
boys and girls in the
State, because spruces
and firs belong to the
cold climate of the
mountains.
There are five pines
that are native to New
York State, besides
several others that may White P ine
be found occasionally in our parks. The five native trees are (i) the
white pine, (2) the pitch pine, (3) the red, or Norway, pine, (4) the
jack pine, and (5) the Jersey scrub pine. The last two are not very
common, however, and most of us will find only the three first
mentioned.
The pines as a group are marked by three characteristics which all
boys and girls should notice first of all. They are: (i) the needle-shaped
. 124
leaves, borne in clusters of two, three, or five needles; (2) the cones, in
which the little seeds are borne; and (3) the wood, which always contains
more or less pitch, or resin. These characters distinguish the coniferous
(cone-bearing) trees from the broad-leaved trees. The term " evergreen "
should not be applied to the pines, spruces, and firs, because there are
other trees, as the holly and the live oak, which retain their leaves through-
out the winter and are just as truly evergreen as is the pine or the spruce.
Then, again, there is the larch, about which we learned last year
(Rural School Leaflet for September, 1912, page 160), which
bears cones and yet sheds its leaves every year. The leaves of
the larch are needle-shaped, it bears cones, and there is some resin
in the wood, and therefore it clearly belongs to the same family as
do pines, firs, spruces, and hemlocks. In order to avoid all
confusion, therefore, I would suggest that we learn to call all
cone-bearing trees " conifers," which means " cone-bearers."
Then let us call the others "broadleaf trees"; this will properly
include the live oaks and the holly, and will do away with the
confusing term " deciduous " (leaf -shedding) trees. Another
term that is frequently heard is " hardwoods." As generally
used, this term means the broadleaf trees, although there are
some conifers with very hard wood yellow pine, for example
and some " hardwoods," or " broadleaf "" trees, with very soft
wood, such as the poplar and the willow. The use of confusing
terms should be abandoned and the terms " conifer " and
"broadleaf," while sounding a little strange at first, will express
our meaning more nearly.
The pines are nearly all of great value because of their wood,
which is strong for its weight, straight-grained, and easily
needle worked that is, carpenters have little difficulty in planing and
cluster :'. ,/ o t '4.1*
shaping it to their purposes. Some of the pines have very
hard, heavy, resinous wood, as the southern yellow pine; but our
northern white pine is light and soft and contains only a moderate
amount of resin. The white pine was formerly the most important
timber tree of all the northeastern States, and many millions of board
feet of white pine have been cut from the forests of New York State
within the past century. It is still considered a very valuable tree, and
lumbermen are always glad when they can find any white pine to cut
because they know that it will bring a good price in the markets.
The white pine is a tall, straight-trunked tree, often reaching a height
of one hundred and twenty-five feet in the dense forests of the Adirondack
Mountains. When growing in the woods the trunk is frequently clear
of all branches for sixty or seventy feet, but when grown in the open,
125
where it has plenty of room, the crown is broad, with many limbs growing
to within fifteen or twenty feet of the ground, and under these conditions
the tree never grows very tall.. The lumberman likes best
of all the tall, straight trees of the forests, for these
will yield fine, straight-grained lumber with few knots.
The white pine can be distinguished from the other
pines of this State by the needles, which grow in clusters
of five. Examine the foliage of a pine tree; you will see
that the needles, instead of growing singly, grow in
bunches, or clusters. In the white pine there are always
five needles in a cluster. The individual needles are two
and one half to five inches long, slender, flexible, bluish
green, with a fine white streak. Let us now look for some
cones. We may find some growing on the tree, or we can
examine those that have fallen from the tree and are
now lying on the ground. The white pine cone is about
five inches in length, is usually slightly curved, and is
slender, rarely exceeding an inch in thickness. Let us
look a little more closely and see whether there are any
ten pine needle -, ,
cluster spines, or prickles, on
the cone. If we have
)icked up a dry cone the seeds have
loubtless been shed and scattered,
f we can find a fresh cone with
eeds in it, we can see how each seed
3 provided with a thin wing, which
nables the wind to blow it for long
listances.
Now let us consider the pitch pine,
/hich is probably the next most com-
lon pine tree of this State. It is
enerally found growing on very poor
oils, where only the hardiest trees
r shrubs will thrive. This tree can
row in these poor situations because
f its thick bark (often two inches
lick at the base of the tree) and
I Because it can resist fire much better
jlian can the white pine. It is not
l| early so neat in appearance as the
fttiiM*.
'Pitch pine
] hite pine; its branches are irregular, the trunk is not so tall and
Straight, and the old cones frequently hang on the tree for years. The
126
foliage is stiff and the needles are borne in clusters of three \ this at once
distinguishes it from the white pine. The needles are a dark yellow-
green instead of a blue-green. The cones are short and stout, about two
or three inches long and two inches thick, and the cone-scales are armed
with prickles. There is not the slightest resemblance between the white
pine and the pitch pine, either in the needles, cones, or bark; and if you
have an opportunity to look at the wood after the tree has been cut,
you will find that there is no more resemblance there. The wood of
the pitch pine is coarse-grained, full of pitch, and not adapted to the
fine work for which white pine is used. Indeed, the wood of pitch pine
is of little value except for coarse, rough lumber and for excelsior.
The red pine, or Norway pine, as it is frequently called, is a tree that
is not found in many parts of this State. It is common only in the
Adirondack region, where it grows on light, sandy soils and has plenty
of sunlight. It may be found occasionally, however, in other parts of
northern New York. It can be distinguished by its long, flexible needles
(four to six inches long), which are borne two in a cluster. The cones
are two to two and one half inches long and have no prickles. Taking
the cones and the needles together, there is no danger of confusing this
tree with the other two pines mentioned.
The red pine reaches a height of seventy-five or eighty feet. The wood
is harder than that of the white pine, yet, like white pine, it is not durable
in contact with the soil. Because of its hardness it is not so valuable a
timber as white pine, but the red pine possesses the great advantage of
being a tree that will grow well on land too poor to produce a satisfactory
crop of white pine. It rarely makes close forests, because it is a tree
that demands a great amount of light for its growth. Red pine trees are
never found in large numbers together, at least in this State, but are found
mixed with other trees, especially at the edge of lakes or in openings
throughout the sandy stretches of country that are common in the
Adirondack Mountains.
The jack, or scrub, pine is not frequently seen in this State except in
dry, sandy, barren soils in the northern part. It is usually a small, scrubby
tree, with irregular branches, and of such poor form that it is practically
worthless for lumber. The leaves are bluish green, covered with a gray
bloom, and about two inches in length. They are borne in clusters of
two, are twisted, and have a tendency to spread apart. The cones are
small (rarely more than two inches long) and are armed with small
prickles, which, however, may drop off.
The Jersey scrub pine is still more irregular and worthless as a lumber-
producing tree. It grows in poor, sandy soil and is found growing wild
only on Long Island. The needles are borne in clusters of two and the
cones have prickles.
127
THE MAPLES OF NEW YORK
JOHN BENTLEY, JR.
The maple family is a large one, containing many trees that are not
only useful but also ornamental. In fact, most of the maples are valued
chiefly because of their beauty of foliage. About thirteen kinds are con-
sidered native to
but by far the
of the maples are
and the islands
continent. Many
maples some of
some shrubs
in this country
in parks and gar-
streets; so that,
in the country or
are almost sure
Maples are
perhaps, because
Whether we con-
ual leaves of a
the whole mass
appears on a large
leaves are beauti-
tender leaves of
maple when they
the United States,
greatest number
native to Asia
bordering that
of these foreign
them trees, and
have been planted
and are common
dens or along city
whether we are
in the city, we
to see maple trees,
noticeable chiefly,
of their foliage,
sider the individ-
silver maple or
of foliage as it
sugar maple, the
ful. The little
the soft, or red,
burst from the
Sugar maple
buds in April are rich and warm in coloring; and what boy or girl who
has been in the country during the month of October does not know
the brilliant colors for which the maples are famous? The reds, golds,
and yellows seem to flood the autumn air with a warmth and light which
adds life to it.
Let us make a list of the maples that we may expect to find in New
York State, and then add a few descriptive notes regarding them:
1. Sugar, or hard, maple
2. Red, or soft, maple
3. Moosewood, or striped maple (a shrub or small tree)
4. Mountain maple (a shrub)
5. Silver maple
6. Box elder, or ash-leaved maple
7. Norway maple (not native, but commonly planted)
Sycamore maple (imported)
128
Sugar maple
Red maple Norway maple
Outline drawings for blackboard work
Moosewood maple Sycamore maple
Outline drawings for blackboard work
130
The sugar maple is the largest and finest of the family. In deep woods,
where it grows with the beech, birch, basswood, hemlock, ash, and other
trees, it often reaches a height of more than one hundred feet, and has
a trunk perhaps four feet in diameter which rises straight and full without
a limb for more than half the height of the tree. Such a tree is in great
contrast to those growing along the roadside, which are shorter and large-
crowned and which have so many branches that it is difficult to find any
one stem that seems to be the leader. Why does the maple tree growing
in the open, where it has plenty of room, form such a round-headed crown,
with no well-defined leader? Study the method of branching and see
whether you can find out.
The red maple can be distinguished from the sugar maple by its leaves
in summer and by its buds in winter. The two kinds are contrasted in
the drawings. Note that the lobes of the leaves (of which three are usually
very conspicuous) are separated by U-shaped depressions, or sinuses,
in the case of the sugar maple, and by V-shaped sinuses in the red maple.
The buds of the sugar maple are long, pointed, and of a brown color,
while those of the red maple are shorter, rounded, and red in color. These
marks will serve as a means of identification at any time of the year.
The red maple prefers a wet, swampy soil, while the hard maple thrives