USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > New Haven, a book recording the varied activities of the author in his efforts over many years to promote the welfare of the city of his adoption since 1883, together with some researches into its storied past and many illustrations > Part 11
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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF ELMS.
City Forester Suggestion Endorsed by Former City Engineer Hill
The following letter, dated July 28, 1908, gives the view of a citizen intimately familiar with the requirements of New Haven :
"My Dear Mr. Seymour:
"Your suggestion in one of the morning papers relating to a city forester who should be charged with the duty and respon- sibility of caring for the trees of the city, seemed to me such a good one that I trust it will not be allowed to pass unheeded by our citizens.
"There is no question but that our beautiful elms, once the beauty and pride of our Elm City, have suffered from shame- ful neglect.
"To secure efficiency there must be individual responsibility. There should be some one man who should feel that respon- sibility for the condition of our trees.
"If we should lose our elms, the loss to the city would scarcely be estimated in dollars.
"A competent city forester, who by training and experience would know just what to do and when to do it and feel his responsibility would be a good investment for our city.
"Very truly yours,
ALBERT B. HILL.
A City Forester Should be Free from Political Influences
The term "city forester" is perhaps somewhat misleading. "Tree expert" is better. In Brooklyn the term "arboricultur- ist" is used. The report of Mayor Driscoll's committee said :
"With regard to the mode of appointing a city forester, it is evident that his selection and the tenure of his office should be kept as free as possible from all political considerations and influences.
"To secure this desirable result it seems to us that the most effectual as well as the most simple and appropriate way would
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be to make him an official and appointee of the Department of Parks."
The Park Commission has no Authority Over the Trees in the Streets and Public Squares
I apprehend that there are persons in the community who think that in some vague way or other the park commissioners are responsible for the neglect of the trees. Quite the con- trary, the park commissioners have no authority whatever over the trees in the public squares, in the streets and on the property of private owners, but only authority in the city parks proper. It is gratifying to me to have this oppor- tunity of saying that, when Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., came here to work on the New Haven civic improvement plan, he expressed to me his astonishment that the park commis- sioners of the city of New Haven were able to accomplish so much in the way of upbuilding and upkeep with the small sum annually placed in their hands to spend.
The Care of the Trees up to the Citizens
In the main, the officials of this and every other city give the citizens what they want for their money. If the citizens should unite in demanding that more of their money be spent on the public schools, more money would undoubtedly be devoted to schools and less elsewhere, if additional taxation were not imposed. If the citizens, or any large part of them, want the elms intelligently taken care of and more trees planted under the direction of a city forester, they have only to clearly express that wish in the proper way and the thing will be done.
Mayor Martin and Board of Public Works would Welcome a Popular Movement to Save the Trees
I feel certain that it grieves Mayor Martin and Mr. Foley and other city officials to look out of the windows of the City
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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF ELMS.
Hall upon the desolation of the old Green, as much as it grieves many citizens to see that same desolation in passing by and through the Green to their business. I am sure that Mayor Martin or any other mayor of the "City of Elms" could not wish for more than to have his particular administration signalized by a great popular movement for the reclamation of the trees and a revival of intelligent planting.
The Elms Not Doomed by Age or Municipal Improvements
I am aware that many will say that the elms were doomed from the start; that they have been cut down from time to time only because they were dead or dying of old age; that nothing could have averted the pest of the beetles; that gas mains and sewers, electric service wires, asphalt pavements, and the cutting of the brace roots, will ultimately kill all of the trees. With such laissez faire views I have no sympathy. To let the trees alone, to tolerate the pests, and to put up with carelessness and abuse in the matter of the trees, is stupid and cowardly. By careful, intelligent treatment many of our trees might be measurably restored to beauty and prolonged in life, where otherwise they will soon have to be removed, while by a careful system of replanting we could to-day have trees of suitable species coming on to take the place of dead and dying trees.
I am not unmindful of the fact that on the Green and some other places attempts have been made to replace old trees. After transplanting, a tree needs nourishment and care just as any other plant does, but, so far as I have been able to observe, the saplings set out have been left to shift for themselves.
It was the opinion of the experts on Mayor Driscoll's com- mission that "if the newly set trees are properly cared for, there should be no difficulty in producing specimens of as fine proportions as those now standing."
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Present Annual Expenditure of $7,000 Insufficient to Fell Our
Historic Elms as Fast as They Die
The astounding statement is made that the entire sum at the disposal of the Board of Public Works for the care of the trees in the public squares and streets of New Haven is insufficient to pay the annual cost of cutting down and remov- ing the trees as fast as they die. We do not even spend enough on the trees to remove the dead. I am told that the reason why so many dead trees have been allowed to stand for months on the old Green as well as in some other portions of the city, is due to the fact that there was no money available for cutting them down-no money available to get them out of sight. Without money to remove the dead and dying trees, obviously the Board of Public Works cannot be censured for failing to spray the trees on and about the old Green last summer, even though the University was able to spray its trees at an aver- age cost of $1.53 per tree. Recently the amount appropriated by the city for the care of the trees in the public squares and streets has been cut down to $5,000.
A Large Percentage of the Existing Trees Need Treatment to Preserve Them
A large percentage of the existing trees need immediate treatment. Aside from being sprayed to kill the beetles and other pests, the trees throughout the city need to be treated according to the principles of what may for convenience be called tree surgery and tree dentistry-methods never under- stood and practiced as well as within the last four or five years.
Tree surgery, let us say, deals with pruning so as to shape the trees and remove broken and deformed limbs without paving the way for certain decay. The main thing is to do the cutting as near to the vertical plane as possible, and to treat the exposed cut with coal tar or some other preparation that will exclude moisture and the seeds of decay, until the tree has had an opportunity of closing the wound.
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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF ELMS.
Tree dentistry, let us say, concerns cleaning out of cavities by the removal of all decayed and infected wood. When sound wood is reached the same is carefully coated with white lead and the cavity filled with cement. If this work is care- lessly or ignorantly done, the filling is worse than none at all, because it provides a dark and moist place in which the germs may work all the better for their protection by the cement.
These operations of pruning and filling cannot be left to unskilled hands. They must be conducted under the direct supervision of someone who really understands their sig- nificance. Some work of this character has been done in New Haven, but I am assured that it has not been well done. I have, however, no reason for supposing that it could have been done better in the absence of expert supervision. Our Board of Public Works has no money to pay for the services of a tree expert, though probably half our trees need treatment, such as described, under the direction of a tree expert.
The report of Mayor Driscoll's committee showed that 36 per cent. of the trees examined in eight widely separated streets were found to have been mutilated by horses, vehicles and otherwise. Out of 2,075 trees recently examined by a student in the Yale Forest School, 642 were found to need treatment.
What will it Cost to Reclaim the New Haven Trees?
This question cannot be answered with any sort of accuracy until the trees in our squares and streets have been carefully tabulated and the cost, based upon the experience of other cities throughout the country, has been estimated. We need a card index of our trees. Last July Mr. Foley was of the opinion that $30,000 was not too much to demand for the beginning of the work.
Professor Graves has estimated that such a sum would be required for thorough work. On the other hand, Mr. Levison, who has for the past few years been doing just such work for Brooklyn, places the sum at $20,000.
If the citizens wish the city reclaimed in a state worthy of its traditions and old reputation, I assume they will pay the bill.
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In Massachusetts they have not merely more civic pride, but more practical wisdom, for beautiful trees are valuable assets in any community, on the sanitary, as well as on the æsthetic side. Professor Asa Gray estimated that the leaves of the Washington elm at Cambridge exposed in the aggregate between three and four acres of surface to the air-three or four acres of surface constantly at work improving the con- dition of the atmosphere.
An Energetic Massachusetts Tree Warden
Two or three years ago Mr. Philip R. Allen, Yale '96, was appointed tree warden for the town of Walpole, Mass., without pay. Mr. Allen immediately put the town ordinances in force by fining some peddlers and some butchers whose horses had bitten the trees. This enforcement of the law made the towns- people "sit up." Having secured attention in this way, Mr. Allen went on until fines amounting to about $200 had been imposed. He then invited every man, woman and child in the community who saw a horse biting or injuring a tree, to send a postal card to him. In other words, he converted all the peo- ple into a big police force to watch the trees. Every time he received a postal he immediately wrote or personally saw the owner of the offending horse. The result of this campaign was that butchers, grocers, peddlers and many others equipped their wagons with weights by means of which their horses could be tethered clear of any possible injury to the trees.
These measures might well be put into operation here.
Sanitary Advantage of Trees
A word more on the subject of the sanitary aspect of the question. Every citizen should know that trees not only add beauty in summer and winter, and afford a grateful shade in summer, but also purify the air and help to drain the soil. It is particularly important to the rank and file of our citizens who remain in the city the year round, and have to support
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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF ELMS.
the heat of our summers, that the streets should be well shaded. Trees help to keep the air cool, and make the streets and playgrounds tolerable in hot summer days.
People of means and leisure who are free to escape from the city in the summer, who can bring up their children in the country and who go abroad to enjoy the magnificently orna- mented cities of Europe, can perhaps get along without beau- tiful trees to adorn their home cities, as well as make them more 'livable. But, as I have said, it is particularly to the interest of the man who lives in the city all the year round, and who is bringing up his children in it, that trees should be planted and taken care of.
Trees a Feature of City Improvement Plans
Every city improvement plan of which I know makes the adornment of streets and squares and parks with trees and shrubs, one of its main features. The report to be submitted by Mr. Cass Gilbert and Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., of a plan for the future development of the city of New Haven, considers the question of city trees.
Realty Values Raised by Trees
Trees are among the first things which impress a stranger in forming a judgment as to whether a city is, or is not, a good place to live in. Healthy trees in front of or about any dwell- ing make the place more livable, as well as more beautiful, and increase the value of property in consequence. The courts are more and more recognizing trees as an asset to the property on and in front of which they stand. Thus the courts have decided that the destruction of a shade tree has detracted from the value of the abutter's property from $50 to $400. In cases where trees fronting the same property have been destroyed by leaky gas mains, the courts have awarded from $150 to $200 per tree to the abutter. As between two city building lots, the lot having abutting trees will always bring the better price. Assuming that we have here in New Haven 16,000
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trees, at an average valuation of $200 per tree, our trees rep- resent a total value of $3,200,000. If 50 per cent. of these ' trees are in a dying condition, the value of our property has depreciated to the amount of $1,600,000.
Will the Women of New Haven Help?
An item in the New York Evening Post of March II says :
"Chicago clubwomen, who have been active in the campaign for the appointment of a tree commission and a city forester to supervise the planting and protection of shade trees in streets, will give thousands of trees to Chicago this year. These are to be planted in the poorer districts."
The public-spirited women of New Haven (and there are many of them) can do a service of lasting benefit to the city in helping this movement along. If all of the women's clubs in the city would form a federation for assisting in saving the trees, they would perform a greater service than they can render just at this time in any other way.
Shade Tree Association for Private Owners
I apprehend that many will ask why it is necessary to have the shade tree association proposed by Professor Graves, if the Board of Finance appropriates funds for the employment of a city forester. To this I reply that the proposed shade tree association will enable private owners to have their trees thoroughly sprayed and properly treated at wholesale rates, under competent direction and without delay. On the other hand, the first duty of a city forester would be to spray and treat the trees in the public squares and city streets. The immediate task of spraying the trees is one of such magnitude that too many people cannot be engaged in it.
Moreover, a shade tree association is necessary to begin the education of the citizens in the care and planting .of trees. This movement, if it succeeds, must be a popular movement and enlist practically all of our citizens.
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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF ELMS.
A Public Shade Tree Commission Not Essential
Many cities have appointed shade tree commissions. It seems to me, however, that the work in New Haven might well be begun by the employment of a tree expert by the Park Commission, since his work would be more allied to the work of the Park Commission than to the work of the Board of Public Works. The Park Commission of New Haven has long been noted for its efficiency, and to have it take over the care of the trees in the public squares and streets would avoid the creation of a special commission for the purpose and keep expenses down. Moreover, to place the care of the trees in the hands of the Park Commission would take the matter out of politics. The whole matter of the care of the trees should be put on the soundest possible business basis. The expert employed should be competent and absolutely free to buy his materials and to employ his labor irrespective of any political pressure.
The History of the Elm Leaf Beetle
The eighth report of Dr. Britton, our state entomologist, has just come from the press. It contains the most comprehensive account of the elm leaf beetle yet published, so far as I am aware. The elm leaf beetle, it appears, was introduced into this country about 1834. In 1838-39 it seriously injured the elms of Baltimore. The pest spread slowly northward, reach- ing southern New England and doing serious damage in the early nineties. Many fine elms, including some historic speci- mens, were killed in Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, Strat- ford, Milford and New Haven. The inland cities and towns were invaded later on. In New Haven the pest was at its worst in 1895-96, when many trees about the center of the city were sprayed. The pest then subsided gradually until 1901, when it was again comparatively destructive. In 1907 the trees were badly injured. The destructiveness of the pest last year is remembered by all.
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In 1901 Dr. Britton found that in Norwich nearly every elm, for a distance of about one and one-half miles on a promi- nent residential street, had died. Weakened by the constant attacks of the beetles year after year, these trees were finally killed by a leaky gas main. One thousand elm trees were killed in one year by the beetles in Albany, as many more in Troy, and 1,500 in the town of Watervliet.
No beetles were observed in New Haven prior to 1892; but before that the elms had begun to fail from other causes already enumerated. It is estimated by Professor Coe that fully 75 per cent. of the sugar maples through the city are now diseased. Certainly they are dying in every direction. It is the opinion of Mr. Levison that the sugar maple is unable to withstand the conditions of city life, and he does not recom- mend the planting of it.
Our Citizens Alone Responsible for the Neglect of the Trees and Alone Able to Reclaim Them
When the last word has been said on this subject, it will rest with the citizens to act. Mr. Hillhouse and his associates conferred great benefits upon the city, but those benefits were not everlasting. They were in the nature of a trust; in that trusteeship the citizens have been found wanting. No private citizen or association of citizens can possibly undertake a task of such magnitude as that confronting us to-day. The trees can be reclaimed only by the united efforts of the community.
I am not unmindful that we have on our books to-day ordi- nances which, if enforced, would have protected our trees to a considerable extent, but apparently it has never been the custom to enforce these ordinances. The trees themselves are by far the best evidence of the failure of the ordinances to protect them. It would be one of the particular duties of a city forester and his assistants to see that every tree was pro- tected by guards and every injury by a citizen or corporation was reported. The Tussock moth has already appeared here. No steps are being taken to stamp it out. At any time a colony
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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF ELMS.
of gypsy or brown-tail moths may arrive and begin operations. We should be prepared to fight these pests lest they get ahead of us. Vigilance is the price of city trees.
New Haven Judged by Visitors
To use a homely phrase, the Green is the "front dooryard" of New Haven. In the heart of the city, and containing in the Center Church and the old North Church two speci- mens of church architecture almost unrivalled in the country, the Green is the chief object of interest in the city. The college buildings have their claims, and I am not unmindful of them; but the two churches in the style of Wren, standing side by side in the center of the Green, make the Green the para- mount object of interest in New Haven. The trees on the Green, as I have shown, have given the city a reputation and a unique position in this country and abroad for the last one hundred years. The Green personifies the city and its citi- zens are judged by it. Every visitor who comes to New Haven and looks at the Green as it stands to-day must go away disappointed-disappointed not alone because the Gothic arch, once so famous, has now been reduced to ruins, but disappointed because the Green to-day bears so many painful evidences of neglect. If nothing else is done, enough money should be appropriated to immediately begin the redemption of the Green. Every tree now standing on the Green and worth saving should be put in the best possible condition. The Green should be replanted with suitable species, and, more than this, the whole Green should be generously fertilized; for without fertilization neither trees nor grass can be expected to grow.56
56 The necessity of fertilizing the Green seems not to be fully understood. The soil, a sandy loam, is pretty well exhausted and no vigorous growth of trees and turf can be looked for until it has been everywhere enriched. To replant the Green with elms without preparing the soil for them would be time and money lost. The saplings on the Green to-day are proof enough of this. They have suffered, of course, from the ravages of the elm-leaf beetle, but they also need food. One hundred years ago and over, when the elms were set out, the soil of the Green was more favorable to the growth of the trees than it is to-day.
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At a meeting of the Committee on Town and City Improve- ment of the Chamber of Commerce on March 31st, 1909, Mr. Henry T. Blake's proposition that an effort should be made to raise $5,000 for the Green alone was warmly endorsed by everyone present.
Desirability of Making a Collection of Photographs of New Haven Elms for the Public Library
The difficulty I have had in finding photographs for the illustration of this paper induces me to digress long enough to urge the collection, on the part of the Public Library, of as large a number of photographs of the elms on the Green and notable specimens elsewhere throughout the City, as can now be made. I had no idea that I should have any trouble in getting as many photographs together as I needed to show how the Green looked in the "great days," but the photographs were so common then that their value as records was not appre- ciated and they were not preserved; the old negatives shared the same fate. I wish everyone who has a fine photograph of the trees on the Green or elsewhere, would send it or a copy of it to Mr. Stetson of the Public Library. The date of each photograph, so far as it can be fixed, and by whom taken and where taken, should be written on the back. I get this sug- gestion from the public library at Newark, N. J. When the Ives Memorial Library Committee visited the Newark Library, they were shown large boxes filled with pictures of public build- ings and other historic buildings either in Newark or in Essex County. The photographs were mounted on heavy cards of uniform size, each card had a descriptive label on the back, and the cards were placed in large heavy pasteboard boxes. These boxes were intended to be circulated in the public schools of Newark, and the teachers in the schools were expected to show the pupils the photographs and explain them, so that all of the children might be able to identify all buildings of historical or architectural interest or importance. The educational value of these collections is apparent. Children once familiarized with local buildings soon extend their interest into wider fields.
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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF ELMS.
Most of the children in our public schools are probably unable to identify our public and semi-public buildings, and have no knowledge of them, historically or otherwise. A system here like the Newark system would help to interest the generation coming on in public affairs; and surely nothing is more to be desired than that, since interest in public affairs leads to a participation in public affairs, and since a solution of the American municipal problem can never be reached except by the participation in it of the great majority at least of the citizens of any community. I should also like, therefore, to see a collection of pictures made by our public library of all of our public buildings, and especially of all the old houses of New Haven and vicinity. Our old Colonial buildings are fast passing away and no adequate record is being made of them.56a As yet no full study has been made of them in their relation to English masonry, to English carpentry, and to English customs current when they and their predecessors were built. It is significant that the utmost endeavors have failed to bring to light a single photograph of the Sargent house as it existed before it was reconstructed by Mayor Sargent 1878-9. Professor Hamlin of Columbia College is making a collection of photographs illustrating American Colonial architecture for permanent preservation in the archives of the college. This point of the collection of pictures for our Public Library is a far cry from my main topic, but the matter is of some impor- tance and I take this opportunity to urge it. A fine collection of pictures of the New Haven elms as they were when they were the glory of the City, and famous throughout the world, would be of great historic value locally, at least, and I hope someone will undertake such a collection and present it to the Public Library.
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