The Key West Citizen Newspaper, March 29, 1933, Page 4

N N | ; THE KEY WEST CITIZEN -Wide Beautifi » After you have read this go out and plant a tree, Get your wife to plant one—have your childreneach plant +s use all your persuasion to get your neighbors to plant rees, ' The “Times-Union” has just said that fifty years hence all the trees we shall have will be the shade trees that we plant in the meantime, Now, to get down to the real facts. It is stated that we shall soon have more than four thousand miles of hard surfaced roads in Florida. So far, in the building of these reads hundreds of trees have been ruthlessly destroyed that it took Nature a lifetime to grow. Now they are going right over these same roads trying to plant trees, which, as Walt Msaon says, they will never live to see take the place of those destroyed when the reads were laid out, and the fight of way cut and graded... = ‘For instance, a few days ago on one‘of the ae roladalt 3 I passed under a huge, towering oak tree that stood -just outside the hard surfaced paving. The limbs reached clear actoss to the opposite side of the road and the tree was a thing/of beauty. A few days later I passed along the same road and they were digging up this tree—destroying more than a century's work. I found like conditions an over the state, and at the same time meetings were being held to find out how to beautify the roads—possibly by plant- ing a small oak sapling in practically the same hole from which a century old oak had just been dug. Now to stop this practice and provide a remedy at once, I believe the case should be presented to our gover- nor so that he may place it before the legislature before the session closes, Let it be suggested that in grading vew roads all trees six feet or more from the right of way be allowed to remain. Owners of land adjoining th: should be asked to do likewise whenever pocinrd mes This practice would take up only a twelve-f of the fifty-foot right of fap tie Sever peer ort been determined. As most of our roads are 15 to 18 feet wide in the most congested districts, and only 12 feet in the less traveled roads, it will be years before the space - taken up by the trees would be needed for widening. Under such an arrangement we would have al avenues of pine, cypress and oak and with ping gion would be sweet gum, maple, dog-wood. In other places there might be pine, cypress and oak—all mixed together. The pine, to our tourists, is a pleasant sight, but, as the ‘Times-Union” says, in a few years the pine will be a curiosity even to those who were born where it used to be cut down and burned to get it out of the way. I notice in South Florida, that they are i tralian pines for beautification. Why pao teat ioe that are absolutely w rthless as to utility, hardly ever get- ting big enough for firewood, even if needed for that, when there are so many trees that could be planted that would be beautiful and at the same time worth something in the future in case we should ever need them? Read this very carefully about the Eucal taken from the “Taylor Count: aes: 4, pac P bai from the “Leesburg tame which quotes it In the moving pictures that are tak in Cali i notice the very Eucalyptus trees that ig eel lege Arye northern rai is further south than the most southern portion of California, w. i i they can, and more and better. a af we had a row of these trees on both sides public highways it would give us eight thousand mites vr good timber in case our country should ever go to war again and need it. Next to mefition are our Camphor trees. They will grow and thrive under heavy oak trees. I know of one between two oaks that is fifty feet high and the limbs mix in with the oaks. These trees played a big part in our last war, The seeds sprout readily and if the road gangs or repairers were to plant these seeds three to @ hill and thin them at two years old, on both sides of our By JOHN W. NEWBERN---NEWBERRY, FLORIDA PLANTING A TREE By WALT MASON TO BE in line with worthy folk, you soon must plant an elm or oak, a beach or maple fair to see, a single or a double tree. When winter’s storms no longer roll, go, get a spade and dig a hole, and bring a sapling from the woods, and show your neighbors you’re the goods. What though with years you’re bowed and bent, and feel your life is nearly spent? The tree you plant will rear its limbs, and there the birds will sing their hymns, and in its cool and grateful shade the girls will sip their lemonade; and lovers there on moon- light nights will get Dan Cupid dead to rights; and fervid oaths and tender vows will go azipping through its boughs. And folks will say, with gentle sigh, “Long years ago an ancient guy, whose whiskers brushed against his knee, inserted in the ground this tree. ’Twas but a little sapling then; and he, the kindest of old men, was well. aware that he’d be dead, long ere its branches © grew and spread, but still he stuck it in the mould, and never did his feet grow cold. Oh, he was wise and kind and brave—let’s place a nosegay on his grave!” roads, think what eight thousand miles of Camphor trees are worth if ever needed. Besides, they are an evergreen the same as the Eucalyptus and they are obnoxious to in- sects as well. These trees could be planted as a hedge and thinned out later. Next, our common cabbage palmetto, though of slow growth deserves attention. Why not gather the seeds and plant them beside the roads?. The Burton Swarts Lumber Co., of Perry, Florida, sent a lot of the seed to Louisiana about eight years ago and they are now trees several feet high. While mentioning Perry, Florida, please notice what their road-commissioners are doing. On twenty miles of hard-surfaced asphalt road between the county line of Dixie Count and Salem, Florida, they have set out water oaks every hundred yards apart and cabbage palmetto trees in between on both sides of the road. Practically @0 per cent are living at the present time and that in the fage of their not having any rain on them since they were se! out three to four months ago. : On one road in Duval County I noticed an up-to-date farm house. They had set out about a dozen maple trees on one side of the house and about the same number of sweet gums on the other side and they were beauties. While these trees are not evergreens, still they hold their foliage a long time and put out quickly in the spring. In setting out these trees, if you will select trees about twelve to fifteen feet high, trim off all the limbs except a few near the top, and transplant them in January or February, one hundred per cent will live. This also applies to young oak saplings, if fifteen to twenty feet high. The old mis- taken idea was to cut them off about ten feet high and cap them. But those mentioned in Taylor County were cut off from fifteen to twenty feet high. This gives you more clearance and apparently gains several years grawth ahead of the old way, for if the old method of cutting: is used you have to trim them several times to get rid pr, i limbs. Bignonia, vines grow easily from cuttings, and are rapid growers. Plant them near the old scraggly oak trees on our highways and they will soon cover the trees and be a source of beauty al! the fall and winter. Get our Boy and Girl Scouts inte: d in this work plant something on all their hikes, and camping trips. The children in our public schools should be taught this. Today they are chil- we i) grow cuttings and Ne Lull as the highways? A: farm they seg lot of old decrepit prices ‘that be used for this, and they could grow trees as could be nicer and’ more inviting than to kind at work that is encow: and still into them the love of something beautiful, dark prison walls. I am sure a man would be better men- tally after working in-a beautiful surrounding to make things beautiful. Lakeland, Florida, last season lars for Petunia seed to beautify big mistake not more winkle seeds will themselves for years to come. Why cannot other towns do this as well? Our Federal Government has an experimental station at Savannah, where they grow the big bamboo trees that grow over fifty feet high and it is the only tim- ber that Japan has. These trees are v beautiful but would have to be protected from our king of the woods, the piney woods scrub cow, until they were 10 or 15 feet high. tourist to plant a tree before he returns that he may do as Walt mays, ancient guy whose whiskers brushed tree. Every little helps. help to make our state # it . lot ft et oe po what you have: dom 4 3 bs POLITE LOTTE EN \ . . N N \ \ \ \ R \ N \ \ \ N \ \ \ \ N \ \ \ 5 ‘ 5 : \ . tes i hhhhehahahaddidddidddddidd A titsAstttA LA di tn dt tt tt titittitdittitbktitdittitdd ddd hdddidididid, daa