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Jin address in Congress by Hon. Martin L. Davey of Ohio, given in the House ofRepresentativei aMarch 3, iqii
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Jura, it lAckt ltelllgn And 11 rterYtfus System fld th fiowcr of
leijtfortx SUt m all the ether elemental processes the
tm nJaettoaa just at truly ai Man almself, "
FTfcta autatioa f rtftt eatation la of monumental Importance,
America eaa iMt continue to exist as A virile, forward-moving
Natlofl unlet we ptfoteet what we hive and "Mart to' build
tig that which we have ruthlessly destroyed. , We ean not
afford to be Natic of vandal muth Iniaer. America
must reforest, or America must drink the bitter dregs c-f
national decline and impoteaey." ,
R. SPEAKER, it i my dealre, during the
tune at my disposal to speaie or tne tree as
a living thing, to sh6w something of its
vital relation to human life. To the man
Who is familiar with tree life it might seem
almost Superfluous to emphasize the fact
that a tree lives, and yet the average man,
unfortunately, looka upon the tree as an .
Inanimate and more Or less useful accident on the face
of the earth.
And yet the tree Uvea it breathes. It haft a real circula
tion. The tree digests its food and assimilates it, It has
sexual processes that are just as real and beautiful as in any
other form of life. It has the power to adapt itself to its
environment. Td be sure, it lacks intelligence and a nervous
system and the power of locomotion. But in all the other
elemental processes the tree functions ju&tvas truly as man
himself.
The tree breathes through the leaves chiefly, and to a
"email extent through the tiny lenticels in the young bark.
Th air Is taken into the leaf in just as real a sense as it is
taken into the human lungs. It enters through the many
microscopic openings on the underside of the leaf. There
on the inside of the leaf the elements of the air are separated.
The carbori is absorbed and is used in the building process.
The oxygen is given off again to enrich the air for the benefit
of all animal life.
The circulation in the tree is just as real as in the human
body. It d6es not move So fast nor move round and round
in response to heart action. Yet it does move and goes from
the tiniest root hairs way down underground up to the
leaves and back again all the Way to the roots again. On
the upwardiflow the circulation proceeds through the sap
wood, traveling from cell to cell, from the small roots to the
large ones, Into the trunk, and from there to the large
branches, and then through the smaller ones fo the leaves.
Prom the leaf, where it undergoes the necessary chemical
changes to transform it into, tree food, it travels downward
through the cells of the inner bark all the way to the small
est roots, building the cambium layer as it goes.
The digestive processes of the tree take place in the leaf.
There the rrude food material, brought up from the roots
in the sap, is spread out among the tiny cells of the marvel
ous leaf structure, and, under the influence of the sunlight,
is combined with the carbon extracted from the air and is
transformed into tree food digested, as we call it in animal
life. This digested tree food is assimilated into the entire 9
growing parts of the tree in the downward flow through the
cells of the inner bark, from which the cambium layer is
built and all growth takes place.
The sexual processes of the tree are fundamentally the
same as elsewhere in living things. The male and female
exist as positive factors. Sometimes the male and female
exist in the same flower. Many times they exist in different
flowers in the same tree. In a few cases all the flowers
of a tree are entirely male or entirely female. The pollen
is created in the male and is carried by insects or birds and
in a vast number of cases by the wind to the female portion
of the flower or to the female flower. There it fertilizes and
produces the seed which nature designed to reproduce its kind.
The tree adapts itself to its environment to an amazing
degree. Where trees are thick they grow tall to reach the
sunlight. Where two or more trees grow cldse together, it
grows en one side to accommodate its fellows. When it grows
in rocks, it sends its roots into almost impossible places in
search of food and anchorage. It often sends its roots
hundreds of feet in search of water, and the roots travel
back and forth among the many obstacles toward their
destination.
All life has two primal purposes of existence one is self
preservation and the other is reproduction. The tree sub
scribes to both and is governed by both. It undergoes a
constant battle for life from the time of its advent until the
end. It must battle against the tremendous winds, against
drought, against insect enemies, and deadly diseases, and
now it must battle against man himself, who is the most
destructive, the most thoughtless and inconsiderate enemy
that the tree has encountered. Indeed, it has a lifelong
struggle for self-preservation. Its scheme of reproduction
is the same elemental plan of sex attraction that makes
possible the continuity of all life.
The leaf is probrfbly the most wonderful, and is certainly
the most vital and indispensable factor in the world of living
things. Without the leaf all life must perish. It is the one
and only connecting link between the organic and inorganic
worlds. It Is the enly thing capable of transforming the
various mineral elements into available food material for
both plant and animal. The only minerals that man can
take into his system and use are water and salt, but he can
use Only a limited quantity of these. Every other element
of food must come to him either directly or indirectly
through the leaf.
Every grain, every fruit, every vegetable food product,
every foot of lumber, and every other vegetable product
that is used for the pleasure and profit of man is made in the
leaf. And thus we see that the great Qod who created the
world and the life that Inhabits it, made of the lowly leaf the
greatest and most wonderful instrumentality of that life.
Perhaps the most insidious and persistent enemy of the
tree is the group of diseases called fungi, which attack any
exposed portion of woody tissues and start to grow by con
suming the wood cells. A fungus disease exists in a decaying
tree it produces the decay. At the proper time in the
growing season the fungus produces a fruiting body or
bodies. These produce their fruit in due time, which arc
called spores. These spores, light in weight and microscopic
in size, are given off in myriads and are carried by the winds
and sometimes otherwise to the adjacent vegetation. Most
of them fall harmless, but some of them find lodgment in a
wound where the protecting bark has been removed. There
in the exposed woody tissues the microscopic fungus spore
starts to grow, sending out little threadlike tentacles from
cell to cell and breaking them down.
The fungus is a parasite a low form of vegetable life.
It lives by destroying some other form of life. That which
attacks the living tree destroys the interior cells and per
sists until the tree is consumed. What we call decay is only
the result of an active disease which consumes the woody
interior that constitutes the structural strength of the tree.
The interior of a tree is often referred to as the heart or
heartwood. This conveys an entirely wrong impression.
The vital parts Of a tree are the leaves and roots, the bark
and cambium, and outer layers of sapwood. It is the outside
layers of sapwood which are most active, and each succeed
ing layer Inward toward the center becomes less and less
active until those near the center become practically dormant.
This gives the reasons for the development of tree sur
geons and the science of tree surgery. The disease creates
decay against which the tree, unaided, is helpless. It is the
function of the tree surgeon to do for the tree what the
dentist does for the teeth and the surgeon does for the human
body. In the practice of his art he must removogthe decay,
disinfect to prevent further decay, thoroughly, waterproof to
protect the exposed wood, put in place various kinds and
forms of mechanical bracing, often complicated and always
ingenious, prepare the cavity so that the filling will remain
permanently in place, and then fill with skill and precision
so that the filling will become a permanent part of the tree.
Water and all foreign substance must be excluded. The
filling must be cleverly built up In sections, somewhat like
the backbone in the human body, in order to permit a
reasonable movement between the sections in the swaying
and twisting of the tree in heavy winds. Nature rewards the
skill of human hands by the gradual healing of the bark over
the filling. I can not pass this interesting science of tree
preservation without paying a little tribute to John Davey,
the nature lover and creative genius who gave to the world
an invaluable science, which he called tree surgery. It
represents his love. It is the product of his life of service.
It was bom of his faith and determination. It is the result
of his consecration to a great purpose ; his contribution to the
race of which he is happy to be a part.
But there is one more phase of the whole tree question
that ought to be hit a smashing blow. America must wake
up and reforest or America will rue the day of her spend
thrift debauch. The early toettlcis sent back word that they
had discovered a land of inexhaustible fertility. Americans
of succeeding generations have proceeded on the theory that
all the God-given assets of the Nation were inexhaustible.
Wc have destroyed with prodigal waste more and more of the
native woodlands -the timber supply. We have done
exceedingly little replanting. We are consuming the prin
cipal of our inheritance just as fast as a reckless unconcern
will permit.
Where will the future lumber supply come from? Where
will we gqt the wood pulp for print paper? We are sweeping
away the God-given forests and building great cities with
breathless haste We say we are creating wealth. We are
merely transforming it on the one hand and destroying it
on the other.
Take a daylight ride across the Alleghcnics and look at the
denuded mountains 1 Contemplate the devastation that
man, selfish and thoughtless man, has wrought! And then,
when you realize what all this prodigal destruction means to
the future of America, let your soui shudder at the thought
of the future condemnation that awaits us from generations
yet unborn. We who revel in our fatee wealth and unpardon
able profligacy must answer to the God of nations and the
children whom we bring forth to struggle in an impover
ished land.
Men and women of America, we cut down the great
forests that blessed this country. We allow the remnants to
be burned over and vegetation destroyed. The rains pour
down, and, instead of being held in check by the loose and
porou3 soil in the network of roots, it rushes down over the
hillsides and carries with it the fertile soil, leaving in its
wake barren hills and deep ravines.
Thus we have alternating floods and droughts. The fer
tile 6oil is gone, the product of hundreds of years of nature's
providence. The little springs that come from water held In
check and feed the lakes and streams must gradually
diminish and, I greatly fear, cease to exist in large part.
This question of reforestation is of monumental impor
tance. America can not continue to existjas a virile, forward
moving Nation unless we protect what we have and start to
build up that which we have so ruthlessly destroyed. We
can not afford to be a Nation of vandals much Ibnger.
America must reforest, or America must drink the bltte
dregs of national decline and impotency.
Mr. M. L. DAVEY, GENERAL MANAGER, The Davey Trea
Expert Company, Kent, Ohio:
Dear Mr. Davey:
Many thanks for your letter of April 23 , and tho copy of your speech
delivered in the National House of Representatives on March 3, 1931.
I am impressed with your strong statements about the vital relation of
our forests and human life, and I stand right with you in your condem
nation of forest devastation. The lumber situation of our country is
really serious, when only 15 states out of a total of 4s states produce
more lumber than they consume. You are right In saying that:
"America can not continue to exist as a virile, forward-me-ring
Nation unless we protect what we have and start to buDd up that
which we have so ruthlessly destroyed. We can hot afford ta be si
Nation of vandals much longer. America must reforest, or America
must drink the bitter dregs of national decline and impotency.'
I feel sure that your speech will help in the development of a sane and
strong policy of forest restoration, which is one of tho most vital econom
ical questions before our country at this time, and I am glad that you ara
helping shape public sentiment to a fuller appreciation and better under
standing of our forest conditions.
Sincerely yours,
(Signed) Gifford Pinchot, Co mmj is toner of Forester
J. BERNARD WALKER, Editor, Scientific American:
" I beg to thank you for sending me your excellent speech dealing
with the tree as a living thing. It has a strong personal appeal for me,
for although I am more of an engineer than a botanist, I have an affec
tion for trees which borders on reverence. I think a Connecticut elm,
for instance, is one of the most dignified, graceful and appealing objects
of the many with which God has graced this earth of ours. Also, down
through the years, I have occasionally written an editorial in the
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN appealing to the people of this country to
stop the slaughter of our magnificent forests. Unfortunately we are a
willfully wasteful people or is it that we squander our wealth with a
kind of naive childishness? Perhaps a little of both or an alternation of
the two."
WALDEMAR KAEMPFFERT, Editor, Popular Science Monthly:
"I am very much obliged to you for your speech on 'The Tree as a
Living Thing. ' This interested me so very much that I am asking you to
place my name on your mailing list, so that I may receive other expres
sions of yours."
JAMES N. YOUNG, Editor, Leslie's Weekly:
"Leslie's Weekly is tremendously interested in the subject of forest
preservation and allied topics, and I assure you that the members of the
staff have read what you had to say with a great deal of interest. From
time to time editorials supporting you will appear. I thank you for
writing to us."
HARFORD POWELL, Editor, Collier's Weekly:
"Thank you very much for your letter and your very interesting
speech, ' The Tree as a Living Thing.' I am very clad to have it.
"I understand that considerable attention will be brought to this
subject, so vital to the publishing industry as well as to oil Americans.
in the week ending May 28th. Collier's would like to do its share
editorially."
HERBERT KAUFMAN, Editor, McClure's Magarine:
"I have received your letter of April 29th, and appreciate your
thoughtfulness in sending me copy of your very Interesting Speech,
'The Tree as a Living Thing.' It contains a good suggestion for an
editorial."
The Editors of Atlantic Monthly Magazine:
"Thank you for the copy of your brief, but interesting, speech. If w
ever have need of a paper dealing with tree life, we shall be glad to turn
to you for information. "
HAMILTON HOLT, Editor, The Independent:
" I have read your brief speech, delivered in the House oft' Representa
tives, with a 6redt deal of interest. Surely if the American people reivized
as you do the value of trees it would save them many, mmy dollars In
the years to come. "
The Editors of the Outlook Magazine:
"Thank you for your letter and for the accompanying; copy oTyour
speech. This is an interesting matter and we hope that we may b"i abla
to say something about it in the Outlook."
For GEORGE HENRY PAYNE, Editor, The Forum:
" I am desired by Commissioner Payne to thank you for yovv nota
and say that he has read your speech with great interest and btlleves
that the work you have undertaken is not oaly necessary, but an
ennobling task.
" In several trips he has made recenUy. he has noticed himself tho
necessity of preserving the trees end in his future speeches he intends to
refer to your speech. "
PAUL O. OAKES, Editor, Current History Magarine of Th New
York Times:
" I thank you for your letter of the 28th ultimo, enclosing the oddress
which you delivered in Congress, dealing with the tree. I have had a
chance to hastily scan it, and wish to congratulate you on the earnest,
eloquent and vivid manner in which you have presented this question
and to commend you in the very strongest terms On the splendid work
you have undertaken. "
KENNETH M. GOODE, Editor, Hearst's Magazine:
"Thank you very much indeed for your kindness in sending mc your
very interesting speech about 'The Tree as a Living Thing.' The subject
is certainly one of vital interest, and I do not see how your interesting
presentation can fall to awaken a keener realization of its importance. "
J. A. M'GUIRE, Editor, Outdoor Life:
" I am sorry I cannot reproduce the whole story in OUTDOOR LIFE,
as it it indeed very instructive, but I hope, however, to at least make aa
extract from it for some future number.
" With best regards and assuring you of my deep appreciation, a feel
ing that I believe you deserve from every sportsman in the country. "
EDWARD J. WHEELER, Editor, Current Opinion:
"Ism sending to the printer your speech on the tree, nearly com
plete, with a brief editorial introduction. I hope to use it in the May
number of CURRENT OPINION. It is an unusual thing to come out
of Congressional proceedings, but it is a classic of Mu kind and I am muck
obliged to you for sending a copy to me. "
Published as a contribution in support of Forest Protection Week in the interest of Tree Preservation and Reforestation by
THE DAVEY TREE EXPERT CO., Inc.
Home Office, KENT, OHIO
Branch office with telephone connections New York, A3tor Court
Building; Philadelphia, Land Title Building; Boston, 449 Main
Street, Wakefield; Baltimore, American Building; Chicago, West
minster Building; St. Louis, Central National Bank Building.
Canadian address, 252 Laugauchltere West, Montreal!
Philadelphia Office, 2017 LAND TITLE BLDG.
Telephone Spruce 39 lo"
Permanent representatives available in districts surrounding Boston,
Springfield, Lenox, Newport, Hartford, Stamford, Albany, Pough
kcepsic, White Plains, Jamaica, L. I Montclair, New York, Phila
delphia, Harrisburg, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Buffalo,
Toronto, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati, Kansas City,
Louisville, Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis.
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