Times Advocate, 1994-12-7, Page 17Frenchman's Inn
Restaurant
Everyday 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Dinner starting at $ 16.95
235-2008
North Middles. Amblon �$ - F 1873_
Typical of most roadside trees in the area, this one(above) will show about 90 years of rings, says Steve Harbum of the ARCA. Replacement
trees face many challenges to growth, such as this stand (left) on Hay Concession 2-3, planted directly beneath electrical lines. At top right is
a row of trees, also on Concession 2-3 that show the sufferings of years of one-sided trimming away from electrical lines. Trees like them are
dying off on back roads all around the region and are prone to fall or lose branches in storms.
A roadside legacy, dying
EXETER Severalyearg ash, the provincial gslem
ment came to the realization that rural roads had been'
stripped of their sheltering trees, and that trees needed
to be replanted under a grant incentive program. This
was when? The 1980s? The '70s? The '50s? Actually
the year was 1905, and for several years, local farmers
were encouraged to dig up saplings from their wood -
lots and transplant them to their roadsides.
The trees, planted only a few metres apart, were of-
ten used as fence posts, but their main benefit was to
provide shelter to people travelling by horse and bug-
gy under the hot sun, or to slow down harsh winter
winds. Students walking to the nearest one -room
school no doubt appreciated the shelter.
But 90 years later, those Sugar Maples and Red Ma-
ples that remain are nearing the end of their life ex-
pectancies. Soon, predicts Steve Harburn at the Aus-
able Bayfield Conservation Authority, they will all be
gone. Many of them were cut down to make way for
drainage, and in the 1970s farmers were even encour-
aged to take out hedge rows and fencelines.. By the
1980s, concerns for wind erosion and the need for
wdtdbreaka had farmers -putting 'trees -back in, under
another grant program.
"It's really weird how things go," said Harburn, who
said the shift is now from helping townships replant
their road allowances to getting farmers to put them on
their own land. The reason is that the townships may
plant the trees, but cannot often follow
up on care and maintenance.
Also, it is hard for young trees to
survive in the harsh environment of a
roadside. The saplings of 1905 had
years to mature before truck backdrafts
battered them, and years before salt
and sand was spread on roads.
"Today, Sugar Maple is really hard
to get established along roadsides,"
said Harburn, noting the ABCA now-
adays uses mostly Norway Maple, Ash
and some Pine and Colorado Spruce.
Meadow voles also take their toll on
the saplings, "girdling" the trees by
eating their bark under the cover of
snow.
Some of the trees, at $10 each, survive, but Har -
burn's hope is that more community involvement in
tree planting will once again line local roads with tall
trees, making them more pleasant to drive in the sum-
mer, less prone to drifting in the winter, and an overall
benefit to the environment.
Reduced to firewood is this row of trees, no longer safe to
leave standing on the roadside. Where are their re-
placements?
DETROIT
RED WINGS
ALUMNI
featuri►�g...
Gary Bergman, Arnie Brown, Eddie Mio, Alex Delvecchio, Nick.
Libett, Dwight Foster and many more!
VS
EXETER
HAWKS
Junior .Hockey Club
Sat., December 17
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
South Huron Roc Centre, Exeter
All advance tickets -bnly $6.00
At the gate - only $7.00
Tickets available at:
Plea Delight 235-1992
Bank of Montreal - Hensel!
Pioneer Gas Bar 235-0130
Gar's Bar & Grill 238,2773
SHOP EARLY WHILE SELECTION IS AT ITS BEST
Store Hours: Monday -Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat. 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
✓✓✓✓.r✓_-i-r�r✓-r✓r�1-r� .�f✓.�✓-�.f. r.�✓-T.fr✓�f�r��i-��rr�rr��rJ-�i- J
FARM EQUIPMENT - EXETER, ONTARIO
Sales, Service & Rentals since 1932
2359-2121 1-800-265-2121 Fax: 235-M1