A Study of the Tolerance of Trees to Breakage by Ice Accumulation

Abstract

On January 7, 1937, a sleet storm in portions of Missouri and Illinois resulted in the greatest load of ice on the trees in the history of the region. The intensity of the storm seems to have been greatest in west central Illinois from Quincy to Rushville. Press reports following the storm stated that, Trees are ruined, and, There was scarcely a tree escaped the ravages of the ice. This is hardly to be taken as editorial exaggeration as the noise of breaking trees during the night and the debris of branches that blocked every street in the city must have been impressive. The writer spent three days in Rushville during late March of that year making a general survey of the damage to the various species of street and lawn trees. A total of 979 individuals of 52 different species were observed and classified as badly broken, moderately injured, or escaping with little or no injury. Time did not permit careful study of the damage, but the survey showed such marked differences in resistance of species to the ice load that it seemed worth while to report the findings. The species are arranged in the following table in the order of their susceptibility.