Dr. MacDaniels: "Wire guards are excellent to keep mice, rabbits, etc., away from your nut trees." Planting of Nut Trees on Highways Undesirable R. P. ALLAMAN, Harrisburg, Pa. Having always opposed this practice when it was under discussion, I have been asked to prepare an article on the subject. This paper was prepared in collaboration with Mr. Wilbur H. Simonson, Senior Landscape Architect, U. S. Bureau of Public Roads, Washington, D. C. Since the beginning of the roadside improvement demonstration program in 1933 the policy of the Public Roads Administration has never favored planting of the showy, garden type of fruit and nut trees on highway roadsides for several reasons: 1. =Traffic Hazards=--Dropping of fruits and nuts on pavements tends to make surface conditions slippery and dangerous to traffic. 2. =Police Problems=--Ripening of fruits and nuts tends to invite passing motorists to stop on side of highway pavements to gather the fruits, adding to traffic hazard. Also such trees tend to invite vandalism by boys together with clubbing the trees to get down the fruits with the possible results of not only injury and damage to the trees themselves, but throwing sticks, stones and clubs into the tree branches is likely to result in hitting or striking passing motorists and otherwise cause loss of control of vehicles by drivers, a very dangerous road condition especially because it is an unexpected situation to have clubs or fruit come down on the highway when driving through. This all means more intensive policing of the highway by the responsible authorities with added costs in maintenance budgets. 3. =Maintenance Problems=--Not only do dropping of fruits, and the results of vandalism, cause extra cleanup of pavements and drainageways, (clogging of pipes and gutters with debris from the trees) all hazardous to traffic; but also the questions of insects and disease problems are added. This all complicates public maintenance problems and especially the proper pruning and spraying of the trees. It is not considered a proper function of public authorities to carry on operations that compete with private property developments. Administrative policy and procedures shall encourage the planting of shade tree types along public highways, and avoid the above described difficulties that are =bound= to occur if nut-bearing types of trees are placed on highway areas. References: Bennett's book on Roadside Development, 1929, pages 6 and 52, also page 527 of the proceedings for the twentieth annual meeting of the Highway Research Board in 1940, regarding the selection and use of trees on highway areas, as recommended by the Committee on Roadside Development. I quote from these the following extracts: