Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 3, Number 5, DeMotte, Jasper County, 15 June 1933 — Washington Cherry Trees [ARTICLE]

Washington Cherry Trees

The first Japanese flowering cherries planted at Washington on public ground were purchased by Mrs. William Howard Taft in 1909. The folfollowing year, upon the suggestion of the Japanese consul general at New York city, the city of Washington received 2,000 trees as a gift from the city of Tokyo, Japan. The entire consignment, however, was ordered burned by the government because the trees were infested with insect pests and plant diseases. But that did not discourage the people of Tokyo. They sent another consignment of more than 3,000 trees, which were planted in Potomac park in Washing-ton.--Pathfinder Magazine.