[Science Report]:Cloning Mount Vernons Trees


This is the VOA SpecialEnglish Science Report.

Tree experts have begun an effort to rebuild forests near thehome of America's first president, George Washington. Earlier thismonth, workers gathered buds from tall, old trees on the grounds ofGeorge Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It is in the state ofVirginia, near Washington, D-C. The experts hope to produce geneticcopies, or clones, of the trees and plant them on the property.

Tree experts David Milarch (MILL-ark) and his son, Jared, areleading the efforts. They gained experience in cloning old treesthrough the Champion Tree Project. They started the project toproduce genetic copies of the largest trees in the United States.Over the next ten years, the project plans to provide Mount Vernonwith one-thousand trees for planting in nearby wooded areas.

During the past century, Mount Vernon has lost more than seventytrees that were planted when George Washington was alive.

As a special project, David and Jared Milarch offered to makeclones of the thirteen oldest trees at Mount Vernon. They are huge,beautiful trees. George Washington supervised the planting of thesetrees more than two-hundred years ago.

The Milarch family plans to grow fifty copies of each tree intree nurseries in Alabama and Oregon. They will return the trees tobe planted at Mount Vernon in two years. Some copies of the treeswill be sent to the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University inCambridge, Massachusetts for safe keeping.

Grafting is the name of the process used to clone trees. It hasbeen done for thousands of years. A method called the T-budtechnique often is used to copy trees.

Workers begin by cutting the bark, or covering, on the side of ayoung tree. The cut is made in the shape of a cross, or the letterT. Next, the workers find a bud, or small growth, on the tree to becopied. A small piece of wood under the bud is carefully removedfrom the tree. The bud is then put into the hole on the other tree.The bud is tightly tied in place and begins to grow.

Mount Vernon officials say George Washington was interested inhis tree collection. The officials add that he was a strongenvironmentalist. They say the old trees are important because theyexisted when America's first president was alive.

This VOA Special English Science Report was written by GeorgeGrow.

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