Pierce Park, at the Doyle Reservation, was part of a former estate assembled by Harry W. Pierce, at the turn of the twentieth century. This grand estate featured a twenty-nine-room stucco mansion with a ballroom and conservatory, a matching stable, extensive horse paddocks, Pierce Pond (across Merriam Avenue), and an extensive system of bridle paths through woodland and around the pond.
Pierce Park is a link in the Monoosnoc Trail. In addition to Pierce Park, there is small woodland behind the reproduction saltbox house at 325 Lindell Avenue, which serves as the Central Regional Office of The Trustees of Reservations. Several parcels of woodland and meadow that are part of the reservation can be seen from Lindell Avenue. There are no formal trails at Pierce Park. A one-quarter-mile trail runs through the woodlands behind the Central Regional Office at 325 Lindell Avenue. Easy hiking.
The Doyle Reservation is home to the Doyle Conservation Center, which was completed in Spring of 2004. The conference room at the Central Regional Office may be rented by non-profit organizations for meetings and small receptions.
Now, on to the cache.....
Ten acres of the original landscaped grounds have been restored as a neighborhood park. Most of the trees and shrubs are from the estate's original design and plantings. Go to each of the following locations and learn a little about the tree you are visiting. While there, don't forget to record the tree number that you find on the tin medallion attached to the tree. Each number may be 1, 2 or 3 digits as specified by the variable A, B, C, D or E.
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N42°32.933, W071°46.339
Norway spruce – Picea abies
Norway Spruce is one of the most widely planted spruces, both in and outside of its native range, used in forestry for timber and paper production, and as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens. It is also widely planted for use as a Christmas tree. Every Christmas, the Norwegian capital city, Oslo, provides the cities of New York, London, Edinburgh and Washington D.C. with a Norwegian spruce, which is placed at the most central square of each city. This is mainly a sign of gratitude for the aid these countries gave during the Second World War.
A1:[_____] A2:[_____] A3:[__2__]
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N42°32.933, W071°46.312
Flowering Crabapple Tree – Malus sp.
Few ornamental trees offer the variety of tree shapes, sizes, flower colors and ornamental fruit as flowering crabapples. There are over 35 species and 700 cultivated varieties of crabapples and have been a part of the home landscape for many years.
B1:[_____] B2:[_____]
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N42°32.932, W071°46.278
Japanese Umbrella Pine – Sciadopitys verticillata
The Koyamaki (Sciadopitys verticillata) or Japanese Umbrella-pine, is a unique conifer endemic to Japan. It is the sole member of the family Sciadopityaceae and genus Sciadopitys, a living fossil with no close relatives, and known in the fossil record for about 230 million years.
C1:[_____]
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N42°32.916, W071°46.259
Sugar Maple – Acer saccharum
The Sugar Maple is also often confused with the Norway Maple, though they are not closely related within the genus. The Sugar Maple is most easily identified by clear sap in the leaf petiole (the Norway Maple has white sap), brown sharp-tipped buds (the Norway Maple has blunt green or reddish purple buds), and shaggy bark on older trees (the Norway Maple bark has small grooves). Also, the leaf lobes of the Sugar Maple have a more triangular shape, in contrast to the squarish lobes of the Norway Maple.
D1:[__5___] D2:[__6___]
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N42°32.889, W071°46.266
American Linden – Tilia Americana
Linden flowers are used in colds, cough, fever, infections, inflammation, high blood pressure, headache (particularly migraine), as a diuretic, antispasmodic, and sedative. The flowers were added to baths to quell hysteria, and steeped as a tea to relieve anxiety-related indigestion, irregular heartbeat, and vomiting. The leaves are used to promote sweating to reduce fevers. The wood is used for liver and gallbladder disorders and cellulitis. That wood burned to charcoal is ingested to treat intestinal disorders and used topically to treat edema or infection, such as cellulitis or ulcers of the lower leg.
E1:[_____] E2:[_____]
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Now that you have all the necessary information, solve the following equations and go to
Q=B1+B2+A1+A3
R=A2-E2
S=E2
X=B1
Y=E2+B2+B1+A1
Z=C1+D1-D2
N42°32.QRS, W071°46.XYZ.
The properly decoded coordinates will bring you to a fine specimen of the Fagus sylvatica
This tree starts to flower when it is between 30-80 years old. The flowers are small catkins which appear shortly after the leaves in spring. The seeds, called beechnuts, are small triangular nuts 15-20 mm long and 7-10 mm wide at the base; there are two nuts in each cupule, maturing in the autumn 5-6 months after pollination. Flower and seed production is particularly abundant in years following a hot, sunny and dry summer, though rarely for two years in a row. The nuts are an important food for birds, rodents and in the past also people, although they are only very rarely eaten by man. Slightly toxic to man if eaten in large quantities due to the tannins they contain, the nuts were nonetheless pressed to obtain an oil in 19th century England that was used for cooking and in lamps. They were also ground to make flour, which could be eaten after the tannins were leached out by soaking. The hint will disclose the common name of this tree.
We would like to thank The Trustees of Reservation for their assistance on the hide and for allowing us to place this cache on the property.
This cache was released for The Great Northern Tier Geocaching Tournament 2009 and is now available for any cacher who wishes to visit the cache after the event.