 Government horticulturalists said the tree had suffered root damage and had not thrived in the hot, damp climate of Washington, D.C. David Rhoads, a citizen from Silver Spring, Maryland, donated his tall blue spruce to the National Park Service, chopped off its branches and wired many of them to the lower part of the existing tree to cover up the damage.The tree's plight was so obvious that the public made 112 offers for a new living tree to the government by early December.The 1974 tree was removed and used for the Yule log in 1977.