MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 349' 



HOW TO PREVENT ROOT ROT. 



Having selected your ground, plow as deeply as 'possible ; the 

 deeper the ground is stirred up the better. Then get well-rooted one 

 or two-year old trees (I prefer one-year-old trees). No matter whether 

 the root is obtained from the crown graft or other graft of the seedling 

 root, so long as a good root is obtained. Dig the hole not less than 

 three feet wide and two feet deep, the wider and the deeper the better. 



Spread out the roots well in planting, keeping the collar of the tree 

 even with the natural level of the ground, so that the earth can be 

 moved back after the young tree has gathered a good root hold. As 

 soon as the root gets a good hold keep the earth back so that the roots 

 may be seen entering the ground, as the forest trees grow. In culti- 

 vating your young orchard, be careful not to cut off the roots of your 

 trees ; wash the bark well with strong soft soap suds before the buds 

 start in the spring. Keep your trees well cultivated and there will be 

 very little if any trouble with the root rot. I am told that in Germany 

 it is considered essential to the best health of the tree to scrape the 

 outside bark off every spring, and to keep the dirt back from the roots 

 as I have advised above. Some people think it necessary to run the 

 knife blade up and down the tree in the spring, cutting just through 

 the outside bark to keep it from becoming bark-bound ; but in doing 

 this be sure not to cut through the bark to the wood. 



We have in West Plains a most convincing proof of the correct- 

 ness of my position — that piling dirt up around trees will kill them in 

 many instances. A lot near the public square was filled in, and many 

 of the oak trees naturally growing there had the dirt piled up around 

 them. Five of those are now dead as a result. I have also had many 

 people tell me of istances where they had seen trees killed by piling 

 dirt up around them, above the place where the roots naturally started 



out from the tree. 



William A. Gardner. 



The foregoing was sent to me for an opinion on the subject, and I 

 am satisfied that his theory is correct to a great extent, and to throw 

 the light out, I send it to you for the "Rural World." 



To give you an idea of my notion'on the subject, will simply state 

 that in removing my house from the railroad it was placed in such a 

 situation that a little gully, a few rods off, had to be filled up, in which 

 stood two handsome sycamore trees about six inches in diameter and 

 thirty feet high. These trees stand admirably to shade us from the 

 morning sun for a few hours. But, as the gully had to be filled up 



