MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 41 
amount of snow in recent years, traps are almost useless, 
since rabbits cannot be tracked. While rabbits attack many 
plants, at times they prefer certain kinds, as in this case the 
row of Prunus Mahaleb in the nursery which was damaged 
during the cold spell of January 5. A few well-directed 
shots would soon dispose of these rodents, but in the city that 
is not the safest method. 
What should be done to plants injured by rabbits? If 
properly taken care of, most wounds will heal by eallusing. 
In the case of shrubs the damaged wood can be removed if 
the injury is not too general, but trees that have one main 
trunk must be treated. Damage is sometimes confined only 
to one side of the trunk, and in such instances the remaining 
uninjured tissue is sufficient for the sap to flow through. The 
frayed edges in wounds of this sort should be cut to a smooth 
edge and the entire wound covered over with grafting wax, or 
wax and cloth, to exclude moisture and prevent fungus spores 
from entering. The cloth also prevents the wound from dry- 
ing out in extremely hot weather. The wax is prepared by 
heating in a vessel one part tallow, two parts beeswax, and 
four parts rosin. When melted, the mixture is poured into 
cold water and then pulled until it assumes a light cream 
color. Oceasional greasing of the hands while pulling will 
prevent the wax from sticking. Trunks of large diameter 
can be repaired by bridge grafting if the wound girdles the 
trunk or if sufficiently large to demand such treatment. Trees 
and shrubs that are severely damaged should be pruned back 
so as to prevent too active growth. While sufficient moisture 
could be supplied, if the wood is not seriously damaged, the 
downward flow of the sap will be interfered with until the 
injured portion is again healed. 
When the number of ornamental plants on a place is not 
very great and the damage by rabbits and mice is anticipated, 
it is well to place some wire netting, to a height of about 
eighteen inches, about the stems of such plants. 
EREMURUS FOR ST. LOUIS 
Because of notable introductions from Asia by Russian 
botanists and travelers within the last decade, the genus 
Eremurus has oceupied a prominent place in European gar- 
