934 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



both included in American Forestry's "List of Books A. The most useful and cheapest guard is made of 



on Forestry." For specific instructions, kinds of plants. wire netting, J/4 inch mesh and Xo. U! or Xo. K gauge, 



planting, etc., write to any of the tree nurseries whicl; It should be six feet high and should have a piece of 



advertise in Amkric.w Fiirestrv. liose on its upper end to prevent chafing. 



O. What are the best trees to plant in front of ni} 

 house in the city of New York? 



.\. de C. A'cji.' York Ciiy. 



A. The Oriental sycamore (Plataiiiis oriciitalis) is 

 r.ndouljtedly the hardiest and generally best adajited to 

 the unfavorable concHtions of the average city street. It 

 grows fairlv rapidlv, is ordinarily free from insects and 

 disease and forms a symmetrical ci>m])act crown. The 

 Xorwav maple {Acer plataiioidcs } is the next best tree 

 to plant and the Red oak, Furojiean small leaf linden 

 and Gingko are still others that may be chosen. The 

 species is, of course, an important consideration, but no 

 tree will do well on the city street unless one jirovides 

 from two to four cubic yards of good loam an<l jilants 

 the tree with great care. 



O. \\'e have at our summer home at Mackinac Island. 

 two beautiful maple trees, one hard maple and the other 

 a soft majjle. The soft maple, perhaps -""lO or (iO years 

 old, seems to be dying out. The lea\'es are turning yel- 

 low and some of the top branches are dead. We find 

 many small holes drilled through the bark, and into thi 

 bodv of the tree, as clean as though a gimlet had been 

 used. We have renioved some of the bark, and find a 

 coating of seeminglv dead wood of a brownish color 

 about an eighth of an inch thick. Cleaning this ott. we 

 find good, live wood underneath. We have removed the 

 bark in several places and find the same condition exists 

 in each case. Will >ou kindly advise what way we should 

 proceed in the way of treatment to save this tree? 



J. R. 11.. Detroit. Micbitjan. 



A. From \our description, it seems that the li\ ing 

 tissue of the soft niaiile. situated immediately underneath 

 the outer bark, has already Ijeen injured liy an insect 

 which has emergeil some time ago. If this "coating of 

 dead wood" binds ilie whole circumference of the tree, 

 then it is doubtful whether anything can be done to sa\e 

 the tree. If parts of the tissue underneath the bark are 

 still good and fre.-!i. then you might resort to "heading 

 ir.." which means cutting in the whole tO]) of the tree 

 heavilv. .\ soft maple will stand the treatment. This 

 should be done in September. 



Q. What shall 1 do to combat the elm leaf beetle? 



j. H. M., ]Vorcester. Mass. 



A. Sprav with arsenate of lead during the latter part 

 of May and gather the pupal at the base of the tree dur- 

 ing the first ten days in .\ugust. 



Q. What i.- the best guard for street trees? 



A. M. P., Reading. Pa. 



Q. Can you tell me what causes maple leaves to turn 

 rtddish brown in midsummer, and if harmful to the 



trees i 



c ^ 



M. L., Poughkecpsie. X. Y. 



A. Alaple leaves generally turn reddish brown in mid- 

 summer when the supply of water is cut oil from the 

 roots. Cultivation and watering will generally revive 

 the trees. 



O. Can you tell me what to do for a large hickory tree 

 which has good nuts, but few of which mature? 



T. 1!. S.. Hackeusaek. A". J. 



\. The first thing suggesting itself in answer to your 

 query about your hickory tree is that the frugality of 

 mature nuts is due to an inherent quality of barrenness 

 in the tree itself, something that is very hard to over- 

 come but has in rare instances been corrected by topwork- 

 It is necessary that this shall be done by a specialist in 

 tb.is line of work, and it is quite an expensive process. 

 Would suggest that you write to Dr. Deming, Secretary 

 of the Xorthern Xul (Growers Association, Georgetown, 

 Connecticut, for fuller information. It is possible that 

 the condition might be helped by seeing that the groimd 

 about the tree is fertile and in good condition and that it 

 has ])lenty of moisture, as the hickory demands more 

 moisture than nianv other species. 



0. How shall 1 kill a grub in a majile tree? 



-Mks. M. M. L., Coluiuhns. Ohio. 



A. Inject carl)on bisulphide into the Imrrow and clog 

 the orifice immediately after injection with a bit of soap. 

 The soap will prevent the deadly gas generated by the 

 carbon Ijisulphide from coming out. The following da}- 

 remove the soap and ])aint the wound with coal tar. 



WORK foR the month OE SEPTE.Mni:R 



1. I'rune the shade and ornamental trees in the Fall 

 before the leaxes drop. 



'i. Collect and destroy the eggs of the tussock moth 

 and cocoons and egg-masses of other insects. 



:5. Remove borers in fruit trees and look out for 

 borers in other trees. 



4. .Mark with v'liite paint all deatl and hopelesslv 

 diseased trees which are to be cut down in winter. At 

 this time one can see them better than in the winter time. 



'<. X'isit the nurseries this month and select the ])lants 

 required for planting in the Si)ring of 1!M(1. .\t this 

 time one can have a wider choice of material at abso- 

 lutely staple prices. The plants mav be left standing 

 in the nursery for deliverv in the spring. 



