MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 191O. 419 



juries by such animals as rabbits and mice, and by borers. 

 Broken or improperly pruned branches make a good place for 

 the entrance of fungi. A broken, splintered branch which will 

 hold moisture makes an excellent place for the germination of 

 spores and the mycelium after it has grown for a time under 

 favorable conditions is able to penetrate the wood. Care should 

 be taken to remove all such broken and splintered branches and 

 in removing them long stubs should not be left which will be 

 slow in healing over if they heal at all. In pruning the branch 

 should be cut back as close to the larger branch or trunk as pos- 

 sible, and the surface of the wound should be parallel and as 

 near as possible on line with the surface of the main trunk or 

 branch. Such a wound if protected will heal over without in- 

 jury to the tree, while even a short stub will never do this, 

 although the wound made is much smaller. Much of the heart 

 rot is caused by fungi which gain entrance through stubs left 

 by improper pruning. When it is necessary to remove large 

 branches, the wound should be painted or otherwise protected. 

 Wood destroying fungi may also enter the wood through 

 places in the bark injured by canker fungi and by frost. Here 

 again may be emphasized the necessity of attending promptly 

 to the treatment of all wounds of whatever origin, as the con- 

 trol of wood flestroying fungi must be a matter of prevention 

 and not of cure. 



GENERAL TREATMENT FOR APPLE ORCHARDS. 



A\'hile the enemies of the apple are numerous and varied, by 

 far the larger part of them may readily be held in check by 

 spraying with the more common insecticides and fungicides, and 

 often, by a combination of materials, several enemies may be 

 met with one application. There should, however, be a definite 

 purpose in view for every application. The mere fact of spray- 

 ing is not enough. It is important that the orchardist know 

 2vhy and hozv, and ivheii to spray or otherwise combat his ene- 

 mies. Beneficial insects should be recognized when seen, and 

 should be protected and encouraged. 



While spraying is beneficial and should be practiced by all, 

 it should be supplemented by thorough orchard sanitation. No 



