188 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



as the rabbits themselves. The laths rub the bark from the trees. I 

 have thought of using cloth. Is cheese cloth heavy enough I 



President Evans — I think not. 



Mr. Stanton, of Illinois — We have tested almost everything. The 

 wooden protector has had its day. We have discarded it entirely. I 

 use good, strong sheeting ; buy it by the bolt, put it on in the fall and 

 remove it in the spring, and so for three or four years. 



Secretary Goodman — I have used 80,000 wooden wrappers in the 

 last few years. I use a wrapper twenty inches long, ten inches wide 

 and one-twelfth of an inch thick. We fasten it with No. 2 wire. This 

 wire is put up in stones, which we have cut in two places. We put it 

 on at planting time in the spring. We seldom lose a tree, and many of 

 them make a growth of from four to six feet the first season. It is re- 

 markable. We punch holes with an awl through one edge of the 

 wrappers in two places, about four inches from each end. The wire is 

 passed through these holes. It cannot slip off. Sometimes we have 

 not found one borer in 5,000 trees. The first year we do not take it 

 off at all. It protects from borers, rabbits and sun scald. The second 

 year we leave it on till August or September, remove it on a wet day, 

 wash the trees with kerosene emulsion, leave it off for two or three 

 months for the bark to harden. It will get too soft if the wrappers are 

 kept on continuously. Hoe around your trees for four feet to keep 

 away the mice. Wooden wrappers will last from three to five years. 

 If they rot off at the bottom push them down. They cost from $3 to 

 $3.50 per thousand. 



Mr. Gilkeson — I could never buy them for such prices. Ours 

 cost nearly $4 per thousand. 



Secretary Goodman — The wrappers, one tenth inch thick, cost 

 more than those one-twelfth inch. The thinner ones are better. They 

 don't crack as easily. Cloth will draw away from the bottom and leave 

 space at the bottom for the borer to get in. 



Mr. Harrison — I would like to know the cost of the wire screen as 

 used by Mr. Eobnett ? 



Mr. Robnett — I paid $1.75 per 100 square feet; you can get it al- 

 most any size. I have no sua scald. It can be prevented by proper 

 cultivation. Wire screen costs about 2 cents per tree and they will 

 last about five years. I tried galvanized wire cloth, but it injured the 

 trees by rubbing. We cut our wire lengthwise into strips twelve 

 inches wide with a pocket-knife. When we applied it we cut these 

 strips into lengths to suit the heighth of the trunk of the tree. Some 

 of ijiy trees are headed very low. We have taken it oft" every year, 

 looked for borers and cleaned the trees. 



