Miscellaneous. 335 



make a nest. Cleaning away the trash and litter around the' base of 

 each tree will prevent injury by mice. The same wrapper applied to 

 keep rabbits away is also effectual against mice. If wrappers are em- 

 ployed they should extend slightly into the ground at the base of the 

 tree. 



Sanitary Methods. — Diseases of trees and the fruit itself, such as 

 bitter rot, brown rot, scab, canker, etc., are partially preventable by clean- 

 ing up decaying fruit, cutting out diseased limbs and other sources of 

 infection. All decaying and mummified fruit on the trees or under them 

 should be removed and destroyed. Fruit rots are largely distributed 

 through the orchard in spring by means of spores that develop in the 

 decaying fruit that is left in the orchard during winter. An apple 

 affected with bitter rot may contain enough spores of this disease to 

 seriously endanger the crop of fruit that begins its dcvel'opmcnt the fol- 

 lowing spring. Other fruit diseases are largely spread in this way. A 

 single mummified fruit, which is allowed to hang on the tree over winter 

 may be the source from which spores of some disease may largely de- 

 stroy the crop next year. The decaying fruit which is removed from the 

 orchard sh"ould be so taken care of that spores 'of disease that may develop 

 in it cannot find their way to the fruit trees in spring. It may be burned, 

 buried in some ravine or composted in the manure heap and used to 

 fertilize the garden. 



Diseased limbs should be removed whenever they appear. It is now 

 known that the Bitter Rot of the apple may be disseminated from winter 

 spores that develop in cankered spots in the limbs of the trees, as well 

 as from the spores that develop in the decaying fruit itself. In orchards 

 where this disease is prevalent the trees should be examined for these 

 cankered spots and all of the latter should be pruned out and burned. 

 These cankered spots are dark colored, shrunken areas where the bark 

 has been killed and where the wound does not appear to heal in the 

 normal manner, but where the wound looks dark, shrunken and dis- 

 eased. It is not easy to distinguish between them and the trunk and limb 

 canker that injures tree. For that reason it is well to prune away any 

 such injured spots as appear to be diseased from any cause and where 

 the healing process is not going on normally. Blighted twigs should all 

 be cut out. 



Washes and Gullies.^Along the hillsides and ravines in the orchard 

 washes may occur from the rains in summer and autumn. In some cases 

 the roots of the trees may have been laid bare and thus exposed to winter 

 injury. Such washes should be filled to prevent further damage and any 

 exposed roots should be well covered to protect them from winter injury. 

 If the "ground has not been given level culture depressions may occur 



