Pa^e Ten 



BETTER FRUIT 



February, 1 922 



Treatment of Winter Injured Trees 



liij Pkofessor W. S. Brown 



Chief in Horticulture^ Oregon Agricultural College 



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I In the December number tvas fre- | 



I iented a comprehensiz'e surz'ey and | 



I discussion of tree injuries sustained | 



I by northzcestem orchards and nut | 



I groves in the cold snaf of two sea- i 



I sons ago, written by Professor D. F. i 



I Fisher. Here is the timely and log- | 



I icd follozv-uf treatment of stuh | 



I winter injuries, frefared by the chief | 



I /'« horticulture at Oregon Agricul- | 



I tural College. One of the highly I 



I valuable features of this -paper, a i 



I contribution to the present fund i 



I of knowledge and practice, will be \ 



I found in the adz'ice giz'en on types | 



I of wound coz'erings. | 



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IT IS NOTHING unusual for young 

 fruit trees to have their barl: split open 

 and rolled back during the winter seas- 

 son. This may be brought about by the 

 warm, sunny days of February, followed by 

 crisp, frosty nights. The results are often 

 very serious to the trees because the trees 

 frequently have much of the bark 

 destroyed, thus shutting off the food supply 

 running from the branches to the roots, 

 and also allowing heart rot organisms to 

 gain possession of the exposed wood. 



Nothing within recent years, however, 

 has equalled the extreme cold period during 

 December, 1919, which killed so many of 

 our fruit trees outright and which severely 

 injured many others. The trees that are 

 dead and those most severely injured will, 

 undoubtedly, be pulled in course of time. 

 Others less seriously injured may live for 

 many years provided they are properly 

 handled. On the other hand, they may die 

 in a very short time if neglected. 



The treatment we give these trees should 

 accomplish at least two ends: First, it should 

 prevent heart rot organisms from entering 

 the wood of injured trees; second, it should 

 bring about the healing over of the ex- 

 posed wood by the bark, as soon as possible. 



Bridge Grafting — On trees where 

 much of the bark is still in good condition 

 above and below the wounded surface, and 

 where the wound is not too long, bridge 

 grafting may be resorted to. When limbs 

 have been affected severely at their bases, 

 or when the tree trunks have been almost 

 girdled the entire length, bridge grafting 

 becomes very expensive and is seldom help- 

 ful enough to make the process worth 

 while. The greatest danger in bridge graft- 

 ing lies in the fact that heart rot may find 

 entrance to the exposed portions of the 

 wood and cause the tree to be short lived, 

 even though the grafts may take. 



Description of Bridge Grafting — 

 Bridge grafting is not a complicated matter. 



though the work must be carefully done. 

 Scions cut from any variety of apple will 

 do. They must be cut during the dormant 

 season and be kept in a cool, rather moist 

 place until grafting is done. The scion 

 stick should be from last year's wood 

 growth, and should be about the size of a 

 lead pencil or a little larger. When it is 

 desired to keep these scions for some little 

 time it is best to wrap them in moist sphag- 

 num moss or slightly moist sawdust until 

 time for grafting. 



Setting the Graft — The bark on the 

 tree must be cut back until good live bark 

 is reached. The edges of this live bark 

 are cut regularly and smoothly. A scion 

 is then taken, sharpened at one end into 

 a thin wedge-shaped stick, and in- 

 serted under the edge of the bark, usually 

 on the lower side of the wound. Before 

 inserting the scion, it will be necessary to 

 make a vertical cut an inch or thereabouts 

 in length into the edge of the good bark 

 {Continued on page 19) 



Irrigation With Hydraulic Ram 



Double installation of 10-inch and 12-inch rams, installed in 1915 



and still lifting water 140 feet on the ranch of Fred R. Hawn, 



Grandview, Wash. 



^ I IHERI". are many section and locations 

 ■■- in the Pacific Northwest where the 

 feasibility of using one of these remarkable 

 water-lifting devices known as the hydrau- 

 lic ram, as a means of putting water where 

 it is needed for irrigation or other purpose, 

 ie too often overlooked. 



The principle of the hydraulic ram has 

 been known for more than 200 years and 

 the device has been used extensively for 

 such purposes as procuring water for house- 

 hold and domestic needs. Its adaptation to 

 ifigation problems has been worked out 

 only in recent years. 



Engineers of the Pacific Northwest have 

 done considerable pioneering in this field. 

 Recognizing the mar.y advantages of this 

 economical means of delivering water in 

 quantity sufficient for extensive irrigation, 

 they have developed the ram of large size. 

 They have succeeded in perfecting rams 

 in sizes up to 24 inches and capable of 



delivering as much as 3,600,000 gallons per 

 day. 



Wherever a running stream, flowing 

 well or other water supply exists, from 

 which a slight fall may be obtained to fur- 

 nish the power head, a ram may be success- 

 fully installed. It is possible for one of 

 these machines to make running water lift 

 a considerable portion of its flow to any 

 height, up to 30 times that of the fall in 

 the supply pipe. 



Economy of operation is a factor highly 

 in favor of the hydraulic ram. It requires 

 no fuel or expensive current to run it. No 

 engineer is required to keep it going. Once 

 started the action in continuous and auto- 

 matic. It does the work of both a motor 

 and a pump. It needs no oiling and is so 

 simple in construction as to require practi- 

 cally no repairs or adjustments. 



The orchardist who is contemplating 

 installation of a new system of irrigation. 



