Protection of Fruit Trees. 



239 



promise of fruitful days to come; the others to rapidly outgrow their 

 period of innocence and harmlessness and develop into agile, rollicking, 

 mischief-working rodents which inspire no further real appreciation 

 until "bagged" by a careful gunner; then, at last, they "promise to be 

 good" — served on the table of the orchardist. 



Fig. 3. The tree was protected — so was the enemy 



II. OTHER DISCOVERIES. 



Let US resume our visit of inspection in this young orchard. Here 

 is a row of trees six or seven years of age which has, in a measure, 

 outgrow the period of danger of injury by rabbits. Dare we allow 

 ourselves to feel secure in considering these beyond the need of further 

 attention. By no means! They had been heavily mulched with grass 

 cut from betAveen the rows in June; but up through this mulch are 

 pushing, here and there, sturdy growths of rag-weed, yarrow, sorrel and 

 other strong-growing weeds which, together with the decaying material 

 of the mulch beneath, provide excellent hiding places and covers under 

 which the field or meadow mice will work when winter comes, if not 

 before. 



Let us draw back the mulch from about the stems of a few of the 



