I9I4 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page I 



/ 



The Corn Show 



will be proof that the Pacific Northwest raises 



as fine corn as the "corn belt." 



It will be held under the auspices of the 



INGT 



AT 



Walla Walla. Washington 

 November 25 to'28. 19 14 



10,000 



representative ears, the cream 

 of 1,000 acres, from the 1914 

 crop of this newest and best 



addition to Pacific Northwest products, will be on 



competitive exliibition. 



Low Round Trip Fares 



Tickets, Schedules and full information upon 

 application to any agent of the 



O-W. R. & N. or to the 



GENERAL PASSENGER AGENT 



Portland, Oregon 



ASK FOR PREMIUM LIST 



UNION 

 PACIFIC 



SYSTEM 



Surgery for Sick Trees 



[Weekly News Leiter, L'nitecl S 



A CAVITY in a decayed tree is some- 

 thing like a cavity in a decayed 

 tooth. If an inirclial)le tree surgeon 

 who lias Ijeen called in to save the tree 

 only partially removes the diseased 

 part of the wood, uses no ardiseiJlic 

 coatings in the cavity, and tills it ii]} 

 with cement, the tree is no more cured 

 than is a person whose decayed toolh 

 has not been proijerly filled by a dent- 

 ist. The only dilTerence is that after 

 the tree cavity has been covered, if Ihe 

 work has not been properly done, the 

 tree has no way of making its trouble 

 known except by further decay 



Within the last decade there has been 

 a great increase in demand for siugeons 

 to repair dec;ning shade trees, but the 

 possibilities of iiractlcing fraud in this 

 profession, like Ihe instance just cited, 

 have tempted so many unreliable peo- 

 ple to dabble in the science that tree 

 surgery has fallen somewhat into dis- 

 repute. The depaiTment realizes that 

 conunercial tree surgery should occupy 

 a high place in the estimation of the 

 public, and has recently issued a pam- 

 phlet entitled "Practical Tree Surgery," 

 wherein suggestions are made for im- 

 provement along these lines. 



As in all professions, there are reli- 

 able and uni'eliahle men and firms com- 

 peting for contracts in tree surgery. 

 In recent years so many occasions have 

 arisen wben property owners felt the 



aUs Department of Agriculture] 



necessity of calling in commercial tree 

 surgeons to attend to their trees that 

 there are now numerous firms, both 

 honest and dishonest, engaged in the 

 work. Usually tree surgery is prac- 

 ticed in connection with sonu' nearly 

 related line, but often it is taken up as 

 a business of itself. When a blight 

 such as the chestnut bark disease in- 

 fects the trees of a district, the com- 

 munity, or individuals in it. will often 

 spend considerable money to control 

 ravages which may rob the whole dis- 

 trict of its trees. An affection like the 

 chestnut bark disease is contagious. 

 It requires scientific knowledge of the 

 disease to know whether an affected 

 tree should be destroyed at once or is 

 worth treating. It requires scientific 

 training to imderstand the manner of 

 growth of the fungi causing the disease 

 and what trcalnient is best. Many in- 

 dividuals who have had faith in tree 

 surgery have lost it through following 

 the advice of unreliable tree surgeons 

 who claimed to be able to diagnose a 

 case, but whose main interest was to 

 collect a good sum of mone.\ for llicii' 

 work. 



Besides the careless filling of decayed 

 cavities in trees, there are other prac- 

 tices of certain so-called "tree surgeons" 

 that do the trees nu)re harm than good. 

 Many of these "surgeons," as well as 

 the peoi)le who emidox them, do no! 



realize the danger arising from fresh 

 injuries to a tree. The tree owner 

 should realize that prompt attendance 

 to fresh injuries will largely do away 

 with the need of tree surgery fifteen or 

 twenty years hence. The tree .surgeons 

 must realize that if they make fresh 

 injuries in the living bark, when treat- 

 ing decayed portions, they are laying 

 the tree open to luore dangers of infec- 

 tion that will result in further decay. 



.lust as a person is subject to infec- 

 tion througb cuts and scratches, trees 

 are rendered subject to infection by 

 having their living bark torn. Not- 

 withstanding this, many tree surgeons 

 use ))runing hooks and climbing spurs 

 and cut fresh gashes in the tree. To 

 break ofi" small dead branches a work- 

 man may use a long pruning hook as 

 though it were a club. In doing so the 

 hook usually causes injury to the young 

 bark nearby. Every new wound may 

 furnish a new point of entrance for 

 decay, even though the old dead branch 

 may have been removed. The use of 

 clind)ing S])urs should be particularly 

 avoided on trees in vicinities where 

 there is a contagious infection. They 

 simi)ly render the treated tree all the 

 luore liable to catch the disease which 

 is "in the air." 



All properly equipped firms of coiu- 

 mercial surgeons should have ladders 

 that would reach forty or more feet 

 into a tree. Ladders, ropes and rubber- 

 soled shoes will allow a man to reach 

 practically every part. Reliable esti- 

 mates indicate that it takes somewhat 

 longer (perhaps 2.5 per cent on an aver- 

 age) to do work on a tree when these 

 are used instead of climbing spurs, and 

 this is one reason why many firms who 

 value reiuuneration more than reputa- 

 tion use the spurs. 



The department is suggesting a plan 

 that mav help put conuuercial tree sur- 

 gerv on a better basis. Owners are 

 urged to have a definite written contract 

 with the tree surgeons they employ, and 

 the following is suggested as a model 

 for such contract: (1) No climbing 

 spurs shall be used on any part of a 

 tree. (21 The shoes worn by the work- 

 men shall have soft rubber bottoms. 

 (.1) Ordinary commercial orange shel- 

 lac shall be applied to cover the cut 

 edges of sapwood and cambium (which 

 is the soft f(H-mative tissue from which 

 the new wood and bark originate) 

 within five minutes after the final triiu- 

 ming cut is made. (4) All cut or shel- 

 lacked surfaces shall be painted with 

 conuuercial creosote, followed by thick 

 coal tar. (5) All diseased, rotton. dis- 

 colored, water-soaked or insect-eaten 

 wood shall be removed in cavity work 

 and the cavity inspected by the owner 

 or liis agent before it is tilled. (<'>> Only 

 a good grade of Portland cement and 

 clean, sharp sand in no weaker mixture 

 than 1 to 3 shall he used to fill cavities. 

 (7) The contractor shall repair free of 

 expense any defects that may appear in 

 the work within one year. 



If the owner prefers to have a cavity 

 filled with asphalt or other material 

 instead of cement, the contract can be 

 altt'red accorilingly. If it is desirable 



