THE FLOKAL WORLD AND GARDJilN GUIDE. 



ill 



larly, the first process of reuewal 

 would be to cut deep open drains or 

 ditches to the nearest outfall, these 

 drains to run between every two 

 rows of treei^. These drains will give 

 immediate relief, and by removing 

 superfluous water, enable the trees to 

 ripen the wood of the season and 

 perhaps make an improved appeai'- 

 ance tiie following year. AVith the 

 fall of the leaf should commence the 

 renewal of the surface-soil. The 

 suckers to be stubbed up ; the soil to 

 be removed from the roots to a reason- 

 able depth without injury to any of 

 the main roots, and all surface fibres 

 to be preserved as far as possible ; 

 those really injured to be cut clean 

 back by a regular process of pruning. 

 If new soil is spread over the surface 

 to the original level, it will be full of 

 roots before the next spring, and the 

 trees will show such an improved ap- 

 pearance as to justify the expense of 

 finishing the drainage properlj', and 

 completing the minor work of pruning 

 and cleansing as the case demands. 

 It is rarely that American blight gets 

 a firm hold of trees that are dry and 

 healthy at the roots ; indeed, the ap- 

 pearance of parasitic vermin is gene- 

 rally an indication that the tree is 

 diseased from other causes, and to 

 merely attack the insect pests is to 

 make but one step towards final 

 recovery. The simplest of all pro- 

 cesses for the eradication of American 

 blight has often been described in 

 these pages. In the course of one 

 winter we restored to the most pei*- 

 fect state of cleanliness a number of 

 trees that appeared hopelessly in- 

 fested with this destructive pest. 

 They were literally covered with run- 

 ning wounds and were alive all over 

 ^^ich the tenacious masses of white 

 cotlony threads of JEriosoma lani- 

 (fera, the ruin of half the apple-trees 

 in this country. The process consisted 

 in first scraping off" with a piece of 

 iron hoo^i the looser portions of old 

 bark, and then scrubbing them all 

 over with a dandy brush soaked in 

 warm brine. Though a tedious and 

 tiresome job it proved in execution 

 less formidable than it appeared. 

 The trees were first pruned so as to 

 remove all dead, ill-placed and very 



much diseased shoots. Tiid ground 

 under the tree operated on was 

 covered with old mats to save thci 

 grass, and mats were thrown over the 

 trees and bushes within reach of the 

 splashes. The workman then planted 

 his ladder, took up with him a pailful 

 of warm brine, and commencing at the 

 extremities of the boughs scrubbed 

 them all over from head to foot. 

 All the pruuings and scrapings were 

 burnt. The ground all round the 

 trees, as far as the roots were con- 

 sidered to extend was then soaked 

 with the strong draiuings from a 

 dung heap to poison whatever insect 

 life had escaped the brine in the 

 scraping of the bark, and to refresh 

 the roots of the trees with a whole- 

 some stimulus. 



But the renewal of the soil to the 

 depth of the main roots may be too 

 great a task, and may not be neces- 

 sary. JN^evertheless, in all cases of 

 want of vigour, surface-dressing must 

 be resorted to, and an immense im- 

 provement may be efi'ected by paring 

 off the surface two or three inches 

 only, and laying on a mixtvire of fresh 

 loam and half-rotten dung in its 

 place. Without plenty of surface- 

 fibres in an active state of absorption, 

 no fruit ti'ee will ever make a return 

 sufficient to cover the rent of the 

 ground it occupies. Almost any fresh 

 soil will serve the purpose ; charred 

 rubbish, old turf, the clearings of a 

 muck-pit, or the black soil from the 

 bottom of a ditch or pond, are all 

 excellent dressings, but should never 

 be applied without removing first a 

 portion of the old surface, in which 

 generally there are multitudes of 

 insects and their eggs waiting till 

 the return of spring to renew their 

 ravages. 



Ovei'-luxurianceisnotsoeasil}' sub- 

 dued as many writers have asserted. 

 When a tree produces a multitude of 

 gross shoots, and shows no sign of 

 disease, root pruning may be of great 

 service, but is a difficult operation. 

 A method often resorted to by gar- 

 deners in such cases is to allow the 

 gross tree? to caiTy all the wood they 

 make, but this is a mistake. Instead 

 of allowing strong shoots to run away 

 to an extravagant length, in the hope 

 I Z 



