106 ORCHARDS. 



ness oiFers no resistance to the lip of new wooi and bark that 

 gradually closes over the wound. If this composition is kept 

 in a well-corked bottle, sufficiently wide-mouthed to admit the 

 brush, it will always be ready for use and suited to the want 

 of the moment. This is Mr. Downing's receipt. 



Composition of White Lead. — The most convenient, 

 simple and cheap, as well as the best composition for pruning, 

 or for spreading over any large wounds, is simply white lead 

 and oil mixed with a little lamp-black to give it a light lead 

 color (if white is objectionable). This will remain longer 

 and has all the good qualities of the "Shellac and Alcohol" 

 Composition. It should be applied with a painter's brush, 

 and, if necessary, a second and even a third coat may be ap- 

 plied to large incisions. The author of this work can recom- 

 mend this mixture as being the very best for applying to 

 wounds, large or small. It does not answer so well for a 

 grafting composition. 



COMPOSITIONS AND WASHES. 



When large wounds are to be covered, or the cavities of 

 large limbs to be filled and plastered, the following composi- 

 tion is about the best that can be applied: (the solid wood 

 had better be painted) The plaster is made of equal parts 

 of clay, garden mould, and fresh cow-dung, tempered and 

 made pliable with urine. 



The health and vegetation of trees may be greatly pro- 

 moted by scraping them ; by cutting away the cankered parts; 

 and by washing their stems annually, in the month of Feb- 

 ruary or March, or even later, ivith strong soap suds. 



A w^ash highly recommended for this purpose is made as 

 follow^s : prepare a mixture of fresh cowdung, urine and 

 soap-suds — the composition to be applied to the stems and 

 branches of fruit or forest trees, in the same manner as the 

 ceilings of rooms are white-washed. It is best to apply it 

 with a large paint brush or coarse rag — for small trees,, the 

 rag is^ best, as it will rub off any extraneous matter adhering 

 to the bark, giving it a smooth surface. {Diluted soajJ-suds 



