MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 361 



On the other hand, if the roots are damaged there is generally suffi- 

 cient plant food stored here to start new roots. The importance of 

 this part of the plant may be readily seen, and if severe stump-sprout- 

 ing varieties of trees are cut off several inches below the surface in the 

 spring of the year when the sap is thin, no sprouts will issue from the 

 remaining roots. During the season of growth a large amount of vi- 

 tality is stored in this part of the plant, and it also contains large starch 

 deposits. Both are important requisites in the matter of hardiness 

 and successful wintering. Trees can be greatly aided in going through 

 the winter by banking earth around them, and this should be done in 

 early winter. Fresh earth should be used and a steep bank formed 

 around each tree and hilled over vines and small fruits. Especially 

 is this so where there is some trash or rubbish collected around trees, 

 which may form a lurking place for insects that are feeders on the 

 tree. Thest^ are usually found near the crowns. Placing mounds of 

 earth about plants and making a clean fresh surface around them forces 

 the insects to find a lodging place elsewhere, and lessens the danger 

 from injury to the crowns, as well as protects the plants through the 

 winter. In view of these facts it is important to bank up trees and 

 clear away all trash around them. This lessens the danger from rab- 

 bits and mice. Care should be taken not to leave pumpkins lie in the 

 orchard, as there is no bait that equals pumpkin seeds in attracting 

 mice. Pocket gophers, which show a period of activity just before 

 freezing up, should be caught now and all danger to the young trees 

 minimized so far as possible. 



Replacing Spurious Trees. 



With the utmost care, errors in the correctness of nursery stock 

 are liable to occur ; hence the occasional occurrence of a spurious 

 tree or plant might reasonably be overlooked. The offer to replace 

 the spurious trees, is the one almost uuiversally made by nurserymen 

 in such cases; but it may fairly be doubted whether even nurserymen 

 regard this as adequate compensation; since, even if the error shall 

 be detected, and the tree safely and'corroctly replaced at the end of a 

 year, the planter will have borne the loss of the year's use of his land 

 and the expense of the year's cultivation and replanting. Further- 

 more, each annual crop during the subsequent life of such tree, will 

 necessarily be deferred a twelve-month; while if the detection of the 

 «rror must (as will in most cases prove true ), await the fruiting of the 

 tree, the damage and loss to the planter must necessarily be largely 



