128 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



PROTECTION TO TREE TRUNKS. 



President Underwood: The question was asked as to the protec- 

 tion of trees, by boxing- or wrapping^, and banking- up with earth. 

 We have just a few inoments to give to that; just a minute a piece. 



Prof. Green: I believe in protection in some way; it is a very im- 

 portant matter. It comes to me once in a while like this: A young 

 man at the school told me he had some Duchess apple trees that 

 were so loaded with fruit that they broke off. They were sun- 

 scalded, and a tree finally got so weak it tumbled over. That can 

 be prevented by banking. As to the necessitj'- for boxing. I -think in 

 good locations there is no necessity for boxing. In the Red River 

 Valley or in Otter Tail county, I would box them. There is not a 

 tree growing in Minnesota but what ought to be protected until it 

 g-ets pretty far along. What that protection should consist of, I can- 

 not say. Newspaper or building paper is good. I have used this 

 summer wire mosquito netting. I am also using a thin veneer. I 

 soak it in water over night, and the next day it will bend very 

 readil3^ and I bend it right around the tree. A hay rope or corn 

 stalks will also answer the purpose very well. I like this wood 

 veneer because it protects the tree against rabbits. We do not take 

 then away in the stimmer; we leave them on all summer; we leave 

 them on three or four years. 



Mr. Brackett: In boxing trees, do j^ou fill the boxes with dirt? 



Prof. Green: I think it is desirable to fill the boxes with dirt. 



Mr. Brackett: How do 3^ou put on that veneer, and where can it 

 be obtained? 



Prof. Green: I soak these little veneers in water over night, and 

 then bend it around the tree and fasten it with wire at the top and 

 bottom. It is a very good protection. I got mj' supply from St. 

 Louis. They are extremely cheap. 



Mr. Wedge: At about what age does the tree cease to need pro- 

 tection? 



Prof. Green: When it can shade itself. 



Mr. Z. K. Jewett: In our localit3^ they use lath; they put it to- 

 gether with wire twisted together, using three or four laths, ac- 

 cording to the size of the tree, and wrap them right around. If 

 the tree is high, the whole length is used. That will keep the rab- 

 bits out. 



Prof. Hansen: At the Iowa meeting a number gave their opinion 

 on that subject, and some had found that lath intertwined with wire 

 was not a good plan, but some used wire screening and found it to 

 be the best method thej^ had used yet; some even saj^ it prevents 

 sun scald. It is a good protection against enemies of anj' kind, and 

 it will staj"- there as long as there is any need for protection. 



Mr. Aiken: I used almost everj-^ kind of protection I had ever 

 heard of, and I found they were injured in every way, until about 

 six or eight j^ears ago I heard about this wire screening. I had a 

 lot of old doors and windows which I cut up and put the screening 

 on from the bottom of the tree up to protect them from rabbits and 

 mice, and I left that right on during the whole season; and some re- 

 mained there over six j^ears, summer and winter, and the trees were 



