ORCHARDS. 265 
Mr. Dartt: I asked the gentleman the question if he recom- 
mended tarred paper to bind around apple trees, because my 
own experience has taught me that it is injurious. At least, [ 
have lost quite a number of valuable apple trees by binding 
them with tarred paper, and my explanation is that the dark 
color together with a tarry or oily property in the pa- 
per worked together in certain hot days in winter to attract 
the heat and thus injured the tree. I therefore abandoned that 
practice long ago and now make use of building paper, or any 
kind of paper that is white, that I can bind around the tree, and 
which will afford sufficient protection against mice and rabbits. 
Mr. Keel: I will say that I have used both the tarred paper 
and the cloth, and I don’t see any difference; nor have I learned 
the tree is injured in any way. But on the most of my trees I 
use gunnysacking. It is the cheapest, and it will last for a 
good many years'if it is taken care of. 
Vice-President Wedge: I think that the idea of wrapping 
with gunnysacking is very valuable. Mr. Patten, of Charles 
City, lowa, has very strongly recommended it. My opinion is 
that it ought to prevent sun-scald. 
Mr. Ludlow: I would say for the benefit of those farmers 
whose trees are injured by rabbits that I have a simple, certain 
remedy. Set common rat traps in the orchard in their runs, 
and go to them at dusk. . Do not leave them until morning, for 
if you do the leg will freeze, and a very slight movement will 
break it and let the rabbit escape. But, if you watch your 
traps at dusk, you will very soon clear your orchard. I have 
tried it and find the plan a perfect success, having killed all the 
rabbits in my orchard in that way. 
Mr. Harris: I rise on the question of tarred paper. I have 
traveled over the country considerably and seen some of the 
trees that were claimed to have been injured. Down in south- 
western Iowa I saw two instances of the danger of using this 
black tarred paper. If it touches the trunk of the tree and is 
left on it long enough, you are bound to have a dead side on the 
tree. 1 also found a man who, after an experience of that 
kind, used common white cotton cloth long enough to tie 
around at the ground and wind up to the forks of the 
tree. He claimed that if you take them in the spring and 
lay them away, they will probably last as long as any man will 
want to use them. So much for their durability. He also 
claimed that it is a perfect protection against sun-scald, and 
said he did not have a sun-scalded tree in the orchard. 
