102 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
veneer also. I get it in St. Louis. It is cut very thin and 
when soaked over night becomes quite pliable and can be placed 
around the trunk of a tree and tied. I pay $3.50 per thousand 
for it. It is much the same as this method of protection. The 
air can freely circulate around the trunk, and the protection 
does not make much difference, so far as that is concerned. 
Mr. Brackett: Do you take the dirt away in the summer? 
Prof. Green: No, I donot. WhenTI use the boxes I leave it 
on all the year round. I think it works all right. 
Pres. Underwood: What do you put the dirt around for? 
Prof. Green: I lookat it in this way. We have a severe 
winter. The tree is liable to be injured by the severe condi- 
tions of the winter, and to guard against it, it should have 
some protection. If the roots arein good shape,it may be able 
to overcome some weaknesses by reason of climatic changes of 
the preceding winter, but the safest way is to give it protect- 
ion. Where a man has only a dozen or two of trees, he can well 
afford to box them up and keep them boxed. What we use for 
boxing is boards; two eight inch boards and two six inch 
boards, and then fill the inside with earth, and on the approach 
of winter we put a bunch of hay in the crotch of the tree to 
protect the crotch. 
Mr. Dartt: If it will pay with a few trees, why will it not 
pay with a good many? 
Prof. Green: It would be all right, but when a man is in the 
orchard business he might neglect a good many things. I 
would recommend it for general practice. 
Mr. Pearce: Is there notacertain action taking place during 
the entire winter between the carbon and the starch which is 
stored in thecells? Isthere not aconstant action taking place, 
and does not the dirt around the trunk of the tree interfere 
with and destroy that action? Can the tree act with the dirt 
piled up around it? 
Prof. Green: It certainly can act. As for there being some 
change in the tree in the winter there can be no question but 
what there is some slight change in the cellular tissue in the 
winter, but itis so slight that we are unable to detect it; but 
judging from the course of things, there seems to be a little 
swelling of the bud between the autumn and spring. As for 
what youspoke of in regard to the starch and carbon, I hardly 
understand what you mean, but say to the best of my know- 
ledge there is no cell action in the winter in any way; and in 
any event the cell action might take place under the soil as well 
